November 25 marked the birth centenary of Justice RS Pathak, the 18th Chief Justice of India. It's time the nation reacquainted itself with the life and work of a thorough gentleman who had a consequential innings on the Supreme Court bench.
The son of Gopal Swarup Pathak, an illustrious lawyer who served as vice president of India and governor of Mysore province, Raghunandan Swarup Pathak was born on November 25, 1924. He studied at St Joseph's High School and Ewing Christian College in Allahabad.
He was the topper in both ICSE and ISC, then known as Senior Cambridge. He graduated in science and secured a master's degree in political science before pursuing law. In all these, he did splendidly well. His wide and varied interests continued lifelong. Even after retirement, he was studying astronomy and kept himself abreast with developments in the scientific world.
After obtaining an LLB degree from Allahabad University, he enrolled as an advocate on November 8, 1948, joining the chambers of his father, where a solid foundation was laid. The father had a lucrative practice, but insisted that the son should come up the hard way — the family car was not at his disposal, forcing him to travel between the office and the courts on a bicycle in the sweltering heat of Allahabad.
The son's practice was varied, spread across courts and covering different areas of law. He was appointed an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1962, a permanent judge in 1963 and Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 1972.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court on February 20, 1978, and became the Chief Justice of India on December 21, 1986. He demitted that office in June 1989 after being elected a judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
But these details do not fully reveal the man who did not wear his qualities on his sleeve.
As a judge, he was cast in a traditional mould and believed that judges must shun publicity. When, soon after he took oath as CJI, media persons wanted him to speak to him, he reminded them that a judge should be seen and heard only in the courtroom.
He followed as CJI two titans — YV Chandrachud and PN Bhagwati. But Pathak steered the court with finesse and brought relative stability to it.
He was on the Supreme Court bench during a turbulent phase — a period of rapid transition when the court was coming out of its "darkest days" of the Emergency, as jurist Hormasji Maneckji Seervai put it. As CJI, Pathak endeavoured to keep it on the qui vive and make it a bastion of people’s rights and liberties.
In one sense, he was a bridge between the old and the new, conserving traditions and yet liberalising and innovating on techniques and procedures. One of his greatest contributions was that he brought some real talent to the Supreme Court bench.
Justice Pathak's court was characterised by dignity, unfailing courtesy and patience. He built a theoretically robust discourse about the judicial process and the role of a judge.
His judgements were a blend of good law and good literature, and covered a wide spectrum of subjects, revealing his familiarity with the fundamental principles of law and jurisprudence.
He generally attempted to strike a balance. He was alive to the fact that even the cause of reform is best served by a studied moderation. He was party to and authored some memorable judgements that helped translate constitutional phrases and enforced constitutional limitations.
On a personal note, I had the privilege of knowing him and interacting with him for a long time. Both as a judge and a man, he was uniformly gracious. He was noted for his liberality of thought and catholicity of approach. He moved through life carrying his offices and achievements with an unassumed ease.
When Justice Pathak passed away at age 83 on November 17-18, 2007, the world of law was diminished. It will not be easy to see the likes of him.
(V Sudhish Pai is a Senior advocate.)
