My Dear See Jay,

I thought I must write to you, now that you must be having time on your hands to read this since you have left the bench, having retired after over four decades of service. And pardon me for still calling you See Jay, but that is what most of us will remmber you as!

Honestly, See Jay, when you first took up that august office, there were many who had their reservations. Although you had been the Attorney General and that would have entitled you to assume that high office, there were some who thought that you were being ‘parachuted’ to the top by Satellite. There was also some suggestion that Satellite had missed her mark!

But then, there were always indications that you would be your own man and not do things at someone else’s bidding. The first hint of that came when someone challenged Satellite over the number of years she could hold office and you held that she was trying to overstay her welcome, having had the elections one year before schedule.

Of course that prompted some people to say that you were Mahinda maama’s man, having been his friend for a long time. They expected you to be loyal to Mahinda maama and didn’t expect much from you, even if you were serving in one of the highest offices in the land. And what a surprise they were in for!
I think it would be fair to say that you were responsible for some of the most pro-active judgments that have been delivered in this country and that as a result, most people have retained their faith in the judiciary at a time when they have lost confidence in most other institutions.

By doing that and by daring to engage in judicial activism you have also encouraged a spate of public interest litigation which has resulted in many controversial judgments which nevertheless have been for the benefit of the country.

Why, you were responsible for formulating policies for school admissions, reducing electricity tariffs and even ordering the removal of a Treasury Secretary for violating tender procedures.

Then, you also made sure that the North and East were separate once again and that was seen as a major step towards erasing the concept of separatism in the minds of the public. Besides, we know you did your best to alleviate the sufferings of those who had been victimised by people with golden keys.
You also tried to do what is best for the country with the infamous ‘hedging’ deal and ordered that petrol prices be reduced. Some people ignored your verdict and you cancelled the order and now we are all paying for it!

Perhaps the jewel in your crown was your final decision to hand over the insurance giant back to the state. Of course, that would have meant that every Tom, Dick and especially Harry may not be pleased with your verdicts, but then you could be satisfied that you have done your job properly.

See Jay, there was indeed a time when some ministers were asking who was running the country-you or Mahinda maama? That was the extent of the impact of your verdicts. For showing such courage and for asserting your independence in that manner, we are grateful to you.

We can only hope, See Jay, that the other Lordships who sit on that bench and those who are chosen to follow you have the same sense of courage and independence to do what they think is right. But we will always remember you for showing them the way.Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS-There was speculation some time ago that you would be a ‘common candidate’ at the next big election. Now that Mahinda maama has been hailed as a virtual ‘King’, you wouldn’t be lured into such a trap, would you? After all, you are a man well versed in the Dhamma and we know you must now be pondering on the impermanence of everything...