Bar Council of India urges SCBA to organise farewell for Justice Trivedi

The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Friday (May 16) requested the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association reconsider their refusal to hold an official farewell ceremony for retiring Justice Bela Trivedi, according to a report by Livelaw.

 

The development came after an official customary farewell was not organised for Justice Trivedi.

 

The BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, while urging the organisation of a farewell for Justice Trivedi, said in a letter to the SCBA president that such episodes send an unintended yet disheartening message to the judicial community.

 

“Such occasions have historically been a hallmark of institutional respect and recognition for the distinguished services rendered by retiring judges. The refusal to accord a farewell not only disrupts long-established traditions but also sends an unintended yet disheartening message to the judicial community and the broader legal fraternity,” the letter reads.

 

Although Justice Trivedi is retiring on June 9, she had her last day on May 16, as she is going to the US to attend a family function. 

 

It is a custom that the outgoing judge sits with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in a ceremonial bench on their last working day. It is also the custom for the Supreme Court Bar Association to organise a farewell for the outgoing judge on the evening of their last working day.

 

The reason for not organising a farewell for Justice Trivedi is not yet known.

 

CJI Gavai critiques SCBA

 

Earlier, CJI BR Gavai criticised the bar council for not organising a farewell for Justice Trivedi. “I believe in speaking straightly, the Association ought not to have taken such a stand,” said CJI Gavai in the ceremonial bench.

 

However, the CJI lauded SCBA president and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal and vice-president Rachna Srivastava for marking their presence during the ceremonial bench.

 

“I am grateful to Kapil Sibal and Rachna Srivastava, that both of them are here. But the stand taken by the Association, I must deprecate openly, because I believe in being plain and straight. On such occasions, such a stand ought not to have been taken by the Association. And therefore, I am openly appreciating Sibal and Srivastava that they are here,” the CJI said.

 

Justice Augustine George Masih wished Justice Trivedi for her future along with siding with what the CJI said. “Traditions need to be followed and they are to be respected. I am sure good traditions should continue always,” Justice Augustine George Masih said.