Au Revoir, A Compassionate Man Justice Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan Mr. P Prakash, a Deckhand on MV Antigoon,now a physically challenged seaman would have wished the retiring Acting Chief Justice well, if he had noted this development. With Chief Justice Vikram Nath being elevated to the Supreme Court, to be sworn in, on 31st Aug,2021, the President appointed Gujarat high court’s senior-most judge, Vineet Kothari, as the Acting chief justice. Justice Kothari is due to retire on September 2,2021.
Au Revoir, A Compassionate Man Justice
Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
Mr. P Prakash, a Deckhand on MV Antigoon,now a physically challenged seaman would have wished the retiring Acting Chief Justice well, if he had noted this development. With Chief Justice Vikram Nath being elevated to the Supreme Court, to be sworn in, on 31st Aug,2021, the President appointed Gujarat high court’s senior-most judge, Vineet Kothari, as the Acting chief justice. Justice Kothari is due to retire on September 2,2021.
Appropriately, seated on the periphery of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Marina, Chennai, one was keying in this piece. What is the connect? A lot.
Justice Vineet Kothari would fittingly be retiring as Acting Chief Justice, and not as a puisne judge. Amazingly, he made this journey from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, where he was born and brought up. After a 16 year stint as a high court judge he became on 13th June, 2005, Rajasthan, he may be cooling his heels, where he came from.
Interestingly, on 18th April,2016,when he was sworn is as Judge of Karnataka High Court, yours truly was appearing before that court. And on 23rd Nov,2018, saw him take office as Judge of Madras High Court. Possibly, one may see his farewell on the digital platform on 2nd Sept,2021 in Ahmedabad, as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court.
Just for the record,as a lawyer, he practiced in Tax & other Commercial and Constitutional Laws, Arbitration & Company Law for 20 years in Rajasthan High Court & Supreme Court of India. He was awarded Ph.D in Tax Laws (2004) to add to his B.Com.(Hons.)(1978) LL.B.(1981), LL.M.(1999). Was a Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) & the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) since 1982. No wonder, tax jurisprudence was easy pickings for him.
He was a pleasing personality off and on the bench. With a sporting past, as a table tennis, badminton enthusiast and cricketer and musical interests, particularly in the instrumental variant, he never came down hard or harsh on the practitioners. He however did not suffer fools. That was for sure. He was known to cynically taunt at counsel who sought ‘to pull fast ones’, as he once remarked. He was a patient listener, only if he found the cause worth it. Otherwise, he let it be known that the advocate can listen to his quick response in the written word. He ‘valued other’s time for he valued his own’ as he put it.
Excuse me, what is this? You have gone astray from Marina Beach and P Prakash, you alluded to. No, it was on purpose. Having laid down the credentials of the lawyer and judge, it may be time to go the human route. His verdicts, others may embrace.
He was a man with a heart. Accessible, in person, and even on the mobile and mail, which he willingly shared; there was never one texted message respectfully not returned by him. One exchanged many a pleasant memory in words and pictures,including mesmerising good morning and festival greetings.
You are still not on P Prakash and Marina, you see. Now, as one glanced around the Marina, now open for public, after the Pathogen invasion, it was spick and span. Not from non use. But despite use. Thanks to Justice Kothari’s proactive ways and passionate involvement with the cause, he whiplashed the corporation authorities to regard the Marina beach as a thing of beauty to be relished. Thank You Sir. We will remember you, as we notice your brethren on the bench are following in your footsteps.
As for P Prakash, where ever he is, he may be praying for this Judge’s welfare. As 2nd judge of the Madras High Court and presiding over Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority, he never played tough to get. In fact, he was always, at the end of every call.
Typically, when P Prakash became physically challenged, as a disabled, after an employment injury as a Deckhand on MV Antigoon, on 17th April,2018, and his employer International Sea Port Dredging Pvt Ltd, agreed to settle the claim for $ 62,726 equivalent of Rs. 44,58,520.17p, the Legal Services Authority, was displaying consistent social distancing. Repeated attempts by the counsel for P Prakash were proving futile. Enter Justice Vineet Kothari, and a call to him from this author, proved to be the desperate vaccine P Prakash was direly in need of.
Justice Kothari profusely apologised for the delay, as if he was to blame. Don’t know if he tough talked the authorities; now calls came from the Lok Adalat organisers to get going.Quickly, a day/date got fixed, despite the Pandemic, physically ( as the Madras High Court Videoconferencing Rules,2020 prohibited Lok Adalat compromise on the Virtual platform,while all other high courts enabled it- and on being updated, Justice Kothari even sent me an invitation as a special invitee for a Virtual meeting , to apprise his brother judges on it – that story can wait) P Prakash appeared in person, despite his physically challenged status, and got his vaccine dose of compensation.
When I texted the gratitude expressed by P Prakash and his counsel for ease of compromise, a tough ask in Pandemic times, Justice Kothari responded with a profuse apology for the delay and physical travails and tribulations that P Prakash was put to by the ‘unfortunate and unthinking rules’ as he mildly put it.
An erudite judge was retiring. But ‘a good and compassionate man never retires’ as Sam Manekshaw said, as he took leave.
(Author of Constitution and its Making- Musings, Anecdotes, Episodes, OakBridge- practising in the Madras High Court)
