The judge who drove 2,000 km during the lockdown to take charge

Justice Dipankar Datta

Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta, on April 11, revealed that he drove 2,000 km from Kolkata to Mumbai during the COVID-induced lockdown in 2020 to take charge as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

Justice Datta, who was a judge of the Calcutta High Court, was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on April 23, 2020, during the first lockdown. All commercial flights had been grounded then.

His mother-in-law was critically ill when his appointment came through. Even so, his wife wanted to accompany him to the swearing-in ceremony in Mumbai and return to Kolkata to tend to her.

Although the Maharashtra government arranged a chartered flight to bring him to Mumbai, he was reluctant to request a return flight for his wife, so he decided to drive from Kolkata to Mumbai with his family. Justice Datta was sworn-in as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on April 28, 2020.

“My mother-in-law, unfortunately, passed away before my wife could return to Kolkata,” Justice Datta said at a felicitation ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to honour newly appointed Supreme Court judges.

SCBA chief Vikas Singh said: “His commitment to the profession and work was established when he drove 2,000 km from Kolkata to Mumbai.”

Justice Datta, who was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in December 2022, said “Like the Global Positioning System (GPS) takes a person to an unknown destinations, Grit, Perseverance and Sacrifice (GPS) helps a lawyer navigate the profession.”

Justice Datta is the most senior of the eight judges who were appointed after Justice DY Chandrachud took charge as the Chief Justice of India in November 2022.