Outgoing Chief Justice of India JS Khehar Thanks Land of Birth Kenya

Outgoing Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on August 25 thanked his family, India and Kenya ahead of his last working day on Sunday, August 27. Khehar was born in Kenya and completed his primary education in the African country.

“I would thank my land of birth for all it gave me. My primary education was in Kenya, which laid the foundation of my character,” Khehar, 65, who will retire on Sunday, said during his farewell address to lawyers at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

He also thanked his parents, teachers and his seniors in the profession for their contribution in his life. Recalling his late father for teaching him “perseverance and resolve,” Khehar said, “When I drew my first salary as a high court judge, my father’s pension was higher.” He said that he feels “devoted” to his 95-year-old mother. “She loves me so much and is always worried about me,” he added.

Khehar’s great-grandfather Wazir Chand was a part of the DAV institutions in Lahore and moved to Kenya to avoid arrest since the British believed that he was motivating people towards the freedom struggle. His father held a job in the postal service in the country. The family moved back to India after Independence, when his father decided to take Indian citizenship. Khehar was still a school student then.

The first Sikh to become the Chief Justice of India, Khehar ties his turban in a compact, angular style that is typical of East African Sikhs, according to an earlier feature in the Caravan. The family perhaps moved back to  Kenya for some time after their return to India, where Khehar excelled in hockey and represented Nairobi in many tournaments, the report added.

“I think Africa has something in its soil; as it nurtures those leaders who believe in revolution by standing tall or Rule of Law,” SCBA president RS Suri said about Khehar’s childhood during his speech at the occasion.

Khehar took over as the 44th Chief Justice of India on January 4 this year. The Panjab University alumnus took over as the chief justice of the high courts of Karnataka in 2010 and Uttarakhand in 2009. He became a Supreme Court judge in 2011.

During his last week in office, Justice Khehar headed the Supreme Court benches that delivered two significant judgements. It struck down the triple talaq practice among Muslims, and pronounced privacy as a fundamental right for Indian citizens.

Following Khehar’s retirement, Justice Dipak Misra will be sworn in as the new Chief Justice by President Ram Nath Kovind.