The citizens’ judge
The passing on Monday of Jagdish Sharan Verma, Chief Justice of India in 1997-98 but passionately engaged till the very end with the ideals of judicial rectitude, judicial accountability, the humanist tradition in the interpretation of law, and dedication to duty in dispensing justice to the needy, removes from the Indian scene a true exemplar.
Legal luminaries have invoked stirring language to evaluate the distinguished judge who is no longer amid us, with one — Shanti Bhushan, a former law minister of the country — suggesting that Justice Verma’s contributions in his chosen field have not been exceeded by anyone. The late judge enriched our jurisprudence by introducing the notion of “continuing mandamus”. He stood up to authority with a rare zeal but declined to play to the gallery. His judgments led the way in siding with citizens when they were subjected to injustice, especially at the hands of the high and the mighty.
He was the first judge to give relief to those detained under the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act during the 1975-77 Emergency. The late judge also used his incisive judicial eye to expose the horrors of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. The late Justice Verma will be remembered with fondness and respect for his penetrating presentation of the case for change in the criminal law after the horrific December 2012 gangrape in New Delhi that stirred the nation’s conscience. Such was the timbre of the man that few can remain untouched by his departure.
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