Don't judge people by history but by their activities: CJI Dipak Misra in farewell speech

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New Delhi: He promised to speak from his mind when the time came to make a farewell speech and outgoing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra stayed true to his words on Monday evening. In his speech on his last day in office, he said he said he never judged people by their past but by their acts and perspectives.

In a speech that touched upon his experience in the Indian legal set-up and to its future, CJI Misra underlined the need to adhere to truth at all cost. "Truth has no colour. We must stand for what is true with courage and grit. Tears of a poor man is the same as the tear of a rich man. I have never judged people by their history but by their acts and perspectives," he said. "Supreme Court is supreme. We must allow Constitutional morality to prevail. It's in fact times like this that resilience of commitment are tested. Our judges have gone beyond their counterparts in other countries in standing firm for the turth."

CJI Misra also said that the voice of the youth should never be taken lightly. "Young members of the Bar enlighten our vision. I am of the view that while experience of the Bar is to be respected, the wisdom of youth also needs to be appreciated," he said, adding on a lighter note that he himself felt young.

The 64-year-old concluded by saying the 13 months as CJI would be memorable.

CJI Misra is likely to be remembered as much for his recent spate of rulings and observations - from Aadhaar and adultery to Sabarimala and Section 377, as for the fact that his tenure saw an open rebellion for the first-time ever in the history of Indian judiciary. His term of 13 months and five days as the Chief Justice of India was perhaps the most turbulent for any Chief Justice, which saw his brother Judges and some from the Bar openly questioning his style of functioning in allocation of cases/matters to different benches and listing Constitution Bench matters before a bench of Judges who were relatively newcomers to the top court.

CJI Misra would be replaced by Justice Ranjan Gogoi who has said he would work towards solving the problem of pendency of cases.