Luggage packed, will move out of official residence soon: Chandrachud

In the wake of the controversy on his overstaying in his official residence former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Monday said his luggage was packed and he along with his wife and children would soon move to a paid government accommodation. Justice Chandrachud, his wife Kalpana, and daughters Priyanka and Mahi are living in the CJI's official residence at 5, Krishna Menon Marg, New Delhi.

"Our luggage is already packed. Some of it has already gone to the new house and some are in the store room," Chandrachud told PTI while elaborating on the reasons for his overstay in the bungalow.

The 50th CJI, who retired on 8 November 2024, was responding to the Supreme Court administration's communication to the Centre regarding the vacating of his official bungalow.

The former CJI lamented the controversy and referred to the medical condition of his daughters who required a wheelchair-friendly home.

"I won't tell you how I feel, but you can imagine… one thing which I would like to mention is that we are the parents of two children, Priyanka and Mahi. They are special children and they have special needs. They have a condition called Nemaline myopathy… This is a very rare genetic disorder which affects the skeletal muscles," he said.

"Even at home, we maintain a high standard of hygiene, sanitation and have a very specialised nurse who looks after them. So, it's a matter of maybe a couple of days, or a couple of weeks at the most. As soon as they tell me that the house is ready for occupation, I will be moving out," he added.

Justice Chandrachud said his elder daughter Priyanka was in the ICU for 44 days at PGI Chandigarh in 2021 and in January 2022. "She had difficulty when we were on holiday in Shimla, and she's now actually attached to a tracheostomy tube…," he added.

He also spoke of his children's regular chest, respiratory and neurological therapies aside from pain and speech management.

He said one of the children had difficulty in swallowing as a multi-disciplinary team looked after both his children on a daily basis.

Justice Chandrachud referred to former CJIs U.U. Lalit and N.V. Ramana and other top court judges, saying they too were granted extension of time to stay in their official residences.

"And importantly, this extension of time is granted not only to me but to other judges like Justice U.U. Lalit who retired as CJI and was given a house after his retirement at Safdarjung Road and Justice N.V. Ramana was given a house by the government at Tughlaq Road after his retirement,” he said.

Justice Chandrachud said he was "not the first person to be allotted the house by the government" and claimed the extension of time was the discretion of the CJI.

He said after his retirement, he spoke to his successor CJI Sanjiv Khanna and told him he was to return to 14 Tughlaq Road, the bungalow where he lived before becoming CJI. Justice Khanna, however, asked Justice Chandrachud to continue staying in the CJI bungalow as he did not want the official residence.

On 1 July, the apex court administration wrote to the Centre saying Justice Chandrachud had stayed in the CJI bungalow beyond the permissible period and sought the property to be vacated.

In the communication sent to the housing and urban affairs ministry, the apex court administration requested to take possession of the bungalow as the permission granted to him for retention of the accommodation and the six-month period of further stay under the 2022 Rules had ended in May.

Under Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, a retired CJI can retain a type 7 bungalow, a level below the 5, Krishna Menon Marg bungalow, for a maximum period of six months post-retirement.