Bitter truth must remain in memory: CJI Gogoi

“Judges do speak but only out of functional necessity. Bitter truth must remain in memory,” outgoing CJI Ranjan Gogoi on Friday.

On his last working day in the Supreme Court, the CJI avoided any direct interaction with media.

In a three-page statement, he said in our institutional functioning, the Bar members can exercise their freedom of speech to the extent of even pushing the boundaries, the Bench requires its judges to maintain silence.

“This is not to say judges do not speak. They do speak but do so only out of functional necessity, and no more. Bitter truths must remain in memory,” Justice Gogoi said, expressing his inability to give interviews.

To requests by media persons, he said the idea of courting the press never endeared itself as a choice in the interest of my institution.

“Judiciary's strength lies in public confidence and trust, earned through work as judges and not good press,” he added in the signed statement.

Justice Gogoi, who sat for a few minutes on his last working day in the CJI's courtroom, along with CJI-designate Justice S A Bobde, said it was not the requirement of the institution for judges to reach out to citizenry through a press.

Maintaining that press corps had been kind his office during his tenure as CJI, he said, “Even during trying times, when our institution was keeping an ambush or two at bay, most members of the Press displayed maturity and character and exercised exception discretion to prevent canards and falsehood from clogging the news space.”

The CJI, who is to demit office on Sunday, November 17, would visit Rajghat here, as he did on October 3, 2018, when he joined the office as head of the judiciary.

Justice Gogoi, who presided over a five-judge bench to pass Ayodhya case judgement and Sabrimala review matter, faced the most tumultuous of time in April, this year when a former SC staff made sexual harassment charges against him.