New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday justified the Collegium's decision to elevate newly appointed Supreme Court judges, Justices Sunita Agarwal and Aparesh Kumar Singh, and said their hard work and merit played a decisive role in the decision-making process.

CJI Kant said that the apex court's strength lies not merely in the constitutional authority it exercises but in the confidence it inspires among people.

"That confidence is shaped by the quality of judgments and equally by the fairness of the process, the dignity with which litigants are treated and the assurance that every person who approaches the court will be heard without prejudice or favour. Preserving this confidence is a continuing institutional responsibility, one that calls for commitment from everyone who forms part of the judicial delivery system," he said.

Speaking at a felicitation function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for the new judges, who were elevated to the apex court recently, CJI Kant said the experience of both the judges who have served the judiciary in various capacities in different high courts will be of immense value.

"Each of our two distinguished colleagues has served in different parts of the country in different capacities. Their journeys have been distinct, but they share an important feature, namely, they had the opportunity to understand the justice system from more than one vantage point.

"That experience is particularly valuable to a court, whose work is national in character and whose decisions must remain attentive to the varied realities of our republic," he said.

The CJI said that in the judiciary, it is not necessary that one knows the judges personally, as everyone knows them through their judgments.

Before being elevated as Supreme Court judges, while Justice Agarwal was the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Singh was the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Recalling Justice Agarwal, whom he called "hardcore administrator", CJI Kant said that while serving as an Allahabad High Court judge, she authored in 2016 a judgment while sitting in a division bench as a junior judge, which scrapped the Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway toll and the verdict was upheld by him in the apex court a couple of years ago.

CJI Kant said that five-judge benches in high courts are very rare unlike the Supreme Court, and Justice Singh, while serving as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, adjudicated one of the oldest cases while sitting in a five-judge combination.

"So I personally feel that when you start recognising the judges on account of the quality and the quantity of judicial performances, then it becomes easier for the Supreme Court Collegium to pick up the team members," the CJI said.

He highlighted that the Supreme Court is nowadays flooded with a huge number of cases resulting in growing pendency and the institution is virtually playing a T20 match in deciding those cases.

CJI Kant said that in this scenario, when the Collegium meets to recommend judges, it considers various factors including merit, seniority, performance, regional representation and diversity.

"There are several objectively based factors that are kept in consideration while picking our team members, but one of the factors, which at least I have always kept in mind, is how you are going to perform as a team member because the Supreme Court is virtually now playing a T20 match.

"I can say very happily that while selecting these two outstanding Chief Justices of the high courts, both of whom are right now adorning the bench, these factors were kept in view. I am absolutely confident that my sister and my brother both will, with their outstanding performance, show their worth and how the Supreme Court Collegium was right in its decision in picking them up," he said.

Justice Agrawal, in her address, said, "It is an honour that comes with an enormous responsibility, which I accept with humility and a profound sense of commitment. My journey from law college to the Supreme Court is, in many ways, the journey of an ordinary girl from a small town who dared to dream."

She said there have been moments of uncertainties and challenges, but each of them has taught her the value of patience, perseverance and quiet determination.

Recalling her farewell speech at the Allahabad High Court before taking up the responsibility as Gujarat High Court Chief Justice, she said, "I conveyed a message to all the women in the profession: If I can do it, you too can. I said those words then, and I believe in them even more strongly today.

"I firmly believe that no woman should allow circumstances, societal expectations or doubts expressed by others to define the limits of her aspirations."

Justice Singh, in his address, said that he began his practice as an advocate in 1990 and spent close to 22 years at the Bar before being elevated to the bench.

"Those years I spent practising before various courts have a special place in my heart and will stay with me lifelong. They have shaped my understanding of the law, of the justice system and perhaps most importantly, of the people who come to it seeking justice…

"A case may be one among hundreds listed before a court, but for the person standing in that courtroom, it may be the most important matter in the world. It may concern their livelihood, their property, their liberty, their dignity, or simply their hope that someone will hear them out," he said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and SCBA president Pradeep Rai also welcomed the new judges and assured all cooperation in justice delivery.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.