“He exhibited his immense faith in humanity through his judgments”: Kerala HC remembers late Justice PA Mohammed

At a reference held today, the Kerala High Court remembered former High Court Judge, Justice PA Mohammed who passed away last Thursday.Chief Justice S Manikumar, State Advocate-General CP Sudhakara Prasad and the President of the Kerala Advocates Association spoke at the reference.."‘He was a kindhearted person".Chief Justice Manikumar began with an overview of the judge’s life, explaining that he was a practitioner of civil, citizenship, Constitutional, and taxation laws during his time as a lawyer. He was known for his ‘kindheartedness, open nature, and impartiality” Chief Justice Manikumar observed..“He was impartial to many, partial to the truth”Chief Justice Manikumar.Stressing on the Judge’s humanitarian approach to cases, Chief Justice Manikumar stated that his judgments exhibited his immense faith in humanity and sensitivity to the welfare of the common man and and rights of citizens.."Never lost the chance to translate Constitutional values into reality”.The Advocate-General spoke of the late Judge’s inclination towards social causes and his involvement with socialism and socio-political movements, such as the one headed by Jayaprakash Narayan in the 80s..Many of his judgments and rulings underlined the socialistic principles he was guided by, the Advocate-General explained. .Justice PA Mohammed "imaginatively expanded the horizons of law in serving justice to the poor and the oppressed”, the Advocate General said. .Though he was highly knowledgeable and versed with the ideas of great thinkers, he was always cordial and considerate to members of the Bar, especially young lawyers starting out in the profession..The Advocate General concluded by stating that it was difficult to imagine that the Judge with his ever-smiling face and affable personality was no more..“Socialism was a glittering thread in his legal philosophy”.The President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association spoke of his personal relationship with the Judge, who was a friend of his father’s..Both the Judge's demeanour and his sensitivity and care for the poor and disadvantaged were ‘heriditary’, instilled in him by his mother, it was observed. .He had a great affinity for nature, as was evidenced by his commitment to sustainable development in his judgments..The Judge firmly believed that Justice needed to be seen to be done, the President of the Association reminisced..Court Proceedings were suspended till 11 AM, it was announced by the Chief Justice, after the Court observed two minutes in silence to honour the Judge’s memory..Justice PA Mohammed was born in Tellichery in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. After obtaining a degree in economics and a stint in the Indian Airlines Corporation, he turned to law, beginning his legal practice in the District Courts of Tellichery. In 1966, he shifted his practice to Ernakulam, appearing before the Kerala High Court..After 26 years of practice in the High Court, he was appointed as Permanent Judge..He retired in 2000, after which he served as Ombudsman for Local Self-Government, Kerala, and later as Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court..He is known as being a part of committees relating to fee structure of Private Self-Financing Institutions and more recently for his work on the tussle between media persons and the Court. He submitted a Report on the latter in June this year..Watch the video of the Reference here: