One advantage of writing a belated obituary is that the writer can try to dig out what has been missed by others who had to write almost immediately after the eminent person’s passing. Justice Krishna Iyer’s passing on December 4 led some of his contemporaries and friends recall his unique contribution to the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence. In this piece, I reflect, on the basis of his autobiographical note, written in 2001 and available with Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, his judicial philosophy. What struck me most after reading this, and also George H.Gadbois, Jr.’s chapter on him, in his book, Judges of the Supreme Court of India: 1950-1989, was that Justice Iyer never wrote even one dissent during his term as the Judge of the Supreme Court, and that he personally disfavoured the idea of writing a dissent, finding no value in it. This can only mean that he either went along with the majority view, even if he held a contrary view, which he might have mildly expressed in a concurrent judgment, or succeeded in persuading his brother Judges on the Bench to endorse his interpretation of the law. In another piece, M.P.Raju, advocate, Supreme Court of India, describes Iyer as a Constitutional nationalist. Readers may be interested in reading both.
[As part of our New Scholarship section, we have been inviting discussants to respond to the public law-themed articles featured in Volume 5 the Indian Law Review. You can access all the posts in...
[Ed Note: As part of our New Scholarship section, we have been inviting discussants to respond to public law themed articles featured in Volume 5 the Indian Law Review. You can access the posts in...
[Ed Note: As part of our New Scholarship section, we have been inviting discussants to respond to the public law themed articles featured in Volume 5 the Indian Law Review. You can access the posts...
The article revolves around the recent order promulgated by China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA). The authors examine the same through the lens of international human rights...
Varadaraja Shivaraya Mallar, who taught at seven law schools across India, left us on Saturday. With his ebulliently booming voice, Professor V.S. Mallar introduced generations of students to the...