CJI Ranjan Gogoi bids farewell sans any stage or speeches

In a no-frills function, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) today bid farewell to outgoing Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi..Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who retires on November 17, sat in Court Room 1 of the Apex Court for the last time today. He wound up his judicial work for the day in less than five minutes..CJI Gogoi issued a statement earlier today saying that though he would be unable to interact on a one-on-one basis with the judges of the High Court and District Courts, he would address them collectively via video conferencing in the evening..Before attending the SCBA farewell function, Justice Gogoi went to Rajghat to pay his respects – an exercise he carried out at the start of his term as well..Judges of the Supreme Court and members of the Bar attended the informal farewell function in large numbers and in a short function sans any farewell speeches, the CJI was presented with a memento by the SCBA members..The function came to a close after a vote of thanks by President of the SCBA Rakesh Khanna and the welcome address delivered by Advocate Preeti Singh..Earlier today, the outgoing CJI informed the media that he would not be available for personal interviews..Before demitting office, Justice Gogoi also had a message for the Bar:.“Over a period of 40 years as a lawyer and a Judge, I have had the prestige to watch from close quarters the majesty of Law. It also provided me an opportunity to contribute to the institution which I tried to serve to the best of my abilities. I have tried to address pressing issues of the justice delivery system and I am confident that we will keep on moving forward..Judges get benefitted by the inputs provided by the lawyers appearing before them in establishing the authority of law. The SCBA has for long stood as an indispensable pillar of the apex judicial institution, and as the bar association of the apex court, the SCBA must also serve as an exemplar to other bar associations of the country. Although I won’t be a part of this extraordinary and much respected institution any longer but a part of me will always remain with it and will always wish the best for it!”.Justice Ranjan Gogoi was sworn in as the forty-sixth Chief Justice of India on October 3, 2018..Born on November 18, 1954, Justice Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in the Gauhati High Court on constitutional, taxation, and company matters. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001. On September 9, 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab & Haryana High Court. He was appointed as Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court on February 12, 2011. Subsequently, he was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on April 23, 2012..[Read the statement to the Bar]