Mob lynching complete failure of law, says former CJI Thakur

Mob lynching is a complete failure of rule of law, former Chief Justice of India T S Thakur today said as he cautioned that a judiciary which measures up to some political ideology will not be able to protect the Constitution.

He also said that it is the judiciary that ensures rule of law in the country and makes sure that it is not governed by any autocrat.

Justice Thakur, while speaking at the release of a book "The Wheel of Justice" penned by former law minister M Veerappa Moily, said that a person who committed an offence has to be prosecuted under the rule of law.

He said that even Ajmal Kasab, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks convict, got a fair trial right up to the Supreme Court and he was not left to be lynched on the streets.

"Mob lynching is a complete failure of rule of law. If a mob can take law into its hands and administer sundry justice, what kind of rule of law is that? If somebody has committed an offence, the law requires him to be prosecuted.

"Even Kasab, a murderer who came to kill innocent people, got a fair trial. Got a trial right up to the Supreme Court. His mercy petition was considered. You all know that the apex court sat at midnight to examine whether there was any injustice in his trial. Because we believe in rule of law. He could have been left to be lynched in the streets of Mumbai by a mob but it would be the negation of rule of law. If that had happened, our heads would have hanged in shame before civilised countries," Thakur said in the presence of former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

He said independence of judiciary has been a point of discussion in public domain for past few months.

"Independent judiciary looks after not only the Constitution but also ensures that we are governed by rule of law. That we are not governed by any autocrat and we are governed by rule of law. For the survival of judiciary, survival of democracy, it is necessary that we have an independent judiciary.

"A judiciary which is subjugated to powers, that measures up to some political ideology, a judiciary that succumbs to pressures will not be able to protect the constitution or protect the rule of law," Thakur said.

He further said judges themselves have come out and expressed apprehensions about the judiciary remaining independent and had raised questions which went unanswered.

Justice A K Sikri of Supreme Court, who spoke at the event was all praise for the efforts taken by Moily in bringing out books of public interest.

Talking about the book, Manmohan Singh said various conceptions of justice differ drastically from one school of thought to another and often, even within the broader umbrella of an ideology.

"Evidently, in the various schools of thought -- libertarianism, transcendental institutionalism, the realisation-focussed comparative approach -- the manner in which social institutions and therefore, nation states ought to exist and function differ significantly," he said.

However, Moily proposes that considering the ubiquitous nature of poverty and deprivation, perhaps the problem lies not in the gulf between nation states, but in the manner in which they are administered, Singh noted.

The evolution of India's conception of the rule of law does evince an increasing focus on the poor and the disadvantaged, at least institutionally -- the system of public interest litigations, the Lok Adalat, the increasing focus on access to justice through legal aid -- all demonstrate the direction of socio-political thought in India, he said.