My Lord Justice W.A. Shishak,

I welcome you on behalf of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, on behalf of the people of Chhattisgarh, and on behalf of judicial Officers af Chhattisgarh, and permit me to welcome you on my own behalf also.

My Lord Justice Shishak was born at a very small village known as Shangshak of district Ukhrul in Manipur on 1.1.1941. Your Lordship did your graduation from Gauhati University in 1963 and passed LL.B. examination from Delhi University in the year 1965. Your Lordship joined the profession in March 1967 at Gauhati.

Your Lordship who is a Naga shifted from Gauhati to Nagaland in 1970 where you worked as Senior Government Advocate for the Government of Nagaland for a seven long years for the period between 1975 till 1983. Your Lordship had been President of the Nagaland Bar Association. Looking to your Lordship's qualities, deep interest in the law interpretation and your Lordship's concern about down trodden people you were sworn in as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on 2.1.1989.

Your Lordship comes from a tribal area and you are the first Naga who became the High Court Judge in 1989 since after independence. You are the first Chief Justice from amongst the Nagas and the first Chief Justice from amongst the tribal community in the country. My Lord, we wish to see you in Supreme Court as first tribal Judge of the Supreme Court.

Speaking for myself, when I met you for the first time at Jabalpur I was overwhelmed by your Lordship's mannerism, warmth shown towards me and your concern about the public. My Lord, I cannot claim that I have read you well nor can I say that I have understood you in full, but whatever I have understood about you can simply be said in few words. You are God fearing man; you are a social worker; a philanthropist and devoted to the cause of down trodden and people of lower strata.

My Lord, Chhattisgarh, as ordinarily understood, is a State of tribal and people of lower strata. You come from amongst them. You know their plights and perils. You understand their sorrows and their life style. My Lord, people of Chhattisgarh look at you not for any favour but for justice. I would not say that injustice has been done to them but would only say that their dues were not given to them.

My Lord, we are a new High Court. We have to establish a High Court so that the State of Chhattisgarh has a High Court of its own having its own traditions and the legal luminaries. Your Lordship would find that people of Chhattisgarh are simple, straight and soft. My experience of last one month as Acting Chief Justice of this Court can be summarised in one single statement, i.e. People here, are good. What is good does not need any further say.

We hope that your Lordship would help us in establishing the High Court, in maintaining the High Court traditions and bringing up to the level of any other good High Court in the country.

I wish you best and assure you best of our co-operation.