Judge must never think of future prospects after taking oath of office: Justice AS Oka

Retired Supreme Court judge Justice AS Oka on Sunday (June 29) expressed that once judges take the oath of office, they should not think about future career prospects, even for a moment. .He said that the moment a judge begins to consider potential future positions, it becomes impossible to discharge duties in accordance with the oath taken as a judge."I always feel that once you take the oath of Justice, you should not think of your future prospects for even a second. The day the judge thinks of the positions he can get in the future, he will be unable to work in accordance with his oath. I think the oath we take as justices, if the oath is to be adhered to, then I think it would reach a point where one should not think of the consequences of any of the judgments one gives, that is my opinion," he remarked.Justice Oka was speaking at a farewell function organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. He retired from the Supreme Court last month. .During the June 29 farewell event, Justice AS Oka also stated that judges should not concern themselves with the outcome of a judgment or with what the government or the opposition might say in response. Delivering a judgment against the ruling political party does not automatically mean one is following a distinct or opposing ideology, he went on to opine. "Whenever I teach at the judicial academy, I tell them for sure this - Please think about if your judgement is according to the law, don’t think about if the judgement will end up hurting anyone or think of whether the judgement will get you a position or not. The judgement which you think is right, give it fearlessly and stand by it. I always feel that no judge should try to keep any lawyer happy ... When you work as a Justice, one should not think of what people will say about you and not think of your future, ever," he added..Further, Justice Oka reflected on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution of India, urging young advocates and law students to remember and learn from the past.He recalled how, in the past, High Court and Supreme Court judges had been bypassed for appointment to senior positions because they refused to compromise on judicial independence. One of the examples cited was that of former Bombay High Court Chief Justice, Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee."Post the establishment of the Supreme Court, in a few years, in a community functioning, the Prime Minister told Justice Mookerjee that instead of making the senior-most judge, we will make you the Chief Justice. Without hesitating for a second, Justice Mookerjee said that 'if you do this I will resign.' Such a person should be remembered," he said. Similarly, after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the Kesavananda Bharati case, three judges who ruled against the government were stripped of their seniority, Justice Oka recounted. He pointed out that because of the government's hostile approach to these judges after this judgment, the three judges eventually resigned."Justice (JM) Shelat, Justice (KS) Hegde, and Justice (AN) Grover had to resign (after Justice AN Ray was appointed as Chief Justice of India, by superseding these three judges for the post).".Justice Oka added that Justice HR Khanna too is now remembered for his firm stance against the government in the ADM Jabalpur case, which he foresaw would cost him the post of Chief Justice of India. "We all know he had to resign and we have never forgotten Justice HR Khanna. So I want to say that this bright tradition teaches us one thing - that Justice should not worry about the crowds, what anyone will think, what the government will say. Give the right judgement," Justice Oka remarked. .Justice Oka also expressed that he has always been conscious of the limitations that come with holding judicial office. He shared that he has often declined or deferred media interviews, telling journalists he would need two to three months to consider such requests. "Even if I were not in the position of a Justice, then too I would have to be mindful of the restrictions and why I have to be mindful of them.".Another issue highlighted in Justice Oka's address was the urgent need to address the severe shortage of judges in the district judiciary. Referring to a 2002 Supreme Court judgment (All India Judges Association case) that recommended a judge-to-population ratio of 50 judges per 10 lakh people, he pointed out that even today the ratio stands at only 22. He therefore urged all Lawyer Associations across the country to unite and raise their voice collectively, not just to criticise the judiciary for delays and mounting pendency, but to demand the implementation of the judge-to-population ratio suggested by the Supreme Court."Take Allahabad High Court - in a day, 1000 bail applications are listed on each judge’s board. What should that judge do? Let’s keep the judge aside, it is the judge’s job and struggle. What are the parties supposed to do? ... Bail applications are on the board, but they don’t move because the judge is so occupied," he pointed out.He also flagged concern that delays in clearing collegium recommendations for the appointment of judges have disincentivised good candidates from joining judicial service in the higher judiciary. "Once the name appears on the website, (the candidate) stops getting work. So now, when the good lawyers are asked to join, they refuse because they do not want to undergo the struggle. The ones who say yes are not bad lawyers, but in the process, many good lawyers are lost," Justice Oka explained. .Translated from the original Marathi speech to English by Hiranya Bhandarkar