Stressing the need for more legal awareness programmes for students, senior advocate M. Ajmal Khan said that people had to be aware of their rights. He was speaking at the valedictory function of the 15-day training programme on human rights for women students, conducted by SOCO Trust, on Saturday.
Students must have a better awareness of legal matters, he said. Citing the legal maxim, Ignorantia juris non excusat, which means ‘ignorance of law is not an excuse,’ he said that people should not say they did not know the law of the land. Courts would not accept this as a defence, he said.
Eliciting the view of the participants, he asked those who supported the Hyderabad ‘encounter’ to raise their hands. When nobody did, he recollected the inaugural day of the 15-day event when the same question was asked - on that day almost everybody had raised their hands. “This shows that this programme on Human Rights is a success,” he said. The Hyderabad ‘encounter’ was against the principles established by law, he added. He advised the students to practise what they learnt at the training programme.
Echoing on this view, Madras High Court Judge Justice G. R. Swaminathan said there should not be any compromise on the rule of law. ‘Encounters’ could never become a solution, he added.
Justice Swaminathan and Mr. Ajmal Khan distributed certificates to the participants. A. Mahboob Batcha, S. Selvagomathi and S. Francis of the SOCO Trust were present.
