Pay Junior Lawyers Decently, Let Them Brief and Argue: Justice Abdul Nazeer In Farewell Speech

Standing on the cusp of retirement, Justice Nazeer issued a call to action to senior and experienced members of the legal profession to “be the change that [they] wanted during their days as a junior advocate”. A ‘decent pay’ to the juniors would inspire more talented and dynamic young members to enter the profession, he said. He added that the younger generation of lawyers and their valuable inputs are needed to provide equitable and accessible justice and “reach the last voice crying for justice, which otherwise, cannot be heard”. “I second what the Chief Justice had said on the same issue some time back,” Justice Nazeer said, referring to similar remarks made by Justice Chandrachud. On multiple occasions, the chief justice exhorted senior lawyers to remunerate their juniors fairly in order to enable them to live a life of dignity. “For far too long, we have regarded the youngsters in our profession as slave workers. Because that is how we grew up…This must change, and the burden of doing that is on us, as senior members of the profession,” Justice Chandrachud had remarked, while speaking at a felicitation function organised by the Bar Council of India after he took up the mantle of the chief justice.

Addressing the gathering, Justice Nazeer also spoke about the value of mentorship in the career of a lawyer. “The younger generation needs a mentor to channelise their energies and act like an invisible helping hand. All of us have had mentors in this profession. Now, it is our duty to become one for the new generation,” he said. Another issue he broached was the dismal representation of women in the judiciary. “If I were to say that the Indian judiciary is immune from the gender inequalities that exist in our society, I could not be further away from the reality.”

Although the Supreme Court judge briefly touched on the areas that needed improvement, he also offered a hopeful prognosis about the state of affairs today and in the future by saying, “The situation we see today is not as grim as it used to be earlier. The Supreme Court has always strived for excellence, and it has come a long way ever since its inception.” Justice Nazeer also expressed his confidence that the apex institution is prepared to face the challenges of today’s ‘dynamic scenario’ under the guidance of Chief Justice Chandrachud. He added, “I am also hopeful that our future chief justices and judges will only take things forward.”

Justice S. Abdul Nazeer was elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2017, before which he was a judge of the Karnataka High Court. He is among the few judges who were elevated directly to the top court without becoming the chief justice of a high court first. In his tenure of almost six years, Justice Nazeer has authored several landmark judgements and been a part of benches delivering historic verdicts, such as the Ayodhya judgement and the ‘Right to Privacy’ judgement. Recently, he also headed a Constitution Bench that delivered two momentous decisions over the last two days – the first, giving judicial sanction to the 2016 banknote demonetisation, and the second, refusing to hold the government vicariously liable for the statements of a minister. As a first-generation lawyer coming from humble roots, Justice Nazeer had to face a lot of struggle while navigating the treacherous waters of a profession dominated largely by English-speaking members hailing from families with wealth and influence. “It was a difficult life for brother Nazeer, growing up on his uncle’s farm. In his early years, he even scavenged for fish which washed up on the shore in the Panambur beach. It has been a long journey for him,” said Chief Justice Chandrachud, at Justice Nazeer’s farewell function.