Justice K.T. Thomas A Leading Name And Will Always Will Be, Says Chief Justice At Book Launch Event Of Justice Thomas' Memoir

Justice Lalit was invited to formally release Justice Thomas' autobiographical "Momentous Challenges in Two Decades" which chronicles his life and pursuits after retirement. This book was translated from Malayalam by Justice Thomas' eldest son, Dr Binu Pratap Thomas, who said, "My father never really retired." The second son of Justice Thomas, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas of the Kerala High Court, taking a cue from Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If", remarked "Every minute of my father's last twenty years was filled with sixty seconds worth of distance run. This book traverses those times and can act as a roadmap for all of us looking towards retirement in the years to come".

Momentous Challenges in Two Decades is a sequel to "Honeybees of Solomon: Memoirs of a Jurist", which contained an account of the retired Judge's time in the Bar and on the Bench. Justice Lalit launched the new book by ceremonially handing it over to the erstwhile Attorney-General for India and Senior Advocate, K.K. Venugopal. Venugopal said Justice Thomas was and continued to be "one of the leading lights" in the legal fraternity. The former Attorney-General also commended the harmonious meeting of the "broad constitutional principles" and "practical common sense" in Justice Thomas' landmark judgements.

Also in attendance was former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, who began his address by referring to the retired Judge and celebrated author as "my dear friend Justice K.T. Thomas". The event was graced by several other luminaries of the legal field, including former Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice S.R. Bannurmath who confessed that he used to frequently rely on Justice Thomas for both blessings and advice. The current Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and various other Judges, past and present, attended the virtual event organised by JSS Law College (Autonomous), Mysuru, Karnataka.

Chief Justice Lalit reminisced about the times when he had appeared before Justice Thomas as an advocate. "In seven years of his tenure," the Chief Justice remembered, "I appeared before him in a number of matters. In a number of matters, I came to be appointed as amicus curiae." One of the cases in which Justice Thomas had entrusted Chief Justice Lalit, who was then just an advocate, with the responsibility of assisting the court, was Shamnsaheb Multtani v State of Karnataka (2001). This case, the Chief Justice said, was "a great lesson" for "a youngster" like him. He also added, "To any youngster of those years who appeared before Justice Thomas, what would always stand out was his clarity of thought, the strength and courage of conviction, and his great sense of compassion."

"It was this unique combination of courage of conviction, compassion, and clarity which made Justice Thomas what he was and what he presently is," said Chief Justice Lalit. He also commended the retired Judge for "keeping on going even twenty years after his retirement" and devoting his time to whatever was the "best possible outlet for his creativity." The Chief Justice said Justice Thomas was "a great soul who had taken birth on the planet just to serve mankind" and that his continued commitment to this cause was evident from all that he had done after this retirement.

Chief Justice Lalit also pointed out that while he won some of the cases in which he appeared before Justice Thomas, he lost some, but always "argued with great gusto". One such case was High Court of Judicature at Bombay v. Shashikant S. Patil (1999), in which the Chief Justice "lost the case, but learnt a great lesson." He added, "The lesson I learnt was what a judge has to be and to what extent this 'judicial surgery' has to be taken resort to." Chief Justice Lalit's parting words were – "So here I am, in a different capacity. As a student of law and a student of Justice KT Thomas. It is my privilege to be chosen to be here."

While speaking about his post-retirement innings, Justice Thomas recounted that he had resolved to not accept "any salaried posts, either from the State Government or the Government of India". He was asked to head both the Law Commission and the National Human Rights Commission. Justice Thomas rejected both offers, because he thought he could "spend his time in a better way by living in his hometown." Justice Ruma Pal had asked him on the day of his retirement how he wanted to spend his days after demitting office. Justice Thomas told her that he wanted to write a book containing his experiences as a legal practitioner and as a Judge. This book came to be known as Honeybees of Solomon, the retired Supreme Court Judge's first autobiographical novel.

Justice K.T. Thomas was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1996. He is among the few who began his judicial career as a District and Sessions Judge and eventually, rose through the ranks. He is considered to be a Judge per excellence and his contributions to the field of criminal law, as noted by many of the speakers, is substantial. Justice Thomas retired in January, 2002. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhusan, which is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, for services in the field of social affairs.