Courts still have colonial hang ups: P Sreeramakrishnan
The courts were still being haunted by the ghosts of colonial culture.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan has lamented that courts often pass judgments without considering the social situations that compelled the formulation of various laws. The people often fear to criticise courts due to a fearful atmosphere prevailing owing to colonial legacies, he said.
“The courts were still being haunted by the ghosts of colonial culture. The robes and addressing judges as My Lord are remains of the colonial culture. These create an atmosphere of fear in court halls. Hence the people fear to criticise courts. This need to change," said the speaker.
He was inaugurating a seminar here in connection with the diamond jubilee celebrations of Kerala Legislature Secretariat Staff Association on Monday. Mr. Sreeramakrishnan also said that it was a dangerous trend that courts scrapped legislation passed by the assemblies after serious discussions and debates. "Laws are made as per the demands of society. Hence courts should also consider the situations that warranted formulation of a law before scrapping it," he said. While the judiciary used to criticise legislature, executive and media, the undue delay in settling cases by the judiciary was not being criticised, he added.