Correction of error in judgment; action of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh should be appreciated

The structure of the Indian judiciary system is designed in such a way as to give the complainant an opportunity to approach the higher courts against the judgments of the lower courts. The Supreme Court is the final judge. However, in the meantime, the case can be filed in the District Court and the High Court. Litigation is very expensive these days but sometimes it is necessary to get legal justice. The High Court can uphold or set aside the judgments of the lower courts. Since higher courts have more powers, the way they approach a legal issue may be different. There have also been cases where the Supreme Court has upheld lower court judgments which were set aside by the High Court. What we can understand from this is that the possibility of mistakes in any judgment cannot be ruled out.

However, no judge has ever said that he was wrong after delivering a verdict. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, a senior judge of the Madras High Court, has set an example contrary to that. He said that he had made a mistake in his judgment in a case six years ago and wanted to revise it. He said that real change happens when you realize you have made a mistake and are willing to correct it. Justice Venkatesh made this revelation while speaking at a function held at the Madras Bar Association.

To make a mistake is human nature. It can happen to anyone. Even if some people are convinced that they have made a mistake, many of them are not ready to correct it. However, no matter how many years have passed, it is better to correct the mistake. The case he mentioned happened in 2018. Justice Venkatesh became a High Court judge on June 4, 2018. He started on the bench of Justice MM Sundaresh. The senior judge encouraged and allowed him to write judgments independently. Justice Venkatesh pointed out that the judgment he wrote in the P Kalyanachakravarthy-Harsha Estate civil case in July of the same year was incorrect. The case was argued by senior advocate Sriram Panchu. It was not even a month since Justice Venkatesh became a judge. He said that the verdict was written in overzealousness because of this and that is why the mistake was made.

He said that the principles and conclusions advanced by him in the judgment should be re-examined without considering the passing of years. He has also revealed that he realized his mistake only after reading the article written by senior advocate Parthasarathy on the subject. Justice Anand Venkatesh is to be commended for making this revelation that no one is usually ready for. It will certainly help to enhance the glory of the judiciary as a mistake will be rectified through this openness.