Merit should predominate judicial appointments: Justice Nariman

“I believe that the Indian people and the litigating public have a legitimate expectation to receive some quality of justice from this final judgment”

Judge Rohinton Fali Nariman, the Supreme Court judge whom the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana described as “one of the lions guarding the judiciary,” said merit should be the predominant factor in judging appointments.

Judge Nariman, who retired Thursday, agreed with Supreme Court Bar Association President Senior Attorney Vikas Singh that the time had come to make more direct appointments from the Bar Association to the Supreme Court.

Judge Nariman himself was only the fifth attorney in court history to be appointed top judge directly by the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The judge said he believed no one should have a “legitimate” expectation from the Supreme Court to become a judge. Indeed, the people’s only “legitimate expectation” should be to receive high quality justice from the Supreme Court.

“I believe that the Indian people and the litigating public have a legitimate expectation to receive some quality of justice from this final judgment. The merit must clearly outweigh this, subject of course to other factors. But merit always comes first, ”said Judge Nariman in his address on the Supreme Court lawn.

Judge Nariman said lawyers should not hesitate when called to the bank. You should give something back to the institution after “harvesting” so much.

The judge, who passed around 350 judgments and handled almost 13,565 cases, recalled his tenure as “the most grueling and difficult years of my life, although I certainly enjoyed writing judgments”.

“I have mixed feelings today as I leave this fantastic institution. Relief because tomorrow at 6 o’clock there won’t be a stack of panties waiting for me. I can wake up at six tomorrow and do what a normal citizen does, ”said Judge Nariman.

The judge, who the CJI said had made an “indelible mark on the country’s judiciary,” said goodbye, saying, “God bless the Supreme Court now and forever.”

Chief Justice Ramana said in his address that little is known about the sacrifices judges make or the hours they make.

The CJI said there was a common misconception that judges don’t work and only enjoy their vacations and perks.

On the contrary, said Chief Justice Ramana, judges burn the midnight oil or get up early to read and study the stacks of cases.

“When false narratives are made about the supposedly easy life of judges, it’s hard to swallow. We cannot defend ourselves. It is the duty of the legal profession to refute these false accounts and to educate the public about the work of the judges with the limited resources made available to them, ”said presiding judge Ramana.

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