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Business News/ Specials / Obituaries/  V.R. Krishna Iyer, crusader for human rights, dies at 100
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V.R. Krishna Iyer, crusader for human rights, dies at 100

A former law minister who became an SC judge, Iyer delivered several judgements that have had an enduring impact

A file photo of justice V.R. Krishna Iyer. Photo: PTIPremium
A file photo of justice V.R. Krishna Iyer. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Noted legal luminary and former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, who was known for his passionate commitment to human rights, died on Thursday.

Iyer, who was born in Kerala, celebrated his 100th birthday on 15 November.

Iyer was the law minister in India’s first Communist government—in Kerala—making him the only Supreme Court judge to have served as a politician prior to his appointment to the apex court.

Iyer was appointed a Supreme Court judge in 1973 and served for a period of a little over seven years, during which he delivered several landmark judgements. In 1999, he was awarded the second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan.

His landmark judgements included the one delivered in the Sunil Batra case, issuing directions for the improvement of conditions in prisons, and dealing with the subject of torture in prisons.

Iyer is often said to have triggered the Emergency of 1975 by granting a conditional stay on the Allahabad high court judgement that had declared prime minister Indira Gandhi’s election to the Parliament as illegal. He allowed Gandhi to sit in Parliament and speak but not to cast a vote. A day after this judgement, Emergency rule was declared in the country.

“The way he handled the stay petition of Indira Gandhi was highly commendable. He passed a very balanced order. Keeping with the highest tradition, when the law minister at the time wanted to meet him, he refused," said senior lawyer Arvind P. Datar.

“He laid down very important principles like ‘jail is the exception, and bail is the rule’ and in his judgements gave a very strong human touch to criminal law.

“Some people complained that his English was incomprehensible at times, but he had a very unique and non-conformist style of writing judgements," added Datar.

Iyer was also part of a five-judge bench in the oft-quoted Maneka Gandhi case that expanded the scope of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution (the right to life) to include the right to travel. This case laid down a fundamental principle that “procedure prescribed by law has to be fair, just and reasonable, not fanciful, oppressive or arbitrary", a principle that has helped bring many ancillary rights within the framework of fundamental rights.

Senior lawyer K.K. Venugopal said: “As part of the resurgent post-Emergency Supreme Court of India, justice Krishna Iyer, through his judgements, intervened in matters of far-reaching public interest which touched every aspect of human life including prison conditions, environment, forests, women and children, the weak, the disadvantaged and illiterate, and poverty-stricken sections of the people of the country, the ancient monuments, heritage of the country, the rights of minorities and so on."

Venugopal said Iyer held the interests of the disadvantageous section “above everything else".

In 1987, Iyer stood as the combined opposition candidate in the presidential election, but lost to Congress candidate R. Venkataraman.

On Thursday, leaders across the political divide condoled the passing away of one of modern India’s most brilliant legal minds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Fine lawyer, eminent jurist, incredible philosopher and above all a phenomenal human being. I bow to justice Krishna Iyer. My association with justice Krishna Iyer was special. My mind goes back to our conversations and the insightful letters he would write to me. Whenever I would meet or talk to him, I would find him full of enthusiasm, always talking about the well-being of India. A remarkable man!"

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a member of Parliament and national spokesperson of the Congress, said: “A giant of a man, with a giant intellect and a giant lexicon. I was touched by his concern and magnanimity. In my 20s, when he was a prominent Supreme Court judge, he wrote a letter to me complimenting me for an article I had written in the Illustrated Weekly of India on elections: law and reality. Even in his 70s, 80s and 90s, he would, once in a while, send me a note or convey a message about any achievement of mine on the professional or parliamentary front. He was a person who spoke his mind, but not even his worst enemies could allege that he bore any ill-will or malice towards anyone."

“Throughout his life, Krishna Iyer stood for the cause of justice, equality and socialism. With his moral stature and deep compassion for the downtrodden, he played the role of a people’s tribune till the end of his life," Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said.

Quoting the late British leader Winston Churchill to highlight the importance of free and fair elections in democracy, what Iyer wrote in a judgement in 1977 still rings true: “At the bottom of all tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper—no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of the point."

Elizabeth Roche and Anuja contributed to this story.

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Published: 04 Dec 2014, 05:50 PM IST
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