CHENNAI: “If law becomes static, justice is denied,” said Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir, at the K Srinivasan memorial lecture here on Saturday.
Speaking on how the law has progressed over the years and how the concept of justice has evolved, he said certain laws that were considered “just” at that time would be completely unacceptable today and hence it is the duty of the judiciary to ensure that “justice remains the guiding force”.
“The concept of justice has changed through time,” he said. “The extreme elements of the law have become less harsh, but it is very important for the law to evolve. If law becomes static, justice is denied. Akbar’s (Mughal emperor) concept of the path of reason has relevance even today because when it comes to divine laws, though they are founded on the premise of justice, they have the quality of being infallible and hence resistant to change.”
Justice Ahmed stressed the importance of holding on to what is relevant in today’s context and constantly work on improving the other aspects of the law to suit the modern times. “Good traditions should not be severed, but we must hone and chisel them to suit the modern age,” he said.
“Other laws are evolving, but Hindu and Muslim law is not evolving. There are parts which have evolved, but all are closed off and while life, technology and man have progressed, not all the laws have.”
He said the best way for judges to tackle divine law was to “reinterpret” them in the modern context rather than “reform” those laws.
The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice Indira Banerjee, presided. Justice Banerjee launched the association website on the occasion.