Thread by @barandbench

Supreme Court judge, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit to deliver the 18th V.K. Krishna Menon Memorial Lecture

The event has been organized by the Indian Society of International Law

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Lecture to begin now

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Justice UU Lalit: A minor correction first. All of them said something about me. But before Mr Soli Sorabjee's chamber , I was Mr Praveen Parikh's junior. I did not expect it from Mr Parikh, don't disown me Sir

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Justice UU Lalit: You have heard all the details, all the salient features about VK Krishna Menon, but he was the first person who thought of drafting a preamble to the Constitution. That sums up the enormous contribution he made

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Justice UU Lalit: It was our misfortune that he was not associated with framing of Constitution as he was then in London representing India's interests as a High Commissioner there

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Justice UU Lalit: Mr Menon was in the 8 hour long debate to engage the security council on the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

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Justice UU Lalit: He could have been a great member at the bar if he was not a non career diplomat. Some judgments from 1970 to 1974, he represented various interests.

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Justice UU Lalit: Two were nine judge bench composition and one Namboodripad was three judge bench composition. Before coming to these, let me share one anecdote.

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Justice UU Lalit: Our family friend Mr NM Ghatate who used to practice in Supreme Court was the junior of Mr VK Krishna Menon. I had once asked a Q to Mr Ghatate who did doctorate in international law from an American University

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Justice UU Lalit: I had asked what did you find in Krishna Menon to be a junior. He was not an established counsel as such. He said he was drawn to Menon with sheer force of intellect.

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Justice UU Lalit: Now the first judgment in 9 judge composition was State Trading Corporation. He was appearing for various Petitioners and lead judgment was by Mr MC Setalvad

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Justice UU Lalit: Question was if company was a legal person and if the legal person can claim fundamental rights protection..and if such a state govt unit can claim such part III violation.

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Justice UU Lalit: Justice Hidayatullah could not resist himself from stating that he is agreeing with Krishnan Menon. That was the agreement with the personality

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Justice UU Lalit: The next case was Naresh Mirajkar. It was again a nine judge bench verdict. Q was whether a Article 32 plea can lie challenging the judicial order.

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Justice UU Lalit: Then came Namboodripad case. Justice Hidayatullah remarked that it was for VK Menon that he studied communism which he thought he will never do. That was the persona of Krishna Menon

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Justice UU Lalit: whether you lose or win a matter is not the point, you lose some you win some, it's the contribution you make for the development of the law, even if it's for losing battle
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Justice UU Lalit: Even a losing ship can be commended by a captain in a very dignified way. That is what Krishna Menon did in Namboodripad matter.

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Justice UU Lalit: These 3 cases being to surface what Krishna Menon as a lawyer was.

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Justice UU Lalit: Krishna Menon as a civil servant when he was a high commissioner, his contribution to see that Indian cause does not get represented in a slip shot way, man was on his feet for 8 hours

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Justice UU Lalit: his foresight in drafting a preamble. If you go through constituent assembly debates, preamble was not discussed in the beginning. Here was a man who in 1946, 1947, thought of drafting a preamble

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Justice UU Lalit: Preamble is a window to the Constitution. It is these telling qualities which made that man.

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Justice UU Lalit: In the end let me confess something, Just liike Justice Hidayatullah said this case made me study communism, this lecture has made me study Krishna Menon. Thank you.

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Event ends

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