‘Performed Duties With Righteousness, Will Continue To Be Part Of Judiciary’: Justice Mukta Gupta Bids Farewell To Delhi High Court

Bidding farewell to the Delhi High Court on Friday, Justice Mukta Gupta, who retires on June 27, said that she has performed her duties as a judge on her own terms with righteousness and that she will continue to remain part of the judiciary through her judgments.

“On demitting the office I can confidently say to the God in myself, that after having been appointed as a judge of this great institution on 23rd October, 2009, I have performed the duties of my office with the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment, without fear or favor, affection or ill will and that I've upheld the Constitution and the laws. In the end, I'm not saying goodbye, because I was a part of this great institution as a lawyer. I'm a part of this institution as a judge, and I will continue to be the part of this institution by my judgments,” the judge said.

Justice Mukta Gupta was appointed Additional Public Prosecutor in the Delhi High Court in 1993 and as the Standing Counsel (Criminal) for Delhi Government in 2001. She conducted many criminal cases including Parliament and Red Fort shootout, Priyadarshini Matoo case and Jessica Lal murder case. She was elevated as a judge of the High Court in 2009 and became permanent in 2014.

“After having worked for 39 years and untiringly for the last 23 years…On 27 June 2023, when I demit office, I don't propose to unbuckle my shoes. In my fourth innings, I still propose to work but at a slower pace and spend rest of my time with my grandchildren,” the judge said in her emotional farewell address.

“The journey from standing on that side of the bench arguing matter after matter, [then] reading reference after reference on this side of the bench, listening matter after matter, reference after reference, has been very fulfilling and satisfying. The nostalgic feeling of being able to touch the lives of a number of people with positivity as a lawyer and as a judge helps me move on to my fourth innings.”

Remembering her father who was also a lawyer, Justice Mukta Gupta said he would always advise her that even though every matter teaches one something new, she should appear in the courts only after she has built a solid foundation.

She also thanked Justice Usha Mehra for giving her the opportunity to help and rehabilitate various girls from GB road, adding that it changed the very thought process of her life.

“In a petition which was pending for 10 years for rehabilitation of women at GB road, and nothing concrete had been done, she (Justice Usha Mehra) said that she would be happy if we could effectively settle even a few of such women. And then the entire exercise of planning and execution started when we were able to rescue more than 300 minor girls from GB road. And while they were lodged in the protective home, we gave them psychological help and meaningful rehabilitation measures including reintegration into their families when they all had some vocation or the other which they could earn around Rs. 8-10,000 per month,” Justice Gupta said.

She added: “Even in my wildest imaginations, I could have not thought that in this process, we would be able to perform the marriages of 25 girls and happily settle them. While monitoring the rescue operations, interacting with those girls, the realisation what those girls go through physically and mentally dawned on me. I shared myself into their protector, psychologist and above all a mother. I now had more than one daughter to look after.”

Thanking all the other judges of the court, Justice Gupta said she believes that the Delhi High Court is one of the best in the country, because of the trust and confidence everyone reposes amongst each other.

"We may sit in different benches and handle different rosters. But behind all the work, we are one unit one family," she said.

Justice Gupta added: “As I stand here today, I feel a sense of great pride, the pride of being a part of this institution having served this institution, the pride of working with my brother and sister judges who are like a family to me. I will also feel the pride of having heard and engaged in legal discussion with all the lawyers who have appeared in my court. Without the able assistance of counsels no court can come to adjust and correct decision.”

The judge also said that in all these years, she has endeavored to discharge her duties as a judge with a clean conscience and absolute deference to the letter and spirit of law.

If in the process I have ever hurt anyone's feeling, I seek forgiveness, she said.

Justice Gupta also gave a message to the younger members of the bar that “you cannot grow unless you believe in yourself.”

“If you have faith in yourself, it's your faith which gives you the strength to cross every hurdle. No profession is a cakewalk. No one gets in a platter. You have to earn your place,” she said.

Justice Gupta added: “What I am is because of the unstinted love and support of my family. Our father taught us to work honesty ... to client and above all honesty to yourself. He taught us to stand up for what is right, even if you're standing alone. He always used to say, if you cannot speak what is right, then don't be a lawyer. There are many other professions you can pursue. Our mother taught us compassion in helping others in need. There's a blend of these attributes which have shaped me what I am today.”