In a rare move, the Supreme Court administration has formally requested the Union government to urgently reclaim the official residence of the Chief Justice of India from former CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, who has remained in the bungalow well beyond the permitted period.
A letter dated July 1 shows the Supreme Court administration has asked the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to take possession of Bungalow No. 5 on Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyens’ Delhi without any further delay.
Justice Chandrachud, who served as India’s 50th Chief Justice between November 2022 and November 2024, continues to stay in the prestigious Type VIII bungalow nearly eight months after stepping down.
The letter notes that the special permission for retention expired on May 31, 2025, while the six-month period allowed under Rule 3B of the Supreme Court Judges (Amendment) Rules, 2022, ended on May 10, 2025.
Why the Delay?
When contacted, Justice Chandrachud attributed the extended stay to compelling personal reasons. He explained that while the government has allotted him another house on Tughlak Road, renovation work had been stalled due to construction bans linked to pollution controls under GRAP-IV.
He added that his daughters, both of whom have severe health conditions including nemaline myopathy, require special care, which made the search for a suitable house more complex.
Justice Chandrachud stressed that he has already arranged an alternative accommodation on rent and will vacate the Krishna Menon Marg residence as soon as the new house is livable after two years of disuse.
How It Unfolded
After retiring in November 2024, Justice Chandrachud wrote to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna seeking permission to stay in the CJI’s official bungalow till April 30, 2025, citing delays in the readiness of his new house. He later sought a short extension till May 31, which was granted with a clear caveat of no further extensions.
Under Rule 3B, a retired Chief Justice is entitled to retain Type VII accommodation for up to six months — a notch below the Type VIII bungalow at Krishna Menon Marg.
In its letter to the housing ministry, the Supreme Court underlined that the agreed-upon period has ended and that the official residence must be returned to the housing pool for the current or future CJI.
While informal extensions are not unusual for high-ranking officials, this is an uncommon instance of the Supreme Court formally intervening to reclaim its top official residence from a former occupant.
Justice Chandrachud, meanwhile, has assured that he remains fully mindful of his responsibilities and will vacate “in just a few days.”
