Judgment day

Vimal Chander Joshi interviews Justice RS Sodhi, former judge of Delhi High Court.

While hearing the case details related to an owner-tenant feud over property, Rekha Suri (name changed on request), senior civil judge, learnt that the son of the landlord had been driven to take his own life due to extreme poverty. The tenants who had occupied his father’s property (which could have fetched his family a handsome income) were paying a rent of just Rs 50. Moved by his family’s plight Suri immediately issued eviction orders to the tenants.

“I didn’t even put the case on trial (as per my power under section 25B of the Delhi Rent Control Act) and helped the owner get back his property. When he thanked me, the satisfaction I got meant much more to me than the money I used to make as a lawyer,” says Suri.

Suri quit her flourishing practice of six years to become a judge ten years ago. A judicial career, she says, is not as physically demanding as that of a lawyer. She is now also empowered to ensure that justice is delivered to the wronged. “As a lawyer, I often felt helpless (when I lost a case) even after putting in my best efforts. That is the time when you want to be on the other side of the courtroom — an imparter of justice, and not just a proponent,” she adds.

Similar feelings prompted Gautam Manan to join the judiciary. What, however, awaited him on his first day in court on August 25, 2003, was a mountain of paperwork related to the cases he had to handle. “I was assigned 35 matters (or cases) that day and was very nervous.”

Sometimes, Manan says, he is amazed at the triviality of the issues that lead people to take recourse to litigation. “They go to court for something as small as a dispute over parking in a housing society to leaking drainpipes to even seepage in apartments. It makes me wonder why people can’t sort these issues among themselves,” says Manan.

Young people can take heart from the fact that one can become a judge even at the very young age of 24-25 years after qualifying the exam conducted by the Delhi Judicial Services, High Court of Delhi. Any fresh lawyer can sit for the exam, which is in two phases — preliminary and mains. After getting shortlisted in the written exam, you have to appear for an interview. If you qualify this, you have to undertake training for a year.

Since the government is keen to bring in legal reforms, it has also created a Vision Document that recommends the appointment of 700 additional judges in the high courts and 15,000 new judges in the lower judiciary.

After that, you are given complete charge of a courtroom. Besides having to handle the pressures created by the perpetual flow of cases, judges have to be very well-read and have to always stay abreast of small and major changes in laws. They have to be one step ahead of “lawyers, many of whom possess incredibly rich experience. Sometimes, they try to dominate you with their vast knowledge,” adds Manan.

Being a judge means you have to deliberate over cases — ponder over the evidence produced in the court and finally deliver a verdict. There could be an element of risk involved in doing your job as you have to bring criminals to book. Manan once faced an accused who whipped out a blade and threatened to slit his neck. “There are times when you have to handle them psychologically rather than by force. A judge must be a patient listener and a humble being at the same time,” he advises.

Author: HT Horizons

Date: 14th April, 2010

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