A MATTER OF PERSONAL LIBERTY
It is always a pleasure to listen to Justice Siddharth
Mridul, Judge, Delhi High Court. He is a scholarly person. The participants listened with rapt attention to Mridul at a webinar hosted by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow, and Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities Foundation on “Bail & Jail: The Rule & The Exception”. “Individual rights, bail and constitutional rights are all interlinked concepts,” Mridul said pointing out that the concept of bail as a constitutional safeguard for the protection of liberty emerged “from the conflict between police power and presumption of innocence in favour of the accused.” Mridul cited an interesting history of bail jurisprudence. He said there was always a lot of struggle between citizens and the executive, in a quest for achieving personal liberties. He referred to an “Ashokan Rock” edict on personal liberty and the role of the King. Even in Kautilya’s Arthashastra, it is stated, he said that only the rule of law can guarantee liberty and security. Cyrus the Great, best known as the liberator of the Jewish people, who had been incarcerated in Babylonia by Assyrians, is accredited for the discovery of a cylindrical object called the Cyrus cylinder. The cylinder inscribed the duties of the king and the rights of the subjects, Mridul said, pointing out that even as far back as 3,000 years, there were enlightened individuals who thought about the rights and liberties of individuals. “The rights of individuals are threatened when the right of one individual diminish.”
Describing how personal liberty evolved in Britain, Mridul said the Magna Carta was drafted as a result of conflict between subjects and King John.
The principle of vis-a-voluntatis was prevalent then as per which the King was the repository of all strength and wisdom and thus, was above law. It is due to these beliefs and principles, King John ran into troubles with his subjects and as a result of loss in the battlefield, he had to promise his subjects “rights” as a result of which this great charter came about. It became the foundation for contemporary principles of parliament and remedies like Habeas Corpus. It gave rights to subjects against illegal imprisonment.
Later, Mridul said, it was annulled by Pope Innocent III. Towards the end of the 16th century, there was again an upsurge in interest for Magna Carta. Clauses of Magna Carta were numbered in 63 categories and thus, Magna Carta became synonymous with individual liberty.
Man Mohan can be contacted at rovingeditor@gmail.com