Kerala - Kollam   

Power rests with the people: judge

KOLLAM: R. Basant, judge of the Kerala High Court, has said that a judge should not become complacent to feel that there is no one above him.

He was delivering a talk on judicial accountability at a programme organised by the Puthur Gopalakrishnan Endowment in connection with the centenary celebrations of the Kollam Bar Association.

Mr. Basant said that even the Supreme Court judges should remember that the ultimate repository of power was the people. In a democracy, one had to respect the people and be responsible to them. It was the duty of a judge to give reason in his judgments and through that, be accountable to reason. The primary function of the judiciary was to reason and give logic.

Judges should be accountable to the oath of office. Judicial accountability arose from that oath. But together with these arose the question of what the manner of accountability was, especially when the judicial machinery exercised enormous powers. He said the subject of judicial accountability was not only a burning issue of legal concern but also a subject that was controversial and explosive.

Therefore, it was a topic to which the judges and lawyers should address themselves to. The sooner it was addressed the better. The basic function of the judiciary was dispute resolution. The Constitution makers gave the judiciary the function to ensure that the legislature and the executive remained within their respective spheres.

That function was given to the judiciary because it was felt that the judiciary was better equipped to do the job. Because of such powers, the judiciary could be tempted to overstep. Hence, it was important that unlike kings, members of the judiciary had to give reason for the decisions they took.

Introducing the subject, V.K. Sushakumari from the Kerala Law Academy said that while independence of the judiciary was important, it should not be without accountability. When it came to verdicts having far-reaching consequences, the judiciary should exercise self-restraint.

K.G. Prasannarajan, convener of the endowment, welcomed the gathering. E. Shahnavas Khan, president of the Bar association, presided. District judge P. Bhavadasan gave away the endowments. S.S. Ganesh, association secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.

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