Making slight changes to the customary norms, Supreme Court judge Justice AS Oka delivered 11 verdicts on Friday, his last working day in the Apex Court.
Showing another remarkable facet of his character, the Apex Court judge, who lost his mother on May 21, went to Mumbai on Thursday to attend the last rites of his mother and returned to Delhi for his final working day on Friday.
Justice Oka, set to retire on May 24, sat as part of his usual Bench today, before proceeding to sit on the ceremonial Bench along with Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.
As the Ceremonial Bench proceedings went underway, Justice Oka was showered with praises and wishes for a great future from members of the Bar and Bench alike.
Attorney General R Venkataramani said everyone got equal treatment in his court. Noting that he would cherish the questioning moments, the AG said that by working so tirelessly, Justice Oka had set bad standards for his law clerks, as some of them even forgot to go home.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta applauded Justice Oka for treating his duty as a judge first, despite an irreparable loss.
Justice Oka was born on May 25, 1960. He did his law from the University of Bombay and enrolled as an Advocate in June 1983. He started practising before the Thane District Court in the chamber of his father Shreeniwas W Oka.
In 1985-86, he joined the chamber of VP Tipnis, a former Judge of the Bombay High Court and former LokAyukta. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on August 29, 2003 was made a a permanent judge on November 12, 2005.
He took oath as the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court on May 10, 2019 where he served until he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on August 31, 2021.