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Rajan Salvi (Lawyer)     26 November 2009

Hon. Justice Bilal Nazki

Times of India 26-11-09Mumbai: Clad in a blue T-shirt and jeans, away from the stuffy environs of the higher judiciary, former Bombay high court justice Bilal Nazki is hard to recognise. The man, seen as stern by some and sensitive by others, decided over 60,000 cases in 15 years on the bench.


Looking back on 36 years of service to the legal profession, Nazki, who is from Srinagar and was a judge of the Bombay high court from January 2008 till November 12 this year, said there are two kinds of judgments. "One may be great for legal and academic purposes," he said. "There is another which may not lay down any theory but will wipe the tears of an aggrieved person."
Nazki said he "purposely" concentrated on the latter. "When a litigant comes to court, he is not interested in how scholarly a judge is," he said. "He just wants relief. Two industrialist brothers fighting with each other can wait. But parents whose child has been killed or lost cannot." Drawing a quaint parallel, he said, "The honesty of a judge is like the virginity of a traditional Indian unmarried girl. If it is questioned, the doubt can never be laid to rest." When a litigant loses a case, he said, he should feel that the judge decided against him because he did not understand his side, not because he was dishonest. Nazki pointed out that no law requires judges to declare their assets, "but they are doing it voluntarily".
Remembrance is reward
The fear of criticism never crossed the mind of the man who braved bullets and fought terrorists in his home state, yet had a dramatic escape. Tied to a chair, he kicked one of his assailants, broke free, jumped from the first floor and hid in a paddy field after being shot five times and drenched in blood. "Kashmir in those days [1991] was like that," Nazki, who ran 5km to reach a hospital, said. "Even if people saw you running with blood all over you, nobody helped because they would meet with the same fate."
"I don't know who those people were and why they were after my life," he said. "My father told me that you can do two things: go after them and seek revenge or forget about it, live your life, and seek reward from god." Nazki promised his father he would never chase his assailants. "I did get my reward. Kashmir, for the rest of the country, is a small place, a village. To come from Kashmir and be recognised and remembered in a city like Mumbai is a reward."
Government tangle
The government is a party in almost 80% of litigation in India. If governments become more responsive to people's needs, the pendency of 3.5 lakh cases in the Bombay high court will be reduced to just 60,000, Nazki said, adding that Indian judges face a number of difficulties and "no judiciary in the world can do what the Indian judiciary is doing".
Film & cricket buff
"Sometimes it was very difficult to miss a cricket match and sit in court," Nazki said mischievously. "My wife and son kept me updated on the score, which I checked in the lunch break." A Hindi film buff, Nazki is an ardent fan of the late comedian Mehmood. "Today's films also have comedy, but it is nothing like that of Mehmood," he said. "There cannot be another like him." An avid reader of philosophy, current affairs and Urdu poetry, Nazki has a pile of books in his study that he says he will now read as he has the time. A blog and a book are also in the pipeline.
Chief justice for three days
Bilal Nazki's tenure as chief justice of the Orissa high court for three days may well have been the shortest in Indian judicial history, but "it is an honour to be CJ even for a minute", he said. "If it were being conferred upon me because of my eligibility, why would I not accept?"
Nazki was recommended for promotion to the chief justice's post by the Supreme Court collegium on August 28, but the appointment was made only two months later, thus cutting his tenure down to three days.
Some reports claimed that Nazki's appointment was aimed at enabling him to head the Jammu & Kashmir Human Rights Commission. But Nazki said he would not take the job even if it were offered to him. Besides, he pointed out, even a retired high court judge can chair the commission.
"The rules in J&K are not the same as in Maharashtra," he said. When the commission was set up, Jammu & Kashmir did not have enough retired chief justices and those from other states were unwilling to come there. So the eligibility criterion was lowered to enable a retired high court judge to chair the commission.

 



Learning

 18 Replies


(Guest)

Thanks for posting the inspiring article.  Such articles will inspire and motivate others like me to raise our levels.

1 Like

Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     06 December 2009

Thanks for the posting. It is very inspiring. Bombay high court justice Bilal Nazki has done a commendable job.

1 Like

Prodyut Banerjee (Advocate (Corporate Lawyer))     10 December 2009

Kudos to Mr. Justice Nazki.

1 Like

Daksh (Student)     11 December 2009

Mr.Rajan Salvi,

Thanks a tonne for such a fantabulously informative, balanced and thoughtful post.

Best regards

Daksh

1 Like

Adinath@Avinash Patil (advocate)     15 December 2009

thanx for posting important  article

Anil Agrawal (Retired)     26 December 2009

Do we need more Bilal Kazis? I for one emphatically say NO. Why?

Things will start getting better and that I don't want.

Prodyut Banerjee (Advocate (Corporate Lawyer))     27 December 2009

HAHAHAHA. Witty by Mr. Agarwal.

Anil Agrawal (Retired)     27 December 2009

 Wit or truth?

girishankar (manager)     16 January 2010

Bitter Truth but tasting Better ...... Mr. Anil Ji........

Anil Agrawal (Retired)     16 January 2010

 Things will dramatically imrove after high courts are renamed after their renamed cities.

girishankar (manager)     16 January 2010

Dear Anil Ji,

As U hav Said there will be a dramatical imrove and  after high courts are renamed after their renamed cities.

There Will be NOOOOOOOO Lawyers at all will become JUDGES......

Anil Agrawal (Retired)     16 January 2010

 They are going hammer and tongs renaming historical places, cities, roads, buildings.  The problem is they are unable to replace English.

Universities have become Vidyapeeths but ragging and killing go unabated.

In Bihar, a magistrate is called Peethaseen Adhikari though the chair remains vacant for months together. 

Dear friends,

Please tell whether there is any city in India where one or the other road/building has not been named after Gandhi/Nehru/Indira/Rajiv?

Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     17 January 2010

Of course No. Everywhere Nehru/Indira/Rajiv is there.

When we were following our system established since ages, India was prosperous, advanced and happy. But Muslim Rule, and British Rules have ruined our culture/civilization. Now chaos is prevailing everywhere. Result, no one is happy.

Anil Agrawal (Retired)     17 January 2010

 During Emergency, D.K. Barooah, the then Congress President, said Indira is India.

Why rename anything after this?


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