Read The Full Text Of Justice Muralidhar's Farewell Speech

The Chief Justice, my colleagues, and all present here.I had first written out a speech thanking those who made it possible for me to be where I am. That ran into six typed pages. Some of them are here, some elsewhere. They include Amma, my sister and my niece, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and numerous other relatives and friends and above all, Usha, all of whom have been incredibly close and supportive. To each of them I wish to say I am deeply grateful for the various ways they have enriched my life and helped me navigate it.Among those who are not with us and whose lasting influence in my life I gratefully acknowledge are my father Srinivasan, my uncle Viswanaathan, my mother-in-law Indira Ramanathan.In May 1987, Mr. G. Ramaswamy (GR), who was then the ASG of India in the Supreme Court of India took me on as his junior and I moved from Chennai to Delhi. The two-year stint with him was an incredible period of learning. His razor-sharp mind, ready wit and humour, remarkable advocacy skills and solid grounding in the basics of all branches of law helped me learn about the law and the Court. I am eternally grateful for that and, not a day passes without recalling him. Professor Lotika Sarkar, whom we all called Ma'am. Usha and I were fortunate that Ma'am spent the last four years of her life with us. She was the epitome of an ethical life and continues to be a huge inspiration.Shortly before the lunch recess on 17th February, 2020, the Chief Justice of India's letter dated 14th February, 2020 communicating the transfer proposal was delivered to me in my chamber. In the early hours of that day, our pet Labrador Sakhi, literally a companion to the entire family who gave unconditional warmth and joy for over 11 years, breathed her last. The reason Sakhi came into our lives was Ma'am. Sakhi remained till the last a strong sagely and pure presence. I can confidently claim to be very close to many of the judges here on the dais. There are judges in the audience and elsewhere in Delhi and India who have helped me in various ways in traversing the difficult path of judgeship. It is only paucity of time that prevents me from naming them. I am grateful to each of them. Every Judge of this Court has a mini establishment of over a dozen persons without whom no work can get done. The back up support is by over 1200 employees of this Court. If I have been able to function effectively as a Judge of this Court, it is because of these people. A big thank you to Monika Wadhwa, Dinesh Nayal, Rajesh Malhotra, Raj Dass ji, Tarun Rana, Devender Singh Mehta, Gopal Prasad, Jagdish, Sanjay Kumar, Mari Muthu, Deepchand, Ram, Tara and my 'sarathi', Inder. I also thank each and every employee of this Court at all levels. I have had numerous Law Researchers and interns over the years. I thank each one of them as much as I do my current ones Rohini, Avi and Oindrila.I have to thank the Delhi High Court Bar for accepting me, an Advocate on record in the Supreme Court, as one of their very own. I find it hard to describe the unstinting affection I have received from you, old and young, senior and non-senior, over these 14 years. You may not know it, but you have patiently hand held me, guided me across rough terrains and encouraged me to stay the course. I cannot thank you enough.What I have now to say is for the junior Bar which I find to be, by and large well-informed, articulate and unafraid. I believe in their hands the future of this Court's Bar is secure. This Court's bar is a kaleidoscope of lawyers who speak several tongues, hailing from different regions: East, North-East, South, Central, West, and North India. The Bench too reflects in some degree this diversity of cultures, languages, food habits and the bonhomie and fraternity that binds all of us. That is the true strength of this Court. By and large, the class, community and caste factors have not been allowed to alter this as, I dare to hope, it never will. That is the promise we must make to ourselves. The key word here is fraternity. As Babasaheb Ambedkar put it, without fraternity, "equal and liberty would be no deeper than coats of paint."Over the years, I have realised that it is not enough for lawyers and judges to speak about constitutional values. It is essential to imbibe them. The constitutional values of equality, non-discrimination, dignity, prohibition of untouchability, inclusivity, and plurality have to be practiced continuously at both a personal and professional level. How the Bar, and the Bench, treat both lawyers and clients, and employees not just of the Court but of the bar associations, shops and kiosks in the Court complex of different languages, castes, classes, religious identities, genders, and sexual identities will be a measure of how democratic the Court space is. Arming oneself with law and being thoroughly professional in what one does in the Court and outside earns the respect of our peers and the...

Read The Full Text Of Justice Muralidhar's Farewell Speech

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