New Delhi: Delhi High Court Chief Justice
Dipak Misra, who has been elevated to the Superme Court and is
in line to become the Chief Justice of India, on Wednesday said if he
is reborn to be a judge, he would want another stint in the HC.
"I have two prayers to the Lord Almighty. One, the High
Court of Delhi, at no point of time, should succumb to the
hydraulic pressures of time and it should never say `it is a
matter of history`.
"Secondly, a personal one, if I had to be born once more
and to be a judge, I would like to be a judge in the High
Court of Delhi because there is nothing like it on the surface
of the earth," an emotional Justice Misra said.
Justice Misra, who decided over 5000 cases as the head of
the High Court, is likely to be sworn-in as the judge of the
apex court on October 10 and could become the Chief Justice of
India in his over seven years tenure there.
Justice A K Sikri, the senior-most judge of the High
Court, initiated the full court reference organised to bid
farewell to Justice Misra by saying that the outgoing Chief
Justice possessed eight qualities which made him "attain
greatness and great heights."
He also referred to various leading judgments pronounced
by the outgoing Chief Justice and termed him as judge who is
"legalist and pragmatist."
"The Chief Justice is a pro-citizen judge as would be
apparent from his judgment in Court on its Own Motion vs State
where in he held that FIRs should be uploaded on the Delhi
Police website in 24 hours of their lodging so that the
accused can download the same and file appropriate
applications before the court for redressal of their
grievances," Justice Sikri said.
Speaking on the occasion, Delhi High Court Bar Association
President Amarjit Singh Chandhiok lauded the efforts of
Justice Misra in making the Mediation Centre and Lok Adalats
more effective, which helped in clearing backlogs.
"Today our law is still inadequate and the remedy is
through long-winded litigation, no faster solution is in near
sight. The judicial system can only do what the law empowers
it to do. Mediation centre, with you guidance, and leadership
of the overseeing committee has grown as an institution,"
Chandhiok said.
PTI
