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Justice Waziri was known as the 'Green Judge' of the Delhi High Court for his efforts to increase the green cover in the city, through various orders requiring litigants to plant trees.
While bidding farewell to Delhi High Court on Friday, Justice Najmi Waziri in his speech remarked that individuals will come and go but the institution shall survive.
Justice Waziri said that justice and institutions are not perfect and it is through a balance of equities at the time of judging that justice is delivered.
"The process of judging also requires listening to silences. While one may have read the case file thoroughly and formed an initial opinion of the matter, yet the decision can be very different after hearing the counsel. One realises that there is no such thing as perfect justice. Just as justice is not perfect, nor is the institution. It is the balance of equities at the time of judging that justice is delivered," he said.
He said that the high office of a Constitutional Court requires maintaining a degree of social distance, indeed aloofness from the society, while the social world narrows for a judge the inner world grows and the world of the mind gets richer.
"Penning a judgment often requires deep reflection, careful consideration, compassionate assessment and rational conclusion. Often it takes time. Much mulling over and a good amount of reading at that time is well justified," he remarked.
Justice Waziri mentioned three valuable lessons he learned from his parents; first, one should never fear a human being; second, one should at all times be truthful and third, one should never be haughty or conceited.
“I came here (Delhi) 43 years ago with no legal lineage, no political godfather and no one to watch my back. But over the years, I found a support system. Year after year young lawyers from various parts of the country come to this city, struggle and grow and the Bar unceasingly takes them in, makes a space for them, gives them a sense of belonging”, he said.
The judge said that the Bar is a safe place for women to not merely work but to find their true potential, a fabulous place for there is a surfeit of opportunity here. “For the members of the Bar, I have but one advise to give- prepare, prepare and prepare. As a Judge all that I have expected from the Bar is that the counsel assisting me to be prepared with the facts and the law and to briefly and succinctly assist the court in simple language. I would say, weigh your syllables not only your words”, he added.
On his efforts towards greening the city, he said, “I found when there’s scope or chance of healing wounds and making amends, the best way possible was to direct the litigant to do something for the city or its environment. It seemed a more prudent way of utilizing people's monies and time, than by sending the cost imposed on the various partie to various funds where it may lie unutilized for decades to come”. He further added, “Boond boond se hi saagar banta hai (drop by drop makes an ocean). Every single effort, every tree that has been planted here, that has taken root in the soil and will count in the years ahead. It was heartening to see people want to come to become a part of this process to take ownership to have the agency in the direction of the court and to the extent to which the court could encourage community participation. I can say that it has been a very rewarding effort”. Justice Waziri concluded his speech with a couplet by Sahir Ludhianvi: "Kal aur aaenge, nagmo ki khilti kaliyan chunne waale, hum se behtar kehne waale, tumse behtar sunne waale." (Tomorrow more people will come, who pick the blooming buds of songs, who speak better than me, who listen better than you).
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