Ajit Karn
Justice Shah retirement: Supreme Court justice Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah, who sat on the Constitution bench that decided on the contentious Delhi-Centre power struggle for control over the bureaucracy and the rift within the Shiv Sena, retired on Monday after delivering more than 700 judgments during his 54-month tenure.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud reminisced at his departure function about how his brother judge, as a member of the collegium, was instrumental in providing him with mature, practical advice on how to work with the government on judicial appointments and gave him the nickname “Tiger Shah.”
“He was a solid colleague, full of practical wisdom, mature, grounded, and middle-of-the-road advice, and he knew how to deal with others, whether they were on this side or the other,” the CJI said at the event held by the Supreme Court Bar Association to honor justice Shah.
Justice Shah was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2018, and on November 9, 2017, when Justice Chandrachud was appointed Chief Justice of India, he joined the collegium, which is comprised of the five most senior judges who recommend candidates for the Supreme Court.
The CJI praised Justice Shah’s willingness to accept all assignments, eagerness to write opinions, and capacity to continually learn. “Even the most recent constitution bench decision was returned to me with annotations in less than 48 hours,” the CJI stated.
The CJI also disclosed that the decision to conduct “paperless” court proceedings in the Delhi-Centre case prompted him to introduce Justice Shah to the laptop. He stated, “I could see Justice Shah on my right and Justice Krishna Murari on my left working feverishly on their laptops.”
Pradeep Rai, vice-president of the bar association, stated that during his time on the Supreme Court, Justice Shah authored 712 judgments, with CJI Chandrachud a distant second with 552 judgments to his name.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Justice Shah was instrumental in pressuring state governments to compensate families who lost loved ones to the deadly coronavirus with Covid compensations. A bench composed of Justice Shah waived the compound interest charged by banks on loans during the moratorium proclaimed by lenders in March 2020, following the declaration of lockdown in the country.
“During this voyage as a judge, I have lost so many things, but I have no regrets. “At age 65, it is time for me to rediscover myself,” said Justice Shah.
“Prior to my elevation to the Supreme Court, I had never entered a courtroom except on one occasion,” said Justice Shah, who is the first judge in his family. His legal practice flourished at the Gujarat high court, his home high court where he was appointed a judge in March 2004. Before being elevated to the highest court, he became chief justice of the Patna high court in August of 2018.
On his last day in office, Justice Shah cried while reciting a couplet from Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker. Earlier in the day, he had adorned the ceremonial bench alongside CJI Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.
justice Shah also courted controversy during his tenure by openly praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function held in Gujarat. He was known as a no-nonsense judge who expedited the disposition of cases by maintaining a strict posture against adjournments. At the Gujarat high court’s diamond jubilee ceremony in February 2021, he referred to Modi as “our most beloved, dynamic, and visionary leader.”
Justice Shah also presided over the bench that held an emergency session on a Saturday in October to halt the parole of GN Saibaba, a former professor at Delhi University who was arrested for alleged Maoist ties. In April, the bench presided by Justice Shah ordered the Bombay high court to reconsider the case.
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The repartee and wit of Justice Shah made his court vivacious. The CJI recalled his bravery and fighting spirit in overcoming a cardiac attack the previous year. “God helped me whenever I was in trouble,” the judge Shah remarked.
