NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice Hemant Gupta has on Friday said a judge cannot make people happy as that is not the role assigned to him.
A day before, he had dismissed appeals challenging the Karnataka High Court judgment which rejected plea to lift the hijab ban in classrooms of Karnataka's Pre University Colleges.
He is slated to superannuate on October 16.
Speaking at a felicitation programme organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on his last working day, Justice Gupta said, he was satisfied regarding his work, and whatever role was assigned to him, he performed to the best of his abilities, and without fear or favour.
A job of judge is such that one of the parties (litigant party) will be unhappy. A judge cannot make people happy, thats not the role assigned to him. That role is assigned to other people in public life. One cannot discharge his duties with intention to please people," he said.
Justice Gupta said, He was harsh and blunt too in court, but whatever orders were warranted as per my understanding were passed.
Most important is my inner satisfaction that I have given the best to the institution. I have no regrets. I have tried my best to discharge my duties with utmost humility and sincerity, though sometimes I lose my cool, Justice Gupta said, adding no one is perfect and he cannot stake any claim to perfection.
Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit lauded Justice Gupta for being completely digitised and termed him as a great asset to the institution.
Justice Lalit also praised Justice Gupta for his efficiency in delivering judgment and added that any judgment would be ready in two weeks time.
The CJI also said he is a man who has the capacity to go into everything to make the best of whatever is presented before him.
Justice Gupta was elevated as the top court judge on November 2, 2018.
He is the son of former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Jitender Vir Gupta. Justice Gupta was born on October 17, 1957, and he enrolled as an advocate in July 1980. He also worked as additional advocate general of Punjab from 1997 to 1999.
He was appointed as a judge of the Patna High Court on February 8, 2016 and was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of that high court on October 29, 2016. On March 18, 2017, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
