Bar gives Justice Jaishree Thakur warm send-off

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Chandigarh, July 19

When Justice Jaishree Thakur of the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a stern warning to the ‘sarkari babus’ acting in a mechanical manner, the judgment was dubbed as a reflection of her humanistic approach aimed at alleviating the plight of regular litigants.

Among other things, Justice Thakur ruled that the officers bearing responsibility are required to be vigilant while passing orders merely on the basis of some communication that they have received. This was just one of the many judgments that brought her acclaim.

Born on July 24, 1961, and elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2014, Justice Thakur is set to retire on July 23. She was given a warm send-off this afternoon by approximately 3,000 Bar members.

Liberal in her sympathies towards the hapless litigants waiting for their turn in the queue for justice, she made a lasting impact on service and criminal law with her judgments. Renowned for her finely written verdicts, Justice Thakur supported new ideas and shunned the limelight during her tenure of nearly nine long years.

She upended common law precedents, came out with rulings cited by other high courts and laid down the path for new interpretations and analyses. Her immense contribution to the law emerged not only from the pages of her judgments, but also from her behind-the-scenes work in encouraging social equality and diversity across a range of ideas and opinions.

Those who have appeared in her court say Justice Thakur will be remembered for her watchful progression of the law in a way that synchronises with the fundamental objectives of the legislation. Her ability to take a drone-like outlook, analysing the legal background from a height and pulling incongruent and distinct threads together before summarising what the law is and what it should be will always be valued.

Commenting on her legal insights, a senior advocate said her understanding of wide-ranging legal principles and the way they interrelate across jurisdictions, her insight into the human character and all its imperfections, the empathetic way of dealing with the defenseless and her judicial boldness in an arena of law that is complex and burdened with conflicting philosophical viewpoints will all be remembered.