Why Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan did not withdraw his consent for judgeship despite delay in appointment

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, who was appointed as a judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2023, recently expressed his thoughts on the prolonged delay leading up to his elevation from the Bar and on how lawyers should deal with such delays. .“Mr [Nitin] Thakkar [Bombay Bar Association President] spoke about the rather long gestation between conception and delivery in this journey. Sometimes it needs…incubators and sometimes it needs a lot more support. I just had to keep my head down and keep working, so I am glad I am here,” Justice Sundaresan said..He opined that the role of lawyers as a "uniformed" forced is to strive to uphold the Constitution. Referring to the remarks made by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman in his farewell speech from the Supreme Court, he said:....He said no lawyer has an inherent vested right to be appointed as judge, but every single lawyer has a duty to serve when called upon..Rohinton Fali Nariman.Agreeing with the former top court judge’s views, Justice Sundaresan said if one can “afford” being elevated to the Bench, it must be done for the rule of law and for upholding the Constitution. “Ours is the only profession which universally, statutorily is a keeper of confidence by law. You can’t put a lawyer on the box and ask him to share what his client told him. Even in the most dictatorial regimes, at least on paper, that would still be the law universally,” he said..You can’t put a lawyer on the box and ask him to share what his client told him..Justice Sundaresan made the remarks at a welcome tea party organised by the Bombay Bar Association on January 25..His appointment as an additional judge was cleared by the Central government in November 2023, nearly two years after his name was first recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium. Sundaresan was initially recommended for elevation by the Bombay High Court Collegium in October 2021. Subsequently, in February 2022, the Supreme Court Collegium also recommended his name.However, on November 25, 2022, the Central government opposed his elevation. The apparent reason given by the government was that Sundaresan "aired his views on the social media on several matters which are the subject matter of consideration before the courts."The Collegium in a strongly-worded resolution issued in January 2023 said,“Expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity.".In his speech, Justice Sundaresan commented that lawyers are "uniformed" for a reason.“Other uniformed forces protect physical territories but as a uniformed force, the profession of law protects the soul of the society - the society which has chosen the Constitution and we work under it,” he said.Justice Sundaresan also impressed upon lawyers to consider serving as judges when called upon to do so, regardless of the “arduous journey” that the process itself may turn out to be.“The only thought I’d leave behind is, regardless of the seemingly arduous nature of that journey between the conception of being called upon to serve and eventually if at all being appointed to serve, it is something each of us should withstand and get on with it if circumstances permit.”In his concluding remarks, the judge urged lawyers to cut him some slack, since he has been on the Bench for very few weeks. “The move from the Bar to the Bench seemingly is very easy, but I can assure you there is a lot to learn and a lot to do. I promise to do my best and live up to the oath we took,” Justice Sundaresan said.