Chief Justice of India B R Gavai made public his disapproval of the decision of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) to skip the customary farewell function organised in honour of a retiring judge as the Supreme Court, on Friday, bid farewell to justice Bela M Trivedi.
“The stand taken by the Association, I must deprecate openly as I believe in being plain and straight. On such occasions, such a stand ought not to have been taken by the Association,” he said.
Justice Trivedi, who is widely seen as conservative in matters related to granting relief, such as bail, has attracted the ire of the two bar bodies over several decisions that they saw as targetting lawyers. This likely includes a decision last year by justice Trivedi when she ordered an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the filing of a petition based on forged documents. It also likely includes a judgement by her recently that refused to record the presence of all lawyers appearing in a case; the SCBA and SCAORA filed a petition challenging the decision. And in April, she punished a lawyer for suppressing information in a petition filed before the court despite his unconditional apology. She suspended him as an Advocate-on-record for a month but the other judge on the bench differed and let him go on account of his apology.
But CJI Gavai endorsed her work.
“She has always been fair, known for her hard work, integrity….Justice Trivedi, you have been a valuable asset for our judiciary, as you embark on a new journey, I wish you all the best,” he said.
Justice Trivedi is only the 10th woman judge to retire in the history of the top court. Her judicial career spans over three decades and began as a city civil judge in Gujarat in 1995. She was elevated to the Gujarat High Court in 2011. She was appointed to the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.
Today was not supposed to be justice Trivedi’s last day in office as she is to retire on June 9 and the last working day was May 23, before the court broke for the annual summer recess. However, she has to attend a family wedding in the US and advanced her last working day to this week.
Despite the decision taken by the two lawyer bodies, SCBA President and senior advocate Kapil Sibal along with SCBA Vice-President and senior advocate Rachna Srivastava appeared before the ceremonial bench to bid adieu to justice Trivedi.
The CJI acknowledged the presence of Sibal and Srivastava by saying, “I am openly appreciating Sibal and Srivastava that despite the resolution of the bodies, they are here. The presence of the full house here fully vindicates….and the verdict is given that she is a very good judge.” However, no SCAORA office bearers were present in court.
The SCAORA President advocate Vipin Nair clarified that there was no resolution on skipping the farewell function.
The controversy did not dampen justice Trivedi’s spirits and she expressed “utmost satisfaction” on her journey from the grassroots as a city court judge to the Supreme Court. All throughout, i have heard the voice of my inner conscience, the judge admitted, as she responded to her critics by saying, “In the process, I might have given some harsh decisions, but believe me, my paramount consideration was the interest of the institution and nothing else.”
Known for being a stickler for rules, and an approach that is conviction-oriented, justice Trivedi’s tenure in the Supreme Court began in August 2021.
One controversy in her tenure related d to the bail plea of 2020 Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid. After notice was issued on Khalid’s plea in May 2023 by a bench headed by justice AS Bopanna, the matter was shifted to a bench led by justice Trivedi in October 2023. Khalid’s lawyers objected to this. Then CJI DY Chandrachud clarified that due to a medical ailment that kept justice Bopanna indisposed for several months, the judge’s office had sought release of the case. Khalid’s legal team then withdrew the bail plea in February 2024.
In 2023, when several accused in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam approached the top court seeking interim protection from arrest and even challenged the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the top court granted them relief by entertaining the petitions and staying arrest. However, when the matter related to some accused came before a vacation bench headed by justice Trivedi in May 2023, she deprecated the practice of the accused questioning PMLA when a three-judge bench in Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary (2022) had upheld the validity of the Act. Following this, the petitions were withdrawn.
In February this year, a bench led by justice Trivedi held in a judgment that courts should not adopt a “casual and cursory” approach in granting bail to persons accused of money laundering, as it is a serious threat to the integrity and sovereignty of the country which cannot be considered as an ordinary crime. This decision came as a counterpoint to a series of orders by the top court holding that the principle “bail is the rule and jail is exception” applies equally to PMLA offences.
On Friday, justice Trivedi said that the Supreme Court where judges belonging to different backgrounds, ideologies and social structures come together, represents “polyvocality” which reflects democratic pluralism and judicial independence. “This also has tendency of creating uncertainty in proceedings and inconsistencies in legal doctrines,” she admitted.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta present at the ceremonial bench said, “You (justice Trivedi) never attempted to mould the relief based on popular sentiment. This needs courage of conviction.”
And recalling that Justice Trivedi had served as law secretary in the past, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani said, “That is a rare combination. Firmness is a part of an institutional premise.” His reference was to justice Trivedi’s term as law secretary to the Gujarat government between 2004 and 2006.
During her tenure, justice Trivedi gave several landmark decisions. She gave the dissenting opinion in the SC sub-classification judgment in State of Punjab v Davinder Singh (2024) holding that such classification is not permissible. In Attorney General v Satish (2022) she set aside a Bombay high court ruling acquitting a man for sexually harassing a minor holding there was no “skin to skin” or direct physical contact. In the 10% EWS reservation, she was part of the Supreme Court constitution bench which upheld the law in 2023.
Later in the day, Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra wrote to SCBA and SCAORA office bearers asking them to reconsider their decision refusing to give farewell to justice Trivedi. Describing the judge as one who exhibited “unshakable dedication” to the ideals of justice, integrity, and judicial decorum, Mishra said that the refusal to host a farewell risks conveying an “unintended and disheartening” message to the judiciary and the legal community.