With sense of hurt, Chief Justice A P Shah,author of landmark rulings,retires from HC

The Chief Justice under whom the Delhi High Court legalised gay sex,ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India came under the Right to Information Act and forced the Delhi government to come up with new parole guidelines,Shah said: It is for the people to judge whether I deserved (to be elevated to the Supreme Court) or not. But I cannot pretend that I am not hurt. A sense of hurt is always there.

The 62-year-old judge had kept quiet at the time the collegium overlooked him one of the seniormost High Court chief justices while recommending names of other junior judges in October 2008 for the apex court. The move was widely questioned,but after initial reluctance,the government had accepted the collegiums decision.

Set to retire from office on Friday,Shah,however,added these things happen in life and said the disappointment didnt diminish his enthusiasm for the institution.

During his 21-month tenure as the Chief Justice,Shah came to be known for pro-poor policies,transparency,reasonableness in public policies and for taking up the cause of the disabled.

Speaking about the landmark judgment legalising consensual homosexual sex between adults,he said: I did not switch on TV channels till late in the evening because I was not sure about the reactions from various quarters. When I attended a workshop with some German members and also some gay rights activists in 1997,I had categorically said to them that it would be very difficult for an Indian court to legalise homosexual sex. I did not realise it then that I would be deciding the issue one day.

Fellow judges had by and large hailed the verdict,Justice Shah said.

The other judgment his tenure will always be known for is bringing the office of the CJI under the purview of the RTI. Though the case was unusual,he said,it was overridden by several other significant concerns. The judgment was too significant as it decided on two important issues the independence of judiciary and the scope of the RTI Act, said Justice Shah.

With the Central Government repeatedly expressing its commitment to formulate the judges accountability Bill,he admitted there was corruption in the judiciary,but emphasised that in the superior courts,it was minimal. I will not be telling the truth if I say corruption does not exist in the judiciary, he said.

Having also served as a judge in the Mumbai High Court and as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court,Justice Shah called his tenure as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court very satisfying.

I consider Bombay court one of the most professional courts while in Delhi,you are assisted not only by erudite judges but also by senior lawyers who regularly appear before the Supreme Court. Moreover,the Bar is also very cooperative. However,the work culture at the Madras High Court is marred by casteism and clashes involving Bar members, he said.

Hailing from Solapur in Maharashtra,Justice Shah said he wasnt planning to take up any assignment and wanted to work for the poor and disabled.

5 important verdicts by benches headed by Chief Justice A P Shah:

* Legalisation of consensual homsexual sex in July 2009.

* Bringing office of the Chief Justice of India under the ambit of the RTI. Rules judicial independence is not a judges privilege but a responsibility cast upon him.

* Acting on PILs complaining of flawed parole guidelines,asks the Delhi government to come up with new and equitable parole guidelines with a time frame to decide such applications.

* Restricts any kind of construction within 100 metres of protected monuments

* Brings in a rule that an employer would be fined Rs 20,000 immediately on a simple complaint of bonded labour and get three years in jail if found guilty of the offence