Independence Of Supreme Court Important, Not Difficult For A Democracy With Constitution To Slip Into Chaos : Justice KM Joseph

Outgoing Supreme Court judge Justice KM Joseph speaking at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association said that “the judges of the Supreme Court are the most overworked judges in the world. It is a tremendous job and without the assistance of the bar, judges will not be able to do what they are doing.”

Justice Joseph also spoke on the importance of the independence of the judiciary for sustaining democracy, “the Independence of the Supreme Court is integral to the maintenance of a democratic way of life and rule of law. It is not very difficult for a nation which is a democracy having a constitution to slip into chaos, into just the opposite of democracy.”, he said. 

Justice Joseph also said that it was the duty of the Court and the bar to fight the threats to democracy “the Court and the bar must always remain on its toes. This is a duty that is passed on from generation to generation.”

Justice Joseph urged the younger members of the bar, to take the initiative to fight the forces that threaten democracy and the constitutional way of life “We have huge talent among the younger members of the bar. If this talent is not realised our democracy will be in danger. Members of the bar must be in the forefront of the fight against forces which can overcome the constitutional way of life we have adopted.” He said.

Justice Joseph recalled his journey as a lawyer and a judge in his farewell speech “It is an incredible moment. Though I am not 65 yet, I am being turned out by a constitutional mandate. There's no way I can approach this with a writ.”, he said in a lighter vein.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud who presided over the farewell function, spoke fondly of Justice KM Joseph as his friend of over 51 years, the CJI said “We were friends who knocked on each others' doors to play football.”

CJI Chandrachud described Justice Joseph as an eloquent and persuasive lawyer and an erudite judge. “He is humble despite his decades long familiarity with the law. Humble to the point of being self effacing. He takes his work very seriously, but not himself very seriously, which is the hallmark of a great judge” the CJI said.

CJI Chandrachud recalled sharing the bench with Justice Joseph virtually during covid. He spoke about how he very rarely had to call Justice Joseph as they would already know each other’s views on the subject “I often did not even have to use the intercom to discuss the matter with him because we would know the other persons' view on the matter. The reduced telephone bill during this time, is a testament to our friendship that has lasted half a century.”

Justice Joseph was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court in October 2004. In July 2014, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in August 2018.

Live updates of the event can be accessed here. 

Live streaming of the event can be accessed here.