Hriday Shah
Supreme Court Justice C. T. Ravikumar have his farewell speech on the 3rd of January. He is set to retire on the 5th of January. In his farewell speech, Justice C. T. Ravikumar emphasized that the people of India are the true guardians of the Constitution, while the judiciary is tasked with safeguarding their rights as per its provisions.
Highlighting the relationship between the judiciary and the people, he remarked that often judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution, but who should be the guardian of the judiciary? He remarked that it should be the people of India as they gave the Constitution to the judiciary. He further stated that judiciary will be protected by the people of India and the judiciary will, in turn, safeguard and protect them with the aid of Constitution.
He also spoke about the need for constructive criticism, especially concerning judgments of public significance. He quoted a well-known principle ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ He added that if any criticism is made imbibing this spirit, it would be constructive criticism, which in turn helps in the development of law.
Justice Ravikumar was appointed as a judge at the Kerala High Court in 2008 and was then elevated to the Supreme Court in 2021. He expressed contentment with his career.
He reaffirmed that he shall abide by the principles of his judicial oath, and pledged to uphold confidence in the judiciary even after his retirement. While being sworn in, the Apex Court judge said that he would not do anything that would make the people lose confidence in the judiciary because judiciary it is the guardian of the law. He assured that he would not do anything against the oath he took.
Justice Ravikumar advised lawyers to be patient, since they expect the judges to be patient as well. A lawyer shall also not think that the judge only opposes them, rather judges are there to listen. Commenting on the practice of seeking adjournments, he noted that they shall be used to read the matter twice or even thrice and be prepared for it.