How a jusdge should be:- Justice Modi: a judge with pragmatic views. HONBLE Justice Shri Nishith Kumar Modi from Indore Bench of High Court of M.P. will lay his charge down on 5th Dec.2013 after completion of 62 years of age and more than 09 years of judgeship. He was born on 6th Dec. 1951 in a well to do family of Advocate Shri Madanlal Modi of Gwalior. Both the father and son used to practice with full capacity and competency from one office having harmonious tuning in life. Presently his son and one daughter are also practicing as advocates. Lady Modi had been a member of the State Consumer Redressal Commission also. He was called to the Bar on 22nd Nov. 1973 and was elevated as permanent judge of the High Court from October 6th 2004. He is a man of high integrity and honesty with judicious mentality-an approach to any case with equity, justice and good conscious. A person in whose mind there is law, logic and reasoning, a person whose ears are healthy to hear the views of client and his counsel, whose eyes have vision to see the realities in between the lines, a person having tongue to express thoughts in sweet and ever smiling manner and a person having voice to strive for justice is in fact a judge and it was our fortune to practice before him with honour. I and my wife Justice Manjusha Namjoshi had privilege that he and his father used to appear as advocates before us long back in seventies and eighties. I have had a habit that in a case if photos are being filed I used to insist that the photos should be kept in a cover, in envelop so that they may be safely tagged in file and saved from damage by frequently penetrating papers in it. On one occasion Modi as an advocate appeared before me seeking injunction order in a case and just argued in a metaphorical language that the Honble court should take in to consideration that he has also filed envelopment along with the file and a laugh broken up in the court room reacting on figurative meaning Alfred Lord Tennyson had before 1892 in his poem The Brook wrote a line namely for men may come and men may go but I go for ever. It is a true saying. Justice will certainly go for ever but what is expected from human machinery is the justice should be driven on right path by right persons capable of doing justice to the justice. Persons like Modi are certainly exceptional who drove the vehicle of justice concentrating on one aim to impart justice. In a leading case he has given a very land mark and quality judgment laying law that in a partition of agriculture land the agriculturist has not to pay court fees ad valorem that is according to market value but 20 times the land revenue. It was really a judge in real sense to the poor agriculturists who are generally dragged to litigation. He settled so many public related disputes by making public amicably agreed on a reasonable formulas accepted by all the parties. He is a man with generous mentality to help to the litigants keeping him within the jurisdictional competency and did not cross the limits of the law and jurisdictional error. A judge may decide cases remaining in the circle of justice but there are judges who keep their one foot within the rotary-compass of law and another foot out of it exercising judicial discretion keeping in mind equity, justice and good conscious. Yes this is the proper way of acting in judicious manner by a judge. It is really an honour both to the court and him that he was one of the judges who decided maximum cases by deciding them on merit. It is one way to dismiss cases or so called deciding and disposing cases in a routine manner but deciding cases on merit and in particular with pragmatic and generous way had always been an exceptional quality of this gentle judge. It is a day to day experience by advocates and clients who get opportunity to appear or hear about him and his decisions. In Lok Nyayalay (Adalat) he had decided more than 50 percent cases in a supersonic manner and speed. He has given new dimensions to legal jurisprudence. He was so quick to know the facts and law involved in a case being argued before him. Only in selected cases he used to issue notices to opposite parties. In a routine practice he used to hear cases on merits without issuing notices to opposite parties. At motion hearing stage final hearing was a rule of practice in his court. Advocates were well aware that only in exceptional cases adjournment could be granted otherwise they had to argue out cases listed for hearing. In fact there are so many cases in which mere direction to courts below or government or authorities was sufficient hence he never adopted a course to first to hear on admission, then to admit and after that by party hearing in routine manner. Such process takes more than 6 to 12 months in flimsy and trivial cases. In most of the cases advocates come to have a direction to the court below or to the party concern and he used to give such directions and there by deciding the cases. He was a judge of speedy justice and speedy decision. He never ever attempted to occupy a seat on ivory tower and adopted imaginary and impractical views to decide cases. He knew whom the shoe pinched in a case and tried to adopt a realist view to understand matter. One of his practice was he did not adjourned a case merely because the Registry has endorsed some objections about defects in filing. He used to hear the case first and used to say remove the objections Importance was on giving relief to parties and not making the defects to cure first. The Magna Carta (in Latin Great charter) of England the basis for modern English Law of year 1215 bears three main characters that are 1. To no man will we sell, 2. To no man will we delay and 3. To no man will we deny justice or right. This gentle judge had in his mind these basic fundamental features and followed them with sacrosanct attitude. This was the reason that on his Board there used be several Mention Memos for urgent hearing used to be filed and were liberally allowed. Respected mother of Justice Modi was known as Droupadi the Anna Purna. No visitor could go from his house without having some refreshment. I think, this attitude of his mother took root and impressed on his mind for positive approach to a problem and he adopted the same on judicial side also. He is also running an institute for orphans and blind children which is really a commendable job. Reaching out for justice was his goal which he certainly achieved in word and in spirit. His work on Board and activities in life reflects that he has adopted the principle of fear not, favour not, hate not and spare not from doing justice. We wish that he should get an assignment in which he may have opportunity to impart justice. May he live long with his happy family!
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 07:16:11 +0000