*Hon’ble Shri Justice S.J. Kathawalla of the Bombay High Court retired today . He is the judge who use to sit till 3.30 am in the court room and impart justice.
He daily worked late in the interest of justice even thought Court time was only till 5 pm. He paid the court staff from his pocket for the extra hours they worked with him.
He is the judge who gave soles to thousands of tenants/ occupants who had fallen pray to dishonest builders and delayed redevelopment.
The Hon’ble Judge in his Farewell Address spoke at length about what the “Judgeship” meant to him and also had some advice for young and budding Advocates.
Justice Kathawalla spoke of how his “Pilgrimage” was ending. He said –
“To me, Judgeship was never a savvy career move or a Professional High Point. But in fact, it has been a ‘Pilgrimage’ that is coming to an end .
Putting to rest the question of why he gave up a ‘Lucrative Practice’ to be a Judge, he stated that, his desire was always to ensure that Justice should be dispensed effectively and efficiently to every Litigant so that the “Faith of Society in the Temple of Justice never wanes”.
“Is Money everything? When you come with nothing, and leave this world with nothing, should Money be your Master? What about ‘Soul Satisfaction’ and the warmth in your heart when you realise that those Cheated, Defeated, Miserable Litigants who came vexed, crying and begging for Justice before you are leaving with a smile, basking in the sheer delight of having their faith restored in the Rule of Law? Or their joy when they realise that the Legal System is Fair, Just, Humane and gives them their due when most needed it,” he said.
He added that it was more important to answer to the higher calling to dispense Justice to every strata of Society, which he described as being the collective “Karma and Dharma” of the Legal Profession.
He dispensed the following pearls of wisdom to young and budding Advocates who aspire to join the Bench:
This profession calls for burning the proverbial “Midnight Oil,” as not only fortunes of Litigants, but sometimes their Life and Liberty, depends on the hard work;
One cannot fall prey to either fear or favour, nor is one sitting on the dais to win a popularity contest. “It is a tightrope walk and there will always be many who you will displease, including the powers that be – whoever they may be!”
Nobody will remember us for our ‘fancy Cars’ and ‘Designer Watches’. We will be remembered for our ‘Dynamic Work Ethic’, our ‘uncompromising Quest for Righteousness’ and ‘Aptitude for Empathy’;
The Legal Profession is thriving, but we need to safeguard against the quantity versus quality dichotomy. There needs to be more Pro Bono Work. “Just because some people cannot afford the high costs of litigation does not mean that Justice should be denied to them,” he said.
Honest and kindhearted judge who did his work selflessly only in the interest of justice to troubled litigants.
May he get good health and happiness. Best wishes for his future.
Totally agreed with the views expressed in the article. I as an Advocate hold that he needs to be addressed as a Saint of modern times and we need more of his types who want justice to be done and not being hypertechnical.
It’s very unusual that he conducted his Court till 3am while I have seen Judges seeing the watch five ten minutes before the closure time of 5pm .They do not even think of compensating the time if they were required to attend a meeting post lunch or for such other cause
Justice Kathawala is a legend who has left a permanent void and has set an example of an ideal judge and how he ought to function..
Adv Sulbha Chipade