Justice S Abdul Nazeer: Indianise legal system, India has the most ancient judiciary in the world

Justice S Abdul Nazeer: Indianise legal system, India has the most ancient judiciary in the world

Justice S Abdul Nazeer spoke at the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad's 16th National Council Meeting in Hyderabad.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer of the Supreme Court said on Sunday that Indenisation of the legal system is needed to address inequalities in society left behind by the colonial legal system.

Decolonising the Indian legal system will be difficult since it will take time to eradicate colonial mind sets, he further informed.

"Despite its imperfections, this colonial legal system cannot be considered suitable for the Indian population. It is essential for the legal system to be indigenised. Even though this may be a very time and resource-consuming process, I am convinced that it might help revitalise India's legal system to align it with the cultural, social, and heritage aspects of the nation, and ensure much better delivery of justice," added he.

He indicated that even though India has the oldest judiciary in the world with an ancient and exalted heritage, it has not completely transformed itself from the various aspects of colonialism that still govern our legal system.

Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad held its 16th National Council Meeting in Hyderabad during which he spoke on the topic of "Decolonising the Indian Legal System."

We must align our Indian legal system with our nation's cultural, social and heritage facets.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer

As part of his lecture, Judge Nazeer examined the ancient Indian legal system beginning with the Vedas.

Theorizing that ancient Indian jurisprudence did not have a rule of law contrary to colonial notions that India had no rule of law, he argued that some of its features were "immensely revolutionary" for ancient society.

Even the king was considered to be subject to the law and his right to govern was dependent on him fulfilling certain duties, which if violated were grounds for forfeiting his kingship, he explained.

In his opinion, the procedure and evidence rules then were not much different from those in today's legal system.

"In criminal cases, punishment could not be handed out unless the defendant is proven guilty according to law, while civil trials took place in four phases as any modern trial - complaint, reply, hearing and decree.

Natural justice governed the judicial process in ancient Greece under the same principles that govern it today.

A number of ancient Indian jurisprudential doctrines were based on the doctrine of res judicata (prang nyaya).

Justice S Abdul Nazeer

The Indian legal system, including its sources, and various facets such as the rule of law, judiciary, hierarchy of courts, methods of interpreting texts, and laws of evidence, was also discussed by Justice Nazeer in his lecture.

Although foreign systems are "imposed on us with every invasion and occupation", he said, despite possessing a historically highly sophisticated legal system.

However, he added, regardless of the fact that we achieved independence in 1947, many of the fundamentals of our legal system are the same as when we were imposed upon by the British.

He added that this is notwithstanding the fact that India has the oldest judiciary system in the world and there is no other judicial system in the world that can compare to it in terms of its state of development.

While Indian universities should impart the best of Western science and think, he insisted that Indian jurisprudence, is the foundation of legal studies and every Indian university should have it taught as a compulsory subject for Bachelor of Law students.

There is no doubt that India's judiciary is the oldest in the world.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana recently spoke out regarding the colonial-era legal system in India that is unsuitable for the Indian people.