“My endeavour has been to be a good judge, may not be a great judge.” Leaving the Delhi High Court for the Supreme Court, CJ Upadhyaya said he had tried to bend the law softly towards justice for deserving litigants.
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New Delhi: At a full-court farewell reference on Tuesday, Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya took leave of the Delhi High Court ahead of his move to the Supreme Court of India, saying that where the law seemed cut off from justice he had tried to “softly bend” it towards deserving litigants [Farewell reference: Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Delhi High Court].
Judges of the High Court, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and members of the Bar were present at the reference.
The road to the Supreme Court
Chief Justice Upadhyaya became Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in July 2023 and moved to Delhi as Chief Justice in January 2025. The Supreme Court Collegium recommended his name, together with those of Chief Justices Sunita Agarwal and Aparesh Kumar Singh, at its meeting on September 28, 2026, and the Union Government has since notified the appointments.
When law and justice seem to part
Like other judges, he told the gathering, he had faced situations in which the law could not deliver a just outcome and appeared isolated from justice. What he did then, he said, was this:
“In such situations, I tried to softly bend the law towards justice for the deserving litigants.”
He called the ability to do so “a blessing”.
Good, if not great
Speaking of what separates a capable judge from an exceptional one, Chief Justice Upadhyaya said:
“My endeavour has been to be a good judge, may not be a great judge.”
A Chief Justice, he stressed, is the “first among equals”, and judging, as he described it, is an effort to bring law, justice and compassion together.
The Delhi High Court as an Indian thali
Delhi may be smaller in area than states such as Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra, he observed, but running its High Court is a demanding task:
“The sheer complexity and the cases this court deals with are unparalleled.”
He compared the High Court to an “Indian thali”, with different elements brought together on a single plate, and thanked Delhi for its hospitality.
Wilde, and a verdict left to posterity
He closed with a line attributed to Oscar Wilde:
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
Which category he would be placed in, he said, he could not tell, adding that “the answer lies with posterity.”
Details: Farewell reference for Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Delhi High Court | Date: October 6, 2026 | Elevated to the Supreme Court of India | Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court since January 2025
Appearances: Not applicable (farewell reference). Attended by judges of the High Court, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and members of the Bar.