New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud cautioned a lawyer from raising the pitch of his voice while arguing a matter before a bench led by him, saying “Lower your pitch, otherwise, I will have you removed from the court…”. The CJI, who is often calm and composed during the court proceedings, in a rare display of anger, cautioned a lawyer, who was arguing his matter in a high-pitched tone, and warned him against attempts to browbeat the court.
A lawyer while pressing for relief in the matter suddenly began to argue his matter in a high-pitched tone. The CJI interrupted the lawyer and asked him to argue in a respectful tone before the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The CJI asked the lawyer whether he had argued the matter before the apex court or if it was his first time.
"One second, lower your voice. You're arguing before the first court of the Supreme Court .... lower your pitch, otherwise, I will have you removed from the court," the CJI, who appeared to be upset, told the lawyer. The lawyer submitted that he had earlier appeared before the apex court.
The CJI further questioned the advocate, whether it is his usual practice to shout at judges. "Where do you normally appear? Is this the way you shout at judges every time?", asked the CJI.
Stressing on maintaining decorum in the courtroom, the CJI told the lawyer, “If you think you can browbeat us by raising your voice, you're mistaken. It has not happened in 23 years; it will not happen in the last year of my career…..".The lawyer immediately apologized to the judges and continued with his submissions in the matter. However, the bench told him that it is not inclined to entertain his matter.
In October last year, the CJI got miffed at a lawyer, who was speaking on a mobile phone inside the courtroom. The Chief Justice had told the lawyer, “Yeh kya koi market hai kya ? Idhar aao? Iska mobile lelo. (Is this a market place, come here. Take his mobile)”. The Chief Justice asked the person to deposit his mobile phone with the court master. The Chief Justice reiterated “do you think it is a marketplace, where you can just take….give the mobile to the court master and be careful in the future…..”.
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