Justice Gautam Patel, one of the most famous judges of the Bombay High Court, retires today

Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court, one of the judges who delivered the verdict on the IT rule change, is retiring today. He will officially resign from office on April 25.

Justice Patel is one of the most popular judges of the Bombay High Court, known for his flair for the English language.

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ALL ABOUT JUSTICE GAUTAM PATEL

Born on April 26, 1962 in Mumbai, Justice Patel is a graduate of S. Xavier’s College and studied law from the Government Law College. He started his practice in Mumbai in 1987, focusing on commercial, corporate and civil litigation, as well as numerous environmental public interest litigation, including those related to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the protection of mangroves, area of ​​urban and rural planning, Melghat National Park. , the Mill Lands, protection of open spaces, etc.

In 1994, Judge Patel received the first international fellowship at the Pacific Energy and Resources Center, Sausalito, California, in environmental law. This included coursework at the University of Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law and an internship with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.

He served as Honorary Secretary of the Bombay Bar Association for two three-year terms from 1999 to 2005 and was a member of the Association’s Standing Committee until his appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 2013.

Between 2008 and 2011 he was a part-time lecturer in Administrative Law, Constitutional Law and Environmental Law at the Government Law College. Justice Patel also wrote a weekly newspaper column in a city tabloid for about three years, besides contributing several articles to esteemed magazines.

Judge Patel has previously served as a trustee of several public charitable trusts and foundations in the areas of education, the environment and the hearing impaired.

HIS TIME IN COURT

Justice Patel’s court recently obtained suo motu knowledge of reports of two children drowning in a Mumbai park. It pulled out the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over the incident and asked, “What is the price of human life in this city?”

Justice Patel has also been very vocal about the pressure judges face, noting that it was extremely brutal. Last year, he abstained from hearing a case after a lawyer representing the litigant said that the petitioner had sent him personal emails stating that the petition had not been processed.

In the judgment on the amendment of the IT rule, Judge Patel ruled in favor of the petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra. The changes in IT rules gave the government’s Fact-Check Unit (FCU) the power to identify ‘fake news’ on social media platforms.

Justice Patel could not agree with Justice Neela Gokhale and a divided judgment was delivered on the issue. The petitions will now be heard by a third judge, after which a judgment will be pronounced in the case.

A bench headed by Justice Patel will also rule on the case Syedna’s succession case, which was reserved for order a year ago. The ruling will take place on April 23, just before Judge Patel retires.

JUSTICE PATEL TALKS ABOUT BEING A JUDGE

Justice Gautam Patel addressed a gathering of lawyers at the Bombay High Court Advocates Association of Western India on Monday and spoke about his time as a judge.

“If you are asked to serve as a judge, take the offer seriously. It is something that should be seriously considered for two reasons. I know there are some variable elements in it; money is a problem. But beyond that, people talk about being isolated or cut off; that’s actually not true. We just have to be a little careful with it. You tend to push aside personal and family concerns, and that is not a good thing,” Judge Patel said.

He emphasized that the offer was worth accepting because not everyone is offered the position.

“It’s worth doing because not everyone is asked to do it. Just being asked is a privilege. You don’t become a judge because you are going to write great judgments or change the world or society. It is a task that must be performed as a matter of service, and it is a task, a demand placed on the few. But if you do it, no matter how broad your practice is… it’s incredible how much your perspectives open up once you become a judge and see all these cases,” the judge said.

Justice Gautam also talked about his first day as a judge and shared anecdotes, while emphasizing that it was always humor during court proceedings and the cooperation of the bar that helped take the stress out of issues.

“It is very helpful to find a moment or element of humor in the actions of a day. More often than not it takes the stress out of problems. Sometimes the pressure is great. But the cooperation from the counter was astonishing. I do not think anything like this would have been possible without the cooperation of the bar,” Justice Patel said.

Justice Patel elaborated on the issue of a judge’s life being cut off or alienated from the fraternity. He said it is important for a lawyer-turned-judge to stay in touch with members of the bar to keep their relationships going.

“One of the things I have learned is that you do not lose contact with the counter. You keep your doors open, you keep the possibilities and discussions open outside the courtroom, and you keep the relationships going. This is going to be important,” he said.

The attorneys recalled that Judge Patel initially planned to join the film fraternity, and that he only entered the legal profession by accident.

Justice confirmed this saying, “I have sent my application to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. There was a strike and somehow I ended up here by accident,” Justice Patel said as everyone laughed.