Fearless judiciary is a must for progress, says outgoing CJI
NEW DELHI: Exchange of Urdu couplets and light-hearted humour marked the farewell function for outgoing Chief Justice TS Thakur on Tuesday.
In his inimitable style Justice Thakur won the hearts of advocates with his “shero-shayri” on his last day in office. One could hardly imagine that the same judge had a day earlier ousted BCCI’s brass for obstructing courtordered administrative reforms.
“On seeing the crowd here I told Justice JS Khehar that he was lucky to have an audience eagerly waiting for the first Sikh Chief Justice to take over. But, he replied that they were waiting for the exit of a terrible CJI,” Justice Thakur said when he was asked to give his last speech. Calling for a strong and fearless judiciary for peaceful progress of India, he said development cannot be achieved fully unless judiciary got ready to handle the challenges in future.
“The country is in the cusp of great resurgence, country is growing and India is developing very fast. We will have issues like cyber laws, challenges of medico legal cases and issues of genetics and privacy to deal with in future,” Justice Thakur said, asking young members of the legal fraternity to rise to the occasion.
“Your role is so critical that you must make sure all these progress is not possible, unless, there is peace in the society and that peace is possible only when the administration of justice and judiciary plays its role to the fullest,” he said addressing the packed audience comprising his colleagues, former judges and senior advocates. However, Justice J Chelameswar who ran into a confrontation with the SC Collegium didn’t attend the function.
On his turn Justice Khehar recalled his days in Chandigarh where Justice Thakur served as the Chief Justice. “When I first saw him in Chandigarh I found him so handsome. I wondered if he was so handsome to a man and then what would he be to a woman,” he said, leaving the gathering in splits.
Justice Khehar wished his predecessor good luck in whatever he chose to do. “Once he was told to direct a film in judiciary, but he refused and said he would only act. So if he wishes to do so, we wish him all the best,” he said.