Jahanvi Agarwal
Justice Poonam A. Bamba, who has served as a Justice in the Delhi High Court for about 18 months, resigned on 31st August 2023. She was appointed to the High Court on March 28, 2022.
Justice Bamba expressed in her farewell speech low significant her tenure at the High Court was, despite the short duration:
“I am reminded of a very famous dialogue of Rajesh Khanna in film ‘Anand’. ‘Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi’. I can say that my journey in the high court, though short, has been very significant for me and if legitimate expectation of long tenure is met that is always welcome.”
The High Court will now have 43 Judges instead of the 60 that were authorized with Justice Bamba’s retirement.
For all of her future endeavors, Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma wished her well.
Justice Poonam, a 19-year veteran of the local judiciary, described her time there as “most enriching” and “immensely satisfying”.
She stated that:
“Today, I demit office with deep gratitude in my heart and a great sense of satisfaction of having lived by the oath of my office.”
Justice Bamba was born on September 1, 1961. She graduated from Delhi University’s Faculty of Law with an LLB in 1983 and an LL.M. in 1988.
She joined the Delhi Higher Judicial Service in December 2002 after engaging in legal practice and working for the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
She spent almost five years as a District & Sessions Judge while working as a judicial official in several districts. She also contributed to the planting of trees at the district courts and the development of a microforest.
In February, Justice Bamba affirmed the six-year prison sentence given to a maulvi (cleric) for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl, stating that the maulvi, who teaches people the teachings of the Holy Quran and is held in high regard, enjoys enormous confidence and trust.
In a ruling from last year, she declined to invite a kid with special needs who had been accused of sexual assault back for her cross-examination, arguing that the law forbids calling a juvenile to testify in court again.
Justice Poonam also rejected the transfer of 66-year-old Abdul Majeed Baba, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) member serving a life sentence in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, from Tihar Jail to Srinagar Jail in November of last year.
Justice Bamba upheld the life sentence issued to a man for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman earlier this year as a member of a division bench led by former High Court Judge Justice Mukta Gupta.
The bench also affirmed a man’s life sentence for sexually abusing a five-year-old child who had lived in his neighborhood, stating that the offender took advantage of the circumstance and betrayed the confidence of the helpless, vulnerable victim.