‘You All Nagpur’ -- thank you so much, emotes Justice Sharad Bobde

Justice Ravi Deshpande, Senior Administrative Judge of Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, presenting a bouquet to Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde. Justice R M Lodha, former Chief Justice of India; Justice Bhushan Gavai, Judge, Supreme Court; Justice Vikas Sirpurkar, former Judge of Supreme Court; Adv Gauri Venkatraman, President of High Court Bar Association; Adv Prafulla Khubalkar, Secretary look on. (Pic by Umesh Varma)

Principal Correspondent :

This was one evening that Nagpur had been waiting for -- to rejoice in the ascent of its son to the country’s topmost judicial position, to celebrate his rise to the pinnacle, to honour the man who just until yesterday grew up in the city’s streets and schools and colleges and learned what law meant. So, when Chief Justice of India Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde arrived at the historic premises of the High Court at Nagpur in the darkening evening, a thousand faces lit up with smile and many eyes became misty with emotion that ‘their’ Sharad had made the city proud.

Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde responding to his felicitation on Saturday. Adv Gauri Venkatraman, President of High Court Bar Association looks on.

Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde, Justice R M Lodha, Justice Bhushan Gavai, Justice Vikas Sirpurkar and others during the unveiling of the plaque -- ‘Poem in Stone’ -- installed near the Banyan tree in High Court premises. Others look on. (Right) Dignitaries listening to the wonderful speeches delivered by legal luminaries. (Pics by Umesh Varma)

The High Court Bar Association might have been the tool of felicitation, and former Chief Justice of India Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha might have been the person through whom the felicitations were offered. But the whole city rejoiced as speaker after speaker showered encomiums on the city’s very own ‘Sharad’. Very rarely does a city witness such a unison of expression of collective emotion! The majestic High Court building also stood witness to the historic moment, and also offered grandeur as its contribution to the celebrations that a city’s son has ascended to the position of Chief Justice of India, to the coveted height of the chief arbiter of law of the land, to the opportune position of being able to lead the country’s legal course in challenging times.

Even as speeches were made -- by luminaries of rare merit -- the people congregated at the ceremony were eager to hear what Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, the honourable Chief Justice of India, had to say in response to the fine words and finer emotions expressed about him. Expressing his deep feelings about Nagpur, Justice Bobde said, “Nagpur is a home to me. Though I have stayed away since my appointment as Judge of Bombay High Court, it is in the roots and not in the branches that my strength lies. Nagpur is where I am rooted, where I learned important lessons of my life and Law. I learned many things from the people I have associated with, the people who in the sense brought me professionally up who are here and I suppose I can say collectively by calling ‘You All Nagpur’.”

Justice Bobde was speaking at his felicitation on Saturday. High Court Bar Association (HCBA) felicitated CJI Bobde in High Court premises in a grand manner. Justice R M Lodha, former Chief Justice of India was the chief guest. Justice Bhushan Gavai, Judge of Supreme Court of India, presided over. Justice Vikas Sirpurkar, former Judge, Supreme Court; Justice Ravi Deshpande, Sr Administrative Judge, Bombay High Court, Nagpur bench; Adv Gauri Venkatraman, President of High Court Bar Association; Adv Prafulla Khubhalkar, Secretary were seated on the dais. Expressing his gratitude towards HCBA, Justice Bobde said, “There is a greatness in this bar which only a few bars in the country can boast of. There is a proud tradition of advocacy, a tradition of great learning and lifelong friendships. It is truly a humbling experience to be felicitated by such a bar with such great traditions.

Great names of legal luminaries from Nagpur come to my mind, some who have been my predecessors in the Supreme Court. We saw their photographs today beginning with Vivian Bose, Justice Hidaytullah, Justice Mudholkar, Justice A P Sen, Justice Sirpurkar. It is incomplete to leave other names, the great Bhavanishankar Niyogi, the first Indian Chief Justice of Nagpur High Court; Dr Harisingh Gour, Barrister Govindrao Deshmukh, Bapuraodada Kinkhede and Raobahadur M B Kinkhede.” “Many things have been said about my journey here. I had never thought of adorning the position, that I would follow Justice Lodha into this chair. So many things, so many people, so many lives defining the success, disasters combined to carry a man. There is an indefinable thing called luck.

When analysis does not lead to anything. It is sensible to say the man was lucky. I do consider myself lucky. It is a matter of luck and some circumstances over which you have no control. It is invaluable to have someone in life who sets a shining example and who is there to pat your shoulder and speaks a word of encouragement. I believe myself to have one such person and he is here -- Justice Lodha,” added Justice Bobde The Chief Justice of India acknowledged presence of Senior Counsel Adv K H Deshpande saying, he had been a guiding light in many matters. In a piece of advice to the bar, Justice Bobde said, “However great this bar is, only a bar committed to the dynamic concept of the rule of law and conscience of its social responsibilities could meaningfully assist the judiciary in molding the law creatively and imaginatively. It is said that the lawyer with a well-furnished mind alone can be true counselor, he alone can go beyond nearly looking at his precedence and guiding his clients along the path of wisdom. I can not put better than what Walter Scott has said -- A lawyer without history and literature is a mechanic.

If he possesses some knowledge, he may venture to call himself an architect.” Justice Bobde is known for advocating use of technology to which Justice Lodha put a word of caution saying that technology could be misused. Replying to this, Justice Bobde said, “We are thankful to Justice Lodha for his words. But I want to bring to his notice that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be a part of decision-making. It will be used to ease mechanical load. The system we are looking at has a capacity of reading with a speed of 10 lakh words per second. For example, in Ayodhya case, thousands of documents were there and AI helped us in reading those.” Justice Bobde talked about mental health of the people in legal profession and suggested HCBA to take a lead in the matter.

He said that Bar would form a Lawyers’ well-being committee that would launch health initiative strengthening the bar further. Justice Lodha admitted that he had seen the qualities in Justice Bobde when he had appeared before him as a young lawyer way back in 1994. He said, “A few weeks of my sitting, I was enormously impressed by a lawyer, the fact that his arguments were emphatic, he behaved with a very good manner, his presentations were perfect. In 1994 itself It thought that here was the young lawyer who deserve to be elevated. I found him a future of Indian Judiciary. Justice Bobde carries with him immense experience of legal profession. His lawyership of 19 years, judgeship in the High Court, in Supreme Court and now Chief Justice of India.

On November 21, he was felicitated by Supreme Court Bar where he said Bar is the second mother and here now the mother feted her son.” “Chief Justice of India has so many works, his judicial leadership on bench, visits to foreign, selection of judges. We can not achieve success unless we have cooperation from our colleagues. Justice Bobde has the ability to handle everything smoothly and run a cordial atmosphere,” Justice Lodha said while praising Justice Bobde. Explaining the relationship of the bar and bench which are two wheels of a chariot involved in dispensation of justice, Justice Lodha said, “It is the duty of advocates to appear in court when the matter is called and help courts to move further.

The Judge should not be weak and rough. Tolerance is the key to success of the bar. Their interdependency is such that without their collective efforts justice can’t be achieved.” Justice Vikas Sirpurkar recollected his long association with Bobde family and expressed confidence that Justice Bobde would prove himself to be the great Chief Justice of India. Justice Gavai called Justice Bobde as a role model to many and appealed members of the Bar to take inspiration from him. Justice Ravi Deshpande also spoke about Justice Bobde. Justice Bobde unveiled a translation of the book named Dashopanishads originally authored by senior lawyer Adv K H Deshpande. Hemant Wagh translated the book.

A souvenir ‘Pinnacle’ was also released wherein articles by lawyers and judges were included. A book ‘Nyayniwara’ penned by Adv Smita Singhalkar was also released. Earlier, Justice Bobde inaugurated the plaques placed around an old Banyan tree in High Court premises depicting the history of High Court building. Adv Anand Jaiswal read the scroll of honour. Adv Radhika Bajaj and Dr Varsha Deshpande conducted the proceedings. Adv Khubalkar proposed a vote of thanks. Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari, Justice Prasanna Warale, Principal District Judge A J Mantri, Maharashtra’s Advocate General Adv Ashutosh Kumbhkoni, Additional Solicitor General Adv Anil Singh, Government Pleader at Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court Adv Sumant Deopujari, Assistant Solicitor General Adv Ulhas Aurangabadkar, Chairman of Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council Adv Avinash Bhide and others were present.

‘High cost blocks access to justice, a serious defect’ Refering to what President Kovind said about cost of justice being prohibitive, CJI Sharad Bobde said, “Nobody has any grievence about making a lot of money, but when it happens in court, it somehow blocks access to justice. It is a serious defect. Lawyers might have to shake off of tradition of being providers of legal services paid to argue. We need to introduce pre-litigation mediation.”