Responsibility of judiciary to review law made by Parliament: Ex-CJI Chandrachud

"Not only is it a right, but it is also our responsibility. To test the constitutional validity of the law is our responsibility," he said

New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Sunday said that not only it is the right but also the responsibility of the judiciary to review the law enacted by Parliament.

Former CJI Chandrachud, who arrived as a special guest in NDTV’s special programme ‘NDTV INDIA Samvaad – Samvidhan @75, said while making laws is the job of the Parliament, to review them is completely in the hands of the judiciary.

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“Not only is it a right, but it is also our responsibility. To test the constitutional validity of the law is our responsibility,” he said.

On appointments through the Supreme Court Collegium in the constitutional judiciary, the 50th CJI said that the “things going on in social media” should not affect its functioning.

“Look, there are many misconceptions about the Collegium system. But this is a very good system in the federal system. In this, the appointment process goes through many stages. All sections have been getting representation under this,” former CJI Chandrachud said.

In a farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, former CJI Chandrachud said that the SC Collegium never had a difference of opinion while it made tough choices and decisions in recommending appointments to the constitutional judiciary.

“I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to my Collegium for the way we have worked. We sat through the Collegium making tough choices and decisions. We never had a difference of opinion on Collegium. All meetings were conducted with a sense of humour, smile and some snacks,” he had said.

After a two-year-long stint in the highest judicial office of the country, ex-CJI Chandrachud retired on November 10 attaining the age of 65 years.

He was first appointed as judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000, and also served as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court since October 31, 2013, until his elevation as an apex court judge on May 13, 2016.

Justice Chandrachud passed BA with honours in economics from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi and completed LLB from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.

In June 1998, he was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court. He also served as Additional Solicitor General of India from 1998 till 2000.