NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Supreme Court Bar Association on Wednesday gave a virtual send-off to a judge. Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, all the representatives of the bar association and senior lawyers logged on from their computers/devices on zoom app to bid farewell to Justice Deepak Gupta on his superannuation.
Many senior lawyers regretted that because of the coronavirus, they couldn’t hold the customary party for Justice Gupta, but they hailed him for his bold judgments.
“Our medium may be virtual, but our feelings are real,” said CJI Bobde. Addressing the webinar, Justice Gupta said, “When a judge sits in the court, we have to forget our religious beliefs and decide cases only on the basis of our Constitution.
The Constitution is our Bible, Quran, Geeta, Guru Granth Sahib and other religious books.” He said the top court has to ensure every citizen lives a life of dignity.
In times of crisis like this, the courts must make an attempt to help the poorest of the poor, he added.
“We cannot be like an ostrich hiding our head and say nothing is wrong with the judiciary…The integrity of the institution is something which cannot be put at stake under any circumstances.”
Praising Justice Gupta, Attorney General K K Venugopal said, “On dissent, you are the first judge to come out so strongly and openly…Your thoughts that the citizen has a right to protest in a peaceful manner was a very bold statement to make while holding office as a SC judge.”