By Prashant Jha | Bar and Bench | India |
From installing the first computer and air conditioner in his Tis Hazari Court chamber as a lawyer to holding court through WhatsApp to providing digital copies of a chargesheet for the first time, Justice Talwant Singh has seen and done a lot.
Justice Singh, who recently retired as judge of the Delhi High Court, hails from a village in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He started law practice in 1986 and became an additional district judge in the year 2000. He was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in 2019.
In his career as a judge spanning nearly four decades, Justice Singh has been credited with the computerisation of Delhi’s district courts. He was also known as one of the calmest judges of the High Court.
In this interview with Bar & Bench’s Prashant Jha, Justice Singh speaks about his experience as a district court judge, the challenges that he and other judges faced while trying to digitise India’s judiciary and why he is eager to return to law practice.
Edited excerpts follow.
Prashant Jha (PJ): You have been a district court and High Court judge for nearly 23 years. How has the journey been?
Justice Talwant Singh: It was quite enjoyable. I was a lawyer for 14 years and then at the age of 39 years, I became an additional district judge. I was essentially a civil lawyer and then the first assignment was also on the civil side at Central District, Tis Hazari for three years.
After that, I was transferred to a criminal court in Patiala House, so it took me some time to understand its functioning. But then I picked up quickly and started enjoying the criminal bench more than the civil bench.
PJ: You said you will move back to practice. What are your plans?
Justice Singh: There were offers for joining some commissions and tribunals. It is normal for retired high court judges to opt for these post-retirement postings, but I had made up my mind two years ago that I will not accept any of that. I was very clear that I will not go for any of these postings or post-retirement sops. My plan was to practice only as a lawyer and I am looking forward to that day.
My plan is to start my own law practice from the day the Supreme Court reopens after the summer vacations. I am in the process of establishing a law firm and we are recruiting qualified lawyers in every field of law.
Our motto is to work for the poor and the downtrodden who cannot afford lawyers. I am especially perturbed by the people languishing in jails for years facing endless trials Many of them are over 75 years old. Some of them are suffering from serious ailments. It pinches your conscience that these people are still behind bars awaiting the outcome of cases against them.
Read the full story, entitled ‘Not taking up any post-retirement sop; starting my own law firm to work for the poor: Justice Talwant Singh’, here.
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