Judges, while granting relief to parties are not doing any charity, the Delhi High Court's Justice Mukta Gupta said at her farewell ceremony held on Friday.
Justice Gupta said that for her, judging was not like performing a divine duty, and that for her, the only effort has been to ensure that justice won at the end.
“Over the past 14 years, when I have been the judge of this Court, I have dedicated my life to the cause of justice. To err is human and I am sure I also made mistakes along the way. But I did my best to ensure that whatever may have been the outcome of my decision, the eventual victory was that of justice,” she said.
The judge recollected that it was because of incorrect markings in her medical entrance exams that she entered the field of law. She revealed that she had got the top rank in the Delhi Higher Judicial Services Exams, but chose to pursue her practice. The then Lieutenant Governor asked her if she wanted to be an Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) for the Delhi government.
Recounting her days as a government counsel, he said,
“As a standing counsel, I tried that everybody should be doing all kinds of matters. But every briefing which was more than 20 volumes landed back in my lap at the eleventh hour. However, I never said that I cannot do it. Accepting every challenge resulted in decisions in some of the most challenging matters that have been referred to today.”
She told the gathering today that when she first sat as a High Court judge on the original side, people doubted her ability to deal with Intellectual Property (IP) matters.
“Due to the confidence I had in my ability, I soon not only authored a number of judgments in IPR, but I also co-authored India's first and only appellate post-trial judgment in patent law with Justice Nandrajog. I also became the first woman judge in India to be recognised amongst the top 50 in the world of the IP matters in the year 2020.”
In her message to the younger members of the Bar, Justice Gupta said that they cannot grow unless they believe in themselves.
“It is your faith in yourself that gives you the strength to cross every hurdle. No profession is a cakewalk. No one gets everything on a platter. You have to earn your place.”
In the end, she thanked her staff as well as former and present colleagues.
“On demitting the office, I can confidently say to God and to myself that after being appointed as a judge, I have performed the duties of my office with the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I have upheld the Constitution and the laws.”
Justice Gupta was appointed an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on October 23, 2009 and became a permanent judge on May 29, 2014. As a lawyer, she conducted many criminal cases including the Parliament and Red Fort shootout cases, the Jessica Lal murder case and the Nitish Katara murder case.