SCBA President Kapil Sibal’s Emotional Speech On Supreme Court Judge Hima Kohli’s Farewell

as I watch uh just watch Justice himaki in the Supreme Court I was also told that she was the head girl of St Thomas school when she was in school now I realized why she was the head girl well while she presides over the bench she has that authoritative Mark that allows you to say what you want and she decisively tells you what she wants and that's how it goes in court I also request the Chief Justice of India to look at some of our Lady lawyers who are practicing in this court and doing phenomenal practice now they should be picked up and actually moved to various High courts around the country you've done it with male lawyers you should also do it with women lawyers and I think this is something that we should collectively this is something that we should collectively look at and I think that the problem in our country is that but they need to be told the importance and the significance over women's role in the family the importance of women to allow them the freedom to move forward in any profession that they want to embrace and Justice K's career is symptomatic of what women judges can do in this country we we wish you well we wish you well for years to come you worked real hard now have some [Applause] fun good evening honorable Chief Justice of India honorable Justice Hima Ki distinguished judges of the Supreme Court of India uh judge from uh telingana High Court uh attorney general for India vice president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary vikrant yadav of the Bar Association members of the executive committee of the bar association senior Advocates uh young lawyers uh and friends I was listening to both these speeches on I was wondering what am I to say the entire career both at the bar and the bench has already been stated so let me move on to something else and get away from my speech Justice himaki is the ninth W judge in the Supreme Court of India we should ask ourselves we should ask ourselves the question how is it that after almost 75 years since India's independence there are only nine women judges in the Supreme Court that tells you something about the male mindset in this country it tells you something about our legal system it tells you something about the nature of our profession it also allows you to reflect as to how we carve the future of our country especially in the legal profession it's not easy to become a judge of the Supreme Court in the context of the travails and tribulations that a woman has to face as he makes a way to the bar and to the bench and a woman who has carved her own career ch her own course in life this is something that is phenomenal there are very few who are able to do that as I watch uh Justus watch Justice himaki in the Supreme Court I was also told that she was the head girl of St Thomas school when she was in school now I realized why she was the head girl well while she presides over the bench she has that authoritative mark that allows you to say what you want and she decisively tells you what she wants and that's how it goes in court well why is it and let's go back to this question that we don't have enough women judges today of course the nature of the legal system has changed in the sense that now we have ever since the law schools national law schools were established there are lots of women judges uh women uh students who are going and getting degrees in law and many of them get absorbed in very many law firms and doing a lot of commercial work now if you really look at the Supreme Court there are very fine lady lawyers in our court and yet if you really notice none of them is doing litigation in relation to business matters that also should tell you something that whereas you have a lot of Lady Advocates who are in law firm who deal with complex business issues when it comes to litigation women lawyers are not briefed in matters relating to women and judges who are sitting here decide while they're in the Supreme Court decide complex questions in relation to business and it's a phenomenal job that they do so I request the Chief Justice of India to look at law firms and women who have who are aware of the complexities of the business Community if Indians Indian women can become CEOs of Pepsi and and and run banks in India and and and Lead commercial organization in India why should not women lawyers who working in law firms dealing with complex legal issues not be absorbed and brought to the Judiciary so that they can be appointed in different High courts I also request the Chief Justice of India to look at some of our Lady lawyers who are practicing in this court and doing phenomenal practice now they should be picked up and actually moved to various High courts around the country you've done it with male lawyers you should also do it with women lawyers and I think this is something that we should collectively this is something that we should collectively look at because ultimately if you give responsibility and you know that women are able to discharge any kind of responsibility including responsibility of the highest position in the country president prime minister of India why not judges of the Supreme Court and why not more judges in the high court and I think this this ratio must change and I have a little poem which I'm going to give to her at the end of this which I've written for you justice KY uh to tell you as to what your journey has been in this court I can only say that it's been phenomenal and the most important characteristic of a judge and there are essential traits of a judge and I will this is what I feel are a clear and Forward Thinking Vision which you had which a lot of our judges have a firm grasp of practical realities steadfast ethical principles and The Bravery to act on them if our judges were to actually each of them have these four essential traits I think our judicial system will Bloom to another level altogether and I think that the problem in our country is that they need to be told the importance and the significance of a women's role in the family the importance of women to allow them the freedom to move forward in any profession that they want to embrace and Justice K's career is symptomatic of what women judges can do in this country I won't say anything more because everything about you has already been said so I just didn't want to repeat what I had written in this speech so therefore I moved away but let me give uh give me this opportunity to present you with what I brought for you and give me the privilege to read it to The Honorable judges of this court thank youor [Applause] true words like [Applause] Justice Himi a glorious Journey crisp upfront within the law Beyond Contours won't far far when convinced law must Prevail will not mean wordss there hangs a tail a heart of gold razor sharp mind your judge likee ways were never blind willing to hear ruminate if cocking a snook will seal their fate law and Equity find a place when in conflict each has its day what was once a male preserve their dominance a falling curve they'll come day I hope it's soon with more of you this court will Bloom patience a woman's Creed understanding judges is what we need as we say goodbye never forget you left behind in memories Nest the cander and your courteous ways your stint throughout was full of grace we we wish you well we wish you well for years to come you worked real hard now have some [Applause] fun stay ahead with our Cutting Edge news app instantly access the latest shorts in just 1 minute and breaking news in just 50 words download now for a smarter faster news experience [Music]