Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Monday reprimanded a lawyer for using the informal term “yeah” during court proceedings, stating he is “allergic” to such language. The CJI reminded the lawyer that a courtroom is not a cafe.
While addressing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to include former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi as a party and called for an in-house inquiry into his previous dismissal of a plea related to a service dispute, Chandrachud expressed strong disapproval, saying, “How can you file a PIL with a judge as a respondent? There has to be some dignity.”
The PIL was filed after the litigant’s earlier plea regarding his termination under labour laws was dismissed by a bench led by Gogoi, who has since retired. The Chief Justice stressed that such actions are unacceptable, stating, “Sorry, we cannot tolerate this.”
Tension rose when the litigant responded with “yeah-yeah” to the bench’s queries. CJI Chandrachud remarked, “What is this ‘yeah-yeah’? This is not the coffee shop. I am very allergic to this ‘yeah-yeah.’ This cannot be allowed.”
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Chandrachud questioned the validity of the PIL, noting, “How can you file a PIL in a service matter after dismissal of the petition and the review plea? You should have filed a curative petition.”
He communicated with the litigant in Marathi to clarify legal procedures and urged him to formally remove Gogoi’s name from the list of parties in the appeal.
Justice Gogoi, who is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, was the first person from the northeast to serve as Chief Justice of India. He is also known for resolving the long-standing Ayodhya land dispute and retired on 17 November 2019.
The bench has given the litigant an opportunity to amend his petition before further proceedings can take place.