Supreme Whispers: Conversations with Judges of the Supreme Court of India 1980-89

by Abhinav Chandrachud

Based on 114 intriguing interviews with nineteen former chief justices of India and more than sixty-six former judges of the Supreme Court of India, Abhinav Chandrachud opens a window to the life and times of the former judges of India's highest court of law and in the process offers a history that largely remained in oblivion for a long time.

Genres: Law, India, Nonfiction, History, Legal, Politics

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 29, 2018

Reviews

[Karthik Ram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promising, in theory. Distinguished reaearcher spends years speaking with supreme court judges, a group somewhat elusive beyond their judgements. The research is then passed on to a well-known lawyer (with a famous surname no less), who compiles this book.

The content and presentation disappoint, unfortunately. Unsurprisingly, the conversations suggest that the views of the custodians of India's constitution on caste, religion and gender haven't evolved beyond the dark ages. The book has too much detail and very little insight. Certainly not outsider-friendly.

[Saurabh Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book which I was reading of the author and the information which has been given in this book is one such which are not privy to the public and each one of us who is related to the legal field should read this book to get the better understanding of the Supreme Court. This is one such book which will open up a pandora box of facts related to the highest court of this country.
This is a must-read for anyone who is from the law field or wants to enter it.

[Radhika Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supreme Whispers is the product of American scholar, George H. Gadbois' painstaking research on the Indian judiciary. It relies on Gadbois' interviews with various Judges of the Supreme Court, including the author's grandfather, former Chief Justice of India, Y.V. Chandrachud. In this book, the author relies on Gadbois' research and his own familial proximity to the Supreme Court to bring to his readers an elaborate explanation of how the Supreme Court functions - from the elevations to the petty rivalries.

For a profession that thrives on gossip, this book is a goldmine. It washes the dirty laundry of the judiciary, an establishment that is meant to be above such infallibility, in public, and shows us how our rights are interpreted by a cohort of people who sometimes fall prey to the seven sins. Chandrachud shows us how some judges (in fact most) are appointed because of external considerations that have nothing to do with merit (which in itself is a contentious parameter). Your closeness with the Chief Justice of India, your political ideology, your family background; these are more important than your capability to adjudicate well.

Apart from the gossip, Chandrachud also gives you an insight into how the Indian judiciary functioned right from its inception as the Federal Court of India. It's fascinating to read how many of the Judges conducted themselves back then, what judicial propriety demanded of them, and how was the government involved. Compared to how things work now, one can notice a stark difference - almost all appointments are political, the collegium system (which only began in the 90s) is criticized heavily, and the intermingling of politicians and judges and lawyers is the norm.

To this extent, the book is an incredibly interesting and easy read. However, there were times when I got bored, and I did not really enjoy the writing style as such. A good read for anyone in the legal profession, would not really recommend it to those who are not well-versed with the functioning of the Indian legal system (solely for the reason that you may not find it interesting).

[Priyank Chauhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is is the kind of book that is really hard to review. This is because the book is a result of efforts of two different people at two different points in time. George H. Gadbois Jr., a scholar of Indian law and judicial behaviour, conducted over 116 interviews with more than sixty-six judges of the Supreme Court of India, and others like senior lawyers, politicians, relatives of deceased judges and court staff. Gadbois made meticulous records of these interviews in his handwritten notes which he later typed out on a typewriter. Before passing away, he sent these notes to Abhinav Chandrachud, his student and the book’s author, after he had himself extracted a book out of them. The present book is justified by the author citing the fact that he had been granted full freedom towards the use of Gadbois’ notes by the man himself, and that Gadbois’ book barely scratched the surface on a few important details, perhaps due to the time period that it had been written in. It is with these things in mind that Abhinav Chandrachud fashions a rather interesting book out of Gadbois’ notes but since we are not exposed to the full catalogue of the original content we have to depend on the author’s discretion and direction in choosing and arranging the material.


Full review here:

http://www.indictoday.com/reviews/boo...

[Pratyush Rathore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is difficult to review.

I really loved the read, simply because my knowledge of judiciary was negligible - the novelty factor for the book was 100% and I really felt my lack of knowledge about the judicial workings of the country while reading the book.

However, this could have been far far better, both in terms of writing and structure. The lack of work from the writer in that regard was obviously apparent and irritating. It may be because I was not the target audience and it was written for somebody with some knowledge of judiciary.

All in all, I am glad I have read it.

[Ujjwal karn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is based on multiple interviews of the judges of supreme court of India. The author has compiled his summary from the interviews. The topic is quite interesting as it gives an internal account of things which are normally out of public concern. I felt there were too many stories popping up for each context and the string seemed to be pretty loose. Overall presentation seemed too pacy and I felt out of context following stories inside stories. It's understandable since it's not first hand account of the author himself but based on interviews taken by someone else.

[Mihir Rajamane · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it promises, it’s mostly a book of gossip- little can be taken for certain from this book, most of it being reproduced from notes of interviews in private settings, between familiar people. However, there are many things that can never be said except in such settings, about how the apex of constitutional ‘justice’ in this country is peopled. And for that this book is indeed invaluable, when read along with the other more serious works by Gadbois (Judges of the Supreme Court) and Chandrachud (Informal Constitution)

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book about an otherwise less covered Supreme court. As a British law student, it was interesting to see how Indian legal philosophies developed post-independence and how the Indian Supreme court forged their own identity, separate from the US or UK Common Law traditions. It was lacking on substantive law however, many important cases are quickly summed up, in favour of political and historical analysis. Overall, a strong book and an important read for many law students

[Aman Garg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very few people have had the privilege of looking into the Inside world of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. The Indian Supreme Court is a mysterious edifice with a profusion of secrets and this book endeavors to explore the same. It attempts to reveal the events of what happens behind the walls of this court and provides the readers with a new perception of the Indian judges. Some good, some better and some worse. An amazing read.

[Sejal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes for a very easy and extremely interesting read on the judges of the Supreme Court of India.
Mostly we consider them as the institution that they represent rather than themselves. The book provides insight into the humane perspective of the court.

[Aditya Bharadwaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way the book has used Prof. Gadbois notes to explain the inner politics of the Supreme court from independence till the 80's is amazing. The arrangement of the sections along with scrutiny of different topics was really good. A must read for anyone interested in Indian legal history.

[Sambasivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read. Collection of themes from various interviews. It appears to me that the government has always been interfering with the judiciary.

[Sunjoy Shekhar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fails to deliver on its promise. A mere catalogue of “he said, she said” woven in an uninspiring narrative and an insipid prose. The best part of the book is the first two pages of the introduction.

[Adithya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intresting book, this book drastically changed my perspective towards Indian judiciary especially the apex court, there are too many flaws in the appointment of judges and in the elevation of judges to the apex court from the bar and high courts. One really wonders if the judiciary can function independently while reading this book.

[Varnika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t find this book very interesting but someone from law background would

[Sanket Solanki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book which gives the idea of how judges of the Supreme Court of India are performing their constitutional duty.

[Ekta Pradhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written and well researched book. A first insight of the Author makes it even more interesting.

[Srikkanth Dhasarathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sleeping pill for the last two weeks. One extra star for the effort to put pen on paper. Insipid writing

[Debs · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting and informative read, India hardly pays time and attention towards the background and upbringing of judges which inevitably seeps into their decisions.

[akhilesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book and shows you the evolution of the Supreme Court from the colonial era to the 21st century. I would honestly rate this book 4/5, but given that this is the only existing work in this domain, I have chosen to give it a 5/5.

[Sudharsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet an insightful read. More specifically got a thorough process of lobbying that takes place and what it actually takes to be a judge