CJI Chandrachud defends elevation of advocate L Victoria Gowri’s as Madras High Court judge

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New Delhi, November 16

Maintaining that espousing a political cause does not disable a lawyer from judgeship, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has defended the elevation of advocate L Victoria Gowri’s as a judge of the Madras High Court in February this year.

Questions were raised over Justice Gowri’s appointment for her alleged affiliation to the BJP and certain remarks against minority communities while she was a lawyer.

“Lawyers across their careers appear for a cross section of clients. Lawyers don’t choose their clients. In fact, it is my firm belief that as a lawyer, you are duty bound to appear for whoever comes to you in search of legal aid, much as a doctor has to administer medical aid to whoever comes to their clinic. You don’t presume the guilt or the lack of guilt of people who come to you,” the CJI said in response to a question at the Center for Legal Profession, Harvard Law School last month.

“One of our greatest judges, Justice Krishna Iyer, who came out with some of the finest judgments, had a political background,” the CJI added.

The CJI was asked as to why the Collegium was not able to withdraw the recommendation for advocate Gowri’s elevation to the Bench.

“Your question contains an inference, which is that the Supreme Court didn’t look at the issue at all, including after it was drawn to our attention. I don’t think that would be a very correct assessment. We looked at it very, very carefully. The nature of the speech, which that judge is alleged to have made at a particular point of time, again, is looked at very, is very, very looked at very carefully. One of the processes which we follow in the Collegium is to ask for a report from the Chief Justice of the High Court,” said the CJI who also explained the process for appointment of judges to the audience.