Success in this Court comes on merit, not your background: Justice Jayant Nath bids farewell to Delhi High Court

Justice Jayant Nath today bid farewell to the Delhi High Court in a ceremony organised by the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA)..In his address to the members of the Bar, he reminisced about his struggle as a young lawyer."My entry in this profession was a sheer chance, being a first generation lawyer was a struggle. I worked in the private sector for some time and then decided to start my practice. During my initial years, my father assisted me financially, as you barely earn as a young lawyer. For a long time, I used to travel to the Delhi High Court in a DTC bus. Later I borrowed some money from my aunt and bought a Bajaj scooter.".He acknowledged how much the Delhi High Court has changed since his days at the Bar. He remembered,"When I joined the Bar, there used to 24 court rooms and 20 judges at that time. And now we have around 61 court rooms and 60 judges.In the last three-four decades, the legal profession has gone through a huge change, lawyers and the legal profession has prospered. The same is proved, as when one takes a stroll down the expensive colonies of Delhi like Jor Bagh & Golf Links, a lot of properties are owned by successful lawyers." .He also said that the Delhi High Court is truly cosmopolitan, as it is the best for arbitration, intellectual property rights (IPR), and mediation."It doesn't matter which part of the country you belong to, or which religion you follow. Success in this Court comes on merit, not your background. We are proud of this Court.".On his last working day, Justice Nath took the opportunity to convey an important message to the young members of the Bar:"All this profession demands is a lot of hard work. Be sincere to briefs and your clients. When you appear, argue properly. You have to be well prepared. Merely because you have a client who is not cooperative would not be an excuse to argue poorly. To succeed in the profession is a back-breaking struggle, but I'm sure the hard working juniors will succeed.".He also spoke about the public image of courts in terms of pendency and delay of cases."Much is said about courts going on vacation, comparing it with school vacations...I can say with full conviction that this public image is not correct, the pendency is there despite huge efforts from the courts and bar members to dispose of matters. Reasons for delay are many but not really attributable to Courts."He further said that the Court needs to take some steps to project the hard-work that is being put in by it."All I can say is the Court needs to take some steps to project this hard and good work that is being put, by engaging an appropriate machinery. I think soe image change would be useful.".Looking back at the times he appeared before Justice Nath, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma said,"There is a distinction in your demeanour; it is very endearing to everybody. By your humility, you never announced yourself in any manner. That humility, it is said, is a by-product of devotion.".The farewell was organised by DHCBA President Mohit Mathur and Secretary Abhijat. Chief Justice DN Patel and other judges of the Delhi High Court, as well as some members of the Bar were present at the ceremony..Justice Nath was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on April 17, 2013 and became a permanent judge on March 18, 2015. He was designated as a Senior Advocate of the High Court in 2006.He holds a BA (Economics) degree from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University and completed his LL.B. from Faculty of Law, Delhi University in 1982.