The Himachal Pradesh National Law University organized the pilot lecture on Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Annual Law Lecture Series by Justice Surya Kant, Judge, Supreme Court of India.
Justice Sabina, Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh presided over the session and the pilot lecture whereas Prof. (Dr.) Nishtha Jaswal, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla moderated the lecture.
Justice Surya Kant discussed about the life of Hon’ble Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, his contributions to the jurisprudence of social justice, legal aid, and more comprehensively the prisoners’ rights and reforms in the prison administration. He also summarised the evolution of prison system as a mechanism of punishment and eventually, the contemporary context of prisons in tha nature of reformative and corrective institutions. He stated referring to the quote by hon’ble Justice V.R. Krishna.
Iyer – ‘Inmates are the guests in prisons and jailors are the hosts’. He proposed a novel system of prison administration called ‘break-up and weekend prison’ whereby the prison inmates can be permitted, with special conditions, to move out of the prison during the weekdays and return to the prison premises over the weekend. He further categorised inmates on the basis of nature of crimes they commit viz. – the crimes caused by necessity and passion and the white collar crimes. The proposed system could be applied to former types of inmates.
In her address, Justice Sabina discussed the gamut of jurisprudence related to prison rights and prison administration. She highlighted the need for reforms in the current system and making it more humane in approach. She also discussed about the legislative action, judicial activism, and state corrective measures to foster the goals of the rights of prisoners. Her Ladyship emphasised the shift of approach towards prisoners after the Maneka Gandhi case. In her address she also congratulated the University for having organised the Pilot Lecture.
Prof. Nishtha Jaswal in her address discussed the role of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer in developing the Indian jurisprudence including aspects such as – social justice, legal aid, and prison reforms. She discussed about the humane approach of judiciary propagated by Justice Iyer and its influence on the current judicial system and access to justice.
The event witnessed the presence of all the Hon’ble Judges of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, personnel from the Bar and Bench alike, Vice-Chancellors from National Law Universities from across the country, and media persons.
