Justice M.Y.Eqbal was on Friday sworn in Chief Justice of the Madras
High Court in a brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan; Governor Surjit Singh Barnala administered
the oath of office. The Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi was present.Chief
Secretary K.S. Sripathi read out the warrant of appointment of the new Chief
Justice. Mr.Justice Eqbal succeeds Justice H.L.Gokhale, who has been elevated
as a Judge of the Supreme Court. With the swearing-in of Mr. Justice Eqbal, the
strength of the High Court has gone up to 52 against the sanctioned strength of
60.
Justice P.Sadasivam, Supreme Court Judge, Judges of the Madras High
Court,, Deputy Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, State Ministers, office-bearers of
various advocates` associations, family members of the new Chief Justice,
including Mrs.I.Eqbal, and four Judges of the Jharkhand High Court - Justices
Amerswar Sahay, Patel, Tiwari and Marathia - were also present among others..
After swearing in the Justice Eqbal said: “When people come to courts,
they have gleaming hopes in their eyes that justice will be meted out to them
in all cases. Therefore, judges and advocates should make all possible attempts
to perform their pious obligation of delivering justice. They owe not just a
legal responsibility but also a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure that
no corrupt hands shall pollute the pure fountain of justice”. “First, to be
incorruptible and maintain the moral integrity of the institution”, he
emphasized.
He made it clear that no incident of corruption should be tolerated and
anyone prone to corruption will have no place in the system. The next area was
to ensure access to justice for the weaker sections by giving equal
opportunities to everyone to perform.
The Bench and the Bar should do what was right for the legal system in the long term, not what was popular and politically expedient. He said, “Understand the aspirations of the people in the judiciary and paint a vision of the future they can share.”