Against the backdrop of the directive to ban toddy shops kicking up a row, retired High Court judge Justice C N Ramachandran Nair said that he had only issued a directive to the government and there is no scope for a controversy. He was speaking at the reception accorded to him by the legal fraternity here on Monday.
Pointing a finger at the media for the controversy that erupted after his direction to regulate spurious liquor, Justice Nair said that he came out with the directive considering the common man, but failed to know how it turned into a major point of discussion. “The media should play a constructive role in society rather than creating controversies. They must raise voice against injustice rather than fuelling controversies,” he said.
He added that throughout his 11-year service, he had tried to think like a common man as he himself hailed from an agrarian family.
“I have always viewed a minor petition from a social point of view and passed judgments beneficial to society,” he said, adding that he plans to practice at the Supreme Court during his retirement days.
In his keynote address, Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Metropolitan said that currently, Ramachandran Nair is the real opposition to the government than the OppositionLeader. “Ramachandran has never hesitated to correct the government when they come up with the wrong policies. He is the judge for the common people,” he said. Philipose Mar Chrysostom added that judiciary must educate the people rather than punishing them for the prevention of crime.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Cyriac Joseph said that the political leaders who have criticised the direction given by Justice Nair on regulating spurious liquor should first come out with the evidence that the substance is not harmful to human life instead of criticising the judiciary. He said that Ramachandran is a secular person. “Beyond every thing Justice Nair is a good man with a good heart,” he said. He was highly critical of the media and compared it to the undertakers who profiteered from the death of people to make a livelihood.
Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, MP V J Kurian welcomed Justice Nair into politics in his retirement period. Politics is in need of people like Ramachandran who can feel the pulse of the common man, he said. He referred to the judgment made by Justice Nair banning wayside protests for the disruption of traffic and mobility of the people.
High Court Advocates’ Association president B Gopakumar also spoke on the occasion.
Justice S Siri Jagan, Justice P S Gopinathan, Justice V Chidambaresh, Advocate-General K P Dandapani, Director-General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali, Senior Advocates’ Association representatives O V Radhakrishnan, N Nadakumara Menon and Abraham Vakkanal were also present.
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