Indianise legal system; India has oldest judiciary in the world: Justice S Abdul Nazeer

The colonial legal system left behind by the British is not suitable for Indian population and Indianisation of legal system is the need of the hour, Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer said on Sunday.

Eradication of colonial mindset might take some time we need to think about steps to be taken to decolonise the Indian legal system, he said.

"There can be no doubt that this colonial legal system is not suitable for the Indian population. The need of the hour is the Indianisation of the legal system. Even though it may be an enormous and time consuming effort, I firmly believe that it may be a worthy endeavour which could revitalise the Indian legal system and align it with the cultural, social and heritage aspects of our great nation and ensure much more robust delivery of justice," he said.

He stated that India despite India having the oldest judiciary in the world with an ancient and exalted pedigree, has still not divested itself of various colonial aspects which continue to govern our legal system.

He was speaking on the topic 'Decolonisation of Indian Legal System' at the 16th National Council Meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishadat Hyderabad.

In his lecture, Justice Nazeer traced various elements of ancient Indian legal systems starting with the Vedas.

He said contrary to the colonial notions ingrained in us that India never had rule of law, ancient Indian jurisprudence was founded on rule of law and some of its features were "immensely revolutionary" for the ancient world.

In that system, even the king was subject to law and the king's right to govern was subject to fulfillment of certain duties, which is breached, could lead to forfeiture of kingship, he said.

Rules of procedure and evidence were similar to and just as advance as those followed today, he added.

"In criminal trials, accused could not be punished unless his guilt was proved according to law and in civil cases, the trial consisted of four stages like any modern trial - plaint, reply, hearing and decree.

Disputes were decided in accordance with the same principles of natural justice which govern the judicial process in modern State today.

Doctrines such as res judicata (prang nyaya) were prevalent in ancient Indian jurisprudence," Justice Nazeer elaborated.

Justice Nazeer also explained in his lecture the various facets of Indian legal system and their sources including rule of law, judiciary, hierarchy of courts, rules for interpretation of texts, law of evidence etc.

He opined that despite possessing a rich tradition of highly sophisticated legal system, foreign legal systems were "imposed upon us with every invasion and occupation".

Unfortunately, despite obtaining independence in 1947, many of the fundamental aspects of Indian legal system have remained unchanged since they were introduced and imposed upon us by the British, he added.

"This is despite the fact that India has the oldest judiciary in the world and no other judicial system in the world has a more ancient or exalted pedigree," he said.

He maintained that while the best of the Western thought and science should be taught in Indian universities, the foundation of legal studies must be the study of Indian jurisprudence and every Indian univeristy should include it as a compulsory subject for Bachelor of Law degree.

Recently, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had also opined that the legal system presently in place in India is colonial and not suited for the Indian population,

[Read Full Speech of Justice Abdul Nazeer]