Kaul bids adieu to Madras High Court

Outgoing CJ highlights the importance of appointing the ‘right’ kind of people as judges

Chief Justice S.K. Kaul said the rising number of litigations is a good trend.

Emphasising that it is the important duty of the Chief Justice of a High Court to see that judicial and administrative vacancies are filled at the earliest, the outgoing Chief Justice of Madras High Court S.K. Kaul said, “The existence of vacancies affects the administration of justice.”

He, however, cautioned that proper care should be taken to ensure that only people of right eminence and character are appointed as judges.

Justice Kaul, who has been elevated to the Supreme Court, made the observations at a brief farewell function organised on the High Court premises on Thursday.

Noting that the rising number of new litigations was a good trend, he said, “The fact that there is a deluge of litigation is not to my mind bad. It only shows that people are more aware. They seek to assert their rights, especially those who are on the margins of society and economically underprivileged. Courts give them an opportunity to ventilate their grievances.”

Criticising the frequent boycotts and strikes called by advocates, which had come down considerably in the Madras High Court after his interference, Justice Kaul said, “It is my firm belief that the temple of justice has to remain open for the litigants to knock the doors at any time. The closure of the temple shakes the faith of the common man. It is only with this objective that I have repeatedly appealed to the members of the Bar that the choice of abstaining from work is not available to the practitioners of this noble profession. Lawyers are the officers of the court who are meant to advance the cause of justice by prosecuting the case of their clients.” He added that the use of technology for better administration is the need of the hour and that it enables transparency, whereby the progress made in a case can be monitored not only by the advocate, but even by the litigant at the click of a button.

Acting CJ appointed

In the evening, the President appointed the second senior-most judge of the Madras High Court Justice Huluvadi G. Ramesh as the acting Chief Justice.