December 10 is observed as the Human Rights Day. On December 4, one of the greatest protagonists of human rights in India passed away within three weeks from his ninety-ninth birthday and in the hundredth year of his great life. This great judge and also a great human being was endowed with a range of mind which could be comparable with that of Aristotle, as former Chief Justice of India MN Venkatachaliah would recount.
This judge pronounced about 700 judgments as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. They all had a golden thread running through them: upholding the human rights of the ordinary people. As a judge, he had been the voice of the oppressed, neglected and deprived. His actions were blended with compassion and empathy and not with pity. He was more actively busy with his service to the fellow beings after his retirement.
He relentlessly and passionately worked for the downtrodden and the exploited sections of our society. Justice VR Krishna Iyer was an independent Member of the Kerala legislature and was a Minister in the Government of Namboodiripad, the first elected Communist Government. As a practising lawyer, he was a part of electoral politics and contested elections as an “independent” candidate. A person with a background of being in active politics would have had remote possibility of being elevated as a judge of a High Court and subsequently as a judge of the Supreme Court.
If we had members of the legislature like Krishna Iyer, the situation would not have been as unrepresentative as recent days in Odisha. Krishna Iyer named his home “Satgamaya” and said, in the preface to his autobiography Wandering in Many Worlds: “Without exaggeration or pessimism, I may sum up my long period in this world as the ‘home of lost causes, forsaken beliefs, unpopular names and impossible loyalties.’ What redeems my mind and mood is the satisfaction that I have dedicated my capacities not for making money but for wiping the tears of others – this being my tryst with destiny.” He devoted his life to the cause of social justice, Constitutional values and rule of law. He was an inspiring and iconic figure. He was a legendary personality and could be called with admiration ‘The Denning of India’.
Justice Krishna Iyer was a Puisne Judge in the Supreme Court when he heard the appeal of Indira Gandhi in an election case in 1975. Appellant Indira Gandhi had also pleaded for an absolute stay of the judgment of the Allahabad High Court disqualifying her. Palkhivala appearing for Indira Gandhi sounded a warning to the court through his submissions: “The nation was solidly behind her (Indira Gandhi) as Prime Minister and there were momentous consequences, disastrous to the country, if anything less than the total suspension of the order under appeal is made”. To Justice Krishna Iyer, this was a humdrum election petition. The judgment was finalised at two o’clock in the morning. The Hon’ble Judge rejected the plea for complete stay of the judgment of the High Court and allowed only a partial stay. Indira Gandhi was allowed to function as Prime Minister, but without the right to vote in the Parliament. The order was delivered by Justice Krishna Iyer on June 24.
The Emergency was declared on June 25. Mr Palkhivala recused himself from appearing for Indira Gandhi. Eminent Constitutional lawyer and jurist HM Seervai, very often a critic of Krishna Iyer, described the order as the finest hour.
This “finest hour” of the Supreme Court altered the course of the history of the nation. Eminent lawyer Anil Divan has suggested that if there was ever a legal luminary to be honoured with Bharat Ratna, there will be no better choice than the late Justice VR Krishna Iyer.
A few months ago, I had the honour of meeting him after a long gap. He was visibly disturbed with the declining standards both in the legislature and in the judiciary.
Busier in his retired life in many meaningful activities, he had been on the platforms in different parts of India and abroad raising a fearless voice for the neglected and exploited segments. It is he who had encouraged liberal access to justice by modifying the traditional interpretation of locus standi empowering the poor, the underprivileged and the downtrodden. This great personality made justice more humane and meaningful.
His hundredth birthday was celebrated all over without any premonition about this colossus going silent within a few weeks. Our legislators, judges, lawyers and the citizens at large have to relearn their lessons by at least adhering to the standards and norms practised and laid down by Justice VR Krishna Iyer. Surely, as a member of the legislature, he would not have been a party to any pandemonium in the House. He would have deliberated in the House on different problems that have infected the society and would have come up with legislations which would have altered the social structure.
As a judge, he successfully dealt with a wide range of social issues from the concept of Public Interest litigation (PIl) to gender inequality, fetters on a prisoner, intervention in the declining standards of the civic amenities and steps towards establishment of an egalitarian society. Philosophy of the legislators or judges is to be conditioned by “Constitutionalism” and rule of law with the brooding spirit of reasonableness, prevailing all over. But, alas! the scenario around us is far from what it ought to be.
The nation is poorer without Krishna Iyer, leaving us at the crossroads. Difficult, but vital choices are to be made. Today, we stand demoralised, disillusioned and misdirected at this crucial juncture. Citizens at all levels including the leaders have to now introspect and rectify the aberrations before the situation turns irretrievably irremediable.
This calls for immediate resolute action and to have more Krishna Iyers in the legislatures and in the judiciary. And this concerns us all.
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former president of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)