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 organised by The Chamber Juniors of senior advocate Late K Srinivasan and Revenue Bar Association here recently.
Speaking on how law has progressed over the years and how 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 judiciary to ensure “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. “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 laws are not evolving. There are parts which have evolved, but most are shut off and while life, technology and man have progressed, a few laws have not.” 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 over the event. She also launched the RBA’s website.Earlier, former judge of Delhi High Court, Justice RV Easwar, introduced the chief guest to the house. He described Justice Ahmed as a gadget guru and said, “there is no gadget that Justice Ahmed cannot open and more importantly put back to its original condition!” He also recalled Justice Ahmed’s cricketing skills while he working as a Judge in Delhi High Court.