Judiciary is not over-sensitive to criticism; in fact, bona fide criticism is welcome, perhaps, because it opens the doors to self- introspection. Judges are not infallible; they are humans and they often err, though, inadvertently and because of their individual perceptions.
Public confidence in the judicial system is indispensable. Its erosion is fatal. Of course, Judges by their own conduct, action and performance of duties must earn and enjoy the public confidence and not by the application of the rule of contempt. Criticism could be of the underlying principle of a judicial verdict or its rationale or reasoning and even its correctness. Criticism could be of the conduct of an individual Judge or a group of Judges. Whichever manner the criticism is made it must be dignified in language and content because crude expressions or manifestations are more capable of identification of the alleged wrong with the system as a whole.Economic prosperity in the absence of social justice is discordant with the constitutional vision and the ethos of this nation.
All we would ask is that those who criticize us will remember that, from the nature of our office, we cannot reply to their criticisms. We cannot enter into public controversy. Still less into political controversy. We must rely on our conduct itself to be its own vindication.
Gogoi, while speaking to Attorney General K. K. Venugopal who asked for assurance from the Court during the NRC case, in July 2018.
Mr Vikas Singh said I am a strict man. I am what I am. I can't change.
Gogoi speaking at his felicitation ceremony on 3 October 2018 (Source).
It is in our best interest to heed the advice of the constitution. If we do not, our hubris will result in sharp descent into chaos.Not a reform but a revolution
Gogoi speaking on Constitution Day on 26 November 2018 (Source).
Good judges are going away. We need replacements and this is what I want to share with the bar. I am afraid. I am apprehensive. The younger lot in the bar are not willing to become judges. One of the reasons is that the office of a judge in the higher judiciary is losing its aura and majesty.
Gogoi speaking at the farewell ceremony of Justice Kurian Joseph on 29 November 2018 (Source).
I agree but will only suggest a slight modification in today’s context – not only independent judges and noisy journalists, but even independent journalists and sometimes noisy judges.
Referring to content of an article from the The Indian Express on 19 June 2018, titled How Democracy Dies
I will put it very simply. The judiciary today is not a poor workman who blames his tools, but it is a workman with no tools.
Not a reform but a revolution is what it needs, to be able to meet the challenges on the ground and to keep this institution serviceable for a common man and relevant for the nationWherever there is doubt and conflict we must allow constitutional morality to prevail. This is true patriotism to the Constitution.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So is an institution. And if introspection is where we have to begin, we might as well begin there.
What we need to strive for is a changed world view that abides by Constitutionalism.
Quotes from the farewell ceremony of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Sources 1 and 2 (1 October 2018).
We are divided perhaps more than ever, by lines of caste, class, gender religion and ideology. We are divided into infinitely relegated communities which crisscross along such lines to give us our special identity. What we should wear, what we should eat, what we should say, read and think - these are no longer small and insignificant questions about our personal life.
The challenge is then to construct and protect a common world view that genuinely unifies us as a community. Where do you find such a shared vision? Doubtless in our Constitution and, therefore, argue for creation of community of constitutional values. Belonging to this community does not mean that we must give up who we are. Our personal beliefs and tastes are quite immense that we must constantly evaluate these beliefs on the touchstone of constitutional morality. Wherever there is doubt and conflict we must allow constitutional morality to prevail. This is true patriotism to the Constitution.
We must teach to our young not as a static body of norms but as an evolving mode of collective as well as individual actions and expressions. What we need to strive for is a changed world view that abides by Constitutionalism.Enough is enough.
Most of the people who studied court and law are oblivious of the experiences of the ordinary people who undertake the journey to get justice from the court. The judges are called on to decide their fate are witnesses to their fate and grit. Task of a judge, to my mind, therefore, is to sit with text of law in context of life.
Independence could be said to be the very soul of a functional Judiciary.
If a Judicial System fails to enjoy public confidence, its deliverables would never constitute 'justice' - conversely, if the deliverables of a judicial system are not known to be impartial, just, equitable and appealing to good conscience, such system would never earn public confidence and high esteem in the minds and hearts of the common citizens.
Strengthening of Institutions works best when they are strengthened from within and not when strength is sought to be infused from an external source.
Independence of judiciary is not a one-time pill it is a ‘state of affairs’ that has to remain constant, in the face of continuous and recurrent waves of onslaught aimed at disturbing such ‘state’. It is also an aspiration that the stakeholders and leaders of the judicial organ must constantly seek out and defend.
Judiciary and all its components are bound by common threads that are difficult for someone who is not a stakeholder to even begin to understandJudiciary is not meant to be in the business of making or breaking of relationships/bonds/alliances/ nor does Judiciary pander to any constituency. Every Court of Law may seem like an island, existing in isolation and sovereign within its bounds, yet Judiciary and all its components are bound by common threads that are difficult for someone who is not a stakeholder to even begin to understand.
The human agency, through which justice is sought to be administered, has to be adequately secured and fortified in ordinary times, so that it is sufficiently equipped to deal with such forces of populism in extraordinary times, lest they overrun the judicial such forces of populism in extraordinary times, lest they overrun the judicial edifice too.
17th All India Meet of SLSA address, 18 August 2019
Justice is delivered at doorsteps of those who seek it. It is a constitutional promise. In fact, it is a constitutional mandate.Justice is delivered at doorsteps of those who seek it. It is a constitutional promise. In fact, it is a constitutional mandate. Whether we are substantially achieving it is a matter that needs introspection. An awareness of much more needed to be done and the complete realisation of the promise of access to justice assumes importance.
Absence of legal awareness is a root cause of deception, exploitation and deprivation of rights and benefits of the masses. Legal literacy and legal awareness go hand in hand.
Legal literacy and legal awareness go hand in hand. Legal aid movement can not achieve its goal as long as people are not aware of their basic rights. Greater awareness translates into greater and broadens access. Legal education is limited to universities, training, future lawyers. Education of legal issues should be included in school and college curriculum. It should go beyond rudimentary awareness.
Efforts must be made to secure concerted engagement of young minds in understanding and utilising that knowledge for the benefit of the society. Not only law colleges but the students of schools and colleges must be included in the outreach programme. Students and young persons have the potential to become the ambassadors of justice.The indifference of such stakeholders to the dignity of our Institution has reached new lows in the recent past, as rank hooliganism and intimidatory behaviour has become the order of the day in some pockets of our Court system. This has to be acknowledged, so that its vicious designs are defeated and the glory of our Institution stands uncompromised.
Right to legal aid means the right to quality legal aid. Commitment to quality must be there in the whole organisation.
Video-conference farewell address to judges, 15 November 2019
As an Institution, we have tried to deliver much more than what is reasonably possible, yet, today each of us is required to deal with new challenges, which unfortunately arise from within and outside of our Court Complexes and our judicial processes.
The indifference of such stakeholders to the dignity of our Institution has reached new lows in the recent past, as rank hooliganism and intimidatory behaviour has become the order of the day in some pockets of our Court system. This has to be acknowledged, so that its vicious designs are defeated and the glory of our Institution stands uncompromised.
I for one always considered the challenges of the job and the hardships of life to be stimulating and intoxicating making the grit and determination strongerAs an Institution, it is time that we heavily invest in vigilance functions that would keep our Court Complexes, our judicial processes, our Judges and our staff safe from the clutches of such local influences who do not have any allegiance to our Institution but use our processes to carry out their nefarious designs.
It has to be understood that the functioning of a Court is unique in the sense that the deliverables do not conform to a single chain of command, and they are a formulation that arise out of multi stake-holders programme where neither of the stake – holders is under the control or command of the other.
I for one always considered the challenges of the job and the hardships of life to be stimulating and intoxicating making the grit and determination stronger
The bench requires its judges to maintain silence, while exercising their freedoms. That's not to say that judges do not speak. They do speak, but do so only out of functional necessity, and no more. Bitter truths must remain in memory.While you have the Bar whose members can exercise their freedom of speech to the extent of even pushing the boundaries of such freedom, the bench requires its judges to maintain silence, while exercising their freedoms. That's not to say that judges do not speak. They do speak, but do so only out of functional necessity, and no more. Bitter truths must remain in memory.
Media exercised exceptional discretion to prevent canards, falsehoods from clogging news space. At trying times, the stellar role of journalists as defenders of truth and democratic ideals came to the fore.
I don't think I have ever compromised in my life […] A person who compromises has surrendered. I don't surrender.
There is a practice in the bar that when a judgeship is offered you don't refuse. When the President […] makes an offer, you don't refuse.
Gogoi on why he accepted his Rajya Sabha nomination.
You are not questioning anything. We are in a conversation.
Who goes to the court? You go to the court and regret. If you go to the court, you would be washing dirty linen in the court. You will not get a verdict […] You want a 5 trillion dollar economy but you have a ramshackled judiciary.I don't think I have ever compromised in my life […] A person who compromises has surrendered. I don't surrender.
Who goes to the court? You go to the court and regret. If you go to the court, you would be washing dirty linen in the court. You will not get a verdict […] You want a 5 trillion dollar economy but you have a ramshackled judiciary.
Gogoi discussing the pendency of cases in February 2021. (Source)
I chose not to shirk what I inherited from my predecessors but to bite the bullet and to lead the adjudication of one of India’s oldest-standing disputes.I think the time has come for the right-thinking majority to speak up. They can no longer enjoy the comfort of the non-confrontationist approach, staying clear of issues and being content that they have been spared the unfortunate. For, if unchecked, tomorrow the monster may devour them too.
Report cards are prepared at the end of the tenure of judge. The message is clear: a good report will come at a cost; if you are not prepared to confirm to a particular way of thinking and act accordingly, you will earn the dubious reputation of having compromised and surrendered the independence of the judiciary.
p. 116
I think the time has come for the right-thinking majority to speak up. They can no longer enjoy the comfort of the non-confrontationist approach, staying clear of issues and being content that they have been spared the unfortunate. For, if unchecked, tomorrow the monster may devour them too.
I did not pull out Ayodhya from cold storage. I did not resurrect. It was a responsibility my predecessor gave to me […] I had two options - to run or to fight. Justice Bobde says I come from a family of warriors. I fought.
I did not pull out Ayodhya from cold storage. I did not resurrect. It was a responsibility my predecessor gave to me […] I had two options - to run or to fight. Justice Bobde says I come from a family of warriors. I fought.I fought death. I fought the devil. After that, do you think anybody has the guts to tell me what to do?
Referring to his hospitalisation in the ICU for 39 days while Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Expression of views - now on social media - is a critical part of healthy democracy, so long as it does not cross the Lakshman Rekha of public order and morality
Gogoi in an interview with the Indian Express in April 2022. (Source)
I see Uniform Civil Code as a very progressive piece of legislation, which will replace diverse customary practices that have evolved into laws […] I think it is a very important step towards national integration.
Gogoi speaking at the Surat Litfest 2025, on 19 January. (Source)
I consider myself to be privileged to have worked with Chief Justice Gogoi, whose grit, mettle and character are so strong that it is difficult to get anything wrong passed.
I consider myself to be privileged to have worked with Chief Justice Gogoi, whose grit, mettle and character are so strong that it is difficult to get anything wrong passed.
Justice Gogoi has exemplified the highest standards of integrity, wisdom, and commitment to justice. His contributions are not only limited to the courtroom but extend to the legislative realm, where he continues to contribute to the betterment of our nation.
I congratulate Justice Ranjan Gogoi ji on taking oath as the Chief Justice of India. His experience, wisdom, insight and legal knowledge will benefit the country greatly.
In terms of personal decency, values, ethics and integrity, the present Chief Justice of India is extremely well regarded. Even when critics disagree with his judicial view, his value system has never been questioned.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's remarks on Gogoi in April 2019. (Source)
He has achieved impossible with the 1,000-page judgement within two-three weeks. This is rather the most impossible task achieved by his regime. He shows not determination to decide that case, but what the Supreme Court has capability of doing and what it can achieve. You made a name in history. The judiciary is going through a critical phase, where people want to control everything but Chief Justice Gogoi has provided insulation, courage and quality through his decisions.
Justice Arun Mishra speaking on Gogoi's delivery of the Ayodhya verdict in November 2019. (Source)
I congratulate Justice Ranjan Gogoi ji on taking oath as the Chief Justice of India. His experience, wisdom, insight and legal knowledge will benefit the country greatly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating Gogoi on his appointment as Chief Justice of India on 3 October 2018. (Source)
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