A few days ago, Vikram contributed a post about Justice HR Khanna’s demise. Today’s Hindu carries a tribute to the judge by Anil Divan, which details the reasons why his actions are worth remembering, while also providing a personal account of the fascinating story of the ADM Jabalpur litigation before the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Towards the end, Divan explains his motivation in writing the piece: It is essential for each generation to share with successive generations the experiences and struggles of the past for preserving a constitutional democracy and the rule of law. It is an ever-greening process and Justice Khanna’s role must encourage each one of us — judge, lawyer and citizen — to play our little part in this never-ending battle. Justice Khanna’s actions have a contemporary relevance across several jurisdictions in this post 9/11 world. He is one of the few judges of the Indian Supreme Court who didn’t simply step aside (as did several of his illustrious peers) when the government of the day cited ‘national security’ concerns. One hopes that our contemporary judiciary will follow his example by seeking to correct the balance in the Court’s woeful record on issues relating to emergency powers, preventive detention, and national security.
Divan tribute to Justice HR Khanna
Further reading
The first part of this analysis delved into the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ashok Kumar Sharma & Ors v. Union of India, where it misread the International Rule of Law (IRoL) by focusing on...
Blurb: A petition was filed in the Supreme Court, seeking the suspension of military exports from India to Israel in light of the unfolding armed conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The...
Blurb: In his recent rejoinder, Dalmia clarifies the “expressed an opinion” standard to better define when recusal may be appropriate. He addresses the four rebuttals that the author raised and...
Blurb: In his recent rejoinder, Dalmia clarifies the “expressed an opinion” standard to better define when recusal may be appropriate. He addresses the four rebuttals that the author...
A fortnightly feature inspired by I-CONnect’s weekly “What’s New in Public Law” feature that addresses the lacuna of a one-stop-shop public law newsletter in the Indian legal...
A mass movement led by students has ushered in a new dawn in Bangladesh. What began as a claim for reform of the quota system transformed into a national movement to oust Bangladesh’s long-standing...
Could we hope to have an occasional feature profiling our great judges? We know so little about them.
It’s typical, though. Ramachandra Guha complains that many of the colourful figures in our post-independence era like Phizo, Master Tara Singh and yes, even a Bhindranwale still await their biographers.
Suresh.