CJI Chandrachud advocates green courts, recalls Stephen Hawking’s Qutub Minar wish

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed his happiness that new court buildings will focus on heat island mitigation and reducing environmental footprints. He emphasized that our infrastructure must reflect the reality we live in, and the issue of climate change can no longer be ignored, citing that Delhi experienced its hottest recorded weather and record-breaking rain in a single day in 2024.

“This year, Delhi experienced the hottest recorded weather. We have experienced two heatwaves followed by record-breaking rain in a single day,” CJI Chandrachud said while addressing a gathering at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony for the construction of court buildings in Karkardooma, Shastri Park, and Rohini Sector-26.

He further pointed out that “our infrastructure must reflect the reality we live in—climate change can no longer be ignored.”

“One crucial step is to incorporate a green lifestyle into our daily lives, which includes reducing carbon emissions. I was delighted to know that the new buildings will focus on heat island mitigation and reducing environmental footprints,” CJI Chandrachud said.

CJI Chandrachud further added that these GRIHA-rated buildings would be lush with greenery and have shaded facades, diffusion of natural sunlight inside the buildings, and rainwater harvesting, among other environmental measures.

“They would be universally accessible to allow comfortable navigation of the premises and would have structural safety features,” CJI Chandrachud said.

“These foundational considerations are vital if we are to create an inclusive judiciary. Accessibility measures are not annexes or afterthoughts to a building but an inherent structural consideration. I am reminded of a story where disability rights groups have been requesting accessibility measures at India’s historical monuments.”

“When Stephen Hawking, the great physicist and cosmologist, came to India, he wished to see Indian monuments. To enable his movement, temporary wooden ramps were installed at four historical monuments. It is believed that if you touch the Qutub Minar and make a wish, it will come true. When Stephen Hawking was asked what he wished for at Qutub Minar, he said, ‘I wish that when I leave, these ramps remain.”