CJI Gogoi thanks media for displaying maturity during his ‘trying times’

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 15

Outgoing Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday thanked the media for displaying maturity in their reporting when he went through “trying times”.

Justice Gogoi, who faced sexual harassment charges from a woman employee of the top court, praised the fourth estate.

“Even during trying times, most members of the press displayed maturity, character. Media exercised exceptional discretion to prevent canards, falsehoods from clogging news space. At trying times, the stellar role of journalists as defenders of truth and democratic ideals came to the fore.”

Justice Gogoi—who a part of the January 12, 2018 press conference held by four senior-most judges against the then CJI Dipak Misra’s style of functioning —said, press corps had been kind to “my office, our institution during my tenure as CJI”.

CJI Gogoi, however, refused to give interviews.

In a statement issued on behalf of the CJI, his office said it received requests for one-on-one interviews from several journalists, but the “bench requires judges to maintain silence while exercising their freedoms.”

“Judges do speak out of functional necessity; bitter truths must remain in memory... Idea of courting the press never endeared itself as a choice in the interest of my institution,” it read.

Justice Gogoi— who retires on Sunday—sat for the last time in court number 1 of the Supreme Court.

“I have always soldiered to strengthen our institutional values, and as a part of such discourse, I would not be able to meet your request for a one-on-one meet,” the CJI said.

He said the judiciary’s strength lay in public confidence and trust, earned through work as judges and not good press.

Maintaining that it was not a requirement for judiciary and judges to reach out to citizenry through the press, Justice Gogoi said outreach to media to be symbolic of an extraordinary situation, demanding exception to the norm.

He, however, said, “Good press is also a parameter known to be indicative of our institutional health.”

He said once into retirement, he looks forward to meeting the media to talk about things of “mutual interest”.

SC lawyer body bids farewell to outgoing CJI in low-key affair      

Outgoing Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was on Friday given a farewell by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) during a low-key affair where no customary speeches were made.

Chief Justice Gogoi, who presided over the Supreme Court Bench for the last time on Friday, will demit office on November 17.

Almost all the judges of the top court, including Chief Justice-designate SA Bobde, were present during the function where the outgoing chief justice was felicitated by bouquets by the officer-bearers of Supreme Court lawyer body.

SCBA Acting Secretary Preeti Singh informed the gathering that the farewell function was kept a low-key affair without any speeches on the insistence of the outgoing chief justice.

SCBA president Rakesh Khanna welcomed the guests and said CJI Gogoi has been one of the finest judges which the apex court has seen.

CJI Gogoi, who was seated alongside Justice Bobde and Justice NV Ramana, was smiling and talking to other brother judges and accepting greetings from the lawyers.

Attorney General KK Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta were also seated along with the judges.

After lawyers felicitated the judges, refreshments were served to the dignitaries. — With PTI