Hyderabad: The 33rd Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Lecture was delivered by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of India, on “Rule of Law in Modern Democracy” at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here on Saturday.
Addressing the IPS Probationers as “Young Achievers” and “Nation Builders” to whom the baton needed to be passed, the Chief Justice of India congratulated them for choosing to dedicate their lives to serve the motherland. He recalled the contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in making the Indian Civil Services as strong constitutional steel framework in binding independent India. He also explained the true meaning of the democratic system, which constitutes “legal equanimity”, “political freedom” and “governance by Rule of Law”. He distinguished “Rule of Law” from “Rule of Man” and asserted that the rule of law has emerged now as the soul of modern democratic nations. He also cautioned that the rule of law need not necessarily be intertwined with the policy of the Government and Judicial Review becomes the cornerstone of the rule of law.
Justice Ranjan Gogoi acknowledged the contributions of the Indian Police Service to the motherland as the nation builders and remarked that police casualties are not less than the casualties of conventional war. He raised the issue of fairness in discharging duties and drew distinction between institutional fairness and fairness in the individual functioning. He exhorted the Probationers to take all steps to exercise their legitimate powers in fair and reasonable manner.
In 1983, a memorial lecture in memory of the “Iron man of India” was instituted and B.K. Nehru, then Governor of Jammu & Kashmir delivered the inaugural lecture in 1984 on “All India Services”, and thereafter the lectures are being delivered by eminent personalities.
Abhay, Director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, said a stable political order requires three features – a strong State, Rule of Law and democratic institutions of Accountability. Hence, for these young IPS Officers on the verge of taking their careers, there cannot be a more apt topic than the one selected by the CJI.
Justice Raghavendra Chauhan, Chief Justice and all the Judges and Registrars of Telangana High Court, Md Mohamood Ali, Minister of Home, Telangana, M. Mahendar Reddy, DGP, D. Gautam Sawang, DGP, Andhra Pradesh, Aruna M. Bahuguna, IPS (Retd) and former Director of the Academy and others were present. Besides, 156 IPS Probationers of 2018 batch undergoing Phase-I training, including 15 Foreign Officer Trainees from Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives and also 103 Probationers of 2017 batch undergoing Phase-II training, were also present. (NSS)