Registry, Court Staff And Law Researchers Deserve Credit : Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw In Farewell Speech

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, who served the Delhi High Court since April, 2008, retired today.

The e-farewell commenced with an address  from Chief Justice D.N. Patel.

Later, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and other lawyers from across the bar spoke about Justice Endlaw with utmost reverence and respect.

"Justice Endlaw was almost like a LiveLaw reporter as they say, so a sneeze or a cough or a lack of concentration or ineptitude of the lawyer would invariably find a place in the order itself. His order was a transcript of all that had happened in Court", said ASG Sharma

Justice Endlaw, while addressing a full-court reference took it upon himself to shed light on the tireless efforts of the registry, staff members and legal researchers.

When I had joined the bench, some of the senior judges mentioned to me that you speak only through the judgements. But now that I am judge for a few hours only, I would like to share with you a fact which till now I have ignored.

While performing the role of the judge, authoring judgments and orders resolving the dispute, he said, one feels like an actor of a film who thinks that the success or failure of the film is squarely on their shoulder.

He added that during the pandemic, despite the availability of the virtual platform, it felt as if the backbone of the Court was missing- the registry of the Court and the personal staff, he added.

He went on to say that in the absence of the registry, we, as actors or authors of the judgment, did not mean anything.

"Not all of us were very deft to the virtual hearing. So I rang up the computer bench staff at all times of the day, mostly at night when I started working. They were always helpful by guiding us to navigate."

Without the support staff, the praise showered upon him is meaningless, the judge said. 

"All of us are given big houses and home offices. But the stenographers used to ask their family members to keep quiet, asking children not to listen to music, not pass behind while he took dictation."

On the role of the law researchers, he remarked that coming from an era of referring to books; he was not very deft with digital legal research. However, with the system of engaging law-researchers, they have undertaken the tedious proofreading task, often passed on to them. He also mentioned that the contribution of law researchers, often freshers, in developing the proposition and building the basis of the judgment.

Expressing his discontent with the absence of  a system to honor the two facets of the court system without which they would have failed during the pandemic he remarked,

"Without them, the Delhi High Court would not have done the work the entire country is talking about; even the Supreme Court has mentioned it."

Humbly accepting all the praises showered upon him, he received them on behalf of the law-researchers who have worked with him and the personal staff attached to him. He took the platform to convey his thankfulness to each one of them for contributing to the work he has achieved.