Longest-Serving Delhi High Court Judge, CJ Manmohan bids farewell; to take oath in SC today
While the retirement age of top court judges is 65 years, HC judges demit office at 62. CJ Manmohan is scheduled to take oath as SC judge on Thursday.
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CJ Manmohan at a farewell function organised by the Delhi High Court Bar Association. Express photoAs he bid farewell to the Delhi High Court upon his elevation to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice (CJ) Manmohan said Wednesday that he “made it in the nick of time” as his appointment to the apex court comes less than two weeks before he was supposed to retire as an HC judge.
While the retirement age of top court judges is 65 years, HC judges demit office at 62. CJ Manmohan is scheduled to take oath as SC judge on Thursday.
“With less than two weeks for retirement, I have been elevated to the Supreme Court… I think I have just made it in the nick of time,” CJ Manmohan, who was on the Delhi HC bench for over 16 years, said at a farewell function organised by the Delhi High Court Bar Association.
An emotional CJ Manmohan reflected on his experiences from the bench, which he held for over 6,000 days, making him one of the longest-serving HC judges. “… Justice Prakash Narayan of this court was the longest-serving judge with 6,041 days. I’ve just surpassed his record and had a tenure of 6,110 days… I think it will be a difficult record to beat….”
He urged “young members of bar” that “if the position of judgeship is offered to you, please accept it, because it is necessary for this institution to grow and develop”.
Maintaining that a local person from Delhi being elevated to the SC is a rarity, CJ Manmohan said, “I am a local Delhiite who was conferred the status of Chief Justice of this court after 36 years. For a local to become the CJ and a local judge to be elevated to the SC directly is a rarity…”
On the lives led by judges and the challenges that come with it, he added, “…when you become a judge, take it from me, your life restarts again. Your friends with whom you used to have lunch, they become distant companions. Luckily for me, when I joined the bench, I was invited to a tea club, which comprised three other judges — Justice (Vipin) Sanghi, Justice (G S) Sistani and Justice (Rajiv Sahai) Endlaw and we’d meet every day for 15-20 minutes for a cup of coffee… Among all judges, we earned the reputation of running a politburo…”
“… being a judge is quite tough. You have to be mentally resilient, you have very little time for yourself and your family, and very small elbow room to play around. So, if we as judges stay united as a family, we will be able to overcome our problems.”
CJ Manmohan also highlighted that he refrained from exercising his veto power when his view was in the minority in judgments. “As the CJ, I have to take my court along. It’s good that there are different opinions. At times, I have been in the minority, I have allowed the majority to prevail and not exercised any veto power… I think magnanimity and civility that each judge shows the other, the respect they show to the other, is very important — that tradition must continue…”
At the full court farewell, CJ Manmohan emphasised he has tried to ensure that public faith in the judicial system has increased over time. “The real efficacy and credibility of a judicial system is measured by the public faith it enjoys… I have witnessed the transformative power of law, seen it heal wounds, right wrongs and restore faith,” he added.
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