If you want to be judge, please do not have a live in relationship : Markandey Katju

Markandey Katju : Live in Relationship as a disqualification for Judgeship! I was Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, and Chief Justice of Madras and Delhi High Courts. In these High Courts I had to recommend names of lawyers for appointment as Judges of the High Court. In one of these 3 High Courts (I will not mention which, to avoid identification of the persons concerned) I got a good impression of a certain middle aged male lawyer who appeared several times before me, and always argued his cases well.

He had a very good knowledge of law and was very competent and courteous. I was thinking of getting his name recommended for Judgeship of the High Court. However, at that time a senior colleague of mine spoke to me alone and advised me not to do so. I asked him why? He said it was because that male lawyer was having a live in relationship with a lady lawyer to whom he was not married. They were often seen openly going to parties, functions and restaurants together. Due to this advice I dropped the idea of recommending the name of that lawyer for Judgeship of the High Court.

Many people with whom I discussed this afterwards (without disclosing any names) thought that what I did was not right. After all, live in relationship is a private affair, and if the person concerned was competent, why should he not be appointed as a Judge? My reply was that while I myself am fairly modern, Indian society is largely still conservative, and largely still does not approve of live in relationship, though it is not illegal.. While lawyers can have live in relationship, it is as yet not ethically permissible to Judges. So if you want to be judge, please do not have a live in relationship.

रिटायर न्यायाधीश मार्कंडेय काटजू के फेसबुक वॉल से.