“Judges don’t do charity while granting relief”; in fact, “it is the right of the litigant which the court recognises”, said Delhi High Court judge Justice Mukta Gupta, who is set to demit office on June 27, while addressing a gathering during her farewell Friday. Speaking about one of the cases, Justice Gupta thanked former HC judge Justice Usha Mehra for giving her the opportunity to do "something meaningful" involving rehabilitation of various girls from GB Road, adding that it changed the "very thought process of her life". "In a petition which was pending for 10 years for rehabilitation of women at GB Road, and nothing concrete had been done, she (Justice Usha Mehra) said she would be happy if we could effectively settle even a few of such women. And then the entire exercise of planning and execution started when we were able to rescue more than 300 minor girls from GB Road. And while they were lodged in the protective home, we gave them psychological help and meaningful rehabilitation measures including reintegration into their families when they all had some vocation or the other which they could earn around Rs 8-10,000 per month," Justice Gupta said "Even in my wildest imaginations, I could have not thought that in this process, we would be able to perform the marriages of 25 girls and happily settle them. While monitoring the rescue operations, interacting with those girls, the realisation of what those girls go through physically and mentally dawned on me. I (turned) myself into their protector, psychologist, trainer and above all a mother. I now had more than one daughter to look after," Justice Gupta added in her emotional address. The judge went on to thank various former judges that she had interacted and worked with over the years as well the current judges of the Delhi High Court and the members of the bar. "As I stand here today, I feel a sense of great pride, the pride of being a part of this institution having served this institution, the pride of working with my brother and sister judges who are like a family to me," Justice Gupta said, adding that she also feels proud of "having heard and engaged in legal discussion with all the lawyers who have appeared" before her. In her message to the younger members of the bar Justice Gupta said that “you cannot grow unless you believe in yourself". The judge said that if one has faith in themselves, it is that faith which gives the strength to cross every hurdle. While parting, Justice Gupta thanked her father who was also a lawyer and her mother and other family members. "He (her father) always used to say, if you cannot speak what is right, then don't be a lawyer; There are many other professions you can pursue. Our mother taught us compassion in helping others in need. There's a blend of these attributes which have shaped me what I am today," the judge said. Born on June 28, 1961, Justice Gupta completed her schooling from Montfort School. After completing graduation (B.Sc. Zoology Hons.) from Hindu College, Delhi University, in 1980, she completed her LL.B from Campus Law Centre in 1983. She enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council as an advocate in 1984. She was appointed as the Additional Public Prosecutor in Delhi High Court in January 1993 and thereafter the Standing Counsel (Criminal) for the Govt. of NCT of Delhi in the High Court in August 2001. She was elevated as an additional judge of the HC in October 2009 and as a permanent judge on May 29, 2014. As a lawyer, Justice Gupta conducted many criminal cases including Parliament and Red Fort shootout, Priyadarshini Matoo case and Jessica Lal murder case in the High Court and Supreme Court to name a few.
