SCAORA female executives organise farewell ceremony for Justice Hima Kohli

The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) on Tuesday hosted a unique farewell ceremony for Justice Hima Kohli ahead of her retirement from the Supreme Court on September 1..The August 27 event was organized entirely by the association's female executives.Justice Kohli delivered an impromptu speech, taking the attendees in the ceremony through her journey. She highlighted the importance of the "guru-shishya" (mentor-mentee) tradition and how her mentors played a crucial role in her success. She shared personal anecdotes, reflecting on how her early years of legal practice benefitted her later in her career. She also humorously recounted how she used the trunk of her car as a makeshift office, which helped her find her footing in the profession..Justice Kohli was born and brought up in New Delhi. She was appointed an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2006 and took oath as a permanent Judge on August 29, 2007. She went on to become the first and only woman Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on January 7, 2021.She played a fundamental role in championing the cause of public health during the COVID-19 crisis, as a judge of the Delhi High Court.In June 2020, a High Court Division Bench led by Justice Kohli allowed private hospitals equipped with labs and permitted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct COVID-19 tests, in a bid to prevent Delhi from becoming the 'Corona Capital' of the country (Rakesh Malhotra v. NCT of Delhi).On March 28, 2020, a High-Powered Committee headed by Justice Kohli relaxed the criteria for the release of undertrial prisoners on interim bail from Delhi jails in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Supreme Court’s concern over overcrowding in jails.Apart from her contributions during the pandemic, Justice Kohli is known to have developed a strong jurisprudence in the area of matrimonial disputes through a feminist lens.