Justice Ujjal Bhuyan Highlights Timeless Relevance of Justice Krishna Iyer’s Ideals
(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
Delhi,17,November,2025-At an event organised by the Capital Foundation Society at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reflected on the extraordinary breadth of Justice Iyer’s life and contributions — as a political activist, lawyer, minister, judge, thinker, and prolific writer.
“It is not that Justice Krishna Iyer thinking was at odds with our constitutional principles. In fact, I would say that his political thought process was completely aligned with the philosophy of our constitution.”
Justice Bhuyan said Justice Iyer’s deep humanist philosophy was “profoundly aligned” with constitutional values and continues to offer guidance for the judiciary today. He highlighted how Justice Iyer’s jurisprudence expanded the horizons of Article 21, strengthened the foundations of social justice, advanced human rights, and reshaped bail jurisprudence and prison reforms.
“A firm believer in humane justice, he played a pivotal role in interpreting Article 21, thus reinventing the concept of right to life and personal liberty. Known for his eloquent and compassionate style of writing, with full bodied prose, Justice Iyer often blended law with moral philosophy and social conscience. His judicial opinions continue to inspire generations of lawyers, judges and citizens even after almost five decades. It reinforces our belief in the transformative power of the constitution.”
He noted that Justice Iyer laid the intellectual and institutional groundwork for India’s legal aid framework through committees that ultimately paved the way for Article 39A and the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
“This paved the way for insertion of Article 39A in the Constitution of India. This in turn led to the enactment of 6 the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, which set up the legal aid system in India as we know it today.2 Justice Iyer viewed legal aid not as a charity but as an essential element of the rule of law and social justice.”
Justice Bhuyan also recalled Justice Iyer’s influential opinions in landmark cases such as Maneka Gandhi, Moti Ram, and Sunil Batra, and his principled opposition to the death penalty, which helped shape modern constitutional thought.
“But abusing the judiciary is not criticism. Friends, in recent times, we have witnessed many unfortunate incidents. I am asking myself, is the judiciary under attack? We must seriously introspect and address this issue. People who have no understanding of how the judiciary functions or how a judge works are making scurrilous comments, bordering on abuse, against the judiciary.”
Addressing contemporary concerns, Justice Bhuyan underscored the importance of judicial independence, institutional introspection, and constructive public criticism, while expressing worry over recent attacks directed at the judiciary.
