‘Justice to litigants, a consistent goal’: Delhi HC Chief Justice after being appointed as SC judge

In his farewell event, organised at the Delhi HC, Justice Sharma, a first-generation lawyer from Bhopal, reminisced his journey from when he began his practise at the Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in 1984, his elevation as the MP HC judge in 2008 and the appointment at the top court on Thursday.

Reflecting on his 15-year journey on the bench Justice Sharma said, “Judgeship has given me a great sense of satisfaction. This ability to alleviate the sufferings of a litigant and to be able to uphold their rights is a hallmark of justice. When I joined the bench 15 years ago I was full of gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of Madhya Pradesh; today as I proceed to the apex court I am filled with the same gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of this great nation”.

Thanking his family members including his parents, wife, and children, the judge said, “I may have failed to talk about them as often, but they have never gone unnoticed in my heart”.

Bidding farewell to the HC, Justice Sharma said that this is not a “goodbye moment” but a “thank you moment” for him. Justice Sharma thanked his colleagues on the bench for “gracefully accepting” him and providing him a “cordial working environment”. Thanking the members of the bar for always assisting him, the judge said, “Bar and Bench must always share the bond of mutual respect as it is important for the ultimate goal of delivery of justice.”

Justice Sharma took oath as Delhi HC Chief Justice on June 28, 2022. A law graduate from Dr Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, he enrolled as an advocate on September 1, 1984, and was later designated as a Senior Advocate by the Madhya Pradesh HC. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the HC on January 18, 2008, and became a permanent Judge on January 15, 2010. In December 2020, Justice Sharma was transferred to the Karnataka HC where he became Acting Chief Justice on August 31, 2021. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Telangana HC on October 11, 2021.

Among the various notable judgments delivered by him Justice Sharma was part of a division bench that upheld the constitutional validity of the Agnipath scheme earlier this year. In October, Justice Sharma as part of another division bench set aside Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan’s August 2018 recruitment advertisement for Principal, Vice Principal, Post Graduate Teachers, Trained Graduate Teachers, Librarian etc holding it discriminatory and in violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. The bench directed KVS to strictly comply with the 4% reservation for Persons with Disabilities as per RPwD Act.