The Week: New Delhi: Saturday, 21 October 2023.
Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who sharply differed with Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud about the rights of queer couple to adopt a child and sat on benches that delivered judgements of seminal importance, retired on Friday.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Chandrachud that also included Justice Bhat had earlier this week unanimously refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage, saying there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those that are recognised by law.
Though the two were on the same page on denial of legal sanction for same-sex marriage, Justice Bhat led the majority verdict on the issue of adoption rights of queer couples, with Justices Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha concurring with him. The triad of Justices Bhat, Kohli and Narasimha disfavoured adoption rights for queer couples, while CJI Chandrachud was in its favour.
Justice Bhat's farewell today was, however, an unusual event as he was not part of the ceremonial bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India.
As per the practice being followed in the Supreme Court since its inception, an outgoing judge shares a ceremonial bench with the CJI on the last working day in office. CJI DY Chandrachud is away in the US.
In his address at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Justice Bhat, who served for a little over four years as a judge of the apex court, said, "Today, I stand with satisfaction that much was done but I am also conscious of the fact that a lot remains to be done. But I am sanguine with the thought that the legal profession is vibrant.
"I only wish that it upholds the values…values of independence, the importance of rule of law and the professionalism that is needed to face manifold challenges of the times and the future."
In a word of advice to young members of the Bar, Justice Bhat said, "Be fearless, be true to yourselves, don't try to be someone else and constantly seek excellence."
Justice Bhat, during his tenure as the apex court judge, gave several notable judgments including the one which held that the office of the Chief Justice of India as a public authority is amenable to the Right to Information Act.
He was also part of a five-judge constitution bench that upheld 10 per cent reservation introduced in 2019 for economically weaker sections (EWS) among forward castes in admissions and government jobs that excluded the poor among the SC, ST and OBC categories.
Justice Bhat said it is a happy coincidence that four classmates from the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University have served at the Bench of the Supreme Court. CJI Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Bhat and Justice Hrishikesh Roy are from the 1982 batch of CLC.
"I also had a rare good fortune, perhaps very few instances of two people from the same chamber being part of the same bench. Justice KV Vishwanathan and I were in the same chamber of senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, although for a brief while for two years," he said.
Terming his days at the bar as "exhilarating", Justice Bhat recollected that during several constitution bench hearings he had interacted and worked with noted jurists like Fali Nariman, Ashok Sen, Soli Sorabjee, K Parasaran, KK Venugopal and others.
"The life of judges is hard, not upon the incumbents but upon their family. They have to put up various sacrifices. I have lost many opportunities of watching my only son Aniruddha grow. To him I must acknowledge my failure," he said, while expressing gratitude to his wife and other family members for supporting him in various endeavours.
Justice Kaul, the senior most judge, praised Justice Bhat for his legal acumen and said, "My brother and sister judges would agree, it has been our distinct pleasure to share the bench with Justice Bhat and to benefit from his presence in the Supreme Court."
Lauding Justice Bhat for his notable judgments, Justice Kaul said his tenure as judge is dotted with many significant firsts including presiding over the first paperless e-court of the country at the Delhi High Court in 2009.
"He penned many judicial pronouncements affecting the lives of common citizens, he struck down a notification which limited the manufacture and sale of an essential drug, mostly used by pregnant women. Long before this court of nine-judges in the Puttaswamy case (2018 verdict) recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right, Justice Bhat recognised the right of privacy of women in a matrimonial home," he said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also praised Justice Bhat for his legal knowledge, termed him an "intellectual giant".
"India can boast to be one of the finest judicial systems where other judiciary also takes inspiration from (the Supreme Court). It is not a question whether Justice S Ravindra Bhat has authored 122 judgments because that is a mere statistic,” he said, adding, "Justice Bhat has authored several judgments, for which generations will remain indebted. The institution is losing an intellectual giant."
SCBA President Adish Aggarwala applauded Justice Bhat for his "pathbreaking judgements," "mastery in a variety of subjects," and for not hesitating in adopting an unconventional line of reasoning.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who sharply differed with Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud about the rights of queer couple to adopt a child and sat on benches that delivered judgements of seminal importance, retired on Friday.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Chandrachud that also included Justice Bhat had earlier this week unanimously refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage, saying there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those that are recognised by law.
Though the two were on the same page on denial of legal sanction for same-sex marriage, Justice Bhat led the majority verdict on the issue of adoption rights of queer couples, with Justices Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha concurring with him. The triad of Justices Bhat, Kohli and Narasimha disfavoured adoption rights for queer couples, while CJI Chandrachud was in its favour.
Justice Bhat's farewell today was, however, an unusual event as he was not part of the ceremonial bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India.
As per the practice being followed in the Supreme Court since its inception, an outgoing judge shares a ceremonial bench with the CJI on the last working day in office. CJI DY Chandrachud is away in the US.
In his address at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Justice Bhat, who served for a little over four years as a judge of the apex court, said, "Today, I stand with satisfaction that much was done but I am also conscious of the fact that a lot remains to be done. But I am sanguine with the thought that the legal profession is vibrant.
"I only wish that it upholds the values…values of independence, the importance of rule of law and the professionalism that is needed to face manifold challenges of the times and the future."
In a word of advice to young members of the Bar, Justice Bhat said, "Be fearless, be true to yourselves, don't try to be someone else and constantly seek excellence."
Justice Bhat, during his tenure as the apex court judge, gave several notable judgments including the one which held that the office of the Chief Justice of India as a public authority is amenable to the Right to Information Act.
He was also part of a five-judge constitution bench that upheld 10 per cent reservation introduced in 2019 for economically weaker sections (EWS) among forward castes in admissions and government jobs that excluded the poor among the SC, ST and OBC categories.
Justice Bhat said it is a happy coincidence that four classmates from the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University have served at the Bench of the Supreme Court. CJI Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Bhat and Justice Hrishikesh Roy are from the 1982 batch of CLC.
"I also had a rare good fortune, perhaps very few instances of two people from the same chamber being part of the same bench. Justice KV Vishwanathan and I were in the same chamber of senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, although for a brief while for two years," he said.
Terming his days at the bar as "exhilarating", Justice Bhat recollected that during several constitution bench hearings he had interacted and worked with noted jurists like Fali Nariman, Ashok Sen, Soli Sorabjee, K Parasaran, KK Venugopal and others.
"The life of judges is hard, not upon the incumbents but upon their family. They have to put up various sacrifices. I have lost many opportunities of watching my only son Aniruddha grow. To him I must acknowledge my failure," he said, while expressing gratitude to his wife and other family members for supporting him in various endeavours.
Justice Kaul, the senior most judge, praised Justice Bhat for his legal acumen and said, "My brother and sister judges would agree, it has been our distinct pleasure to share the bench with Justice Bhat and to benefit from his presence in the Supreme Court."
Lauding Justice Bhat for his notable judgments, Justice Kaul said his tenure as judge is dotted with many significant firsts including presiding over the first paperless e-court of the country at the Delhi High Court in 2009.
"He penned many judicial pronouncements affecting the lives of common citizens, he struck down a notification which limited the manufacture and sale of an essential drug, mostly used by pregnant women. Long before this court of nine-judges in the Puttaswamy case (2018 verdict) recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right, Justice Bhat recognised the right of privacy of women in a matrimonial home," he said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also praised Justice Bhat for his legal knowledge, termed him an "intellectual giant".
"India can boast to be one of the finest judicial systems where other judiciary also takes inspiration from (the Supreme Court). It is not a question whether Justice S Ravindra Bhat has authored 122 judgments because that is a mere statistic,” he said, adding, "Justice Bhat has authored several judgments, for which generations will remain indebted. The institution is losing an intellectual giant."
SCBA President Adish Aggarwala applauded Justice Bhat for his "pathbreaking judgements," "mastery in a variety of subjects," and for not hesitating in adopting an unconventional line of reasoning.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
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