Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has stressed on the importance of adopting a data-driven approach in criminal law, stating that the principle of proportionality applied by the Constitution Benches in several cases was primarily based on data and empirical evidence.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Ratanlal & Dhirajlal’s Law of Crimes: A Comprehensive Commentary on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,’ edited by former Chief Justice of India Justice UU Lalit, the CJI said on Thursday that empirical analysis should play a greater role in shaping jurisprudence.
He said criminal jurisprudence should not rely on untested assertions about behavioural and social dynamics. It must rely on empirical data and analytical tools, which speak for themselves.
Lamenting that the subject was not being taught in law schools, the CJI said it was the need of the hour to let the evidence drive criminal law forward in the country.
He expressed his disappointment over young lawyers preferring not to choose criminal law as a profession, stating that the real-life experiences and satisfaction he achieved as a criminal lawyer could not be matched by a civil or a constitutional lawyer
Reminiscing his days as a criminal lawyer, CJI Khanna said that while serving as an Additional Public Prosecutor in the Delhi High Court, when a convict personally came to thank him after he appeared as Amicus Curiae in the matter.
As an Additional Public Prosecutor in the Delhi High Court, the CJI said he defended the State and also appeared as Amicus Curiae in some cases for convicts.
He said he was once surprised when a convict came to his house and said ‘thank you’. That was an experience which left him satisfied.
Emphasising on the importance of criminal law in district court litigation, the CJI urged the young lawyers to take it as their first-choice specialisation, rather than a fallback option.
CJI Khanna further lauded the efforts of Justice Lalit in authoring the seminal work. He called Justice Lalit one of the country’s leading criminal law experts, whose career spanned advocacy and adjudication at the highest levels.
The CJI said there was hardly any political party or leader that former CJI Lalit did not represent as a lawyer. As a prosecutor also, he prosecuted several political leaders. Justice Lalit belonged to that rare category of legal minds who excelled equally as advocates, scholars and jurists, he added.
Speaking about the relevance of legal commentaries in today’s digital era, with instant access to cases and statutes, the CJI said commentaries have become even more important now since online tools just threw up case laws. He said there was no harm in going back to the basics. Physical textbooks were fundamental for lawyers & law students and indispensable for judges. Even the Judges relied on legal commentaries as they provided an unparalleled depth, comprehensive and complete perspective on the law, he added.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, among others, attended the event.
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