In the heart of New Delhi, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, with a touch of levity, divulged to the legal fraternity the intricate protocols ushers employ to orchestrate the order of seniority when judges step into a courtroom.
In a groundbreaking judicial pronouncement, a septet of magistrates, spearheaded by the CJI, decreed that legislators in both Parliament and state assemblies shall not enjoy immunity from prosecution in cases involving bribery. The apex court nullified a 1998 precedent where a quintet of constitutional luminaries had affirmed the safeguarding of lawmakers in scenarios where MPs or MLAs accept inducements for their orations or votes within the legislative chambers.
Post the pronouncement, the Chief Justice, addressing senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, counsel for a party in question, subtly shared a tidbit with the legal community. He articulated, “Allow me to share a minor aside with you. When we, the judges, compose a bench of five, two, or three, the usher dictates the order of entry into the courtroom.”
“In certain instances, the senior luminary takes precedence, while in others, it is the junior luminary who steps in first. This complexity magnifies when we assemble in configurations of five, seven, or nine. As we congregate, a lead usher issues the directive, ‘pehle aap jayenge (you shall go first)…'”. The Chief Justice, adorned with a smile, continued, “We obediently arrange ourselves in that order, subject to the usher’s command, and make our entry into the courtroom.”
Raju Ramachandran, the venerable representative of a litigant, reminisced about the Kesavananda Bharati case, where, as a student, he witnessed the legal spectacle unfold with great sequential precision as the judges made their entrance.