Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (Retd)
Former Chief Justice of India
Former Chief Justice of India | New Delhi (INDIA)
Ancestry
Lahore (undivided British India)
Birthplace
Nairobi (Kenya)
Residence
New Delhi (INDIA)
Defining a New Path, for Himself & Others
He is among the least controversial people in a profession encircled with controversies. During his service as Chief Justice of India, he gave momentous judgements, such as elimination of immediate triple talaq, Right to Privacy Judgement, etc.
I was born on 28 August 1952 in Nairobi, Kenya, the youngest of three siblings. Being much younger than the others, my elder brothers were more like my guardians and were always looking for new ways to pamper me. The age gap also meant no sibling rivalry ever. Being born in a foreign land is something that happened because of my great-grandfather, Dr Wazir Chand.
He was a medical practitioner by profession and an honorary doctor of boarders in the DAV institutions, headquartered in Lahore. The British suspected he had instigated students to join the uprising against them. They planned to incarcerate him at Kala Pani, Andamans, the most dreaded Indian prison of the time. To avoid arrest, he came to Kenya and returned only after India’s independence, while my father returned in 1965.
Practice and perseverance are keys to success
In Kenya, I went to one of the most expensive primary schools, where we were taught that practice and perseverance lead to success. My school teachers were incredibly helpful and contributed largely towards my growth. At home, Mom taught me to never give up under any circumstances and to learn from my failures. I never drifted from her teachings and made them my success mantra. Despite miserable failures, I stood up and tried again. I was given a chance to debate by Baldeep Kaur and Susilo, which became the foundation of my career as an advocate. There I learnt that advocacy is a tough task and needs a lot of practice.
Returning to my motherland was an overwhelming experience. It took me a while to adapt to my new home and country, but eventually, I was accepted with open arms. Although I was a Science student, I studied Law upon joining college. I completed my graduation in 1977 and thereafter my masters in 1979 from Panjab University, Chandigarh. During college I made some great friends and we are still in touch. Right after my masters, I started practising as an advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court and Himachal Pradesh High Court. One of the happiest memories of that time is when my alma mater called upon me to teach Law. I was more than happy, in fact proud, to oblige and thus taught law at Panjab University from 1982 to 1986.
Don’t lose heart over petty things
Life got all the more beautiful once Madhupreet entered my life. During my initial years, I had to struggle a lot to make my mark. She was considerably understanding at the time when I was so engrossed in my work that I couldn’t attend family functions or spare time for them. In those hectic days Madhupreet single-handedly took care of my kids and my parents. Thanks to her, our sons, Barinder, Tarunveer and Karanveer, never complained about my busy schedule or my absence. Though I regret for missing on watching them grow, I am grateful for her cooperation.
Whatever I am today is because of my family and my friends. They are my support system. The affection of my brothers, the sacrifices of my mother and the motivation of my father is inexplicable. Dad passed away in 2007 and ever since I have felt his absence, every single day. I remember the days when I was still a newbie in the profession. Dad told me to be persevering and said, “don’t lose heart over petty things.” That advice paved my way to success. When I started my career as a judge, I got huge amount of support from everybody. The employees of the court, be it my fellow judges or advocates or my personal staff, were all very cooperative. Without their loyalty, I would never have been able to reach the heights of success.
I owe my success to my family and friends
With Dad’s teachings in my heart and Madhupreet’s support on my side, I not only survived in my career but was also able to make some of the toughest calls in 240 days as the then Chief Justice of India. One of them was setting aside the president rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016. Then there was the triple talaq judgment and the initiation of an enquiry against a senior Madhya Pradesh High Court Judge for sexually harassing a Gwalior Additional District Judge.
I passed on the legacy of knowledge I gained from Dad to my sons. Barinder, Tarunveer and Karanveer too have faced their share of career challenges because of my position as a judge. They could not practice in the cities where I was a judge and had to stay away from home in rented accommodations. But they stood determined and as a result my Barinder and Karanveer are practicing at the Punjab and Haryana High Courts and Tarunveer is practising at the Delhi High Court.
Now that I am retired, I spend a lot of time with my family, which includes my pet Coco, a Boxer dog. It is an unsaid rule in the family, and a sort of pampering that he asks, that only I bathe him! Another habit that I have continued with is donating blood. For more than 40 years, I have been donating blood every three months.
Philosophy
With faith in almighty and calibre, anything and everything can be achieved.
I love…
Serving my motherland in every possible way and spending time with my family.
I’d suggest the youth…
To be proud of who they are irrespective of their faith and strongly believe in their religion, their ethnicity and the Constitution of India.
Success Mantra
Learn from your failures and don’t let anyone’s opinions get you down. Don’t hold grudges against anyone and be as straightforward as possible.
The world doesn’t know that…
That my first salary as a judge was lesser than my father’s pension.
AKA
First Sikh Chief Justice of India | Supreme Court Chief Justice 44th | Indian legal system reforms Khehar
Gallery
ISBN : 9788193397695