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Justice For The Judge: An Autobiography
Clear-eyed, inspiring and incisive, this is the story of a man of consummate ambition, who made a significant and lasting mark on India’s judicial landscape.
The Supreme Court of India has witnessed a succession of larger-than-life chief justices in its seven-decade history. But it has never seen the likes of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Fiery yet charming, and simultaneously principled and pragmatic, Gogoi is a fascinating man of contrasts who has intrigued observers across the political and social spectrum.
Now, for the first time, Gogoi tells the dramatic story of his life in fascinating detail in Justice for the Judge. He traces his journey from Dibrugarh in Assam to the highest court of the land through people, landmark cases and his own judicial ambition, and reveals the lessons he learnt along the way about the country’s legal system.
Never one to shy away from contentious issues, Gogoi provides a no-holds-barred account of the extraordinary events that characterized his tenure in the apex court—the ‘infamous’ press conference prior to his elevation as the most powerful judge in the land, unsubstantiated allegations of sexual harassment and the impact of tabloid journalism.
He also takes readers through the important meetings, intense interactions and private confrontation that preceded the landmark verdicts authored by him—Rafale and the contempt proceeding initiated against Mr Rahul Gandhi, Sabarimala, NRC and Ayodhya.
Justice for the Judge is also a definitive insider’s account that fills a large gap in our understanding of the drama and majesty of the nation’s highest court.
Son of a former chief minister of Assam, Ranjan Gogoi remained steadfast in the practice of law, which he chose to join after graduating from the Faculty of Law, New Delhi, in 1978. Earlier, he had spent five years in University of Delhi studying history at St Stephen’s College.
He preferred to wait for the call from the Bench instead of plunging into electoral politics, as many expected. The call came in February 2001 when he was appointed a judge of the Gauhati High Court. After serving as a judge for nearly two decades, he demitted office as the 46th Chief Justice of India on 17 November 2019.
Essentially a family man who has always kept a low profile—away from the limelight, Gogoi did not hesitate to answer life’s challenges whenever they arrived. Fiercely independent, he refused to be overawed by the series of controversial issues that had confronted him in and out of Court.
Criticized and revered in equal measure, he will be remembered for the undiluted verdicts in the Rafale and NRC cases and, of course, the litigation of the decade if not the century—the Ayodhya case.
The Supreme Court of India has witnessed a succession of larger-than-life chief justices in its seven-decade history. But it has never seen the likes of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Fiery yet charming, and simultaneously principled and pragmatic, Gogoi is a fascinating man of contrasts who has intrigued observers across the political and social spectrum.
Now, for the first time, Gogoi tells the dramatic story of his life in fascinating detail in Justice for the Judge. He traces his journey from Dibrugarh in Assam to the highest court of the land through people, landmark cases and his own judicial ambition, and reveals the lessons he learnt along the way about the country’s legal system.
Never one to shy away from contentious issues, Gogoi provides a no-holds-barred account of the extraordinary events that characterized his tenure in the apex court—the ‘infamous’ press conference prior to his elevation as the most powerful judge in the land, unsubstantiated allegations of sexual harassment and the impact of tabloid journalism.
He also takes readers through the important meetings, intense interactions and private confrontation that preceded the landmark verdicts authored by him—Rafale and the contempt proceeding initiated against Mr Rahul Gandhi, Sabarimala, NRC and Ayodhya.
Justice for the Judge is also a definitive insider’s account that fills a large gap in our understanding of the drama and majesty of the nation’s highest court.
Son of a former chief minister of Assam, Ranjan Gogoi remained steadfast in the practice of law, which he chose to join after graduating from the Faculty of Law, New Delhi, in 1978. Earlier, he had spent five years in University of Delhi studying history at St Stephen’s College.
He preferred to wait for the call from the Bench instead of plunging into electoral politics, as many expected. The call came in February 2001 when he was appointed a judge of the Gauhati High Court. After serving as a judge for nearly two decades, he demitted office as the 46th Chief Justice of India on 17 November 2019.
Essentially a family man who has always kept a low profile—away from the limelight, Gogoi did not hesitate to answer life’s challenges whenever they arrived. Fiercely independent, he refused to be overawed by the series of controversial issues that had confronted him in and out of Court.
Criticized and revered in equal measure, he will be remembered for the undiluted verdicts in the Rafale and NRC cases and, of course, the litigation of the decade if not the century—the Ayodhya case.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 8, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 16, 2021
Ha..Ha..This year's most comic book and will be a work book for painting labourers. If u have enough time, money and stupidity, pls buy and read
It's useful only if you are in agreement with his political bent of mind. It's also biased.
He justified his judgements which was criticized for being biased towards party in power. He is one of the reasons that nowadays people don't believe in SC anymore. And he only tried to cover himself
It's useful only if you are in agreement with his political bent of mind. It's also biased.
He justified his judgements which was criticized for being biased towards party in power. He is one of the reasons that nowadays people don't believe in SC anymore. And he only tried to cover himself
April 22, 2023
Hooter: Autobiography of a former Chief Justice of India
For a legal layman, the first half of this book provided me insights into the working of the legal system as Gogoi traces the journey from Dibrugarh to Delhi - college days to entering the law profession. Through his journey, he highlights the working of the court and reasons why certain things happened in a certain manner - like how he missed out on making it to High Court before hitting 40 and finally did around the average age a HC judge usually falls under for elevation.
There is privilege at play through his journey for having come from a politically connected family which often people with privilege don't realise for that's the world they have been in and assume as baseline. The second half of the book seems like Ranjan Gogoi providing his justifications across all the controversies that surrounded him and his thought process through some of the landmark cases he handled as CJI including the Ayodhya Ram Mandir / Babri masjid one, followed by the CAA one and some very high profile ones. Interesting trivia was the introduction of single bench Supreme Court hearings with Sushant Singh/ Rhea Chakraborty one being the first case heard by a single SC judge.
The importance of dates in legal profession especially for promotions was not lost in this book as numerous judges who make the roll call in this book have their dates of joining and retirement highlighted to again justify their elevations at the time that they were. What I probably need to read more on is the dismissal of elevations on the basis of average income being 7 LPA .
Overall, if you are complete layman, you get some hints on the workings of the system and his justifications to media headlines that surrounded his career all through.
For a legal layman, the first half of this book provided me insights into the working of the legal system as Gogoi traces the journey from Dibrugarh to Delhi - college days to entering the law profession. Through his journey, he highlights the working of the court and reasons why certain things happened in a certain manner - like how he missed out on making it to High Court before hitting 40 and finally did around the average age a HC judge usually falls under for elevation.
There is privilege at play through his journey for having come from a politically connected family which often people with privilege don't realise for that's the world they have been in and assume as baseline. The second half of the book seems like Ranjan Gogoi providing his justifications across all the controversies that surrounded him and his thought process through some of the landmark cases he handled as CJI including the Ayodhya Ram Mandir / Babri masjid one, followed by the CAA one and some very high profile ones. Interesting trivia was the introduction of single bench Supreme Court hearings with Sushant Singh/ Rhea Chakraborty one being the first case heard by a single SC judge.
The importance of dates in legal profession especially for promotions was not lost in this book as numerous judges who make the roll call in this book have their dates of joining and retirement highlighted to again justify their elevations at the time that they were. What I probably need to read more on is the dismissal of elevations on the basis of average income being 7 LPA .
Overall, if you are complete layman, you get some hints on the workings of the system and his justifications to media headlines that surrounded his career all through.
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March 22, 2022Ranjan Gogoi has penned down his memoirs and shed a good amount of light on the judiciary's working.
One demerit that this book deservers is that he has authored instances of "Selective Honesty" and uprightness, while his public demeanor, especially towards the end of his tenure was clearly pro-government. For instance, his eagerness to give a clean-chit to himself is anti-thesis of what a natural criniminal justice system proscribes, even though you use words like "independent ethics-committee" or "investigated by fact-finding committee" etc.
The book doesn't give reader any new information on the evolution of judiciary or courts in India.
One demerit that this book deservers is that he has authored instances of "Selective Honesty" and uprightness, while his public demeanor, especially towards the end of his tenure was clearly pro-government. For instance, his eagerness to give a clean-chit to himself is anti-thesis of what a natural criniminal justice system proscribes, even though you use words like "independent ethics-committee" or "investigated by fact-finding committee" etc.
The book doesn't give reader any new information on the evolution of judiciary or courts in India.
January 13, 2022
This is the first time I read a book written by a judge, that too an autobiography. A decent read - cataloguing the life of the former Chief Justice of India (the highest ranking judge of the world's largest democracy). Will rank some chapters ahead of others - the ones on the Ayodhya verdict, NRC in Assam and his take on his accepting the Rajya Sabha nomination post retirement. Will recommend complementing the reading experience with his interviews to NDTV and India Today (journalists Sreenivasan Jain and Rahul Kanwal respectively)
May 24, 2023
Informative and insightful especially for a layman into the workings of the judiciary. The author's life experiences as well as his take on important cases like Ayodhya and NRC throw light on not just the cases but also the vulnerability of our society towards being swayed by malicious arguments of 'arm chair reformers' and social media. A micro theme is also to bring to the fore the mamoth challenges faced by the people of Assam and northeast India at large which we have been underplaying or ignoring completely as a nation.
April 30, 2023
Finished it in one sitting. Seems like it was written in a hurry. Huge swathes of the Author's life are noted only in the passing especially, his life as a lawyer. More than an autobiography, the Author has used this book as a means to defend himself against the allegations made against him. Perhaps, a futile attempt. However, on the whole, one could get an insider's perspective of the collegium system and the politics involved in deciding the fate of the judges.
January 7, 2024
From his humble beginnings to the pinnacle of the judiciary, Justice Gogoi's autobiography unveils a life of dedication and the challenges faced, including the conspiracy surrounding allegations of sexual harassment.
Exploring landmark cases like Ayodhya, Rahul Gandhi Contempt, Rafale, and NRC, the book provides an insider's view into the functioning of the judiciary. A compelling narrative that sheds light on a crucial chapter in India's legal history.
January 25, 2022
A judge who faced constant criticism for being an executive's puppet! The book was not bad but it was funny because at one time, he says he was not born with a silver spoon but after 20 pages, he mentioned his dad being the Chief Minister of Assam and her moms' parents being political leaders and Cabinet Ministers. Only, the part when he became the judge and the mention of internal functioning of the collegium was worth reading. I hope that the next parts will be interesting.
December 23, 2021
Former chief justice strongly put forwarded his reasons
April 28, 2023
I love this book
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews