Meet Justice K Chandru, The Real Hero Of Jai Bhim

Brut India

He disposed of 96,000 cases in six years as a judge of the Madras High Court. He fought legal battles for the marginalised. Brut spoke to Justice K Chandru, the inspiration behind 'Jai Bhim'...

Transcript

00:00Law is a very powerful weapon.

00:20I consciously feel without Ambedkar you can't change the society.

00:30The amount of frustration and the isolation or the fighting against our odds,

00:59gives you certain amount of determination.

01:03So when I became a judge, after a long time, I had three times the number of cases come before me.

01:10The difference is that situation is not improved. The situation become worsened.

01:15But what the judge can do? So I did not wait for nine months or police reply everything.

01:21In my court, such cases were over within three weeks.

01:24Not a single case of police torture took more than three to four weeks in my court.

01:29So as a judge, we can only do that. We can't change the system.

01:32We can't change these tortures. We can't change their lifestyle.

01:36We can't bring about a social revolution sitting in court.

01:40But the court can deliver judgments faster, more consciously.

01:44Take a new charter. Try to combine cases which are similar.

01:58Try to minimize arguments. Read the papers at home.

02:01Don't dictate orders in the court, thereby reducing the court time.

02:05Dictate at home. Read up. Come prepared.

02:09So there are many things.

02:15Mayors asking for it, they'll ask for an adjournment.

02:18I said that he put an end to it.

02:20Unless a lawyer does not exist or on the way to the court is seriously injured,

02:27no other case will give adjournment.

02:29And that also brings you a certain amount of unpopularity among the bar.

02:38If you want to decide a case on caste,

02:40If you want to decide a case on religion in India or a Hindu society,

02:44you can't ignore Ambedkar.

02:54There are two types. One is an external manifestation.

02:57Some of the colonial practices like calling judges are my lord.

03:02I put a board saying nobody should say my lord.

03:05And in our Madras High Court, we used to have a mace bearer

03:08carrying a silver mace in front of a judge, shooing away people.

03:12And that I said, no more silver mace before me.

03:17I had also dispensed with police protection, personal security officer

03:22and many other smaller things which are external.

03:26But internally, I brought certain discipline in the court procedure

03:31where arguments were restricted and controlled.

03:37Where matters which are listed should be disposed of on the same day.

03:41Once Chief Justice Kapadia said, his advice to the judges,

03:47work like a horse, live like a hermit.

03:50I think I lived like a hermit and worked like a horse.

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