Won’t accept any post after retirement: CJI Sanjiv Khanna on last day in office
Won’t accept any post after retirement: CJI Sanjiv Khanna on last day in office
M.U.H
13/05/202515
Public trust in judiciary cannot be commanded but earned, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna said on Tuesday in his last message from the bench as he demitted office after a tenure of six months at the helm of the judiciary.
Addressing a ceremonial bench along with CJI-designate justice Bhushan R Gavai and justice Sanjay Kumar, Khanna reminded the members of the Bar that the lawyers are the conscience keepers of the institution and play an essential part in upholding the trust that people have in the institution.
Responding to the compliments showered on him from law officers, office bearers of bar associations and senior and junior members of the Bar, CJI Khanna said, “The public trust that judiciary has cannot be commanded. It has to be earned.”
Speaking about his successor, Khanna said, “You will have an excellent CJI in justice Gavai. I am confident that he is going to uphold fundamental rights, basic structure doctrine and liberty.” Incidentally, Khanna and Gavai got elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019.
Gavai described Khanna as a “gentleman to the core in every sense” and said that it was nothing short of “poetic justice” that justice HR Khanna, known for his golden dissent in the Emergency case in ADM Jabalpur, which made him lose the chair of Chief Justice of India, has come full circle with CJI Khanna, his nephew, completing his tenure as CJI.
The ADM Jabalpur case was given by a five-judge bench where the majority bench of four judges held that no writ against detention of a person will be maintainable with the declaration of Emergency. Justice HR Khanna had then dissented with the majority to rule that the State has no right to deprive any person of his right to life and liberty which is a sacrosanct right.
The memory of justice HR Khanna, who had resigned in protest after he was bypassed by a junior judge who was made CJI, reverberated in the courtroom hall of CJI on Tuesday on CJI Khanna’s last day in office.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said, “justice HR Khanna would be really proud of you.” Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is President of Supreme Court Bar Association, told CJI that his entire career has been without a blemish and he has carried well the legacy of justice HR Khanna. His sense of clarity in every branch of law was appreciated by lawyers who spoke before the ceremonial bench.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati said that during his tenure, CJI Khanna “de-glamourised” the CJI’s court but made the post look very professional. It was during the tenure of CJI Khanna, judiciary faced the most testing time with the discovery of cash at the residence of sitting high court judge, justice Yashwant Varma. The CJI had constituted a three-member judicial enquiry panel and had ultimately recommended the removal of the judge to the President and the Prime Minister after the charges were found to be true.
Justice Kumar, who used to be the bench companion of CJI Khanna for the past 10 months, even before he became CJI, shared some secrets about justice Khanna who has an excellent memory and his unending patience with lawyers. “He does not make any notes. It all comes from his memory, whether it is page number, content, even to the extent of paragraph in the petition. But his memory never extended to the names of lawyers appearing in the case.”
CJI Khanna in his response speech said that he did not remember the name of lawyers as he would never see which lawyer is appearing in a case.
Interacting with media persons later in the day, CJI said, “I will not accept any post-retirement post.” However, he indicated that he wished to do something with law.
Asked about what weighed with him while dealing with the case of justice Varma’s cash at house episode, CJI said, “Judicial thinking has to be decisive and adjudicatory. We see the plus and minuses and decide the issue rationally. When we do that, we are able to take a decision and the future then tells you, what you did was correct or not.”
