The Supreme Court has taken the unusual step of asking the Union government to urgently vacate the official Chief Justice’s residence, which is still occupied by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, reported the Hindustan Times.
In a letter dated July 1, the Supreme Court wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), requesting that Bungalow No. 5 on Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyens’ Delhi — the designated house for India’s sitting CJI — be handed back immediately.
“I am to request you to take possession of Bungalow No. 5, Krishna Menon Marg, from Hon’ble Dr. Justice DY Chandrachud without any further delay as not only the permission that was granted for retention… has expired on 31st May, 2025, but also the period of six months provided in Rule 3B of the 2022 Rules has expired on 10th May, 2025,” the letter from a Supreme Court official to the MoHUA secretary stated.
Justice Chandrachud, who served as the 50th CJI from November 2022 to November 2024, continues to live in the Type VIII bungalow nearly eight months after retiring. His two successors — Justices Sanjiv Khanna and the current CJI Bhushan R Gavai — have chosen not to move into the Krishna Menon Marg house and have stayed in their previous official residences instead.
According to the letter, Justice Chandrachud had written on December 18, 2024, to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, seeking permission to stay at 5 Krishna Menon Marg until April 30, 2025. He explained that although he had been allotted Bungalow No. 14 on Tughlak Road under Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, renovations at the new house were delayed because of pollution-related construction bans under GRAP-IV.