We are packed and ready to move: Justice DY Chandrachud after controversy over official bungalow

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud told Bar & Bench that there was no delay on his part in vacating the official Chief Justice bungalow at 5, Krishna Menon Marg in Delhi..He also added that he and his family members will move out of the official CJI bungalow in the next two weeks.“We are all packed up, our furniture is packed...except the day-to-day furniture which we just put in a truck and take to the new house. It is just probably going to take another ten days, at the most two weeks,” he told Bar & Bench. Justice Chandrachud, who retired as CJI in November 2024, will now be moving to a government-allotted house at Teen Murti Marg, an entitlement retired Supreme Court judges can claim for 6 months after retirement. The former CJI added that he had extended his stay at the official CJI residence at Krishna Menon Marg after retirement owing to the rare medical condition of his two daughters. He and his wife Kalpana Das had adopted two daughters - Priyanka and Mahi - who have a medical condition called nemaline myopathy. He has publicly spoken about the challenges his family faces due to this rare genetic condition..We are all packed up, our furniture is packed.Former CJI Chandrachud .The retired judge was speaking to Bar & Bench in the wake of the recent controversy over his continued occupation of the official CJI residence. The Supreme Court administration had written to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on July 1 seeking immediate repossession of the Krishna Menon Marg bungalow.Justice Chandrachud had retired on November 2024 and was formally permitted to stay on until April 30, with an informal extension until May 31. His continued occupation into July prompted the Supreme Court to write to the government in a rare escalation.Under the Supreme Court Judges Rules, 2022, a retired Chief Justice may occupy a Type VII house rent-free for six months. Occupation of a Type VIII residence, such as 5 Krishna Menon Marg, requires special permission and a license fee.Justice Chandrachud continued to reside at Krishna Menon Marg after his retirement in November 2024, based on an extension granted internally by the Supreme Court. This extension, however, was not part of the official post-retirement housing entitlement for 6 months under the amended Supreme Court Judges Rules. The new residence has been allotted by the government, and he will be paying the prescribed rent for it. The six-month benefit under the amended Rules will apply from the time he takes possession of this new house..Justice Chandrachud also explained how his stay at the official CJI residence at Krishna Menon Marg got extended. He said that he had made repeated efforts to secure wheelchair-accessible rental housing in Delhi for his daughters.“They are now 16 and 14. They are not six-year-old girls anymore. They have their own dignity, privacy, and needs. There are little things...like the width of the bathroom door, through which a wheelchair has to enter.”.He said several serviced apartments had been considered, but owners were unwilling to let out properties for short durations. “We almost froze on something, and the owner turned around and said I can’t give it to you for three months,” he said..We almost froze on something, and the owner turned around and said I can’t give it to you for three months.Former CJI Chandrachud.In April, he formally wrote to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, requesting an extension until June 30. “We had shortlisted a few places. We just needed two more months to finalise one. I made a written request on April 28. Justice Khanna had earlier said he wasn’t going to occupy the Krishna Menon Marg house and even suggested that I stay on.”.When Justice BR Gavai took over as Chief Justice in May, Justice Chandrachud raised the matter again.“I told Justice Gavai that the house allotted to me by the government needed substantial repairs. It had been vacant for two years. No judge had wanted to live in it earlier. The contractor made it clear that repairs would go on till the end of June.”Justice Chandrachud said that he made it clear to Justice Gavai that there was no indefinite request being made.“I told him if you can extend, I’ll be grateful. If not, I am ready to pay the market rent. That’s the rule, and I am more than willing to comply. I’m not here on sufferance,” he said..I told him if you can extend, I’ll be grateful. If not, I am ready to pay the market rent. That’s the rule, and I am more than willing to comply. I am not here on sufferance.Former CJI Chandrachud.He explained that the delay was never intended, and that the logistics of moving a medically-dependent household were vastly different. “We have a small ICU setup at home. During a recent vacation in Shimla, my daughter developed respiratory distress. She had to be airlifted to Chandigarh in an ambulance. She was in ICU for 44 days. She’s still on a tracheostomy tube. It has to be cleaned, maintained, replaced, sometimes at midnight. Only AIIMS doctors are familiar with her condition.”.Justice Chandrachud also recalled that he never wanted to move to the Krishna Menon Marg residence in the first place when he became the CJI.“When I became CJI in 2022, I was in the smallest house in the Supreme Court pool. I had been staying at 14 Tughlaq Road from 2016. I didn’t want to move. But eventually, when you’re Chief, dignitaries visit, ceremonial work is expected. I had to move.”.He pointed out that other retired judges had also received time extensions and alternate accommodations.“Justice UU Lalit was given accommodation in Safdarjung Road. Justice NV Ramana was allotted another house. Justice Hima Kohli, who retired in September 2024, vacated only by March or April 2025. This is not like Army House or Navy House where the next person moves in the day you retire. In fact, Justice Khanna told me why take the burden of moving back to Tughlaq Road?”.However, official records suggest, Justice Kohli had vacated her official residence in the first week of February, 2025. .This is not the first time the former CJI had publicly revealed the problems he was facing. In April this year, he said that he has been struggling to find a residence in Delhi which would cater to the special needs of his two differently abled daughters.“We have two beautiful daughters, who have needs, but it has been difficult to find a house to cater to their needs. Every public space is the same. For too long, our society has kept the disabled under the curtain of ignorance and suppression,” he stated.During his speech, he recounted the journey of adopting his daughters while serving at the Allahabad High Court."Initially they were just bones and flesh. The mother had completely ignored them thinking they were a lost cause," he recalled .He described taking them to medical institutions for "intrusive and painful" tests, sharing a particularly moving memory of his older daughter expressing concern for her sister."My older daughter kept saying I don't want my sister to go through this."