25TH CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE M. N. VENKATACHALIAH
On October 25, 1929, Justice Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah was born in the former state of Mysore, where he also received his education. On November 6th, 1975, he graduated from the University of Mysore in Karnataka with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Law.
LEGAL CAREER:
In 1951, Justice Venkatachalaiah started his general Law practice. From November 6, 1975, he served as the High Court of Karnataka’s Permanent Judge. From October 5th, 1987, he served as a Supreme Court of India judge. He served as India’s 25th Chief Justice from 12 February 1993 until 24 October 1994 after being chosen by Shankar Dayal Sharma. L. M. Sharma came before him, and A. M. Ahmadi replaced him. The second Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission was Justice Venkatachalaiah (26th November 1996 – 24th October 1999). He was also the National Human Rights Commission’s Chairman (1996-1998). He also works on topics related to human rights and anti-corruption.
POST-RETIREMENT:
The National Commission, often known as the Justice Venkatachalaiah Commission, was established to investigate how the Constitution operated (NCRWC). This was established by a resolution of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government of India (22nd February 2000). The Indian Constitution needed to be amended, and that was the major goal. In 2002, the report was delivered.
Justice Venkatachalaiah supported the Initiatives of Change Centre for Indian Governance’s founding in 2003. He served on the Foundation for Restoration of National Values advisory board. This group was founded in 2008 with the goal of restoring India’s national and cultural values.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam (Deemed University), a Modern Gurukula where the teacher-student interaction takes place in the process of Integral Education, is now led by Justice Venkatachalaiah as Chancellor. Intellectual, cultural, physical, service-related, and devotional is some of the dimensions. The Chairman of the Advisory Board of Prayoga is Justice Venkatachalaiah.
HONORS:
On June 23, 2000, he was presented with the Rotary Award for Human Rights. In 2004, the President of India awarded Justice Venkatachalaih the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honor in India. He has an honoris causa Doctor of Letters degree from Pondicherry University and an honoris causa Doctor of Laws degree from Manipal University. Distinguished Doctorate from Belagavi’s Rani Channamma University.
REMARKABLE JUDGMENTS:
Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India
Several lawsuits against the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), both in India and the United States, were brought after the Bhopal Gas Leak tragedy. The UCC was ordered to pay the Union of India $470 million as part of a full and final settlement, and all civil and criminal actions were dismissed by the Supreme Court in February 1989. Massive demonstrations against this choice were held by the victims, survivors, their supporters, and activists. The settlement order was challenged by the Supreme Court in review proceedings. The Constitutional Bench’s decision in Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India was written by Justice Venkatachaliah. The settlement decision was sustained on the basis of Article 142 of the Constitution, which authorized the court to exercise “full justice,” which meant going beyond the terms of the plea agreement. The criminal case, however, was reopened.
Joginder Kumar v. the State of UP
The “guidelines for arrest” case, also known as Joginder Kumar v. the State of UP, established uniform grounds for arresting anyone for the first time. According to Justice Venkatachaliah, it would be an abuse of power for the police to make an arrest. He added that every arrest must be supported by reasonable conviction following an inquiry, and the officer must be able to provide good cause for the arrest or detention. No one’s freedom could be taken away based only on “suspicion”. Additionally, according to Justice Venkatachaliah, Articles 21 and 22(1) explicitly grant people who have been arrested the right to notify a person of their arrest and seek legal counsel.
Sheela Barse v. Union of India
In Sheela Barse v. Union of India, the court acknowledged receiving a letter from the activist Sheela Barse and recognized it as a public interest lawsuit brought to draw attention to the flagrant violations of children’s fundamental rights while being held in detention facilities and prisons. A Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee was established by Justice Venkatachaliah. He concluded that the West Bengal government was “unable to completely and effectively assist the court” and immediately constituted the Commission to look into the matter.
Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu and Others
The legitimacy of the Constitution (Fifty-Second Amendment) Act, 1985—also known as the Anti-defection Law—was contested in Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu and Others. All of the Tenth Schedule’s provisions were in doubt, particularly the one that declared the Speaker’s decision in cases of MP or MLA disqualification to be definitive. Additionally, judicial review was eliminated. A speaker is the protector of the House’s rights and privileges and has a key position in parliamentary democracy, according to Justice Venkatachaliah. Giving them the authority to do so must not be viewed as inappropriate because they are expected to make these crucial judgments.
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._N._Venkatachaliah#:~:text=He%20started%20practicing%20law%20in,retired%20on%2024%20October%201994.
https://main.sci.gov.in/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/27098883/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1686885/
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