“It is a court of Law and not a court of Justice,” said the learned public prosecutor, on the first day of my judicial internship. As a final year law student, having interned under several advocates, my first thought to this statement was: “Ouch! That’s the bitter truth.”
But to my surprise, the Hon’ble Judge disagreed with tat, loudly and clearly. And he was right. Because it is the law and order that Justice is incidental to. “You get me proof, beyond reasonable doubt, about your innocence, and this court shall provide you with Justice,” said the Hon’ble Judge.
During my previous internships, I learned about the skills and talents of a lawyer — of proving the case of my client. But this one had something else for me in the basket.
Apart from the attributes of a successful lawyer, I learned about the role of a lawyer, and also that of the Hon’ble Judge: to try and provide justice.
The truth takes time
But in order to achieve justice, to prove the truth, it takes time. The judge doesn’t know, per se, what has happened. He or she has to learn, listen to both sides, and with the corroboration of evidence beyond reasonable doubt, make a decision. Extreme justice is often injustice.
Through this experience of mine, I could dip my hand in the ocean of judgments — how they are made and drafted — and how in each he principle of natural justice and dignity
is maintained. Because even though the power is in the hands of the bench, its members cannot unplug the Constitution.
No easy routes
The truism, justice delayed is justice denied, is easy to cite, but to be in that red and brown chair, right beneath the framed picture of Mahatma Gandhi, surrounded by thousands of provisions and arguments, and eyes looking for justice, it is not easy to make decisions that are not just in favour of what is right, but also in the interest of the public at large.
What if, in haste, an innocent person is punished — it would be the most horrendous crime. Instead, let the crime of the guilty go unpunished, than an innocent person being condemned.
This experience sailed me through and I could learn that courts are not just about black robes and files. It is mainly about the blindfolded lady, with sophisticated listening abilities and scales of justice, and most important, the sword in her hand. That’s what the courts are all about.
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