Speaking at the farewell function of Justice R. Subhash Reddy, Chief Justice of India Justice N.V. Ramana on Tuesday said that retirement is just like “freedom regained”, particularly for a judge, as he is then free from all the restrictions that come with the office and can express his views on all issues “freely and frankly”.
The farewell function was organised virtually by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Justice Ramana said that a judge when on the Bench cannot defend himself against even “motivated attacks” while a retired judge can do so when the need arises.
Justice Ramana made these remarks at a farewell function of Justice R Subhash Reddy, who demitted office on Tuesday after serving for over four years in the apex court.
CJI Ramana said Justice Reddy was also born into an agricultural family like him and his journey as a legal professional is marked by many milestones. He said, “I remember him as a young lawyer. He used to run from one court to another because of the volume of his work. He practiced for 22 years at Tribunals, Civil Courts, the Andhra Pradesh High Court and also before the Supreme Court in Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, Revenue, Taxation, Labour, Company and Service matters on both original and appellate side.”
The CJI said that field of specialization of Justice Reddy was Constitutional Law and he was Standing Counsel for several premier institutions. Justice Ramana said, “Throughout his tenure as a Judge for 20 years in different High Courts and the Supreme Court of India, he always upheld and protected the people’s liberties.”
Commenting on his tenure at the Apex Court, Justice Subash Reddy said his tenure at the Supreme Court was short but he was demitting office with great satisfaction. He thanked all senior judges of the Apex Court for the guidance which immensely helped him.
On this occasion, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said:”It is a travesty that the judges of the Supreme Court retire at the age of 65 and the judges of the High Courts retire at the age of 62. Looking at any of the judges at the Supreme Court, I can state with conviction that each one of them would be able to perform his duty as the judge of the Apex Court justly, fairly and with competence.”
He said: “When 70-year-old lawyers can function with no difficulty whatsoever, Why should not the judges of the Supreme Court retire at the age of 70 and High Court judges at 65 so that all the experience and expertise came by them would be able to do credit to the judicial institution?” /LAB/SNG
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