CJI thanks outgoing SC judges Justices Maheshwari, Mithal for dedicated service

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday paid a glowing tribute to outgoing Supreme Court judges Justices J K Maheshwari and Pankaj Mithal, and thanked them for their years of dedicated service.

Both Justice Maheshwari and Justice Mithal will retire during the partial court working days (June 1 to July 12) in the apex court.

While Justice Maheshwari is set to retire on June 28, Justice Mithal will demit office on June 16.

The CJI was speaking at a function organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) to bid farewell to Justices Maheshwari and Mithal. “They (Justices Maheshwari and Mithal) showed us that authority need not create distance and that high offices need not separate a person from the places and values that shaped him,” the CJI said.

“On behalf of my colleagues on the bench, on behalf of the institution, on behalf of everyone who is present here and those who are joining us online, I thank brother Maheshwari, I thank brother Mithal for their years of dedicated service given with dignity, integrity, restraint and conviction,” he said.

Speaking at the function, Justice Maheshwari said any judicial office is temporary and eventually ends, but a judge’s professional credibility, the memory of how they treat the lawyer who stood before them, survives. 

“In our culture, we often speak of ‘dharma’, but the judicial ‘dharma’ is not about religion. It is about constitutional morality. It is the unwavering commitment to the public trust. But it can only be possible with the assistance of the members of the bar...,” he said.

Justice Maheshwari said he owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the bar who have educated him, challenged him, and kept him sharp during his time here sitting on various benches.

He said though judges are granted the constitutional authority to deliver judgments, the members of the bar silently evaluate the judges every single day.

“Respect of the bar is not something that comes neatly packaged with the warrant of appointment. It must be earned, hearing by hearing, every day,” Justice Maheshwari said.

Justice Mithal also addressed the gathering.

Attorney General R Venkataramani, SCAORA president Devvrat and others also spoke during the function.

Born on June 29, 1961, in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, Justice Maheshwari was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on November 25, 2005. He was appointed as a permanent judge there on November 25, 2008.

Justice Maheshwari was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and assumed office on October 7, 2019.

Later, he was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court on January 6, 2021.

He took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.

Born on June 17, 1961, at Meerut, Justice Mithal was elevated as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on July 7, 2006.

Justice Mithal was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on January 4, 2021.

He was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on October 14, 2022.

Justice Mithal was elevated to the Supreme Court on February 6, 2023.