Katju, Jain on way to elevation

JUDGESHIP OF the Supreme Court represents the pinnacle of judicial career, though the ultimate belongs to one who ascends to the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the acme in the nation?s judicial hiearchy. Moments of pride are now quite close to two senior members, Markandey Katju and DK Jain of the Indian judiciary.

JUDGESHIP OF the Supreme Court represents the pinnacle of judicial career, though the ultimate belongs to one who ascends to the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the acme in the nation’s judicial hiearchy. Moments of pride are now quite close to two senior members, Markandey Katju and DK Jain of the Indian judiciary.

HT Image

Of these, Markandey Katju belongs to the Allahabad High Court, where he had been a judge since 1991. He moved out as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court in November 2004, and then, in the same capacity, to the Delhi High Court in October 2005.

The other one, DK Jain, had been a judge of the Delhi High Court since 1992, from where he moved out to the Punjab and Haryana High Court as Chief Justice in March 2005. For both Katju and Jain, it has been a steady but sure march upwards, starting from the legal profession, which they had opted for, Katju at the Allahabad High Court and Jain at the Delhi High Court.

Significantly, before their elevation as High Court judges, they both had had a stint as government counsel, Katju as the standing counsel for the income-tax department Department, and Jain as a special prosecution counsel and senior standing counsel for the income-tax department.

For those in legal and judicial circles at Allahabad, the elevation of Markandey Katju as a Supreme Court judge will be of special interest, in view of the kickstart he gave here to his initiation in the legal profession. He had a massive background to make a niche for himself in the legal profession.

First, he hailed from a family with deep roots in law. His grandfather, Dr Kailash Nath Katju, was known as a ‘winning lawyer’ for pretty long before he diversified to politics, becoming soon one of the strong pillars of the Congress. Then, his father, SN Katju, yet another lawyer in the family, rose to become a judge of the Allahabad High Court, followed by his uncle, BN Katju, who retired as its Chief Justice.

Coupled with this rich heritage, Markandey Katju proved his own academic excellence in law; he had the distinction of clearing LL.B from Allahabad, standing atop the merit list. What more one needs to make it big in law career!
Very soon after his elevation to the Bench of the Allahabad High Court, Katju hogged limelight as a judge with a difference.

His approach to justice was down-to-earth, oriented to public good, and invariably glued to the core values of the Constitution, such as secularism, right to life, and a progressive, industrial society in tune with the needs of modern times. At the top of it all, his verdicts, centred around promotion of national and people’s interest, would often break through the four walls of the High Court to be discussed and hailed by people outside.

However, everyone has his other side also. Katju won accolades for his characteristic traits, and also raised the eyebrows of his detractors. But at the end, everyone would concede that he was a person with a “heart of gold”, and at the bottom of his inner self reigned goodwill for all.

One hopes his innings at the apex court will continue to generate multi-dimensional waves in the legal and judicial arena, and his performance will cheer up his admirers here and elsewhere.

HT wishes Justice Katju well as he gets ready to embark on nearly five-year long journey at the country’s highest court.