By  : Himadrish Suwan

“Judiciary was not visible, now it is”- Justice RM Lodha

A Chief Justice of India for 153 days is unlikely to leave a legacy behind. Somehow he did .As called the EX Chief Justice of India Justice R.M Lodha as a ‘CJI with a difference’, No doubt he was a ‘CJI with a difference’. Lodha was  known for Justice with wit, humour, sarcasm , for his hard work and an extensive role in speeding up the justice system. Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha took charge of the office of the Chief Justice of India on 27 April 2014 after retirement of former CJI and Present Governor of Kerala P Sathasivam. Justice Lodha’s most powerful verdict during his tenure as CJI was decision in the coal allocation scam. The Supreme Court bench headed by Lodha on 24 September 2014 scrapped 214 out of 218 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2010 by terming those allocations as arbitrary and illegal. His landmark judgement on coal allocation was welcomed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an Internatioanl Forum in a meeting with CEO’s where he promised  them that he would convert the Supreme Court judgement on coal blocks into an “opportunity to move forward and clean up the past”. His innovation in handling the Coalgate scam is a model for how cases regarding natural resources should be dealt with. When the  CBI hemmed on the scam, he shamed it by calling it a “caged parrot”. That was enough to strike the CBI into action. It is  Justice Lodha who mandated in another judgment that the court had to complete the corruption trials of MPs and MLAs within a year. Thus such intervention’s had a positive impact on the cumbersome judicial system .

In cramped prison cells which lack electricity, food, as well as hope, destinies of almost hundreds of thousands of Indians lay bound by the trials they await for years. They might be convicted or not, but the fact that they end up spending a sizeable portion of their lives in the gaol, just waiting for judgement is a matter that can’t be put on the backburner anymore. In lieu of the same Justice Lodha gave a Landmark judgement and ordered the release of all undertrials who have served over half of the maximum punishment for the crime for which they have been charged with. The court also asked district judges to visit jails once in a week for two months in their respective districts and identify such undertrials. Other than this Justice Lodha during the past five years of his tenure in the apex court, passed many landmark judgments including the ban of over the counter sale of acid at retail outlets. The judgment was passed along with a compensation on Rs 3lakh to all acid attack victims.

Justice Lodha has been the upholder of right he headed the three-member panel which inquired into the allegations of a law intern against the former Supreme Court judge, A.K. Ganguly. The committee held that the statement of the intern, both written and oral, prima facie disclosed an act of “unwelcome behaviour.”The report resulted in Justice Ganguly resigning as Chairperson of the West Bengal State Human Rights Commission.

The Judicial Appointment Commission Bill’ which will replace the collegium system of appointment of the High Court & The Supreme Court judges undoubtedly it’s a bold step towards transparency which is a need of hour. But at the same time we must see that the Independence of Judiciary is not being constrained and if its being constrained it’s a clear threat to our democracy as people have simply  lost faith in executive and legislator. Without entering into personal controversy, Lodha defended the collegium while accepting its shortcomings against Katju’s rantings which were to facilitate enacting at BJP Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). He knew, as we do, the door is half open for BJP appointments to the judiciary. Here we must ensure freedom of Judiciary is not effected else its direct attack on the Judiciary and its judicial freedom.

“CJI with a difference” is apt here Justice Lodha sets trend and says won’t take up post-retirement assignment. “You will not see me in any constitutional or governmental assignment after my retirement,” Justice Lodha said on his penultimate day in office. This significant statement could help dispel the public perception that judges of higher judiciary strive for post-retirement assignments.

Rajendra Mal Lodha’s has a diverse career in judicial field:-

• He enrolled himself with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in February 1973
  • He practiced Law in Rajasthan High Court during which he dealt with all branches of law like constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation and labour
  • In January 1994, he was elevated as a Permanent Judge of the Rajasthan High Court after which he was transferred to Bombay High Court, where he assumed the office in February 1994
  • In 2007, he was transferred back to the Rajasthan High Court
  • He had been the Administrative Judge of the Rajasthan High Court and was chairman of the State Judicial Academy
  • On 13 May 2008, he was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court from where he was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on 17 December 2008.On 27 April 2014 he was appointed as the 41st Chief Justice of India.

For now we can say for sure that he has indeed left the Supreme Court in a better place than when he took over. He has, in many ways, left it stronger and more ready to face the challenges coming its way in the years ahead. As a judge, he will be remembered for a series of significant decisions, his sharp questions and a man of courage.