Үндістан судьясы Кришна Айер: Әділеттік пен әлеуметтік құқықтар жолындағы өмір жолы

Indian judge (1914–2014)

Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Iyer Krishna Iyer (15 November 1914 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge who became a pioneer of judicial activism. He pioneered the legal aid movement in the country. Before that, he was a state minister and politician. As an activist lawyer, he served jail terms for the cause of his poor and underprivileged clients. He was seen as an ardent human rights activist. In addition, he campaigned for social justice and the environment. A sports enthusiast and a prolific author, he was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999. His judgements continue to be cited in the higher judiciary.

Krishna Iyer was born in a Tamil Brahmin family on 15 November 1914 in Vaidyanathapuram village in Palakkad, which was the part of the then Malabar region of the then Madras State, to a lawyer father, named Rama Iyer, and a mother named Narayani Ammal. He was the eldest among the seven children born to his parents, among whom, the youngest, V. R. Lakshminarayanan, served as the Director General of Police in Tamil Nadu Police. He inherited from his father the qualities of taking an avid interest in the community around and using the law for the benefit of those more in need. Iyer was educated at Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi High School, Thalassery, Government Victoria College, Palakkad, Annamalai University, and at Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai. He started practice in his father's chamber in 1938 at Thalassery, Malabar.

Iyer was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952, from Kuthuparamba as a non party, independent candidate, and served until 1956. He was a Minister between 1957 and 1959 in the government led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad, holding the portfolios for Home, Law, Prison, Electricity, Irrigation, Social Welfare and Inland Water. This revolutionary tool, initially used by public spirited citizens to file PILs on behalf of sections of society unable to on their own, continues to bring in unheard changes in the day to day lives of the people even now, decades later. Observing this, he states: ?

In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's election to Parliament was unlawful, and barred her from it for another six years. Iyer was on the bench that heard an appeal against this order in the Supreme Court. In Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain, he ruled that although Mrs. Gandhi could no longer be a Member of Parliament, she was entitled to retain her position as Prime Minister. Interpreting this as losing the popular mandate to rule, the Opposition called for her resignation. The next day she declared a state of Emergency in the country.

Iyer wrote judgments in several notable cases concerning social rights. These included Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, in which he held that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which protects the right to life and liberty, must be interpreted widely to include several social rights. In the Ratlam Municipality case, he started a trend for judges to leave the courtroom and go out and see, the situation on the ground. Moreover, this case would be a forerunner of cases which would be decided later on, on the concepts of "precautionary principle", "polluter pays" and "sustainable development". In Muthamma's case, Iyer called for breaking the 'glass ceiling' with gender parity in traditional practices in public employment.

Iyer ruled in several cases that aimed to secure against custodial violence, ruling on bail conditions as well as regarding legal aid for detainees. and his house would always remain open, bustling with all who sought his help or advice. He stood for the nation's president in 1987, as the Opposition's candidate against R. Venkataraman, the ruling Congress's nominee who won. In 2002, he inquired into the Gujarat riots as part of a citizens' panel, with retired Justice P. B. Sawant among others. He also headed the Kerala Law Reform Commission in 2009. He had been active, almost until a few weeks before his death, when ill health and advancing age took their toll on him. As a public intellectual Iyer held several positions in the people's organizations, arts societies, sports councils, and cultural groupings. He died on 4 December 2014 at the age of 99, and was cremated with state honours. His wife Sarada, who would listen to him talk about his work, when on occasion he would change his mind after she gave her opinion on it, had predeceased him. Upon his demise, his private library was donated to the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, where the Justice Krishna Iyer Collection still resides. He is survived by his two sons, Ramesh and Paramesh.