Judges can learn from former law minister A K Sen's example: SC judge Vikram Nath

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath on Friday said judges could draw lessons from the life and work of former law minister Ashoke Kumar Sen, India's longest-serving law minister, noting his calm leadership and commitment to legal reform.

Delivering the 'A K Sen Memorial Lecture' at the India International Centre, Justice Nath said Sen's approach to law and governance held enduring lessons for the judiciary.

"For judges too, there is a lesson in Sen's example. He dealt with disagreement without raising his voice. He was willing to hear every concern, but he did not let debate become a delay. He believed that clarity is a form of respect: to the house, to the courts and to the public.

"We on the bench should hold ourselves to the same measure: clear reasons, a steady tone and decisions that ordinary people can read and follow. The Constitution speaks to everyone. Our judgments should do the same," the Supreme Court judge said.

Justice Nath said the former law minister's approach strengthened the whole chain of justice delivery.

"He (Sen) understood that law is a chain, not a single link. Justice does not begin at the appellate court. It begins with the first complaint, the first conversation at a police station, the first hearing before a magistrate." "It includes the way we draft government orders and contracts, the way we train our police and prosecutors, the way our trial courts are run, and the way legal aid reaches people who cannot pay. If any link breaks, the citizens feel lost," the apex court judge said.

He said several new questions touching every part of the legal system were emerging.

These included those on data protection, safeguarding dignity, responsible speech in the digital sphere, markets that rewarded enterprise without losing fairness, environmental choices that balanced growth with care for the planet and new technologies, especially artificial intelligence.

Justice Nath said the choices and answers to these questions would possibly change the way people worked and lived.

"None of these choices will be easy, but if we hold on to steady habits and remember that the law exists to serve people, the path will be clearer," he said.

Saluting A K Sen's "remarkable work", Justice Nath said, "Some people are known because they held high office. Others are remembered because they raised the standard of the work itself." The apex court judge said people often called him the "inevitable law minister." "By that, they mean he was the person you naturally turned to when the country needed someone sensible to steer legal reform, someone who could talk to courts, to Parliament, to the government and to citizens without raising the temperature. He combined a lawyer's eye for detail with a public servant's instinct to explain," Justice Nath said.

He said one of the most important legal reforms of the post-independence period, the Advocates Act of 1961, was "piloted" by A K Sen.

"The new act closed a colonial chapter and opened a modern one. It swept away the old ranks of barristers, leaders and vakils and created a single class of advocates. It established state bar councils. And the Bar Council of India set common standards of training and ethics and gave lawyers a national right to practice in plain words.

"It made the profession more open, more mobile and more merit-based; a place where talent, not title, would matter. That change did not just tidy up labels. It changed how young people could enter and grow in the law. It helped democratise opportunity," Justice Nath said.

He said the former law minister also believed in the larger task of building an equitable society through legal reform and through a culture of rights.

"In the challenging years of the 1970s and 1980s, when the country faced political strain and tough debates about civil liberties, he (Sen) worked to keep the rule of law steady. He focused on strengthening institutions, improving access to justice and protecting fundamental freedom," Justice Nath said.

The apex court judge also commended how A K Sen kept all his roles connected.

"The teacher in him never left the lawyer, the lawyer never left the minister, the minister did not stop listening to Parliament, the Parliamentarian did not stop speaking to citizens," Justice Nath said.

He said the former law minister's methods were part of an enduring legacy that was relevant even today, when technology, globalisation, climate change and other emerging issues had posed new challenges.

Justice Nath advised lawyers to "keep the basics in view, speak plainly, draft carefully, consult widely, give reasons, protect procedure, respect the limits of their roles while working closely with other institutions." The top court judge also had words of wisdom for law students.

"Law can be demanding. It will keep you up at night. It will test your patience, and it will often test your courage. Do the simple things well, read the papers carefully, be on time, treat everyone in the courtroom with respect and keep your language straight.

"When you lose, learn why? When you win, thank the people who helped you. Find mentors who correct you on these small habits, as these habits repeated over the years become character, and character is what persuades courts and clients to trust you with difficult work," he said. PTI MNR SJK RHL