Supreme Court’s epoch making 1990s judgements set the tone for a changing polity

Judges of the Supreme Court in India are prominent figures. Their judgements have shaped the course of history and politics of the nation, and defined the contours of social and economic progress.

The lives of the judges are shrouded in secrecy. Judicial propriety bounds their social life and restricts public interaction. The privilege of being in the high office comes with the pressure to live a life of comparative aloofness. While in the office, they speak only through their judgements apart from occasionally expressing their view in seminars and conferences, mostly on matters of law and justice.

Judges of the Supreme Court in India are prominent figures. Their judgements have shaped the course of history and politics of the nation, and defined the contours of social and economic progress.

Chronicles as a draft of legal history

So, when they or those closely associated with them choose to chronicle their life story, far from being merely the legal journey of a jurist, it becomes a story of the nation.

'The Fearless Judge: The Life and Times of Justice A.M. Ahmadi', a biography of one of the most distinguished judges of the country ticks all the boxes—by unravelling the person behind the black robe, laying bare the subtexts of the judgments delivered by him and at the same time putting forward a profound commentary on country’s social and political transformation.

Written by Insiyah Vahanvaty, granddaughter of Justice Ahmadi, the 26th Chief Justice of India, it is a biography that defies genre categorisation. It is part personal memoir, part chronicle of India’s constitutional journey and part history of modern India.

Supreme Court’s consequential impact in the 1990s

Justice Ahmadi, who served as CJI from October 1994 to March 1997, was the author of many landmark judgments and initiated ground-breaking changes in the Indian judiciary. He was part of the nine-judge bench that gave the landmark ruling in the SR Bommai case holding secularism to be a “fundamental part of the Constitution’s basic structure” and putting a strong check on the arbitrary use of Article 356.

Justice Ahmadi’s penchant for safeguarding democratic values by checking the concentration of absolute power in the hands of any organs of the government became evident in the 'Second Judges' Case. In this case, he chose to dissent from the majority view which accorded absolute power to the CJI in a matter of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. His decision assumed a great moral dimension given the fact he was in line to become chief justice and the absolute power that was being accorded to the chief justice would have given him unfettered power over appointments and transfer of judges.

However, no incentive could overcome his aversion to concentration of power. This became evident in many cases. Like in the case related to the composition of the Election Commission, he favoured a multi-member body instead of one man acting as an institution.

Backstory of Bhopal gas tragedy case

The author with deep legal insights dissects some of the decisions that Justice Ahmadi took that attracted sharp criticism. One such decision was related to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case. Keshub Mahindra, who was the Chairman of the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) at the time of the gas leak had moved the Court challenging the criminal charges against him. As the author explains, the original FIR filed by the Bhopal police initially contained criminal charges under Section 304A against the accused. Later, these charges were enhanced to a more serious offence under Section 304(II), which indicates culpable homicide not amounting to murder. This elevation of charges brought with it the potential for a more severe punishment, including imprisonment for ten years. However, when the case arrived at the Supreme Court, a bench consisting of Justice Ahmadi and Justice S.B. Majumdar amended these charges.

This decision to drop more severe charges attracted a lot of harsh and unwarranted criticism towards Justice Ahmadi. But Justice Ahmadi was guided by legal prudence to drop Section 304(II). The author writes. "The reduction of charges actually ensured that a more tenable legal stance be taken. Without this adjustment, the accused might well have evaded any legal consequences altogether."

In this case and on many occasions, Justice Ahmadi refused to succumb to the popular pressures and displayed the utmost judicial statesmanship.

From being the pioneer of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to introducing the concept of judicial clerks in the Supreme Court, from significantly reducing the pendency in the apex court during his tenure as Chief Justice, to facilitating the introduction of  the landmark ‘Vishakha Guidelines’, he was the force behind many positive changes in Indian judiciary and polity.

A sense of Ahmadi’s character

Most importantly his decision to restrict his children from practising in the apex court (while he was the judge there) speaks volumes of his impeccable integrity.

When a deserving candidate for the post of clerk was being rejected for his "low-caste" he fought with his ‘brothers’. Following fear of a security threat, he received advice to remove his Sikh secretary, a proposal rejected outright as it "struck at the very core of his principles". A secularist to the core, Justice Ahmadi believed that "religion is an accident of birth" and all through his life raised his voice against religious polarisation and religious fundamentalism.

Vahanvaty brings to life the extraordinary journey of an extraordinary judge who has the rare distinction of rising from the city court to the chair of CJI.

What is delightful about Vahanvaty’s writing is that she uses clean prose, even when untangling complex legal issues with the same ease with which she unravels the man behind the Bench. In the course of documenting the life story of Justice Ahmadi, the author with lots of earnestness succeeds in telling the story of Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi, a man who was bound as much by love, humanity, kindness and compassion as by his call of duty.