When I was the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, I sent a list of several lawyers for appointment as Judges in the High Court.
Evidently the DMK was not happy with my list since the names of pro-DMK lawyers was not in the list ( the names of pro-ADMK lawyers were also not in the list ).
The DMK was in power in the Central Government, as an ally of the Congress, so they did not allow these appointments to be made, and stalled the matter for about 6 months.
The lawyers whose names I had recommended ( one of them is now a Chief Justice of a High Court, and another is the senior most Tamilian Judge in the Madras High Court ), came to meet me at my residence one day.
They told me their predicament. I had recommended their names several months back, but yet they had not been appointed, and in the meantime their practice had suffered, as clients had stopped coming to them, thinking that the lawyer would soon become a Judge, and so any fees they would give him would go waste as they would have to engage another lawyer.
After hearing them, I told them a story.
There was once a prostitute in some place. One day it was announced that she was going to get married. So everyone in the area rejoiced. But later it was announced that the marriage had been cancelled. So she did not get married, and she also lost all her customers.
Having said this, I told the lawyers that they were like that prostitute.
On hearing this the lawyers said " Chief, what are you saying ? We are miserable, and you are comparing us to a prostitute "
I replied that I was only joking.
Later these lawyers were in fact appointed, but only after the Madras High Court Advocates Association filed a petition before the Supreme Court which directed their appointment.
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