Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud recounted a childhood ordeal where he endured corporal punishment to conceal his injured palm from his parents out of shame. “I still remember that I requested my teacher to hit my bum and not my hand. Out of shame, I could not tell my parents, and hid my injured right palm for 10 days,” he said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has admitted that he had physical punishment in school and recalls pleading with his instructor "not to cane" his hand. The Chief Justice further stated that he did not tell his parents of the penalty because he was "too ashamed" and continued to hide the markings.
The Chief Justice made the remarks while speaking at a juvenile justice conference hosted by the Supreme Court of Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday. "How you treat children has long-term consequences for their mental health. I'll never forget that day at school. I was not a juvenile delinquent when I was caned on my hands for failing to bring the appropriate sized needles to class for craftwork', the Bar and Bench reported CJI Chandrachud as saying.
"I still remember pleading my teacher to cane me on my bum and not my hand," he added. The Chief Justice admitted that the episode "left an imprint on my heart and soul and that it still is with me when I do my work". "Such deep is the imprint of travesty on children," he said.
"The physical wound healed, but left an everlasting imprint on the mind and soul. It is still with me when I do my work. The impact of such travesty on children is so deep," said the CJI.
The Chief Justice called for a justice system that is infused with compassion, rehabilitation, and opportunities for society reintegration, echoing his late father's devotion to judicial empathy. He cited a recent legal appeal filed in India's Supreme Court about the termination of pregnancy for a juvenile rape survivor, emphasising the judiciary's critical role in protecting children's rights.