Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

`Democracy meaningful only with rule of law'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI DEC. 30. The Madras High Court Chief Justice, B. Subhashan Reddy, today said democracy would have meaning only if the rule of law was established well.

Majority in legislative bodies was "not all," he said at a function after receiving from the Governor, P.S. Ramamohan Rao, the first copy of an anthology of poems authored by the former Supreme Court judge, S. Mohan, here.

Mr. Justice Reddy said many of the verdicts given by Mr. Mohan including the one that the state should impart primary education to children up to 14 years were ``watermark judgments which cannot be erased.'' A decade later Parliament amended Article 21 by adding sub-articles, making primary education universal. ``A judge needs that his judgment should be cited again and again so that the meaning of that judgment is expanded to that of the justice system. Justice is not like still water, it is like a flowing river," he said. The Governor said the author was pained at debasing of human values in the country. The poems showed that people had hidden or varied talents.

Mr. Mohan held that if there was enlightenment today, it was because of the press. Seeking to suppress the press was akin to trying to hide the sun with umbrellas.

The Hindu Editor-in-Chief, N. Ram, said poetry was not just about feelings; it was a revelation and a vision. Commenting on the anthology, he said it ranged over many fields and it addressed "truth seeking and truth telling." One of the poems that attracted him greatly was on `the majority.' "Very often you hear the argument that somebody has just been elected, how dare anyone challenge the decision made by the majority of our people, how dare you press controversies, how dare you bring charges against somebody who has just been elected. This issue ranges across our polity and society often introducing a fair degree of confusion," he said. But the poet had to be taken literally; one could not read into poetry the way one read into other texts, he added.

Meena Muthiah, Kumara Rani of Chettinad, and Palani G. Periyasamy, Le Royal Meridien Hotel chairman, were among those who highlighted the salient aspects of the collection.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Science & Tech | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Vaiko likely to seek bail
• Hope and fear in delta districts
• 1,100-year-old Chola stone inscription found
• `Democracy meaningful only with rule of law'
• AIADMK members attack colleague
• Police given time to file counter to Karunanidhi plea
• Thirunavukkarasar lauds missionary institutions
• `Give compensation to Melmaiyur panchayat chief'
• All bail conditions relaxed for Azhagiri
• Janata Party will oppose DMK-led front
• Judge turns down special public prosecutor's plea
• Ramagopalan arrested
• Panel judge to submit orders

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu