Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra Chief Justice of India talked about Stress Management tips for Lawyers. He talked about various coping mechanism and how they can be used to reduce the stress level as follows:

Stress is an issue facing many individuals in the present lifestyle that we live in. Time and time again, we see people feeling overwhelmed because of the pressures that they face as part of modern life. It often leads to disorders such as depression or anxiety. Although we in India tend to overlook this issue which is affecting majority of the population, but its getting real day by day and to go by the facts, India is home to around 57 million people (nearly 18 per cent of the global estimate) suffering from depression, as per WHO.

The fast pace and complexity of modern life has greatly challenged our ability to live healthily and fully in the present moment. We are always worried about the future and in the process we lose our time. While stress is present in each of our lives to varying degrees, it has reached a point of concern where we need to look into the underlying cause in order to address it.

Till the moment we breath we will be surrounded by problems and that’s just life happening to us ! Stress cannot be avoided but it surely can be minimized by using coping mechanism. In order to live a better and quality life it is necessary to deal with stress in a healthy way.

If you are in the legal profession the stress literally never goes away. Being a lawyer myself I am aware how much stress it brings along. Now when I go back to the day I decided to become a lawyer I recall how stressed I was about getting into law school. Being aware of the competition around, it was a challenge to get into a reputed law college.

To prepare for the entrance exams and manage the stress level can be very demanding especially when you have your goals set. Sadly, no one teaches us to cope with this level of stress until it becomes a medical problem.

And how taxing it is to become a successful lawyer once you get out of law school is another stressful arena. In short, the eternal line of challenges lead to never ending cycle of stress.

In his address, one of the important things Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra emphasized was how wanting to do things quickly and desire for quick results lead to stress. People tend to set a timer on everything they do, especially when it comes to career path. We want to be at a certain position by a certain age no matter how exhausting it is for our mind and body. We often tell ourselves that once we achieve a certain goal, the stress would go away. But it doesn’t end there, because we as human beings are never satisfied and there is always an itch to achieve a little more. We need to stop and think if getting quick results is really an achievement or are we forfeiting much more than we think.

Then he talked about how often when we as lawyers are stressed we look for a coping mechanism even without realizing it. Some people are addicted to tea and some to caffeine. Drinking alcohol or smoking are other ways of handling stress. But these are just temporary solutions to a problem which is not as temporary as it looks. With these habits, we are increasing the probability of being stressed out for life because again, we are getting dependent on external sources instead of working on our internal self which is the primary source from where stress is coming from.

Then he discussed the concept of situational anxiety. It is a common phenomena to experience anxiety when we are in a difficult situation. For example, before the beginning of a court case, more lawyers can be seen smoking a cigarette.

Situational anxiety is caused by new situations or changing events. It can also be caused by various events that make that particular individual uncomfortable. Its occurrence is very common. Often, an individual will experience panic attacks or extreme anxiety in specific situations. The question is, that is there a way to cope with it. Different things work for different people and we as lawyers need to know what works for us. Preparing well for a case in advance and being confident about it might reduce the stress at the last moment.

Another emotion that arises from stress is anger which Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra talked about in his speech. Many people struggle with anger because it’s an emotion “we’re not supposed to feel,” says Stacy Tye-Williams, an assistant professor of communication studies at Iowa State University. “We’re supposed to tamp that down, but then it builds and builds until we blow our top,” she says.

Do a little digging. Are you really angry? Or is the anger a cover for being stressed out with your current situation? Understanding the real emotion will help you determine how you want the situation to change. That’s what Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Mishra referred to when he talked about rationalization of emotions that we need to understand the root of anger and not judge the other person or ourselves based on the actions.

It was wonderful to hear how Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra talked about acidity and anxiety being an inseparable phenomena. The research says that many of the symptoms of anxiety cause further anxiety, this is the case with anxiety and heartburn. Heartburn, also known as acid reflux, can cause numerous symptoms that may lead to significant anxiety, especially if you are prone to health anxiety or panic attacks. It means that taking care of acidity level can actually reduce anxiety.

He went on to talk about very interesting concept of negative psychology which assumes the worst—the worst in methodology, the worst in social impact, the worst in motivation. A person might be basically positive, but have been ransacked. All this to say that the “negative” person may be a suffering person. If their despair shows up in the form of irritability or even hostility, it may be worth trying to perceive the deeper issue. ‘Don’t judge the person, judge the action’, as explained by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Mishra.

The last and certainly not the least important factor which he talked about in reducing stress is the role of music. Listening instrumental classical music while studying or working or before sleeping has a very calming effect. There is music available for different moods e.g. study music, work music, sleep music etc. Incorporating music into daily life can reduce stress at a great level.

A wealth of new studies are touting the benefits of music on mental and physical health. For example, in a meta-analysis of 400 studies, Levitin and his postgraduate research fellow, Mona Lisa Chanda, PhD, found that music improves the body’s immune system function and reduces stress. Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery.

Incorporating physical activities in daily life such as walking, running, dancing, zumba, can also help reduce the stress levels.

With our stressful schedules and exhausting lifestyle it is worthwhile to take a note of the following words by Holly Mosier, who is an award winning author, healthy lifestyle expert, lawyer, yoga teacher, wife, mother and a step-mother.

She says, “Our culture encourages us to plan every moment and fill our schedules with one activity and obligation after the next, with no time to just be. But the human body and mind require downtime to rejuvenate. I have found my greatest moments of joy and peace just sitting in silence, and then I take that joy and peace with me out into the world.”

Story Coverage Credit: Pallavi Pratap, AOR at Supreme Court of India.

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We filed petition in SC (challenging VP Naidu’s dismissal of impeachment motion against CJI) yesterday & was to be heard today. But we were informed last evening that our petition will be heard by 5 judges. Who gave these orders? What were orders?: Kapil Sibal, Congress to Press

— Legal Desire (@legaldesire) May 8, 2018

Here’s copy of Petition: 

Attorney General KK Venugopal has questioned the maintainability of the petition. “Why have only two Congress MPs come? I will presume only the Congress is aggrieved. Other six parties have accepted (Rajya Sabha Chairman) Venkaiah Naidu’s decision,” he says.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan says it’s unfortunate that the court even refused to share a copy of the administrative order by which the five-judge Constitution Bench was formed to hear the matter. “It has never happened that a writ petition has been brought to a Constitution Bench before a judicial order is passed.”

Sibal, who is also one of the signatories of the impeachment notice, had on Monday mentioned the petition for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar. The bench, also comprising Justice SK Kaul, asked Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan to mention the matter before the CJI for urgent listing, citing a Constitution bench judgment on powers of master of roster.

Overnight, a five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court was constituted by the CJI on Monday to hear the matter on Tuesday. The list of business for the Supreme Court showed that the petition would be heard on Tuesday by a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Arun Mishra and AK Goel.

Significantly, the matter was not listed before the judges who are number two to five in the seniority—Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph—who had held a press conference on January 12 in which they had raised concerns about the independence of the judiciary.

On Tuesday, the the five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri did not agree to Sibal’s plea for a copy of the administrative order which led to the bench being set up on Monday, and asked Sibal to argue the main matter challenging Naidu’s order on merits. Sibal argued that the matter could be referred to a Constitution Bench only by a judicial order, and wondered how could it be done by an administrative order, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked if there was a bar on directly referring the matter to a five-judge bench by the latter process.

“You (want) to challenge that (administrative order setting up five-judge bench) for what outcome?” Justice Sikri asked Sibal, who told the bench: “You must say who passed the order. I must have the copy of the order so that I can challenge it.”

The bench reminded Sibal that at the outset of the hearing he had said that he has no personal agenda and was for upholding the dignity of the court. “Will the dignity of the court be jeopardised if you give me that (administrative) order (constituting five judge bench). It is not a secret document under the National Security Act,” Sibal countered.

In the petition, the two MPs claimed that the reasons given were “wholly extraneous” and not legally tenable. While Justice Chelameswar had initially asked him to mention the matter before the CJI, the bench, also comprising Justice SK Kaul, later asked Sibal and Bhushan to “come back tomorrow”. Justice Chelameswar also said he was on the verge of retirement. Making his submissions, Sibal said Naidu cannot summarily reject the notice bearing signatures of 64 MPs and seven former members who had recently retired, on the ground that there was “no proved misbehaviour”.The bench asked Sibal and Bhushan to mention the matter before the Chief Justice of India for urgent listing, citing a Constitution Bench judgment on the powers of master of roster.

Earlier, Vice President rejected the Impeachment Plea in Rajya Sabha.

Naidu said, “I have applied my mind to all five charges made out in Impeachment Motion and examined all annexed documents. All facts as stated in motion don’t make out a case which can lead any reasonable mind to conclude that CJI on these facts can be ever held guilty of misbehaviour.”

“After having perused annexures to the Motion and having detailed consultations and having studied opinions of constitutional experts I am satisfied that admission of this notice of Impeachment Motion is neither desirable nor proper,” he said.

The Vice President had consulted Attorney-General KK Venugopal, former law officer K Parasaran, retired Supreme Court judge Sudarshan Reddy, former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap, former Law Secretary PK Malhotra and former Legislative Secretary of the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh while deciding on the impeachment motion, said news reports.

On April 20, the opposition parties led by Congress moved the impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha, seeking the removal of CJI Misra under Article 217 read with article 124 (4) of the Constitution of India. The motion was signed by 64 sitting members of the House.

As per Article 124 (4), “A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.”

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Even the lawyers concede that Justice Misra knows his literature, philosophy and history. His tales in the court from the Shastras are legendary.

Justice Misra’s courtroom is always jam-packed: one is sure of a decision soon enough. He is quick to grasp the nuances of any complicated case and is equally adept at handling tricky situations.

Career

Justice Misra enrolled at the Bar on 14 February 1977 and practiced at the Orissa High Court and the Service Tribunal. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996 and was later transferred the following year to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where he was made a Permanent Judge on 19 December 1997. In December 2009, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and served until May 2010, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He served in the latter capacity until his elevation to the Supreme Court on 10 October 2011.

Justice Misra has a tenure of almost seven years at the Supreme Court and has been appointed the 45th Chief Justice of India from 28 August 2017 till 2 October 2018, the day he retires on turning 65 years in age.

Notable judgements

Justice Misra’s passed judgment in the Own Motion vs State case, requiring Delhi Police to upload FIRs on their website within 24 hours of the FIRs being lodged, in order to enable the accused to file appropriate applications before the court for redressal of their grievances.

In a case on Reservation in the promotion, Justice Misra and Justice Dalveer Bhandari upheld the Allahabad High Court judgement that reservation in promotions can be provided only if there is sufficient data and evidence to justify the need. The bench rejected the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to provide reservation in promotion on the ground that it failed to furnish sufficient valid data.

Justice Misra led the bench which rejected the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon’s appeal to stop his execution. He then received a death threat in writing, an anonymous letter which says “irrespective of the protection you may avail, we will eliminate you.” He has been assigned high security following death threats after he upheld the capital punishment for a mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

Justice Mishra was part of the bench that ordered playing of the National anthem before screening of films. In a few days, a bench headed by the 63-year-old judge will start hearing the vexed issue of Ayodhya title dispute.

A three judge bench led by Justice Misra has upheld the death sentence awarded to the four convicts of the Nirbhaya rape case on 5th May, 2017.

Justice Misra authored the landmark judgement confirming the death penalty of four convicts in the brutal Nirbhaya gangrape 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case which shook the nation and spurred the genesis of a stringent anti-rape law. In his verdict, Justice Misra termed the convicts as those who “found an object for enjoyment in her… for their gross, sadistic and beastly pleasures… for the devilish manner in which they played with her dignity and identity is humanly inconceivable”.

He had upheld constitutionality of criminal defamation. He was also part of the Bench of the Supreme Court’s seven senior most judges who convicted then Calcutta High Court judge C. S. Karnan, of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment.

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Justice J S Khehar’s quarterly blood donation, true to his style, has remained under wraps, known to a small group of friends and colleagues. Unobtrusiveness — bordering on the reclusive — has been as much a part of his and wife Madhurpreet Kaur’s routine, as his tendency to deliver headline-making judgments.

Lawyers in Chandigarh fondly talk of a judge who would never miss a blood-donation camp organised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.

“It was almost as if it (donating blood) was a mission for him. He would be among the first to volunteer and within minutes of donating, he would be back on the bench, dispensing justice,” recalls a senior lawyer in Punjab and Haryana High Court.

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