I have a lot of enemies and I am proud of that: Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Ravi Malimath retires

On his last day as a judge, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Ravi Malimath minced no words while calling out his "enemies".."I have a lot of enemies and I'm proud of that. I answer to the Constitution and to no other person.".In an explosive farewell speech, Justice Malimath called out "morally corrupt, degenerate people" who spent months and years trying to negatively affect his career. He said,"There are people who have spent months and years trying to negatively affect my career, they have failed miserably, because I have undertaken what no other Chief Justice or judge in the country has been able to undertake. They will never be able to rival my accomplishments, no matter how hard they try...I can say a lot at this juncture, I can give names and make this the centre of attention for the tabloids. I am sure my detractors are also worried and watching with a lot of trepidation about what I may say at my farewell. However, the morally bankrupt, unscrupulous and degenerate are not worth discussing. They are certainly not worth my time. I choose to serve the Constitution. I choose to do the right thing even at my cost, because that it what is expected of a judge...".The judge also spoke about the multiple times he was transferred to be made Chief Justice, something that did not materialise before his stint in Madhya Pradesh High Court."I was transferred from Karnataka to Uttarakhand to be made the Chief Justice there. I was not. I was then transferred from Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh to be made the Chief Justice there. I was not. I was then finally elevated as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. These transfers were expected to rattle me, but they did not. I did the opposite..." he remarked.He added that he chose to serve the 9 crore people of Madhya Pradesh over the 9 or 90 odd people who wanted to use the Court for their own benefits. "During my tenure here, multiple people have tried to influence the workings of this Court. I have kept each and every single one of them away, only and only for the sake of the institution. Given a choice, I will do it again and again and again," he remarked..Justice Malimath said that he was particularly proud of the changes he brought to the High Court, including increasing the work hours of the Court by half an hour every day, in a bid to tackle pendency of cases."I disposed of more than 65,600 cases in my entire tenure. This is probably one of the highest disposals of any judge or Chief Justice in the country, if not the highest. In Madhya Pradesh itself, in 538 days, there has been a disposal of more than 17,700 cases."He also spoke of the 25 debt scheme, an initiative to dispose of long-pending cases before the district courts. The judge added that if it were not for this scheme, a case that was old as 61 years would not have been disposed of during his tenure.The judge also spoke of his 'Vision 2047' which aims that by 2047, no case in the State should be pending for more than one year."No one has done any favors for me, so I owe no favors to anyone. Not a lot of people can say that. Systemic changes are the need of the hour, particularly since the judiciary is grappling in so many issues," said retiring CJ Malimath..Sad day for the State: Madhya Pradesh High Court warns lawyers of contempt action if they do not end strike.The judge instead chose to focus on his achievements during his tenure."I could not be more proud. What more does a Chief Justice want? To be able to say that my efforts resulted in the creation of history is indeed something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. How many people have the privilege of proclaiming that? There is nothing more that the Chief Justice could hope for...Cases pending for 61 years, buildings pending for 16 years. I could have done nothing. I could have let the status quo continue...It would have made no difference to my life," he said."Serving the Constitution takes you nowhere on a personal level, apart from the satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing. Serving the congregation, on the other hand, can get you places," the judge added..[Watch Full Event Here]