272. None Wiser than the Law (Part 5 of 7 with MN Venkatachaliah & Alok Prasanna)
Memories and Recollections
None Wiser than the Law is a miniseries of in-depth conversations with Justice MN Venkatachaliah, providing an intimate exploration of the legal realm, his life journey, political insights, and the Indian constitution. The title of this podcast draws inspiration from Aristotle, who said to seek to be wiser than the law is the very thing which is by good laws forbidden. Justice Venkatachaliah, a distinguished figure in the realm of jurisprudence, acknowledges this aphorism in one of his landmark judgments, setting the tone for this series of conversations.
The host, Alok Prasanna Kumar, a co-founder of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, spoke to former Chief Justice of India MN Venkatachaliah in August 2023. Their discussion spans an array of topics, encapsulating the Justice’s journey from a young lawyer to a Supreme Court judge, his landmark judgments, and his insights on the ever-evolving legal landscape and society.
In this fifth episode, Justice Venkatachaliah recollects his interactions with eminent judges, lawyers and politicians with whom he crossed paths.
Show Notes
Cases
Ranjit D. Udeshi vs State Of Maharashtra on 19 August, AIR 1965 SC 881https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1623275/
DPP v. Shaw [1961] UKHL 1 (04 May 1961) https://judicialacademy.nic.in/sites/default/files/1453024387_Shaw%20v%20DPP%201961.pdf
Reference Re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1643/index.do
K. Simrathmull v. Nanjalingiah Gowder, AIR 1963 SC 1182
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1449101/
Dineshchandra Jamnadas Gandhi vs State Of Gujarat 1989 SCR (1) 138 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/482324/ (the food inspector case)
Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India 1989 SCC (2) 540
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1344892/
Homi D. Mistry vs Shree Nafisul Hussan on 16 November, (1958) 60 BOMLR 279 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/790712/ (Blitz case)
R.C. Poudyal And Anr. Etc. Etc vs Union Of India And Ors. AIR 1993 SC 1804https://indiankanoon.org/doc/745161/ (sikkim case)
A.R. Antulay vs R.S. Nayak & Anr 1988 AIR 1531
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1353689/
Nawab Khan Abbaskhan v. State of Gujarat 1974 SCR (3) 427
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1512746/
Articles
“Judicial Gobbledygook” in the August 1973 number of the Journal of the Bar Council of India.
Legislations
Government of India Act , 1935 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1935/2/pdfs/ukpga_19350002_en.pdf
Books
Law in the Making by CK Allen (1927) https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.13911
The Cash Nexus : Money and Power in the Modern World 1700-2000 by Nial Ferguson https://www.amazon.in/Cash-Nexus-Money-Modern-1700-2000/dp/0465023266
What We Owe Each Other : A new social contract by Minouche Shafik https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/What_We_Owe_Each_Other/-2dnEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&kptab=getbook
The Hamlyn Lecturers, https://www.cambridge.org/core/series/hamlyn-lectures/75134AF22A92EB13326CFFAA4592FDD3
The constitution of Jammu and Kashmir: its development and comments, Edition 2, 2016 by Justice AS Anand, https://www.amazon.in/Constitution-Jammu-Kashmir-Development-Comments/dp/9351438341
