Justice L Nageswara Rao first generation lawyer; climbed to the top with no godfather: CJI NV Ramana

Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana paid tribute to Justice L Nageswara Rao, who will demit office with effect from today..Justice Rao sat on the Bench along with the CJI on his last working day as a Supreme Court judge, as part of customary practice..CJI Ramana bid Justice Rao farewell, while highlighting his journey from a rural background in Andhra Pradesh to the top most court in the country, all without any godfather in the profession. "It was remarkable that he gave up such a luring practice with VIP clients and took up judgeship. He has no godfather or support and is a first generation lawyer. Coming from a rural background and reaching the top level in the Supreme Court among the lawyers, and then a judge is remarkable," the CJI expressed. .The members of the Bar also said a few words. "This year seems to be a year of attrition. There are 8 judges retiring this year. We are losing an extremely good judge and a cricketer. Whenever the Bar played against judges, Justice Rao headed the opponent team," Attorney General KK Venugopal said. He also pointed out that Justice Rao gave powerful judgments including the order releasing AG Perarivalan, who was convicted for assassinating former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta added,"When milord accepted the opportunity to be a judge, I lost the favourite senior whom I loved to brief. We all have learnt a lot on administration of justice and humanity from him."Senior Advocates Pradeep Rai, Aman Lekhi and Mukul Rohtagi expressed hope that Justice Rao will find ways to be with the Bar members post retirement."Justice Rao has been a judge for 2,200 days almost. We have seen you in the corridors and as a judge also. We never felt that you were not one among us. Your son-in-law is also a practicing lawyer. We have to find out something so that you are more with us. I know that you were more happy as a lawyer and you were missing the Bar as a judge," Rai said. "You had all the attributes of a perfect judge," Lekhi added."This Bench looks like a Bench favoured towards Andhra. I wish you a prosperous innings in the future. I know you will not come to the Bar, but in arbitration, you will be in the middle," Rohatgi said. .At this point, CJI Ramana chimed in, recounting,"We both started at same time, he from Guntur Bar Association and he from Vijayawada Bar Association...I am also going to demit soon, I am very emotional since we both come from the same place. He is going to be active in arbitration field. Justice Rao will be heading the Hyderabad International Arbitration Centre, so he will keep interacting with us.".Justice Rao thanked everyone for their appreciation."I am not very sure I deserve all these accolades. I had told then Justice Ranjan Gogoi that I still think as a lawyer, and Justice Gogoi had asked me to think the same way. I hope if I have lived up to the expectations. I hope I have been fair and apologise if I have been harsh. Sometimes pressure of work gets to us, since we are not monks. I have at times raised my voice to drown the voice of the lawyer. But one side has to win," he said. Justice Rao was elevated to the Supreme Court directly from the Bar on May 13, 2016, had a tenure of about 6 years as a judge..Justice Nageswara Rao will head International Arbitration & Mediation Centre, Hyderabad: CJI Ramana