"I started practice in February, 1948 February, and soon acquired a very large practice. There were some very good lawyers. I used to sit in the library of the Bombay High Court, and next to me a gentleman called Mr. J. C. Bhat, a very able lawyer, used to sit. There was Mr. Seervai, who has written a book on the Constitution, who was also an excellent lawyer." He recounted it being a wonderful experience.
He was eventually elevated to the Bench. "In 1960, the Chief Justice of the new state of Gujarat, Justice S.T. Desai invited me to be a judge in the Gujarat High Court. I readily accepted, because I had always aspired to be a judge - as a judge you get an opportunity to mould the law and develop it. I was also the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court for six years. But my real opportunities came when I came to the Supreme Court in 1973." Law, as per Justice Bhagwati, is like plasticine in the hands of a great judge, which he can mould as he likes, provided he has the vision and the requisite craftsmanship. "I started moulding and developing the law. Then came Articles 14, 19, 21, and 32, and I practically re-wrote Parts III and IV of the Constitution. I still remember, those days it was a thrilling experience. I would get up at five in the morning and start writing my judgments (I rarely dictated, I always wrote my judgments, because only then the best of you comes out)."
Aju John then asked him about his time in the Supreme Court, and the advocates and his colleagues on the Bench. In terms of advocates, Justice Bhagwati particularly recalled two, the likes of which he doesn't see anymore: "The Attorney General, Mr. Motilal Setalvad was an outstanding lawyer, as was Mr. C.K. Daphthary." He was also full of praise for his brother judges, saying that some of them were very good. "Two eminent ones I remember were Justice Krishna Iyer and Justice Dhirubhai Desai (people don't remember him but he did a lot for industrial law, he was very pro-labour). Justice Eradi from Kerala was also a good judge -- these three I distinctly remember."
Негізгі бет Justice Bhagwati on his career
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