From land of celebrated generals, a calm Supreme Court judge wins hearts | India News

NEW DELHI: Resplendent with natural beauty, the verdant landscape of Coorg gave India two celebrated army generals -the first and third army chiefs in field marshal Kodandera M Cariappa and Gen Kodandera S Thimayya.
Hailing from the same Coorg, Justice Ajjikuttira Somaiah Bopanna on Thursday was unequivocally adjudged by lawyers, on his last day on the bench in Supreme Court, as the calmest judge possessing an ‘understudied elegance’ whose characteristics could be the benchmark for selecting judges to the constitutional courts.
CJI D Y Chandrachud termed Justice Bopanna as an invaluable colleague, who was a good judge and a compassionate human being. “When I requested him to head a tribunal post-retirement, he declined saying he wanted to be liberated from judicial work. Justice Bopanna has an understudied elegance that sits well with his high standard of integrity, proficiency and diligence,” he said.
The tall and handsome Justice Bopanna wore a disarming smile as attorney general R Venkataramani, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, leaders of the bar associations and CJI D Y Chandrachud sang paeans for the man who entered the constitutional court as a judge of Karnataka HC in Jan 2006 and scheduled to retire on May 19 during the summer break of SC.
Newly elected SCBA president Kapil Sibal said, “When we learn that our case is listed before a bench headed by Justice Bopanna, we feel very relaxed as he displayed serenity and generosity in abundance coupled with abundant patience. No lawyer went unhappy from his court, irrespective of the outcome in the case argued.”
Mehta said Justice Bopanna’s subtle humour kept tempers in control in the courtroom even in hotly contested cases. Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan said if the Collegium wants to set a benchmark for selection of judges to constitutional courts, then it should list out the qualities possessed by Justice Bopanna.
Senior advocate Anitha Shenoy termed him as the ‘ideal judge’ while senior advocate Sidharth Dave said an unofficial poll among lawyers ranked Justice Bopanna as the most popular judge in the SC.
SCAORA president Vipin Nair said Justice Bopanna is the first SC judge from Coorg, which produced two celebrated army generals Cariappa and Thimayya. “The man of peace and calmness inspired litigants’ faith in the system as his courtroom was like Buddha’s Garden, serene and calm. No advocate raised his voice in his courtroom.”