The Supreme Court on Monday held a full court reference for former Supreme Court judges late Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy, late Justice N.P. Singh and late Justice A.R. Lakshmanan as a mark of respect and remembrance for their service to the court and justice.
At the full court reference, Chief Justice of India Justice N.V. Ramana said the gathering had assembled to pay homage to the passing away of Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy, Justice N.P. Singh and Dr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, all three, who had adorned the Bench of the court and have made rich contributions to the growing constitutional jurisprudence of the nation.
For late Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy, the CJI said:
“Considering his passion for the cause of justice, he humbly accepted to continue as ad-hoc judge in the Supreme Court for another year. His commitment to the issues of rights and liberties can be witnessed in his various pronouncements such as Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal v. Union of India, Ayub v. S.N. Sinha.”
The CJI said: “He was a legal stalwart in the truest sense. He took up several roles in the Indian judicial system, and his contribution to the same is immense. He was deeply committed to the effective administration of justice.”
With reference to late Justice N.P. Singh, Justice Ramana said that he enjoyed an abundance of goodwill and affection from every member of the bar and the bench.
Justice Ramana said: “Justice Singh truly believed that, with sheer hard work and humility, you can achieve greatness. His life is an inspiration for the young generation during these times.”
On Justice Lakshmanan, CJI Ramana said:
“During his tenure in the Supreme Court, he contributed more than 200 judgments touching upon wide-ranging issues, including that of taxation, management of religious institutions, service matters, labour laws and employee welfare, and many more.”
Recollecting his memories of working with Justice Lakshmanan, CJI Ramana said that when Justice Lakshmanan was the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, he had shared a Bench with him. CJI Ramana said he had attended Justice Lakshmanan’s 60th birthday celebrations in Devakottai and that he would never forget the affection Justice Lakshmanan had for him. He was a very good host, the CJI said.
The CJI said:
“He was closely connected with his birthplace, culture, and language. Often, with pride, he used to recollect the rich Tamil architecture and Chettinadu culture and cuisine. He was indeed a proud Tamilian and had close connections with his roots.”
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said the year 2020 has taken away three of our stalwart judges. Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy was born in 1929. He acquired a degree in law from Law College at Madras and enrolled as an Advocate at the Madras High Court in 1952. He moved to Hyderabad in 1956, when State’s reorganisation took place.
Justice Reddy was appointed as Additional Public Prosecutor at the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1966. Obviously, on account of the mark he had made at the Bar, he was appointed as an Additional Judge at the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1975 and became a Permanent Judge in 1976. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1990 and retired in 1994.
What is remarkable is that the Chief Justice of India and the Government of India wanted him to continue on the Bench of the Supreme Court and he sworn-in again as Ad-hoc judge for a year more. Justice Reddy was given the National Law Day Award in 1996 by the Indian Council of Jurists, Venugopal said.
“I read somewhere that in his spare time, Justice Reddy worked tirelessly for the development of the village where he was born and motivated many people to pursue higher studies, some of whom have become successful lawyers, IAS Officers and senior officials of the police department,” the AG said. Justice Reddy passed away in February 2020 at the age of 90. His contribution to the development of the law and his selfless service to causes of public welfare stands as testament to his life and will continue to keep his memory alive, Venugopal said.
Justice N.P. Singh was born in 1931 to a family of legal luminaries. It was therefore not surprising that the young N.P. Singh should have taken naturally to law. Justice N.P. Singh enrolled as an Advocate in 1956 and practised before the Patna High Court for 17 years, before his appointment as a judge at the Patna High Court.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India in June 1992. During his tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice N.P Singh delivered about 450 judgments, covering almost all fields of law including Constitutional Law, Election Law, Criminal Jurisprudence among others.
AG Venugopal said,
“After his retirement in 1996, Justice N.P. Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, but before he had to resign on account of his ill health. He passed away in 2020, just a year before his 90th birthday.”
On Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, AG Venugopal said the late judge passed away in August 2020 at the age of 78 years. He began his career as an Advocate in 1968 in the Madras High Court. He was appointed Permanent Judge of the Madras High Court in the year 1990. He later held the Office of Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court on three occasions and was thereafter appointed Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.
“He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India in 2002. On retirement from the Supreme Court, he was appointed as the Chairman of the 18th Law Commission of India, a position which he held for about three years. During his tenure in the Supreme Court, he was party to over 200 judgments, many of which are regarded as landmarks. He was an ardent scholar of literature as well as of numerous other fields. He has written several books and delivered countless lectures on a variety of legal subjects.”
Justice Lakshmanan was more than just a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was a jurist, an innovator and a scholar. The Supreme Court and the country have benefited from his service, the AG said.
Supreme Court Bar Association president Senior Advocate Vikas Singh said: “I consider this as a sad but a proud privilege that I am allowed to pay homage and my tribute to three great judges of their times who adorned the Bench of this Hon’ble Court.”
Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy was the epitome of learning, humility, integrity and simplicity who immensely contributed to Indian jurisprudence and left an indelible mark on society.
Justice Reddy, by nature, was judicious in everything that he did and this tempered his career as judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. In 1990, he was elevated as the Supreme Court judge. He showcased utmost intellect, humility and courtesy and always maintained the highest standards of ethics in court. He was known to have motivated junior counsels by giving them more time to argue and help boost their confidence.
Throughout his distinguished career as a judge, he delivered many landmark judgments. He was a part of the majority judgment in “Kihoto Hollohon vs. Zachilhu and Ors.”, which upheld the sweeping discretion available to the speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs. In the case of “Vishal Jeet vs. Union of India”, he was part of the Bench along with Justice S.R Pandian which issued directions to the State Government for setting up rehabilitation homes for children found begging on the streets and protective homes for minor girls who had fallen victims to forced prostitution.
Tennis tournament was conducted for the first time by the SCBA due to the passion for the game of Justice Reddy and then Justice S. Mohan. I remember also having participated in the tournament. I always have a good memory of the said tournament.
On Justice N.P. Singh, Vikas Singh said, Justice N.P. Singh started practising in the Patna High Court and was well-known as one of the most successful and highly learned constitutional lawyers of the State. He was elevated as a Judge of the Patna High Court at a young age of 42. He took over as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in 1992. “Normally outsiders would face problems in Calcutta, however he had a very smooth tenure due to his affable nature both with the Bar and in court. He was polite and down to earth. As a Chief Justice, I am told, he would always remain cool and calm during court proceedings, and would give a patient hearing to all advocates,” he said.
On Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, Singh said, the deceased judge was a distinguished and eminent jurist, displayed a strong passion for Indian judiciary system during his early days as a student. He enrolled as an advocate in 1968 and worked under prominent senior lawyers. Being a first generation lawyer, he admitted that he initially struggled to survive in the profession.
He was the Secretary of the Madras Bar Association four times. After practising as an advocate for 23 years, he was appointed as Government Pleader for Tamil Nadu in the Madras High Court in 1989. He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 2002 and retired in 2007.
Later, he was appointed as Chairman of 18th Law Commission of India. He took an analysis of Indian legal system and concluded that there was a dire need to implement changes. In a short period before retiring in 2009, he submitted 32 reports to the Government recommending various measures to improve the Indian judicial system.
Singh said, during his tenure as Madras High Court judge, Justice Lakshmanan had issued telephonic order once to permit a student to write an university exam.
Justice Lakshmanan would rarely reserve judgments, Singh said. “He believed that judicial orders discharged divine functions, though they are not divine themselves. He emphasized the importance of not delaying delivery of judgments to prevent undue hardship to litigants depriving them of a chance to prefer appeal, revision, etc,” Singh said. He possessed innumerable qualities and was a man of humility, kindness and patience.
A proud Tamilian, he remained deeply connected with his roots and would share stories of Tamil heritage, traditions, Chettinad culture, literature, cuisine. Justice Lakshmanan was very pious and carried out sacred work of constructing a temple in his home-town. He had a deep social commitment and dedicated considerable amount of his time to improve the welfare of the people. He rallied against the suppression of women.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association president Shivaji M. Jadhav, members of the Bar and family members of the late judges were among the dignitaries in the gathering.
Also Read: Calcutta HC disposes of PIL against awarding contracts to gram panchayat pradhan’s husband
Full court reference speech of CJI Ramana below
FCR-13122021