Cuttack: Former additional solicitor general of Supreme Court K.V. Biswanathan underscored the need for evolving law with changes in the society without having to overturn precedents.

He was delivering a lecture on "Precedent: Problem of Plenty" on the occasion of the 29th death anniversary of legal luminary Ranjit Mahanty.

Biswanathan suggested amendments to the Constitution as a possible panacea to problem of "judicial dilemma" for judges when "caught between precedent and justice".

However, he also said: "Precedent is a good source of law and the doctrine of precedent is constitutionally entrenched."

The doctrine of precedent provides that the decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all courts within the territory of India. Similarly, the decisions of a high court are binding on all lower courts within the territorial jurisdiction of that high court and a decision of a higher bench is binding on the lower bench.

At the event held at the Orissa High Court Bar Association here on Sunday, speakers paid glowing tributes to Mahanty.

Mahanty was the president of the Orissa High Court Bar Association and chairman of the Odisha State Bar Council. He was also the chairman of the Bar Council of India for two consecutive terms.

Chief Justice of Orissa High Court K.S. Jhaveri described Mahanty as "a doyen in the legal fraternity", "a crusader of social justice" and "a champion of human rights".

Remembering the days when he was just a young lawyer and Mahanty was already heading the Bar, high court bar association president Srikant Nayak said: "He was a source of inspiration for all of us."

The Barrister Ranjit Mahanty Memorial Committee has been helping bright lawyers to set up their personal libraries.

This year, the committee donated all-India report sets and other law books worth Rs 2,000 each to 19 lawyers of several bar associations across the state.