Law Day & Justice Y.V. Chandrachud Memorial Public Lecture 2013

Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Symbiosis Law School, Pune, a constituent of Symbiosis International University, celebrated its Law Day today, the 13th of January 2013. Law Day - a long-standing tradition is celebrated to remember the most important goals of the legal profession: to advance equality and justice, encourage observation and enforcement of the law, and to foster respect for law and an understanding of its essential place in the life of every citizen.

The program began with the traditional lighting of lamp by the dignitaries, followed by the opening address by Padmabhushan Dr. S. B. Mujumdar, Founder and Chancellor Symbiosis International University. He in his address, mentioned about the origin and importance of law and the ramification it carries on all aspects of society. He further spoke about small time lawyers in Pune, who through their sheer dedication and hard work became judges and justices of The Bombay High court.

Thereafter, Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune and Dean, Faculty of Law, SIU, in her address, shared various achievements and milestones earned by the institution in the recent academic year. She apprised the house of the 4th Ranking of the college among law schools in India. The achievements included wide ranged collaborations with various international universities including DAAD collaboration with the Leibniz University, Hannover Germany. Other accomplishments included the holding of prestigious moots like B. Krishna Memorial and Surana and Surana Moots, publication of journals with LexisNexis. She also mentioned the achievements of faculty and students in the field of knowledge creation in the form of paper presentation and publication in the national and international conferences across the globe.

Celebrating the 150 years of Bombay High Court, the occasion also saw the felicitation of Judges of Bombay High Court including Justice J.A. Patil, Justice S.P. Davare, and Justice Mrs. Sadhana Jadhav an alumnus of Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

This was followed by the presenting of Advocate Ram Jethmalani trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 50, 000 to Aayush Kumar a 5th year student for securing the highest marks in evidence law.

Justice Chelameshwar in his key note address stated that the democracy is the rule of law and not of money. He spoke about the relevance of evidence and its examination in the democratic country, speaking on judicial review he mentioned that the event in Delhi and the outrage that followed is mainly the result of dissatisfactory trial procedure and the low conviction rate. He spoke about the role of witness in the acquittal of criminals; he explained how they become hostile due to threat to self and family or maybe for avoiding the repeated calls to the court. He expressed that judicial review is a form of review in which the rule of law seeks to be implemented. He also said that we must have analytical mind to see through the problems and not just memory. He concluded by stressing on the importance of criminal law and evidence, and methods to reduce the huge volumes of pending litigation cases through proper and systematic steps of evidence collection. Adv. Ram Jethmalani, the Professor Emeritus, SLS, Pune, Sr. Advocate, Supreme Court, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), stole the show as usual with his typical satirical yet inspirational language on the theme. He administered the Law Day Oath to all including the students of Symbiosis Law School, Pune. He showcased his brilliant ability to connect with all types of people in the audience by making quirky remarks about his two professions law and politics. He then went on to talk about the importance of judicial review in contemporary India and about decentralized Supreme Court with benches in the rest of India. He talked about how speedy justice should not be compromised but at the same time one should not forget that “justice hurried is justice buried”. He talked about the importance of secularism and how it has been politically abused. He stressed on the role of students of law in reforming the Indian legal system through active social and political participation.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was next called upon to introduce the lecture series which was instituted in his father’s name. Justice Chandrachud gave an eloquent description of his father and his fond memories about him. He stated various examples from the life of his father and the manner in which he conducted himself and his life. One emotional example was how he had kept a watch safe presented by Adv. Jethmalani after jointly arguing the famous Nanavati case, where they became friends. The hall was enthralled by the story of his father, one of the most important jurists and longest serving Chief Justice in Indian history. He then gave the characteristics of what he thought to be a perfect judicial system.

On the auspicious occasion of “Law Day” in the year 2011, Symbiosis International University had launched a Memorial Public Lecture Series in the honour of Late Justice Y. V. Chandrachud. Carrying the flag further, this year the Justice Y.V. Chandrachud Memorial Public Lecture was delivered by Justice C.K. Thakker, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India. Speaking on “Rethinking Power of Judicial review in the Indian Context?” he urged the audience to rethink and adjudicate on various contemporary and conventional issues through open ended questions. He commenced by mentioning the Locus Standi as a rule of law which indicated that the aggrieved party brings about a cause of action against the accused; but with the development of law, especially with the presence of article 32 and 226 of the Constitution of India, the scope and extent has been widened and a person having sufficient stand; in the interest of public can also file a case. He further pointed out categorically that Natural Justice Principles should not ever be violated. Justice Thakkar continued by discussing the difference between Constitutional question and a political question. He stated that Res-Judicata, as a principle of law, avoids  the multiplicities of proceedings. He questioned the audience about the meaning of “res” and its significance in deciding the case. He further commented on Kelson’s Pure Theory of Law comparing our Constitution to the ‘Grundnorm’, and no violation could be done with regards to the amendability of the Constitution. He concluded by analyzing judicial review and its extent by stating that its scope was not just restricted to administrative action but also to the judiciary and legislative.

Chief Guest Justice Madan Lokur, Hon’ble Judge, Supreme Court of India, released the booklet of Justice Y.V. Chandrachud Memorial Public Lecture 2012 delivered by Shri K. Parasaran, the former Attorney General of India. Thereafter addressing the audience he responded on the theme of judicial review by emphasizing on the need for it. He said that 60% of the pending cases emerged from adjudication done by people not trained in law such as labor disputes, service matters and customs. Carrying Further Adv. Jethmalani’s statement of, “justice delayed is justice denied” he mentioned various reasons leading to increasing pendency of litigation cases in the courts. He recalled his personal experience as to the feedback given to him that people had an average of 8000-12000 cases in their courts and the solution to reducing this burden would be the appointment of more judges into the legal sphere as many mediators and conciliators lack legal expertise in solving these cases. He further elaborated Justice Thakkar’s points of judicial review by mentioning that judicial review could have a wide and strong impact on the society if implementation was stronger. He concluded by stating that law should not be viewed in isolation. It is dynamic and not static and thus must adapt to the changing trends of society.

The event came to an end with the vote of thanks given by Dr. Bindu Ronald, Deputy Director Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Principal Director Symbiosis & Acting Vice Chancellor SIU and Dr. Rajni Gupte, Pro-Vice Chancellor SIU also graced the occasion.