Justice Jaishree Thakur: A judge for all seasons
She will retire from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 23 after nearly a decade as a judge,
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Justice Jaishree Thakur. Justice Jaishree Thakur, who will retire from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 23 after nearly a decade as a judge, leaves behind a rich legacy. True to her oath, she delivered justice fearlessly and impartially, evident in her authoritative pronouncements.
Hailing from an intellectually gifted family — her father was a professor of English Literature and Persian — she started her academic journey from Sacred Heart School in Chandigarh before graduating from GCG and pursuing law at Panjab University. She enrolled as an advocate in 1986. Over the years, she occupied various eminent offices and positions, contributing as a part-time teacher in the law faculty for six years while pursuing her passion for theatre and enjoying golf on the side.
My interactions with her began at the Department of Laws in 1982 and continued in the High Court corridors until her elevation in 2014. I often saw her walking her dogs in Sector 16, and our warm exchanges were intellectually stimulating and engaging.
As a judge, she delivered thoughtful rulings, never letting her personal perceptions interfere with the process of justice. She held that live-in relationships may not be acceptable to all, but adults living together without marrying does not constitute an offence. She opined that it would be a travesty of justice, in case protection is denied to persons who have opted to reside together without marriage and have to face dire consequences from whom protection is sought.
In the same breadth, she also held that women in live-in relationships are entitled to maintenance akin to legally wedded wives. Balancing child custody orders, she instantaneously gave much succour to warring parents and hapless children.
Over time, Justice Thakur came to be known for her explicit judgments, holding that some spouses misused criminal law to target their in-laws rather than seeking protection. However, she also displayed compassion, as seen in her ruling against the Haryana government, restraining them from recovering stamp duty from farmers whose land was acquired. In another case, she granted Rs 95 lakh compensation to a minor girl who lost both arms in an electrocution accident. Her firmness was evident in imposing costs on errant officials. In our case, she cut through bureaucratic red tape and directed the Chandigarh administration to register our white Ambassador painted by Mexican artist Senkoe within two weeks.
US Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
A true advocate for reform and a humanitarian approach, Justice Thakur’s career graph and well-authored judgments exemplify the importance of women in decision-making positions. Her dedication to dispensing justice promptly and clearly was admirable. Her transition to her personal home in Sector 8 from her Sector 4 official residence even before she demitted office reflects her humility and grounded nature.
Thakur will be remembered fondly in the High Court, for she embodied the qualities of an ideal judge – open to persuasion, patient, and unbiased.
(The author is an advocate who can be reached at http://www.anilmalhotra.co.in and http://www.anilmalhotra.co.in/blog)
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