SCBA Executive Committee Members Say No Decision Taken Not To Give Farewell To Justice Bela Trivedi
|CJI BR Gavai had criticised the SCBA for passing a resolution not to organise a farewell for the outgoing judge.
This morning, during his speech from the ceremonial bench on the occasion of Justice Bela M. Trivedi’s last working day, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai criticised the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for not organising a farewell for the outgoing judge.
“I am grateful to Kapil Sibal and Rachana Srivastava that both of them are here. But, the stand taken by the Association I must deprecate openly, because I believe in being plain and straight. On such occasions, such a stand ought not to have been taken by the Association, and therefore, I am openly appreciating Mr. Sibal and Ms. Srivastava, that despite the resolution of the body, they are here. But what has been lost by the Association, the presence of a full house here fully indicates... and the verdict is given that she (Justice Trivedi) is a very very good judge”, CJI Gavai had said.
The CJI made the remark as the President of the Association, Kapil Sibal, and its Senior Vice President, Rachana Srivastava, were present on the occasion and addressed the Bench.
However, the members of the Executive Committee (EC) of the SCBA say, not only that no such resolution was passed, the subject was not even discussed among the EC members.
Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, a Senior Executive Member of the SCBA, denied that any such resolution had been passed.
Speaking to Verdictum, she said, “As a member of the EC, as per my knowledge, I’ve not even seen such a suggestion… forget about a resolution…”
She added, “This is the Bar of the Highest Court, and we always strive to maintain the highest conduct… Always try to maintain a good rapport with the Bar and the Bench through mutual efforts…”
Verdictum also spoke to other EC members, who, on the condition of anonymity, said they were unclear about why the farewell had not been organised.
Some suggested that a few members of the Bar are unhappy with a recent order passed by Justice Trivedi, and they were unsure about the attendance if such an event is held. However, they confirmed that the SCBA had not taken any decision to skip the farewell.
Incidentally, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has addressed a letter, through its Chairman, to the President and Secretary of the SCBA and the SCORA requesting them to "reconsider its decision and organise a farewell to appropriately honor Justice Bela Trivedi's exemplary service to the judiciary" and preserve the tradition.
While reading his farewell speech today morning from the ceremonial Bench, the CJI stopped midway to speak extempore about the issue. "The stand taken by the Association I must deprecate openly," he said.
CJI Gavai said, “I have always been saying that the Bar and the Bench are co-equal partners in the administration of justice, none superior, none inferior. I said the other day, when we were felicitating Chief Justice Khanna, that if you put a spoke in one wheel, the entire golden chariot of the Supreme Court will come to a standstill…”
“There are judges who give relief, there are judges who do not give relief. Judges are ultimately human beings. Everybody has a different perception. A judge may be strict or liberal. As we openly discuss among us, she used to admit that she is conviction-minded, I used to affirm that I am acquittal-minded”, he added.
He added, “I have always said, there are different type of judges, but that should not be a factor for denying what ought to have been done at 4.30 pm today.”
SCBA President Kapil Sibal was seen nodding his head in agreement with what the CJI said about the Association.
It appears from what the CJI said, that he was under the impression that SCBA had resolved not to give farewell to Justice Trivedi, and that the same had something to do with her being considered not to be a 'pro-relief' judge.
Justice George Augustine Masih also commented, “I am sorry, but I must say that traditions need to be followed and they are to be respected. Good traditions must continue, always. I wish my sister all success in life in whatever she has thought of for her future.”
Shobha Gupta also shared, “I met Justice Trivedi just to bid her farewell…We are certainly going to organise a get-together for her farewell after she is back from her travels…Women lawyers have always done that for women judges…”
It appears that Justice Trivedi advancing her last working day, also added to the confusion. Justice Trivedi was to retire on June 9, and the last working day of the Court before summer vacation is May 23.
The CJI mentioned during his speech that the summer vacation was postponed by one week based on requests from the Bar, saying that the first week of July is not appropriate for reopening the Court. He said that Justice Trivedi has already booked a ticket to travel to the US for a wedding in the family, since the Court would have normally closed this week for vacation.