Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru | Removing blindfold of Lady of Justice not only wrong but also sends a wrong signal

CHENNAI: Removing blindfold of Lady of Justice not only wrong but also sends a wrong signal

What do you think about the Supreme Court bringing in a new Lady of Justice statue without blindfolding? Though the claim that justice is no longer blind appears superficially good, it seems fishy at a time when the Centre is making a whole lot of unilateral changes without proper consultation with stakeholders; the three new criminal laws to point one such case. Why do you think such cosmetic changes take importance at the highest levels of our justice system when many of the judicial reforms discussed in the last decade are still lying on the papers?

— N Saravanaraj, Porur, Chennai

The idea of removing the blindfold of the Lady of Justice is not only wrong but also sends the wrong signal. It makes it appear that only those who have eyesight can deliver justice and not those who are visually challenged. As early as 2009, Tamil Nadu was the first State to appoint a visually challenged person as a civil judge.

Even last week, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) had stayed an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which prevented a similar candidate from writing the civil judge exam. When the entire civilised world follows a pattern of the appearance of the Lady of Justice, the present change made is more of a cosmetic change and not with any substance.

Not easy to produce all original parent documents for transfer of property

A recent Madras High Court ruling states that the original parent document is not required to transfer property, potentially increasing the risk of fraud and putting nearly 99 per cent of property owners at risk to accommodate the one per cent who have lost or misplaced documents. How can property owners now protect themselves from fraudulent registrations? Why hasn't the Tamil Nadu government filed an appeal? What should the public do to address the issue involving the judiciary and the state government?

— Krishnan PS, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai

When increasingly people go to buy flats with Undivided Share of Land (UDS) it won't be easy to produce the parent document. For many properties, there will not be any parent document at all. Further, it is not difficult for the department to learn about bogus sales. Even otherwise the court can find out if there was a spurious sale.

In some cases as the well-known saying “possession is nine points of the law” — meaning that someone who has physical control of something has a stronger legal claim to it than someone who just claims ownership — the documents even if registered may not safeguard your property being illegally encroached.