In Tribute Speech, CJI DY Chandrachud Reveals How Former CJI AM Ahmadi Encouraged Him To Accept Judgeship

From citing important judgements to underscoring the changes brought to the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday gave an address, paying homage to the former Chief Justice of India Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi, who passed away on March 2, 2023. Terming the former CJI as a “one of the finest minds and true friend of legal fraternity”, CJI Chandrachud shed light on Justice Ahmadi’s eminent career. Speaking about how the Justice Ahmadi transformed the Supreme Court functioning with the proper utilisation of technology, the CJI said, “He was a great administrator, case pendency dipped to an all-time low with him as the chief Justice of India. “After this, he got the docket pendency analysed and took the challenge head on….He often had a slogan, don't get scared by numbers.” Because of this record of lower pendency rate, Justice Ahmadi was even called the "case cracker", CJI Chandrachud said. A rather powerful portion of the judgement reads as follow: “When the Court is called upon to choose between the convict's cry 'I want to live' and the prosecutor's demand 'he deserves to die', it goes without saying that the Court must show a high degree of concern and sensitiveness in the choice of sentence.” In CJI’s words, Justice Ahmadi was not the “one to shy away from dissent”.