Tuesday 23 April 2013

On the demise of Justice J.S. Verma

On the demise of Justice J.S. Verma
(former Chief Justice of India)
By Justice Markandey Katju
(former Judge, Supreme Court of India)
Justice J.S. Verma, who passed away recently, was one of the giants of the Indian Judiciary,who set very high standards of integrity on the bench & even thereafter He was a role model for man
y of us, who would often seek his advice even after he had retired. Justices Venkatchaliah, Krishna Iyer, and Verma have always been our father figures.
I remember that when I was on the bench of the High Court and Supreme Court I would often contact him confidentially and seek his guidance.
Once while a Supreme Court Judge I received an invitation from a respected dignitary in Delhi for a mushaira he had organized. I am very fond of Urdu poetry, and was seriously intending to go there, but I was in two minds, and hence I telephoned Justice Verma (who had retired a longtimeback) to seek his advice. He told me that a general principle for Judges was that if they were in two minds whether to accept an invitation or not, a Judge should decline it, because by doing so he lost nothing, but by accepting it he took a risk. He also said that Judges should lead a reclusive life if they wanted to be respected.
No one has ever lifted a finger at Justice Verma's integrity. Even after retirement he refused arbitration or consultation work, even though he could have earned crores by it (as many retired Judges are doing). His advice was sought regularly by one and all, including the Government. His completion of the report on crimes against women in 29 days is a model as to how such reports should be made.
In his sad demise the entire legal fraternity as well as the country has suffered a great loss.

7 comments:

  1. Sir ,If I remember correct you had written a letter to JS Verma to investigate the allegations against India Today and Salman Khrushid.What has happened to it.Are you planning to do anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sir, i request that you yourself should not work for consultation on court cases while being the Chairperson for Press Council of India.

    Though, I am just an ordinary citizen, I still want to suggest to you that, if you're short of money, please set up a legal college or university or training institute. LPOs (Legal process outsourcing firms) are coming up in India, and require good lawyers to work there. If you can train students this, this would help you remain non-controversial and non-partisan in the pending judgments, as well as get the required money too.

    Thanks, @shivoahm on twitter

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sir,

    you have not yet reacted on NBW against Sanjay Dutt for whom you were pleading mercy. Are you ducking the matter? Or is it that people stopped asking you relevant questions?

    ReplyDelete
  4. He may have not minted money as other retired Judges(GOD knows) may be he got something else from Women organisations, as he supported Sexual harassment bill indirectly terming all men are rapists

    We approched him...
    we wrote to him [ http://mynation.net/voice/j-s-verma/ ]

    Instead making this law gender nuetral, he went his own way. that justifies he got something from these Women orgs NO DOUBT.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Execellent written by Justice Markandey Katju. Glad to read.

    thanks
    Property in Noida

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome information provided by Markandey Katju which is very useful for us.

    thanks & bye
    Noida Properties

    ReplyDelete