Court rulings have real-life implications… tussle between head and heart: Delhi HC Justice Shalinder Kaur as she retires
The Supreme Collegium, headed by then CJI D Y Chandrachud, had recommended Justice Shalinder Kaur's elevation to the Delhi HC noting the ‘need to ensure greater representation for women' as well as her ‘proven track record, merit and integrity’.
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After completing her master's in law in 1988, Justice Shalinder Kaur joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992 and was promoted to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) in 2003. Ten days after her retirement from the DHJS on September 30, 2023, Justice Kaur was recommended for elevation to the Delhi High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium (Delhi High Court)Days after pronouncing and authoring the judgment denying bail to nine people awaiting trial in the “larger conspiracy” case related to the 2020 Delhi riots, Justice Shalinder Kaur said that her tenure as a judge had reminded her that court adjudications have “real-life implications”.
Justice Kaur was speaking at the farewell reference of the Delhi High Court, held ahead of her retirement on September 7.
“There would be days when there would be a tussle between the head and the heart. Each such matter taught me that adjudications travel much beyond…Throughout my tenure on the bench, I was reminded that the robe we wear bestows an authority which has real-life implications…This institution, with its legacy, majesty, and moral compass, is far greater than any one of us. If I leave behind anything, I hope it is a few words written with compassion, a few orders passed with conviction, and a career defined by hard work and integrity,” Justice Kaur said while bidding adieu to the high court.
After completing her master’s in law in 1988, Justice Kaur joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992 and was promoted to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) in 2003.
Ten days after her retirement from the DHJS on September 30, 2023, Justice Kaur was recommended for elevation to the Delhi High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium. She was thus appointed as an additional judge on October 20, 2023, and became a permanent judge of the high court on December 24, 2024.
While recommending her elevation, the Collegium, headed by then Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, recorded that there “is a need to ensure greater representation to women on the Bench to promote diversity and inclusion” and took into account her “proven track record” as well as “merit and integrity”.
Justice Kaur, earlier this week, part of a division bench headed by Justice Navin Chawla, pronounced and authored the 133-page verdict refusing to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and seven others accused of involvement in a larger conspiracy related to the Northeast Delhi riots. The accused have been in jail for over five years, even as the trial is yet to begin in the case.
In July, Justice Kaur upheld the conviction of activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed in 2000 by V K Saxena, now Delhi’s lieutenant governor. Patkar was accused of labelling Saxena a “coward” and alleging his involvement in hawala transactions.
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