Justice Nariman, a lion who guarded judicial institution: CJI on judge's retirement

"I feel like I am losing one of the lions that guarded the judicial institution; one of the strong pillars of the contemporary judicial system," Chief Justice N V Ramana said on Thursday on last working date of Justice R F Nariman.

Justice Nariman, who was the only fifth lawyer to be directly elevated to the bench, retired on Thursday after leaving several landmark judgements to his credit.

Bidding farewell to him, the CJI said Justice Nariman's judgments reflected erudition, clarity of thought, and scholarly approach.

"Personally, I am a little overwhelmed and I am finding it difficult to express my thoughts in words," he said.

CJI Ramana said with judgements like Shreya Singhal (declaring Section 66A of IT Act as unconstitutional), his opinions in Puttaswamy (right to privacy) and Shayara Bano (triple talaq), he (Justice Nariman) has left an indelible mark on the jurisprudence of the country.”

The CJI described Justice Nariman as a man of principles and is committed to what is right.

"Retirement of luminaries such as brother Nariman, who are repositories of legal acumen, makes one wonder if a person’s age is the appropriate yardstick to decide the tenure and time of retirement,” he said.

Son of eminent jurist Fali S Nariman, Justice Nariman practised law for nearly 35 years before being elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court directly from the Bar on July 7, 2014, and he disposed of nearly 13,565 cases.

During the farewell function in Chief justice’s courtroom, many senior advocates and other expressed their views but Justice Nariman preferred to remain silent.

At the age of 12, Justice Nariman was trained to be Parsi priest. However, he grew up as one of the most successful lawyers.

In 1993, then Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachaliah amended the rules to designate him as a senior advocate at the age of 37 against the mandatory 45.

He was also appointed Solicitor General of India in July 2011 and served till February 2013 when he resigned from the post reportedly due to difference of opinion between him and then Union law minister, Ashwani Kumar.