Mother recalls CJI's fight against odds

Dhananjay Mahapatra / TNN / Jan 15, 2007, 02:24 IST

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K G Balakrishnan took charge of Indian judiciary on Sunday with Prez A P J Abdul Kalam swearing him in as the CJI.

NEW DELHI: Konakuppakattil Gopinath Balakrishnan took charge of Indian judiciary on Sunday with President A P J Abdul Kalam swearing him in as the Chief Justice of India, making him captain of the ship for the next 40 months.
Soon after the short swearing-in ceremony at the glittering Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan, vice-president Bhairon Sigh Shekhawat, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers and a large number of judges from the Supreme Court and high courts stood up to cheer, for they were witnessing history being made the first Dalit rising to the highest seat in judiciary.
Also watching the momentous occasion was the CJI's 84-year-old mother. Wide-eyed and beaming from ear to ear, she had probably forgotten to clap as she reflected on the difficult times that 61-year-old Balakrishnan overcame through sheer grit and determination to head the judiciary.
Her thoughts went out for her husband, K J Gopinath, who retired as a clerk in Kerala Judicial Service but passed away five years ago, and the battle they waged to bring up their eight children, Balakrishnan being the second.

It did not matter whether her Balakrishnan had become the 37th Chief Justice of India, but what mattered to her was the fruits of his labour, which he deserved and rightly got.
Justice Balakrishnan will find the wicket a little tough. His predecessor, Justice Y K Sabharwal, in two quick judgments, has enhanced the judiciary's stature by a couple of notches and has raised the public's expectations.
That may augur well for him, but the first task at hand is an unpleasant one regarding the adverse publicity the judiciary got from the hurling of blows by a Gujarat judge on his colleague.
The stage appears set for transfer of the erring judge to Sikkim High Court, but a formal proposal will have to be sent by the collegium headed by the CJI to the President for effecting the recommendation.
Other chronic problems faced by the judiciary, which Justice Balakrishnan may get ample time to tackle, are the huge pendency of cases, poor judge-population ratio, lack of infrastructure, murmurs of corruption, accountability of judges and transparency in judicial appointments.

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