THE JUSTICES ARE SERVED
In a charming tradition, Supreme Court judges meet for lunch every week, with each of them taking turns to bring ghar ka khana from his or her home state
In a charming tradition, SC judges meet for lunch every week, with each taking turns to bring ‘ghar ka khana’ from their home state
Wednesdays are special for Supreme Court (SC) judges. They wait for the hour-long lunch break that day with keen anticipation. All 28 of them rise ten minutes before the clock strikes 1pm, go to their chambers for a quick change and then proceed towards the common dining hall where a delectable three-course meal awaits the “lordships.”
The lip-smacking cuisine from a particular part of the country is not sourced from a restaurant or hotel, but is homecooked. A sitting SC judge hosts the weekly common lunch. The dishes are part of the host judge’s home state, prepared at his residence under the supervision of women family members.
A minimum of five food items have to be served in the main course and paan – as per each judge’s choice – is a must to end the lunch. Sources said judges sometimes call cooks from their native place to prepare dishes with the right local flavour.
On other working days, judges eat lunch in their own chambers.
This Wednesday the judges tucked into home-made traditional food from Madhya Pradesh that was cooked at Justice Arun Misra’s residence. Last week Justice RK Agrawal from Uttar Pradesh was the host.
An unwritten rule is strictly followed at these lunches – only vegetarian cuisine is served to respect the sentiments of those who do not eat non-vegetarian food. The host is selected according to the judge’s seniority.
The Wednesday lunch not only gives judges an opportunity to taste a variety of Indian cuisines, but also shows their bonhomie. Work is never discussed and judges leave their differences at the door. Food is the only topic of discussion with some of the judges boasting about their local cuisines.
A senior judge is appointed as the marshall and he penalises any judge who breaks the rules. At present Justice SA Bobde is the marshall. An argument with the marshall can aggravate the penalty.
Retired judge Justice Kuldeep Singh, who suggested the idea of the weekly lunch in the early Nineties, gets nostalgic while talking about it. It was an opportunity to unwind and relax over food, he says. “Therefore, the rule that work should never be discussed. When we left our gowns in the chambers, we also left our work behind. I always looked forward to meals from south,” he recalls.
Former SC judge, Justice GS Singvhi who retired three years ago, also can’t forget the south Indian dishes he had at these lunches. “Home-made paisam (dessert), rasam and the brown rice of Kerala were my favourites. I never eat sweets because of my sugar problem, but I could not resist the home-made paisam served by a brother judge from the south,” he says.
Former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha served dal-bati when it was his turn to host the lunch. “It was soaked in ghee and I remember that after the lunch session all the judges felt so sleepy!” Justice Singhvi, who also got dal-bati, says his family’s preparation was different from Justice Lodha’s family recipe.
The lunch is laid out on a large rectangular table presided by the Chief Justice of INdia (CJI). The host sits on his right and gives a brief introduction to the dishes. However, the seating arrangement keeps changing. During former CJI HL Dattu’s tenure, judges used to sit around circular tables and places were decided according to a lucky draw. A judge recollects how the present CJI JS Khehar ended up sitting next to Justice Dattu thrice. And when the former CJI asked him what conspiracy he was up to, CJI Khehar said it was the lucky draw’s
fault!
The Supreme Court is a mini India. Here you have judges from all over the country. The lunch used to be a gastronomical delight of regional cuisines brought by different judges JUSTICE RM LODHA, Former CJI Those were the only moments when we never discussed work. The lunch ensured that we brushed up our knowledge related to food cooked in our houses. JUSTICE GS SINGHVI, Former SC judge › Justice Ranganath Misra was the Chief Justice then and he agreed for the weekly lunch so that we could all get together. It became an event everyone looked forward to. JUSTICE KULDEEP SINGH, Former SC judge Chief Justice Altamas Kabir did not want the lunch to become a competition between judges. He introduced a penalty for those who exceeded the number of dishes fixed by him. JUSTICE AK PATNAIK, Former SC judge