On the day of his birthday on 7th May, 2020 Justice Deepak Gupta had his virtual farewell which was graced by many esteemed members of the judiciary like JusticeD.Y Chandrachud, Justice Ravindra Bhat, Senior Lawyer Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, President of Supreme Court Young Lawyers Forum Vikas Bansal etc. One comes across several people in his lifetime but only few people leave a true impression on one’s mind and heart. Justice Deepak Gupta had certainly left an eternal impression on the mind and hearts of the member of the Bar.
The senior lawyers of the Supreme Court could not help but mention the humility, compassion, understanding and grace with which Justice Gupta used to hold his court and the same had encouraged lawyers specially the young members of the bar to present their case without any fear.
Amongst the contributions of Justice Gupta to the judiciary many were mentioned them in depth by the Senior Lawyers and even Justice Chandrachud and Justice Bhat. The Panellist of the video conference seized the opportunity to make mention of Justice Gupta’s one of the finest lectures he delivered in a lecture series organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association titled 'Democracy and Dissent”. In that speech he very effortlessly summarised the essence of democracy. In the speech which still echoes in the ears of many Justice Gupta quoted that “Majoritarianism is an anti-thesis to democracy”. He had rightly put that the criticism of the executive, the judiciary, the bureaucracy or the armed forces cannotbe termed as anti-national. He said that in case we attempt to stifle criticism of the institutions, we shall become a police state instead of a democracy.To question, to challenge, to verify, to ask for accountability from the government is the right of every citizen.
When Justice Gupta got the opportunity to thank all the ones present to wish him farewell, he mentioned his regards but did express his disappointment over not many young lawyers not being invited for the conference. But that didn’t stop him from giving advice to the young lawyers as the video will soon be present on other platform also. Addressing the young lawyers he expressed how he has great expectations from the young and upcoming lawyers in the bar council as they are the one who not only respect the system but also still have hope in the system which is facing an identity crisis in India for a while now. He claimed how young lawyers are the rising stars of the tomorrow and also decided to give a few suggestions which he had learned through his experience of so many years.
He talked about the importance of punctuality (not arriving late or not leaving too early) in a lawyer’s life and how he/she should spend a lot of time in the courtroom because no one knows when he can have their big breakthrough. He said that if the proceeding take place in a pleasant manner then work is done fast in courts. He advised that clash of ideas is good till it is expressed in a respectable manner, language and that one should never interrupt in between the arguments. Jokingly he remarked that hearings through video conferencing is better as he allow one person to speak and can mute other people from speaking.
Young Lawyers should learn from Justice Gupta how they should never back from expressing their views and never stop arguing as even on the last day of his tenure he didn’t back off from criticising the system and quoted that the laws and legal system of the countryare totally geared in favour of the rich and powerful.
It’s the duty of young lawyers to carry forward his ideas and your approach to the society of our great country. His tenure will remind us that meaningful life draws upon, and exercises, a range of our higher capacities, for example, those bound up with tenderness, care, connection, self-understanding, sympathy, intelligence and creativity.
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