'Once A Judge Always A Judge': CJI Surya Kant Calls For National Registry Of Ex-Judges Willing To Serve In ADR & Legal Awareness

Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday called for the creation of a structured national framework to harness the experience of retired judges in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and legal awareness initiatives, emphasising that their continued engagement should be treated as institutional service with dignity, support and accountability rather than informal volunteerism.

Delivering the keynote address at a conference of the Association of Retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts held in Jaipur, the Chief Justice underscored that the retirement of a judge should not mark the end of public service, observing that the judicial office may cease but the judicial role endures.

The CJI delivered a lecture on the topic "The Bench Beyond Retirement: The Role of Retired Judges in Advancement of ADR and Awareness of Laws for Common Masses”

The Chief Justice stated that ad hoc engagement of retired judges was insufficient and that a formal institutional mechanism was necessary to channel their expertise effectively. He specifically proposed the establishment of a National Registry of Former Judges willing to serve in ADR and legal awareness capacities, along with formal Memoranda of Understanding between the Association of Retired Judges, State Legal Services Authorities and High Courts.

He stressed that such engagement must be recognised as service in the fullest sense of the term. It should not be treated as voluntary participation without obligations, but as institutionalised participation supported by clear structures and accountability mechanisms.

Four Key Roles For Former Judges

The Chief Justice outlined four specific roles in which retired judges could significantly strengthen the justice delivery system:

1. Mediators and arbitrators, particularly in commercial and family disputes where authority and neutrality are crucial
2. Legal educators, spreading awareness of rights in schools, colleges and local communities
3. Pre-litigation counsellors, helping resolve disputes before they escalate into prolonged litigation
4. Institution builders, mentoring young mediators, training legal aid lawyers and preserving institutional memory

Retirement Does Not End Judicial Purpose

Reflecting on the emotional transition from active judicial service to retirement, the Chief Justice observed that the sense of untethering experienced by many retiring judges stems from the sudden disappearance of a lifelong sense of duty.

"Unlike most professions, we do not enter the law for material reward. We enter it for a purpose, for a mission. And when the courtroom falls silent, when the cause list no longer arrives, when the familiar discipline of judicial life recedes, the sense of untethering can be real and profound," he said.

Reiterating the central theme of his address, the Chief Justice said that a wise Republic must preserve and draw upon the experience of its former judges, comparing them to traditional stepwells that sustain communities during difficult times.

"For the robe may be retired. The judge never is. It is a truth universally known that once a judge, is always a judge," he said.