Have stopped morning walk due to spike in air pollution, says CJI Chandrachud
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Thursday said he had stopped going out for his morning walk owing to the rising levels of air pollution in the national capital.
In an informal interaction with journalists in the apex court, CJI Chandrachud said his doctor had advised him to avoid stepping out in the morning as it was better for him to remain inside than contract respiratory ailments.
"I have stopped going out for a morning walk from today (October 24). I usually go for a morning walk at around 4-4.15 am," he said, while referring to spike in the air pollution levels.
The 50th CJI, who will be demitting office on November 10, also made an announcement on doing away with a mandatory criteria of holding a law degree for accrediting journalists covering proceedings of the apex court.
He said the accredited journalists would now get the facility to park their vehicles in the Supreme Court premises.
He also spoke about digitisation of records and judicial processes and the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in translating apex court judgements in various regional languages.
The CJI said retired district court judges were rendering their services with corrections to the AI-generated translations of judgements.
CJI Chandrachud said digitisation of records had helped judges with the access to read case files on their iPads, and even on flights.
On being asked about his post-retirement plans, the CJI said for the first few days, he would take rest.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
