I am servant of law and Constitution: CJI D Y Chandrachud

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said that as a judge, he is a "servant" of the law and the Constitution and has to follow the position that has been laid down.

As soon as a bench headed by the CJI assembled for the day's proceedings, advocate Mathews J Nedumpara mentioned a matter before the court.

The lawyer then told the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, about the need for reforms in the collegium system as well as abolition of the senior advocate designation.

"You have the freedom to pursue your heart's desire. As the Chief Justice of India, but more importantly, as a judge first, I am a servant of the law and the Constitution," Justice Chandrachud said.

"I have to follow a position which has been laid down," he said, adding, "I cannot say this is what I like and I will do it." In October this year, the apex court had dismissed a plea challenging the designation of lawyers as senior advocates, saying the petition was a "misadventure" largely of one of the petitioners as he sought to carry on a "vilification campaign" against all and sundry.

In its verdict on a plea filed by Nedumpara and seven others, a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had said the designation as a senior advocate was a "recognition of merit" by the court.