Chief justice of orissa high court amitav roy delivers a lecture at the 83rd birth anniversary of barrister ranjit mahanty on sunday in bhubaneswar. picture by Sanjib Mukherjee subrat das

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 10: Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Amitav Roy stressed on “timely and responsive” justice while speaking at an event to mark the 83rd birth anniversary of barrister Ranjit Mohanty here today.

“We are at a crossroad. We are custodian and guardian of the rule of law. With all the things happening around us, we can’t rest at ease. There is a great responsibility on us,” said Roy.

As the Preamble of the Constitution promises justice — social, economic and political — he said social justice forms the bedrock of the global order governed by the rule of law.

“We must strive together to ensure realisation of wishes of our Constitution-makers into reality”, he said.

Observing that courts are crowded with litigations, Roy said: “This shows that people have not lost faith on the judiciary. There is a reverence for rule of law.”

He appealed to the members of legal fraternity to realise their responsibility towards the society and see the expectations of the society “are not belied”.

Calling for a collective endeavour to render justice to the people, he said: “We should move from ‘I ’ to ‘We’.”

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik recalled that lawyers had played an important role in leading the freedom struggle of the country. They had also spearheaded several social movements.

The chief minister urged the members of the legal fraternity to help address social issues and emulate the ideals of barrister Mohanty.

Chief Justice Roy described barrister Mohanty as a crusader of social justice, who had championed the cause of the downtrodden.

Barrister Mohanty was the youngest lecturer of law at Barcelona University in Spain. However, he left the job and joined the legal profession in Cuttack in 1955 to serve the people. He was the chairman of Bar Council of India for two consecutive terms.

Barrister Mohanty was also an educationist and a visionary. He was one of the founders of National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

Barrister Ranjit Mohanty Memorial Committee, which was formed after his demise in 1989, has been helping upcoming bright lawyers to set up their personal libraries.

The committee has donated all-India report sets and other law books to more than 600 lawyers and 30 bar associations across the state, said the member.

Barrister Ranjit Mohanty Education Trust has also set up a college in his name and runs an orphanage in Cuttack.