Date:27/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/27/stories/2004092712520500.htm

Tamil Nadu

`Judges must have attitude to reform a wrong-doer'

By Our Staff Repoter

MADURAI, SEPT. 26. Global justice requires conditions of just global order and one can achieve it only by dwelling on spiritual wisdom, speakers at the inaugural session of the All-India Conference on `Spiritual wisdom for global justice,' said.

The jurists' wing of the Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation and the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, a Rajasthan-based NGO, jointly organised the two-day conference here. Judicial officers from the State and advocates from all over the country participated.

Delivering the inaugural address, Justice M. Karpagavinayagam of the Madras High Court said judges and advocates must possess spiritual, moral and human values, "Intelligence may be important but more important is intuition with integrity. If only we have love and affection, we will have wisdom," he said.

Listing the three qualities that a judge should possess, he said, spotless integrity, admirable sobriety and commendable equanimity could be achieved only through spirituality.

Pointing out that when punished in accordance with the written laws, even a small wrong-doer turns out to be a criminal, he said, "Judges must have an attitude to reform a wrong-doer into a noble personality... Police officers, jailers and advocates should be educated on the issue."

In his key note address, B.K. Brij Mohan, Chairperson, Political Service Wing of the foundation, said justice could not be expected in a society where more and more people were deprived and less and less getting affluent. Once, the balance gets disturbed heavily, both would suffer, he said. "Only when we realise the spiritual law that right is right and might is not right will we get global justice," Justice Karpagavinayagam said.