Justice L Nageswara Rao: SC Judges Should Have Tenure of Minimum 7 yrs

Shivani Thakur

Published on: May 22, 2022 at 17:22 IST

Justice L Nageswara Rao said at a farewell event organized in his honor that Judges of the Supreme Court ought to have longer tenures than at present.

Judges who come here from High Courts get a time of 4 to 5 years as a judge here. Judges who have not seen how the Supreme Court functions, it takes them 2 years to understand and by that time you retire and then time to contribute to the march of law is a short period.”

“My suggestion is judges who come to the Supreme Court should have minimum 7 to 8 years if not 10 years as a judgeship tenure. By the time I am comfortable with the Court, I am gone!” he said.

In his address, “I was in theatre when in college. My cousin was a director and thereby a short role in a movie. That’s it. I did not want to become an actor. Lawyers act in court and judges also do. When there is heat we try to bring truce between the lawyers. Acting is a part of the profession,” Justice Rao said.

Friday was his last working day as a Supreme Court judge; he will officially retire on June 7, 2022 during the apex court’s summer break.

In his address at the farewell event, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana spoke of how Justice Rao came to Delhi without any Godfather.

The CJI added that it was the then lawyer’s hard work and intellectual capacity that made him great in the field.“Madras Bar Association was an important judgment by him. Not critiquing the government, but the power of High court was taken away and we created Tribunal system and of late we see weakening of the systems, and at that time he decided Madras Bar case … main force to structure tribunal system in this country which is a great contribution to tribunals in this country. He granted bail to Azam Khan in an innovative way to protect the liberty of an individual.” The CJI said.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh said, “The kind of reception Justice Nageswara Rao got in Ladies Bar room today is not something has been seen ever. They were all ecstatic and this kind of popularity amongst lady members would make other judges very envious.”

 

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