'Justice may be blind, but she has a sense of humour': CJI Surya Kant

CHief justness of republic of india (CJI) Surya immanuel kant on sun said that justness may be blind but has an excellent sense of humour as behind judgments are human beings with their own flaws and bursts of comic brilliance that make us laugh but also help us learn.Speaking at the book launch event of solicitor general Tushar Mehta, the CJI referred to the two books — ‘The Bench, the Bar and the Bizarre: The Curious and the Extraordinary in Law’ and ‘The Lawful and the Awful: Quirky Tales from the World of Law’ — and said that courtroom is where theatre meets law and where judges with a flair for the dramatic and lawyers caught in the crossfire of their own hysterical missteps depict a “delightful dance of mutual absurdity”.“Justice may be blind but she has an excellent sense of humour, possibly even a fondness for slapsticks,” the CJI said.In a virtually full court, with almost all judges of the Supreme Court in the audience, he added: “Humour here is not mockery but education…In a world that often sees law as intimidating or impenetrable, solicitor has thrown open the doors, invited us in, and given us permission to chuckle heartily at its absurdities.”Also Read: ‘Would be good if govt appointed SC judges as quickly as ECs’: Supreme CourtUnion home minister Amit Shah along with Attorney General R Venkataramani also spoke on the occasion. Shah said, “The interesting elements (in these books) compel us to reflect and from a literary perspective, it takes us out of the otherwise intensely serious atmosphere of courts.”The minister said that the people in the country have a deep trust in the Constitution and in the event they suffer any injustice or their rights are violated, they are certain that courts will do justice.The CJI lightened the mood by sharing anecdotes from the Indian courts, asking the solicitor general to consider bringing out a third edition focussed on Indian judiciary.While the book is full of anecdotes from foreign courts and jurisdictions, the CJI said that finding comedy in the courtroom reveals that there is a beating heart beneath the robes and the legal formalities.“The solicitor reminds us gently that the law, for all its seriousness, is still a profoundly human enterprise. At the end of the day, we have to realise behind every statute and every ruling are just people with their own quacks, their own flaws but also bursts of comic brilliance.”“Law is not all about orders and objections. It is also about the human comedy that happens in between…The courtroom is where theatre meets law and everyone has a starring role. Judges with their stunned faces and occasional impatience and lawyers with their flourishes and periodic theatrics contribute to the great spectacle of justice,” the CJI said.Also Read: Courts must not apply SC/ST Act bail bar mechanically: Supreme CourtMehta clarified that since he intends to practice for a long number of years, he has chosen to exclude instances from Indian courts.“These books are not a treatise or a critique of any particular subject of law…I have just gathered some instances which would be very interesting for all of us to learn,” Mehta said.Capturing dress code disorders to AI, hallucinating judgments and pleadings and even drunken disorderly conduct in courtrooms, the CJI appreciated the books for its depth of research which elevates the collection of anecdotes into an “engaging narrative”. However, the CJI wondered how Mehta took out time to write these books amid his busy schedule.“Either he has petitioned God for a 25th hour that he has reserved for himself or he has decided that the best time for comedy writing is when he is sitting in Court 1 (court of the CJI) and he knows the bench will keep reading the briefs while he can pen down his memories. My money is on the latter,” CJI Kant said.