In what could be seen as one of the rare instances of a judge speaking up against Collegium decision, retiring Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker on Tuesday said that his transfer from Chhattisgarh High Court to Allahabad High Court in 2018 by the Collegium headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra was ill-intentioned and done to harass him.
The judge was speaking at the farewell function organised on the occasion of his retirement from the High Court as its Chief Justice.
"Now a sudden turn of events descended upon me when the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra showered on me some extra affection for the reasons still not known to me which entailed my transfer to Allahabad High Court where I assumed my office on October 3, 2018. My transfer order seems to have been issued with an ill-intention to harass me," he said.
However, as fortune would have it, the bane turn into boon as I received immeasurable support and cooperation from my companion judges as well from the members of the Bar, he added.
Pertinently, the retiring judge thanked the current CJI DY Chandrachud for rectifying the injustice done to him. It was the Collegium headed by CJI Chandrachud which recommended him to take over as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court
"I am highly thankful to the present CJI Dr DY Chandrachud who had rectified injustice done to me," Justice Diwaker said.
Born in 1961, Justice Diwaker's parent High Court is the Chhattisgarh High Court. He graduated in law from Durgawati University in Jabalpur and enrolled as an advocate in 1984.
He was designated Senior Advocate in January 2005 and elevated as a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court on March 31, 2009. He has been a judge of the Allahabad High Court since October 3, 2018.
In a full court reference organized by the High Court, Justice Diwaker shared his experience and journey in the legal profession.
Talking about his experience as the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Justice Diwaker remarked that balancing a heavy workload is indeed a challenge in the High Court.
"Furthermore this court was subjected to criticism from various corners in relation to its functioning but I am of the firm believe that before reaching to a particular conclusion, critics must see the shortcomings prevailing in the institution from inside and as far as possible the problem should be vested with remedy," the retiring judge underscored.
Justice Diwakar also praised the lawyers practicing before the Allahabad High Court bench at Lucknow.
"The quality of lawyers at Lucknow and their behavior is commendable. Their legal acumen and presentation is as good as lawyers of the any other High Court," he stated.
Justice Diwaker also said that he never aspired to be a judge but became one due to destiny.
"I never aimed to be judge but destiny seemed to have steered me that direction but I think when you love your profession, time seems to fly carrying you swiftly towards success...On November 1, 2000, the High Court of Chhattisgarh came into being and thus I shifted to Bilaspur. Thereafter, in the year 2009 when the collegium offered me judgeship initially I was hesitant whether to accept such offer or not but finally after a great deal of deliberation with my colleagues, family members and well wishers I gave in my consent for becoming a judge. Eventually on March 31, 2009 I was elevated to the bench."
Reminiscing about his earlier days, Justice Diwaker said that he was never good academically but always had a passion for sports which helped him develop an all round personality.
He further said that he joined legal profession to help the downtrodden people in society.
"It was next to impossible for to me to have dream and join dream for performing the pious act of dispensation of justice but now I realize that everything on the planet can be achieved if one really has an appetite for knowledge and sense of responsibility towards the downtrodden of society. Probably this is what made me a part of justice dispensation mechanism to provide relief to the needy," he said.