Letters: Law and order

News reports say that Justice N Kirubakaran of the Madras High Court, in a recent judgment, expressed anguish about the lack of knowledge of law among some law officers who are being appointed on the basis of nothing more than political patronage. It is unfortunate that the judge of a high court had to make such an observation, but it has a ring of truth. The appointing authority in all such cases does not just favour a candidate, but also does a huge disfavour to the state and the public, whose interests such law officers are meant to protect.

We must also look all around. The people directly concerned in the administration of justice are lawyers for private entities, law officers of the government and presiding officers - they all have to play their roles well in court cases. If today, every one of them asks themselves, 'Have I acquired the knowledge needed for the role I play?', many of them will see a lot of room for improvement. We can make and sustain progress only if the people in the administration of justice play their parts with knowledge and skill

R Veera Raghavan Chennai

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