By Justice Markandey Katju
When I was Chief Justice of Madras High Court (2004-2005) one evening when I was at my residence a film actress telephoned my private secretary, and said she wanted to meet me. When my secretary told me about it, at first I was reluctant to meet her. But then when I was told that though a south Indian, she was an MP from a constituency in UP (my home state) I consented.
She came shortly thereafter all decked up, to meet me at my residence. I will not mention any details about her, as that may identify her, except to say that she was very beautiful, though in her middle age.
She conversed with me for about an hour. She asked me what I liked to eat, and I said I liked fish, and she said she would send me a lot of fish soon. She then asked me which Hindi film I liked best, and I said 'Mughal-e-Azam, and she promised to arrange a special show of Mughal-e-Azam in colour, for me exclusively, in a cinema hall she owned in Chennai. In the same way she kept trying to please me by makng many offers.
I wondered after she left why she had come to meet me. I do not regard myself as a particularly handsome man, (though some ladies may think otherwise !).
However, I was subsequently informed by a brother judge of the High Court that she had several litigations in the courts of Tamilnadu, and evidently wanted me to help her in those. She had adopted the same modus operandi with my predecessor Chief Justices too.
I told my private secretary that if she ever telephoned again seeking an appointment it should be politely refused on some pretext, and if she sent me anything that too should be politely declined.
I did not want to get a reputation of being a Chief Justice who flirts with beautiful film actresses !
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
