The Delhi High Court Friday bid farewell to "relief giving judge" Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, who was known for his contributions in the field of mediation as an advocate of alternate dispute resolution mechanism. “Justice Jain was known for his immense compassion and humility on the dais. He was known as a relief giving judge with a keen sense of understanding of social realities. he could easily iron out the wrinkles of a case in order to understand the real core of the dispute. His vast experience as a mediator also enabled him to understand the litigants better,” Chief Justice Manmohan told during a full court farewell held to mark Justice Jain's superannuation Saturday. Prior to his HC elevation over two-and-a-half years ago, Justice Jain was a judge of the district judiciary for nearly 30 years, including 11 years at the Delhi Judicial Service (DJS) from 1992 followed by his promotion to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) in 2003. Speaking at the farewell, Justice Jain said after joining DJS, he realised that “the district judiciary is the foundational pillar of the justice delivery system". He served as principal district and sessions judge in three districts of Delhi. On his tenure as additional director of Delhi Judicial Academy after his promotion to DHJS, Justice Jain said, “It has taught me two invaluable lessons: first, how to embrace life as it comes; second, how to accept the challenges and pain in life as a source of thrill and happiness. I experienced a deep sense of satisfaction every time I recorded a settlement arising out of mediation despite being an adjudicator”. CJ Manmohan hailed Justice Jain for ensuring that "his expertise in mediation was put to optimum use in the service of society". "Justice Jain conducted mediation in about 12,000 cases pertaining to various subject matters. He has gained an experience of over 12,000 hours in conducting mediation and has also served as mediation trainer from time to time," he said, adding that Justice Jain is an accredited mediator by the International Mediation Institute, Holland. The CJ also fondly recalled Justice Jain’s “passion for caps, ghats and sunglasses". "He has a different combination of caps and glasses for each occasion.” Delhi government standing counsel on the criminal side, Sanjay Lao, said, “Justice Jain has always been critical where judicial orders were passed in a mechanical manner at the time of taking cognizance by magistrates," he remarked. In June, Justice Jain stayed a trial court order granting bail to then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged liquor excise policy scam. In September, he granted medical bail to former DHFL director and promoter Dheeraj Wadhwan, who is facing charges of misappropriation and cheating to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore in a CBI case, even as a medical board had opined that he does not require hospitalisation and can be treated on an outpatient basis. Bar Council of Delhi member Ramesh Gupta cited Justice Jain’s judgement stating "prosecution agencies cannot frustrate the right to statutory bail of an accused by filing incomplete chargesheet and continuing investigation" in the Chitra Ramakrishna (former National Stock Exchange head) versus CBI case in the alleged co-location scam. The Supreme Court had upheld the judgement. Justice Jain was able to bring an end to "conflicting judgments on the issue of grant of statutory bail while prosecuting agencies file incomplete chargesheets and continue investigation in" the case, Gupta said.
