"Unless We Get Lawyers Of Integrity, Can't Expect Judges Of Integrity": CJ Muralidhar Bestows 'Promising Lawyer Of The Year' Award On 22 Advocates

The Orissa High Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar has bestowed 'The Promising Lawyer of the Year Award' upon 22 young District Court lawyers on the occasion of the 75th Foundation Day of the Orissa High Court. The event was attended by several dignitaries including all the Judges of the High Court and the Advocate General for the State of Odisha Mr. Ashok Parija. Former Solicitor General of India and eminent Senior Lawyer Mr. Gopal Subramanium also spoke on the occasion. While delivering his address, Chief Justice Muralidhar gave a detailed account of the scheme for honouring young district lawyers and hoped that the scheme will encourage more young lawyers to adopt the best legal and ethical practices. He thanked Mr. Subramanium for attending the event and addressing the young legal professionals of Odisha.During the event, the CJ stressed on the importance of having lawyers with integrity and high ethical values to ensure access to justice for all. He remarked that everyone wants 'closure' for their case and therefore, the aim is not to look for the best 'bail lawyer' or 'adjournment lawyer'. Rather, the hunt is for 'full-fledged lawyers', who believe that taking the clients to the destination is what they are in this profession for. The CJ went on to remark that a very important element of the scheme is to find lawyers of integrity. "Because unless we get lawyers of integrity, we cannot expect judges of integrity. Because these are lawyers, some of whom will hopefully become judges, judges in District Courts and later may be judges in the High Court," he said. Full Text of the Speech: Words of Praise for Mr. Gopal Subramanium: "I am so happy that you got to listen such an erudite speech of a person who stood by the highest values of not only life but the highest legal ethical principles that a lawyer should practice. Gopal has been a role-model for many lawyers of my generation and the generations that followed. At a very young age, he made a very big mark in the legal field and was one among the most sought-after lawyers. When he was as young as just 35 years old, he got designated (as a Senior Counsel) by the Supreme Court of India. I have the fortune of being guided and mentored by him for many many years. Although I did not work in his chambers as such, I learnt so much just watching him perform in Court and the principles which he espoused. I, of course, have the fortune of assisting him in a large number of cases. I am saying all these because the young lawyers should know that you are very fortunate to hear a person who believes in ethics in the legal profession and he meant every word of what he said today to each of you. 75th Year of Orissa High Court: This is a very good beginning for the 75th year of the Orissa High Court. This is a very great institution. It has grown by leaps and bounds. It has produced some of the finest in the legal profession, some of the finest among judges, judges who have gone to adorn the Supreme Court Bench, judges who went on to become the Chief Justices of India. This is indeed truly a great institution. It is being nurtured by several noble souls, several brilliant legal minds and today, we have reaffirmed that this institution will continue to grow and that it will be guided by many eminent legal minds, many of whom are present in the audience. But most of all and that is what give us the greatest joy, it will be guided by definitely by the 22 young brilliant legal minds, whom we honoured today. As Mr. Subramanium rightly said, in honouring them we are actually honouring ourselves. We are honouring the best among ourselves. We are reaffirming the faith in rule of law, in judicial process, in the legal process and most importantly, faith of the common man in the legal system. There is always a challenge as whether we are doing the right thing for the common man, whether we are able to deliver the constitutional promise of equal and fair justice. Are we able to provide access to justice and as Mr. Subramanium said, 'quality justice'? When we talk of equality of ours, it is not really providing a lawyer to an indigent litigant but providing a lawyer who can match the skills of the opponent. That is the kind of lawyer we are looking for and that is the kind of lawyer we have found in everyone of 22 districts which have got represented here by very able young lawyers, who exemplified the best in their districts. I was particularly delighted to note that among the busiest of the districts, i.e. Khordha or Ganjam or Mayurbhanj or Sundargarh, we have women lawyers beating out everyone else in the competition and come forth emerging as the winners. So, this is another occasion for us to give an extra big hand to each of those women lawyers, who emerged as the best among their peers. When we thought of this whole award, there were of course many...

"Unless We Get Lawyers Of Integrity, Can't Expect Judges Of Integrity": CJ Muralidhar Bestows 'Promising Lawyer Of The Year' Award On 22 Advocates

Jyoti Prakash Dutta

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