Shimla. A Full Court Address was held on wednesday in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh to bid farewell to Ms. Justice Sabina, Acting Chief Justice, who demitted the office yesterday, on superannuation.
Justice Sabina was born on 20.04.1961. She was unanimously selected Joint Secretary of the Bar Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the year 1986. Thereafter, she joined as Additional District Judge on 21.01.1997.
Subsequently she became Sessions Judge in September, 2004 and was elevated as an Additional Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court on 12.03.2008 and Permanent Judge on 23.02.2010.
She was transferred to Rajasthan High Court and assumed office of a Judge of Rajasthan High Court on 11.04.2016.
She was transferred to the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and took oath on 08.10.2021. She assumed charge of the office of Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 21.01.2023.
The Registrar General Sh. Arvind Malhotra conducted the proceedings.
Speaking on the occasion, the Acting Chief Justice Smt. Sabina thanked all her companion Judges and members of the Bar of all the High Courts, where she worked, i.e. Punjab and Haryana High Court, Rajasthan High Court and Himachal Pradesh High Court, for their love, affection and co-operation.
She thanked her family for their unwavering support throughout her career. She also thanked the Registrars, officers and officials of the Registry and her personal staff for their cooperation and support.
On this occasion, Justice Sabina said that being a Judge is not just a profession, but it is a calling that requires a deep sense of responsibility, integrity and commitment to the cause of justice.
She said that she always believed that justice should be accessible to all, regardless of their background or status. She advised the young Advocates that consistent hard work, sincerity, integrity and perseverance is the key to success and they should never compromise on the ethics for short term gains to earn easy money.
She appealed to all the senior lawyers to spare some time to teach the young lawyers the concepts of law and they should inculcate in them the court manners, courtesy and etiquettes.
She also said that the strength of the judiciary lies in the public confidence and both the bench and the bar must take care to ensure that they or any one of them do not act or do anything, which will wear away public confidence in the judiciary. She advised all to always strive for greatness but never forget to enjoy the journey.
On this occasion, Mr. Justice Vivek Singh Thakur said that the Acting Chief Justice Ms. Sabina is not only an excellent Judge but also a human being par excellence; having additional traits like discipline, hard-work and punctuality.
He said that Justice Sabina is legalist as well as pragmatic and can be classified as a Judge with “Legal pragmatism”. Justice Thakur said that since the day Justice Sabina has been appointed to this Court as the head of our family, various projects either have been completed or are under progress with the purpose to extend the maximum facilities to the legal fraternity including the Bar.
Justice Thakur on behalf of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and on behalf of the entire legal fraternity, extended best wishes to Justice Sabina for a very happy, healthy, prosperous and blissful life.
Anup Rattan, Advocate General, I N Mehta, Senior Member, Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh, Tarun Sharma, Vice President, H.P. High Court Bar Association Balram Sharma, Deputy Solicitor General of India also spoke on the occasion and extended their best wishes to outgoing Acting Chief Justice Ms. Sabina.
Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Justice Sandeep Sharma, Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Justice Satyen Vaidya, Justice Sushil Kukreja and Justice Virender Singh also attended the Full Court Reference.
Among other prominent persons present on the occasion were Justice Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri, former Chief Justice of High Court of Orissa, Justice P S Rana, Chairman, Human Rights Commission, Justice C B Barowalia, Lokayukta, State of H., Registrar General and other Registrars, Central Project Coordinator. The officers and officials of the High Court Registry were present on the occasion.
The Full Court Address was followed by Guard of Honour and Red Carpet send off in honour of Justice Sabina.
