A day before demitting office, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Hl Dattu on Tuesday reminisced how the last case he argued as a lawyer was before the judge who will take oath as the next Chief Justice of India on Thursday.
“He was a puisne judge in the Karnataka High Court and I was arguing before him till the notification came at about 11.45 am,” the CJI recalled. “That was the last case I argued and in my nine years of experience with Justice TS Thakur as his junior in Karnataka High Court, I can say he will be a wonderful CJI who will do what is best for the institution. Whatever foundation I have laid, he will do much better to take it forward,” added Justice Dattu, in an interaction with mediapersons on his retirement eve.
About his own career, Justice Dattu spared very little words expressing no regrets on being deprived of appointing judges due to the NJAC imbroglio. Asked as to whether he considered himself unfortunate to have not been able to appoint judges despite being CJI, he said, “It was a judicial process (proceedings on NJAC law) and it took some time. I have no regrets about it.” During his tenure, he managed to bring down the pendency of cases from the existing 64,000 (when he took over on September 28, 2014) to the current figure of 58,000.
Due to lack of judges, the corresponding pendency of cases in High Courts definitely bothered the CJI but he rests content as he believes in answering his conscience, his god and his guru, rather than answer what people have to say of him. He avoided questions on NJAC verdict, reforms in collegium, and the debate on intolerance. However, on PIl being turned into political litigation, similar to the one on Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship, Justice Dattu said, “PIls should be for a social cause or else it will create nuisance.”
Judgeship is an art just like advocacy, believes CJI Dattu who is likely to become NHRC Chairperson, a post left vacant by Justice KG Balakrishnan.