Karnataka - Belgaum   

Democracy is dependent on judiciary: Cyriac Joseph

Staff Correspondent

People are supreme in a democracy, says Home Minister Prakash

FOR A NEW BUILDING: Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Cyriac Joseph unveiling a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the building of lawyers' chamber and witness lounge in Belgaum on Saturday. Home Minister M.P. Prakash and Leade r of the Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil are seen.

Belgaum: "If the Constitution of India is one of the best in the world, it was because of the presence of best of the legal luminaries in the then Constituent Assembly which drafted it," Cyriac Joseph, Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, said here on Saturday.

Inaugurating the "adjourned" golden jubilee celebrations of the High Court here, he attributed the success of the Constitution to the intellectual exercise by the then legal experts.

Signifying the role of judiciary in upholding the rule of law and protecting the fundamental rights, he said "democracy" in India continued to exist because of the valuable contribution of the judiciary, including lawyers. In contrast to the short-lived democracies in neighbouring countries, which had to face totalitarian rule, dictatorship, guided elections that indicated the failure of democracies, lawyers in the legislature and executive played a significant role in not only sustaining democracy for 59 years, but also strengthening it.

It was no denying the fact that lawyers had also played a big role in the freedom struggle against, he said.

Mr. Cyriac Joseph said that it was because of the judiciary, the Press enjoyed freedom in the country.

"Today, democracy in India is dependent on the judiciary, it will depend on it tomorrow too. If the judiciary is weak and comes in danger, so will be the democracy," he said.

In what was an apparent reply to the Chief Justice's remarks, Minister for Home and Law M.P. Prakash quoted an article to stress that "the people" were supreme in a democracy. He recalled how a former Attorney General had pleaded against "right to life" during the Emergency (1977-79).

Mr. Prakash lauded Mr. Cyriac Joseph stating that he was the first Chief Justice of Karnataka who took the initiative of holding discussions on several proposals of the Government which had been pending for the past 15 years. Mr. Cyriac Joseph devoted at least three hours after the court work and sat with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, the Home Minister and other important officials to explore the possibility of clearing the proposals and bringing down pendency.

He gave a positive response to a proposal of Mr. Cyriac Joseph to make gram panchayats to function as "gram vyayalayas".

Senior lawyers from the district were felicitated on the occasion. Leader of the Opposition in the legislative Council H.K. Patil spoke. High Court Judge N.S. Veerabhadraiah presided over the function.

Minister for Horticulture Shashikant A. Naik, MP Suresh Angadi, Ramesh L. Kudachi, MLA, High Court judges S.R. Bannurmath, V. Gopala Gowda, and A.C. Kabbin, Belgaum Bar Association president S.S. Kivadsannavar and Deputy Commissioner Shalini Rajneesh were present.

Earlier, Mr. Cyriac Joseph laid the foundation stone of the Lawyers' Chamber and Witness Lounge.

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