Supreme Court judge, Justice AS Oka, who would retire on May 24, on Thursday said that he did not agree with the tradition of retiring judges not working on their last day.
Speaking during his farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), Justice Oka said he told Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday that he didn’t approve of the tradition being followed in the Supreme Court, that a retiring judge should not work on the last day.
Justice Oka said it may take the Apex Court some time to get rid of that tradition, but at least he would have one satisfaction. On the last day, he was sitting on a regular Bench and pronouncing some verdicts.
Justice Oka added that the practice of giving a Guard of Honour to the retiring judges at 13:30 hrs should be delayed.
This practice should also be changed so that a judge had the satisfaction of working till four o’clock on his/her last working day, added the Apex Court judge.
Pointing out that he hated the word ‘retirement,’ Justice Oka said he never wanted to think about it.
As per Justice Oka, the only option was to hear as matters as possible since January. The result was that he, along with Justice AG Masih and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, were struggling to comlete their verdicts.
Noting that it was a touchy issue, the Apex Court judge revealed that every morning, his wife accompanied him for morning walks and the first question she would ask was, how many verdicts were remaining.
Calling the Advocates-on-Record (AoRs) the backbone of the Supreme Court, Justice Oka said they required more training and suggested that the National Judicial Academy (NJA) could be utilised to provide training to the young SCAORA members.
Justice Oka said since it was time to demit office, he had something entirely different to say. He would never forget the cooperation rendered by the AoRs. Earlier, a CJI gave a new direction to the Supreme Court, and the current CJI would only take it ahead on the journey of transparency.
Justice Oka said he was seeking adjournment today and would say whatever he had to, tomorrow.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai shared that his friendship with Justice Oka spanned over 40 years. Terming Justice Oka a workaholic, the CJI said the Supreme Court judge had restricted himself to consultation post retirement. He would always be occupied and never be free, even post-retirement.
Introducing Justice Oka, SCAORA Secretary Nikhil Jain said the verdicts of Justice Oka resonated across the fabric of civil society. His deep legal acumen and humaneness always set him apart. His judgments were always grounded and far-reaching.
SCAORA President Vipin Nair said that from being a passionate lawyer to an exemplary jurist, Justice Oka had an intimate understanding of the proceedings of the bar.
He said Justice Oka stood like an unshakable rock, just like the Oak tree, the strongest tree in the wild. He recalled that a court stenographer once lost several of his drafts and Justice Oka recreated all of them.