He disposed of 96,000 cases in six years as a judge of the Madras High Court. He fought legal battles for the marginalised. Brut spoke to Justice K Chandru, the inspiration behind 'Jai Bhim'...
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00:00Law is a very powerful weapon.
00:20I consciously feel without Ambedkar you can't change the society.
00:30The amount of frustration and the isolation or the fighting against our odds,
00:59gives you certain amount of determination.
01:03So when I became a judge, after a long time, I had three times the number of cases come before me.
01:10The difference is that situation is not improved. The situation become worsened.
01:15But what the judge can do? So I did not wait for nine months or police reply everything.
01:21In my court, such cases were over within three weeks.
01:24Not a single case of police torture took more than three to four weeks in my court.
01:29So as a judge, we can only do that. We can't change the system.
01:32We can't change these tortures. We can't change their lifestyle.
01:36We can't bring about a social revolution sitting in court.
01:40But the court can deliver judgments faster, more consciously.
01:44Take a new charter. Try to combine cases which are similar.
01:58Try to minimize arguments. Read the papers at home.
02:01Don't dictate orders in the court, thereby reducing the court time.
02:05Dictate at home. Read up. Come prepared.
02:09So there are many things.
02:15Mayors asking for it, they'll ask for an adjournment.
02:18I said that he put an end to it.
02:20Unless a lawyer does not exist or on the way to the court is seriously injured,
02:27no other case will give adjournment.
02:29And that also brings you a certain amount of unpopularity among the bar.
02:38If you want to decide a case on caste,
02:40If you want to decide a case on religion in India or a Hindu society,
02:44you can't ignore Ambedkar.
02:54There are two types. One is an external manifestation.
02:57Some of the colonial practices like calling judges are my lord.
03:02I put a board saying nobody should say my lord.
03:05And in our Madras High Court, we used to have a mace bearer
03:08carrying a silver mace in front of a judge, shooing away people.
03:12And that I said, no more silver mace before me.
03:17I had also dispensed with police protection, personal security officer
03:22and many other smaller things which are external.
03:26But internally, I brought certain discipline in the court procedure
03:31where arguments were restricted and controlled.
03:37Where matters which are listed should be disposed of on the same day.
03:41Once Chief Justice Kapadia said, his advice to the judges,
03:47work like a horse, live like a hermit.
03:50I think I lived like a hermit and worked like a horse.