People will come and go, but institution must survive: Justice Najmi Waziri of Delhi High Court retires

Justice and institutions are not perfect and it is through a balance of equities at the time of judging that justice is delivered, observed retiring judge Justice Najmi Waziri of the Delhi High Court during his farewell ceremony on Friday. .Justice Waziri also spoke on how a judge has to listen in the process of deciding cases. ."The process of judging also requires listening to silences. While one may have read the case file thoroughly and formed an initial opinion, yet the decision can be very different after hearing the counsel. One realises that there is no such thing as perfect justice. Just as justice is not perfect, nor is the institution. It is the balance of equities at the time of judging," he remarked. .The outgoing judge added that the Delhi High Court has the people with the finest mettle and his hope is that the Court will triumph over all challenges with grit."Individuals will come and go but this institution shall survive," he commented..He said that when one becomes a judge, his/her social world narrows but their inner world grows and the mind becomes richer. "Penning a judgment often requires deep reflection, careful consideration and rational conclusion. It often takes time, reading and mulling over a judgment. But that time is justified," he remarked..The judge also recollected the time when he came to Delhi, 43 years ago, with nothing but ₹100, some clothes and bedding. Yet the city embraced him, he said. "I have just one advise for young members of the bar; prepare, prepare, prepare. As a judge, all that I have expected from the lawyer is to assist the court in simple language. I would say weigh your syllables not only your words," he went on to say. .Regarding his efforts to increase the green cover in Delhi through various orders requiring litigants to plant trees, Justice Waziri observed that such directions happened collaterally. "(Through) an interplay of the powers of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of CrPC, I found when there is scope of healing wounds. The best way was to ask the litigant to do something for the city. It was more prudent than sending them to jail or depositing fines... Boond boond se hi saagar banta hain. Each tree which has been planted here will count in the years ahead. It was heartening to see people come and wanting to become a part of this process, to have agency in the direction of court," he said.He concluded his address with a couplet by Sahir Ludhianvi: "Kal aur aaenge, nagmo ki khilti kaliyan chunne waale, hum se behtar kehne waale, tumse behtar sunne waale." (loosely translated: Tomorrow more people will come, who pick the blooming buds of songs, who speak better than me, who listen better than you).Justice Waziri did his schooling from Allahabad and then graduated with a BA (Hons) Philosophy degree from Delhi's St Stephen's College in 1983. He completed LLB from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University and LLM from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium. He enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1987 and was appointed as an additional judge of the High Court of Delhi on April 17, 2013. He is fondly known as the Green Judge of the Delhi High Court.