Cong attacks ex-CJI Chandrachud over bail remark; BJP slams Cong for targeting judiciary

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Monday attacked former chief justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud over his remarks that "bail should be the rule and not the exception" when expeditious trial is not possible, and asked what stopped him from doing the "right thing" when he was the Chief Justice of India.

Congress spokesperson and head of the party's social media department Supriya Shrinate said the bail application of Umar Khalid was filed in 2023 but was adjourned over 10 times when Chandrachud was the CJI.

"'If an expeditious trial is not possible then bail should be the rule and not the exception'. Fancy words at a literature festival! But what stopped him to do the right thing?" she asked in a post on X.

“If an expeditious trial is not possible then bail should be the rule and not the exception.”

Fancy words at a literature festival!

But what stopped him to do the right thing?

During his own tenure as CJI, the bail plea was filed in SC in 2023, adjourned over 10 times

As… https://t.co/jd1bpYdP2V

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) January 19, 2026

"During his own tenure as CJI, the bail plea was filed in SC in 2023, adjourned over 10 times. As master of rosters he sent this bail plea to Bela Trivedi's bench -- knowing what fate it would meet!" Shrinate said in her post.

Slamming the Congress, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the opposition party of attacking the judiciary and other constitutional bodies.

"Votebank ke Naam Par Sharjeel-Umar Bachao Gang kaam par. Congress now questions wisdom of SC. Attacks Ex CJI Chandrachud. Attacks Justice Bela Trivedi. Questions their integrity," he said in a post on X.

Votebank ke Naam Par
Sharjeel - Umar Bachao Gang kaam par

Congress now questions wisdom of SC
Attacks Ex CJI Chandrachud
Attacks Justice Bela Trivedi
Questions their integrity

Congress always attacks Judiciary and other constitutional bodies

Congress hates Ambedkar ji… pic.twitter.com/w9tFReC0v7

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) January 19, 2026

Poonawalla further alleged that the Congress always attacks the judiciary and other constitutional bodies.

"Congress hates Ambedkar ji Sanvidhan. They love terrorists. They cry for Batla. They cry for Naxals. They cry for Afzal Yakub," he also said in his post.

Former chief justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Sunday had said that bail before conviction should be a matter of right, but asserted that it is a court's duty to examine a case in depth where national security is involved before granting such a relief.

He made the remarks at the Jaipur Literature Festival, which ended on Monday, in response to a question from senior journalist Vir Sanghvi, who raised the issue of the Supreme Court recently denying the bail plea of activist Umar Khalid in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.

Khalid and fellow activist Sharjeel Imam have been incarcerated since 2020. Denying bail to both, the top court on January 5 observed that they were involved in the "planning, mobilisation and strategic direction" of the northeast Delhi riots.

Faced with the question from Sanghvi during a session titled 'Ideas of Justice', CJI Chandrachud (retired) said, "Bail before conviction should be a matter of right. Our law is based on a presumption, and that presumption is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty."

"Because, if someone remains an undertrial prisoner for five or seven years and is finally proven innocent, how will you compensate for the time lost?" Giving examples from various cases, the former CJI said that bail can be denied if there is a possibility of the accused returning to society and committing the crime again, tampering with evidence or using the benefit of bail to escape the clutches of the law.

"If these three grounds are not present, then bail must be granted. I think that where national security is involved, it is the court's duty to examine the case in depth. Otherwise, what is happening is that people remain imprisoned for years," he said.

Justice Chandrachud (retd) termed the denial of bail by the sessions and district courts a matter of concern and said judges fear that their integrity might be questioned. "This is the reason why bail cases reach the Supreme Court," he said.