Judgments Should Speak To Everyone, Ordinary People Must Be Able To Read And Follow: Justice Vikram Nath

Delivering the Second Ashoke Kumar Sen Memorial Lecture, Justice Vikram Nath of the Supreme Court drew from the life and legacy of Ashoke Kumar Sen to underline the importance of clarity, civility, and accessibility in judicial functioning.

Praising the late jurist's abilities, Justice Nath said Sen exemplified how clarity in speech and writing reflects respect for the law, for institutions, and for the citizen.

“For judges, there is a lesson in Mr. Sen's example. He dealt with disagreement without raising his voice. He was willing to hear every concern, but he did not let debate become delay. He believed that clarity is a form of respect, to the House, to the Courts, and to the public. We on the Bench should hold ourselves to the same measure: clear reasons, a steady tone, and decisions that ordinary people can read and follow. The Constitution speaks to everyone; our judgments should do the same,” Justice Nath said.

'There Is Dignity In Small Things'

Justice Nath said that true leadership in law is found not in grand displays but in quiet everyday acts of sincerity..

“Leadership in law is often judged by what is done on the biggest stage. But the law is built, day by day, on small, careful acts. There is dignity in small things: filing a brief punctually; treating a court officer with respect; giving credit to a junior; citing a precedent accurately; acknowledging an error promptly. These are the habits that make you trustworthy,” he said.

He said such virtues form the moral strength of the justice system. “In time, trust will give you influence, and influence will invite responsibility. When that day comes, remember the tradition we honour tonight. Use your influence to build institutions, not just reputations. Use your skill to sharpen justice, not just arguments. Use your learning to guide the next generation, not just to impress your own.”

Justice Nath added that if the legal fraternity keeps these habits alive, it will also preserve the “wider spirit of the law, its humanity.”

“Law is a set of rules, yes, but it is also a way of treating people. It is a promise that power will answer to reason, and that reason will be open to evidence. It is a promise that even when we act with speed, we will not forget fairness; and even when we act with firmness, we will not forget compassion,” he said.

Ashoke Kumar Sen : The inevitable law minister

Justice Nath described Ashoke Kumar Sen as a lawyer, parliamentarian, and reformer whose influence shaped Indian legal and political life for decades.

“Some people are known because they held high office; others are remembered because they raised the standard of the work itself. Mr. Sen belonged to the second group,” Justice Nath said.

Sen's career, he noted, reflected both professional excellence and democratic legitimacy. Rising quickly at the Calcutta Bar, Sen went on to serve multiple terms as Union Law Minister, working alongside leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, B.C. Roy, and V.K. Krishna Menon. His repeated appointments earned him the title “the inevitable Law Minister”. "By that they mean he was the person you naturally turned to when the country needed someone sensible to steer legal reform, someone who could talk to Courts, to Parliament, to the government, and to citizens without raising the temperature. He combined a lawyer's eye for detail with a public servant's instinct to explain and include."

Justice Nath highlighted Sen's role in piloting the Advocates Act, 1961 through Parliament, a reform that marked a defining moment in post-Independence legal history.

“The Advocates Act closed a colonial chapter and opened a modern one. It swept away the old ranks of barristers, pleaders, and vakils and created a single class of advocates. It made the profession more open, more mobile, and more merit-based. Talent, not title, would matter,” he said.

Justice Nath also recalled Sen's steadfast commitment to civil liberties during the 1970s and 1980s, when the country faced difficult debates about the scope of rights and freedoms. “He worked to keep the rule of law steady,” Justice Nath said, noting that Sen consistently supported reforms that strengthened institutions, protected judicial independence, and advanced access to justice for the poor and marginalized.

Justice Nath also highlighted Sen's love of reading and scholarship, describing the library as the image that best captured his spirit.

“Reading is a public act. When a lawyer reads well, a judge reasons better; when a judge reasons better, a citizen lives better,” Justice Nath said.

Citing Rabindranath Tagore's line, “Don't limit a child to your own learning, for she was born in another time”, he said Sen's curiosity and openness to knowledge offered a lesson for today's world.

“Every generation will test our institutions with its own questions – about technology and privacy, about speech and equality, about faith and identity, about prosperity and the planet. If we limit the answers to yesterday's book, we will limit the country's tomorrow,” he said.

Justice Nath said that reading keeps the legal profession humble and thoughtful, because it teaches people to learn, to listen, and to revise their understanding. “A library is not a storehouse of the past; it is a workshop for the future,” he remarked.

“The best tributes to a person like Ashoke Kumar Sen are not statues or special sessions; they are daily choices – to prepare a little better, to argue a little more fairly, to write a little more clearly, and to treat one another with dignity even when we disagree.”

Concluding his address, Justice Nath said, “May we aim for the same standard in our own spheres. Let us keep our minds open, our words measured, and our actions steady. Let us read widely, teach generously, and guide those who follow us.”

He ended with a reminder that the true spirit of Sen's legacy must live on not just in lectures and commemorations but “in our files tomorrow morning, in our classrooms, in our courtrooms, and in the quiet places where we open a book to learn something new.”

The event, moderated by Senior Advocate Sanjiv Sen, featured Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Senior Advocate Jayanta Mitra, and Senior Adv Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, MP, as panelists.

The event can be watched here.