A Judge's Miscellany on Superannuation

Contents: Preface. 1. Ancient Indian jurisprudence: a deep peep into the distant past. 2. T.R. Venkatarama Sastry Memorial Address: subject: law lofty parameters of a learned profession. 3. Gandhiji’s burning relevance to Indian society today. 4. Human rights and human development: integration, not contradiction. 5. Environmental justice through judicial process: Ratlam to Ramakrishnan. 6. Empowerment of women: a principled demand for a pragmatic manual. 7. The future of human rights. 8. The Indian criminal justice system. 9. Why a manual on rights of women? 10. Rivers, sands and people’s survival. 11. Secular heritage marred by communal carnage a La Gujarat. 12. Open justice. 13. The child and the law. 14. Palkhivala: a profound appreciation. 15. Activist response of the judicial process to the democratic demand for access to justice. 16. Ivory Tower. 17. People’s commission on perversion of our patent law. 18. A.G. Noorani miscellany. 19. Minority rights: myths or reality. 20. Freedom beyond bars. 21. Globalization: the imperialist thrust of modernity—a collection of papers edited by Dr. Ninan Koshy. 22. The jurisprudence of constitutional camaraderie among the great institutions—judicature and legislature. Index.

"The author V.R. Krishna Iyer has been a prolific writer. While on the bench of the Supreme Court he wrote great judgements; on superannuation he continued to write on almost every subject under the sun. Several books have emerged from his pen. A generous and elevated mind, said Dr. Johnson, is distinguished by nothing more certainly than eminent degree of curiosity. Krishna Iyer’s curiosity has this distinguished quality. That is why he has written in this book, which is a colourful collection on a wide range of topics, presenting to the reader a lovely olio of views and ‘reviews’ which prove that he touched none that he did not adorn. Jurisprudence is his forte and the book begins with a deep peep into ancient Indian jurisprudence. Having been a lawyer and judge he has presented an appreciation of that peerless lawyer Palkhiwala and another one on a great lawyer from the South T.R. Venkitarama Sastri. Being a human rights crusader he has a few essays on different dimensions of human rights, women’s rights, people’s right to environment and development and our secular heritage marred by communal carnage. The child and the law’ is an excellent piece which everyone with commitment to child rights must read.

Our patents law has suffered perversion and Krishna Iyer, for long a campaigner for the defense for the Indian patents jurisprudence, has an informative review of the I.K. Gujral Commission relating to patents. Compassion for persons in bondage has moved the author to write on freedom beyond bars. Having been a legislator, a minister and a judge, his rich experience is evident from his article on the jurisprudence of comity between the judicature and the legislature in the country.

In the evening of his life, in the sunset years after superannuation Justice Krishna Iyer has cared to share his wisdom on a rainbow of subjects with the people of India for whom is his ultimate commitment. A profound mind, a powerful pen and a rare range of subjects—that is this book." (jacket)