“With the ever-increasing volume of litigation against the state, there can be no doubt that the judiciary must not only be independent of the executive and the legislature, but also, each individual judge must be entitled to freedom to decide cases to the best of his ability, knowledge and judgement, based on his understanding of the law and appreciation of the facts,” said former Chief Justice of India A M Ahamadi.

Justice Ahamadi was delivering lecture on ‘Judicial Accountability vis-a-vis Judicial Independence’ in the concluding function of 6th Justa Causa Law Festival organised by Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Law College at the Convocation Hall on Sunday. Dr Gauri Shankar Parashar, Pro-Vice Chancellor presided over. Dr Jayant Aparajit, Principal, Dr Thrity Patel, Dean, Faculty of Law seated on the dais. Justice Ahmadi said, “Any attempt to interfere with the independence of the individual judge would in the ultimate analysis, affect institutional independence, as the two are inextricably connected. The independence of the judge is therefore as essential as the independence of the institution itself. It is the impartiality of the judiciary which alone can guarantee protection of individual rights, including human rights.” “The concept of judicial independence requires that judges should be free to decide issues brought before them according to the dictates of their conscience and their understanding of the laws and assessment of the facts, without being influenced by extraneous considerations and improper pressures. The power to review executive as well as legislative action can not prove to be an effective and potent instrument to safeguard individual rights vis-a-vis the state unless the judiciary is independent and is strong enough to withstand pressures from other quarters,” said Justice Ahmadi. “The process of removal of a judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court is undoubtedly a cumbersome one. It is, however, made cumbersome by design and not by accident. The reason why the constitution-makers thought it necessary to make it cumbersome was to ensure that it is resorted to in cases of extreme misbehaviour only,” said Justice Ahmadi. During the festival various competitions were held. Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad was declared as winner. Bangalore University of Legal Studies adjudged as runner-up. The prize of Best Mooter was given to K P Abhinav Shankar of Nalsar, Hyderabad. The winning trophy was instituted by Adv Kartik Shukul in the memory of his father late Shri V D Shukul. Justice Vasanti Naik, Justice R C Chavan, Justice C L Pangarkar were the judges of the competition. Radhika Jaiswal and Ila Deshpande enthralled the audience by their compering, while Ashwin Dorairajan who is also the secretary of University Students’ Council stunned the audience by his unique kind style of proposing the vote of thanks. Mohd Kazem Behrani, Chief Justice of Judiciary of Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Arms and his ten member team visited the festival.

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