Hyderabad: A grand farewell was accorded to the first woman Chief Justice of Telangana, Justice Hima Kohli, on Friday following her appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Addressing the event at the High Court, Justice Kohli explained how difficult the life of a judge is. "Wearing the mantle of a judge and deciding on complicated matters is not an easy task,” she said.
Describing the lifestyle of a judge, she said, “As a matter of fact, the real work of a judge starts after we rise from court. That’s the time when we go through the reserved cases, the citations and sift through material to try and arrive at a just decision."
"Most holidays are dedicated to dictating long judgments. I would urge the public not to count the (many) holidays in the court calendar and assume that these days are spent by judges relaxing with their families or holidaying. On most of these days, we are on our table all day, working on judgments,” she said.
Justice Kohli narrated the story of The Judge’s Seat (Neethi Peedhom) of Emperor Vikramaditya, who used to dispense with cases in a fair manner and with impartiality by sitting on the 20-stone-angles seat in ancient times.
“Unless we have a pure heart and are fit to adorn the seat, the job of a judge will not be virtuous. Whoever sits on the judge’s seat must be serious and change their demeanour completely, like the mythical shepherd boy who used to give verdicts with the 'spirit of knowledge of Justice' when he sits on the seat of King Vikramaditya,” Justice Kohli said.
Justice Kohli thanked all, right from the dafedar of the court to the judge colleagues who have been associated with her as the Chief Justice here.
In a span of around seven months as Chief Justice, the division bench led by Justice Kohli disposed of 1,731 cases. Of these, almost 200 cases were long-pending family court appeals.
The High Court Bar Association felicitated the outgoing CJ and thanked her for recommending the names from the Bar for appointment as judges.
