Date:12/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/12/stories/2006021203040400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Only law can ensure social and economic justice: Y.K. Sabharwal

Staff Reporter

Chief Justice of India inaugurates Karnataka chapter of Indian Law Institute

LEGAL LUMINARIES: Supreme Court judge R.V. Raveendran, Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph, High Court judge P. Vishwanath Shetty and the former Advocate-General B.T. Parthasarathy at the inaugurat ion of the Karnataka chapter of the Indian Law Institute in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: It is through the law that social and economic justice can be provided to the people of the country, the Chief Justice of India, Y.K. Sabharwal, said on Saturday.

He was speaking after the inauguration of the Karnataka chapter of the Indian Law Institute (ILI) on the Karnataka High Court premises here.

Several parts of the Constitution can be amended, but not words such as liberty and economic and social justice. The ILI, founded 50 years ago, brings under one roof judges, advocates, professors of law and legal luminaries and provides a forum for individual and institutional research, he said.

Legal education

The ILI also contributes immensely to legal education and has introduced diploma courses in several subjects, Mr. Sabharwal said. The institute, which is a deemed university, admits students after they appear for an all-India entrance test. Besides, it has exchange arrangements with 117 Indian and foreign institutes and is attempting to digitalise its library, he said.

With foreign players coming into India, the importance of institutes such as ILI has increased, he said.

R.V. Raveendran, judge of the Supreme Court, recalled that a Karnataka chapter of the ILI existed in the State some decades ago. However, it fell on bad days and subsequently became defunct.

The ILI is concentrating on big issues such as intellectual property rights (IPR), he said, and urged the Karnataka chapter to apply its mind to smaller and day-to-day issues facing the judiciary. The Karnataka unit, he said, could busy itself with the criminal and civil justice system.

There is nothing better than subjecting a judgment to criticism, he said. A judge will be careful in delivering judgments if he knows that they will be thoroughly analysed, scrutinised and dissected.

The Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Cyriac Joseph, said there was a Mysore ILI in 1961 in the State and the then Chief Justice of the High Court, Nitoor Srinivasa Rau, was its president. He said justice should be real and meaningful to the people.

Presiding officers and judges do not get enough time to read or think. This is because they are involved in judicial work and have little time to spare, he said. Institutes such as ILI can provide an ideal platform for judges to interact freely with advocates and others in the legal profession.

B. Padmaraj, judge of the High Court, said the ILI has embarked upon a plan for imparting e-education in addition to the traditional methods of teaching.

The former Advocate-General B.T. Parthasarathy said the ILI has not lived up to the expectations and hoped that the Karnataka chapter will make a mark on the legal scenario.

Senior judge and Executive Chairman of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, P. Vishwanath Shetty, Advocate-General R.N. Narasimha Murthy and Karnataka State Bar Council Chairman Sadashiv Reddy spoke.