Justice Manmohan of the Supreme Court said criticism should be seen as guidance and not rejection, urging openness to improvement. He added, “Criticism should not be treated as a condemnation of the system. It should be treated as a suggestion.”
Justice Manmohan, a Supreme Court judge, stated on Saturday that any criticism of the existing system should not be treated as a rejection of it, but as a set of suggestions aimed at improvement.
Speaking at a legal conclave and awards event organised by the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and the Society of Legal Professionals (SILP) under the theme “Justice to all Accessible and Affordable,” he said that people sometimes misread efforts to reform the system as condemnation.
The Judge remarked,
“Last time, I spoke about improving the system, and my address was misunderstood by some people, as if it were a condemnation of the system. When you talk about improving the system, you often have to talk about the issues that arise in the system. When you highlight the shortcomings in the system, you do so only to improve the system, not to condemn it. Therefore, it should not be treated as a condemnation of the system. Nor should it be used as a weapon by those who wish to further their own case,” the apex court judge said.“
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He emphasised that the most crucial aspect is ensuring a healthy approach to handling issues.
Justice Manmohan explained the point through a case he had decided several years ago. It involved a request to quash an FIR filed against a film producer under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The allegation was that the film had depicted the social evil of the caste system in detail, and therefore the producer should be prosecuted under the Act.
He said,
“The apex court judge said he quashed the FIR because the issue gave him a good occasion to say that a film which sought to convey that a social practice is evil had to necessarily depict that social practice.
“Otherwise, how will the public understand it? So, when we talk about the issues arising in the system and seek to improve the system, it is not a condemnation of the system. It is only pointing out that the system requires certain reforms. It is taking the system to a higher level by addressing the shortcomings that exist in it,”
Justice Manmohan added,
“Criticism should not be treated as a condemnation of the system. It should be treated as a suggestion,”
He also advised that law firms should not adopt a narrow outlook on legal education. Instead, he said, they should view the world as a whole and treat it as a single connected space, where shared problems require shared solutions.
On the role of technology, he said it operates like a double-edged tool. He stressed that technology should remain under human control and used only as a supportive instrument rather than a replacement for human judgment.
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He further raised concerns about pendency and said that every available method should be used to reduce it. He also suggested that the legal community should reflect on whether arbitration—intended to solve the problem has started creating its own difficulties.
Justice Manmohan also urged the government to ensure mediation is integrated at all levels. He said if the government has chosen to keep arbitration law outside certain thresholds, that decision may need reconsideration, since arbitration shortcomings can be addressed without abandoning the system.