"Played my innings without fear, favour or ill-will": Justice MR Shah on retirement from SC

New Delhi [India], May 15 : Justice MR Shah retired on Monday after a tenure of 4.5 years as Supreme Court judge and said in his farewell speech that he played his innings very well and performed his duties without fear, favour or ill-will.

"I have played my innings very well. I have always followed my conscience. I have always believed in God and Karma. I have never expected anything...I always followed the Gita," Justice Shah said in a farewell organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud who also attended the event and appreciated Justice Shah for his "receptive and open nature" and revealed that he calls Justice Shah as "Tiger Shah" for his courage and fighting spirit.

Justice Shah adapted to technology quickly due to which complete paperless hearing could take place in the Constitution bench, CJI said.

CJI further said that Justice Shah's inclusion in the Collegium greatly helped in decisions making.

"He has been a solid colleague for me in the Collegium, full of practical wisdom. He was full of excellent advice which helped us greatly when we made the first seven appointments in a short span of time," he said.

Justice Shah said parting is always painful and quoted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee "Jo kal the, woh aaj nahi hai. Jo aaj hai woh kal nahi honge. Hone na hone ka kram issi tarah chalta rahega. Hum hain, hum rahenge, yeh bhram bhi sada chalta rahega."

Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and SCBA President Vikas Singh also spoke on the occasion.

In the morning during the ceremonial bench, where the retiring judge sits with CJI in court no 1 one, Justice Shah broke down in the courtroom on his last day in office and quoted lines from Raj Kapoor's iconic movie Mera Naam Joker "Jeena yahan marna yahan."

In a choking voice he said, "Before parting, I would like to remember a song by Raj Kapoor kal khel mein hum ho na ho, gardish mein taare rahenge sada..."

He said he is not a person to retire and will start a new inning in life.

Justice Shah was born on May 16, 1958, and later on, enrolled as an advocate July, 19, 1982. He practiced in the Gujarat High Court and specialised in land, constitutional, education, excise and custom matters.

In March 2004, he was appointed as an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court and on June 22, 2005 he was appointed as permanent judge. In August 2008, he was appointed as Chief Justice of Patna High Court and later on November 2, 2018 elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

With the retirement of Justice Shah, the number of judges in the top court has now come down to 32, including the Chief Justice. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 34.