“His Contribution to the development of Human Rights jurisprudence is unparalleled”, Justice KS Radhakrishnan remembers Justice VR Krishna Iyer

Justice VR Krishna Iyer, the “Legend of law”, left for heavenly abode yesterday. Justice Krishna Iyer is widely regarded as a Supreme Court judge who made even the highest echelons of the judiciary accessible to the poorest..His development of Public Interest Litigation jurisprudence through the wide interpretation of Article 32 and the consequent exposition of Human Rights jurisprudence with the aid of Articles 21 and 14 went a long way in helping the Supreme Court find its feet after the shame of emergency..The reservation and scepticism that jurists and judges shared while elevating a Communist leader to the Bench of the highest court of the land were dispelled in no time and it soon transformed into acceptance and then accolades..Bar & Bench spoke to retired Supreme Court judge Justice KS Radhakrishnan who shared some interesting thoughts..“I see Justice Krishna Iyer in the same manner in which he is seen and respected by all the citizens of this country. His contribution to the development of Human Rights jurisprudence is unparalleled”, says Justice Radhakrishnan..On his contribution to the field of law, Justice Radhakrishnan says:.“Justice Krishna Iyer along with Justice Bhagwati and Justice Chinappa Reddy were responsible in importing the then emerging principles of Human Rights in Latin America and South Africa into the Indian conditions through their judicial pronouncements, thereby widening the scope of Article 21 and the Directive Principles of State Policy.”.Interestingly, Justice Radhakrishnan’s father Late Advocate CK Shivashankara Panicker, who also served as the Advocate General of Kerala, had a big role in enabling Justice Krishna Iyer’s return to law practice after his political career..In the late 1950s, Justice Krishna Iyer’s application for enrolling as a member of the Bar Council of Kerala was not favourably considered, initially, since he was involved in a large number of criminal cases. Bar Council at that point of time was a powerful professional body and if the application for enrollment was not considered favourably, a person would not be able to practice law in the State. CK Shivashankara Panicker was then serving as the Secretary of the Bar Council. He took onto himself to investigate the matter. After investigating the matter, he put up a note to consider Justice Krishna Iyer’s application favourably since a detailed probe revealed that most of the cases booked against him for breach of peace, dharna and other protests etc. were founded on issues of social and economic justice for the poor and downtrodden..When asked about this incident, Justice Radhakrishnan says,.“This incident was explained by Justice VR Krishna Iyer in the year 2010, when he visited the Supreme Court in the presence of Chief Justice SH Kapadia and other Judges. He told, ‘had it not been for Mr. Shivashankara Panicker, I would not have practiced law and would have been forced to remain in politics’. According to me, this would have been a huge loss to the Indian Judiciary.”.Justice Krishna Iyer has left a void which is hard to fill. It is only fitting that a portrait of Justice Iyer be installed in one of the court rooms of the Supreme Court as a tribute to the Legend of Law who will continue to live in the hearts of millions..Image of Justice VR Krishna Iyer taken from here.