The BBC has once again tried to undermine landmark judgements delivered by the Supreme Court over the past few years, especially those during the Modi tenure, in the latest interview with former CJI DY Chandrachud.
Stephen Sackur, on his programme HARDtalk, interviewed DY Chandrachud and Sackur comes across as an ill-informed interviewer asking questions based on leftist and anti-national viewpoints. Some of the topics he touched upon in the interview include Article 370 abrogation, Ram Janmabhoomi judgement, and the CAA. When one listens to the questions and the “observations” and opinionated, prejudiced comments that Sackur makes, the people he quotes, one can easily conclude that this is nothing but a hit job on the former CJI and the country. Whatever the case, DY Chandrachud very calmly responded despite having to sit across from Sackur who made clueless statements – something that shouldn’t have been the case given his experience as a journalist.
Sackur touched upon the Ram mandir judgement and said, “One more key judgement that you were involved in – your decision to give a green light to the building of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya on what was the rubble, the remains of a mosque that was destroyed in 1992. The decision you took resonated throughout the country, you said at the time that you had asked God for a solution to this mosque Ram temple dispute.”
Chandrachud tried to speak but Sackur continued to quote this alleged statement and said, “The quote is ‘I sat before the deity and told him he needs to find a solution.'”
Chandrachud dismissed the claim as “completely erroneous and incorrect,” asserting that it was a misrepresentation circulated on social media. “That’s what has been said on a part of social media, and let me clarify this again, as before, that this is completely incorrect,” he stated.
To this, Sackur shot back asking, “So you didn’t pray? Because you are Hindu, this seems to be an exclusionary act and you were saying in essence that you sought religious guidance as a Hindu to decide what to do in a court of law.”
However, Chandrachud maintained that his faith does not compromise his judicial impartiality. He said, “If you look at social media and you try and derive what was said by a judge from social media, you’ll get the wrong answers. What I said was this, I was asked specifically. I make no bones of the fact that I am a man of faith. Our Constitution does not require you to be an atheist to be an independent judge, and I value my faith. But what my faith teaches me is the universality of religion. And irrespective of who comes to my court, and I dare say that applies to other judges in the Supreme Court as well, irrespective of who comes to you as a litigant, you dispense equal and even-handed justice.”
Chandrachud continued, “Judicial creativity is not just about intellectual ability and skill. It’s also about perception. And we work in areas of conflict. We work in areas of intense conflict. Now, within that area of conflict, how do you find a sense of calm, of equanimity? Different judges have different ways to approach that need for calm and equanimity. For me, my time in meditation and prayer is very important. But my time in meditation and prayer teaches me to be even-handed to every religious group and community in the country.”
"Our constitution does not require you to be an Atheist to be an independent judge"
"I value my faith"
Tight slap to the BBC Journalist. pic.twitter.com/VHjXr5Bzif
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 13, 2025
The Supreme Court’s judgment on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, delivered on 9 November 2019, paved the way for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The five-judge bench, which included Chandrachud, settled a case that had been in litigation for ages.
It is also noteworthy that the BBC received funding from USAID and also has indulged in smear campaigns against Hinduism, our national leaders such as PM Modi, Yogi Adityanath, etc. They even called the Mahakumbh aa “bathing spectacle” that would be led by “naked ash smeared ascetics”. After public backlash, they changed the title to read “Ash-smeared holy men lead India bathing spectacle”.
🚨India bathing spectacle, Naga Sadhus referred to as ‘Naked ash-smeared ascetics’
▪️BBC News’ Hindu hatred !😡
☝️Can the BBC ever dare to make objectionable statements on religious pilgrimages of other religions ?
It is only because it is tolerant of Hindus that it dares to… pic.twitter.com/pS0Py4gxDB— विश्वजित (@Vish_kc) January 26, 2025
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