Judges have to have a deep sense of restraint: Justice Nagarathna

Justice B V Nagarathna spoke with Apurva Vishwanath and shared memories of her father and her perspective on being a judge.

What is that one lesson from your father that you carry with you as a judge?

He never told me anything about judgeship because when he retired, I was just two years into practice. I was just 35 when he passed away but his life has been a lesson.

What I carry with me always is (the courage) to raise my voice against injustice and to always have restraint. My father said the life of a judge is not a great sacrifice but each day calls for an act of self-denial. I have experienced that in my life… you have to concentrate on your work. You may not have time to meet somebody, to watch television or even eat…

Judicial restraint is being discussed a lot these days. How do you outline restraint for a judge?

We judges have to have a deep sense of restraint when we are on the bench and off the bench. That is a given. Any person who cannot have that restraint would not accept judgeship. There are a lot of curbs on freedoms.

There is some disquiet that often young members of the Bar are hesitant in accepting judgeship…

A person must be really passionate about adjudication, work hard. Then comes being able to sacrifice… People who like their freedom will not accept it. But others, who can accept these kinds of curbs, will definitely accept judgeship. So it is the choice of the individual.

You talked about your father’s views on post-retirement sinecures. What is your opinion on the issue?

I have seen my father and his colleagues… Sometimes, there is a sense of void because you are away from that busy lifestyle and work. So every judge will devise his or her own pace for their post-retirement life… Speaking for myself, I would like to be as useful as possible to the citizens of the country.

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