Literary citations in judgments discussed

Patiala, October 12

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) during an online symposium organised on ‘Law and Literature: Literary Citations in Judgments’ discussed literary citations in judgments.

Vice-Chancellor GS Bajpai elaborated upon judgments that incorporated literary references to voice the rights of marginalised. He said, “The legal fraternity drafted a verdict decriminalising section 377 by quoting the words from the literary works of Goethe, Vikram Seth and William Shakespeare to emphasise on the uniqueness of identity, freedom and individuality.”

“Judges profusely use literary sources to explicate legal terms and substantiate crucial concepts. William Shakespeare, Franz Kafka, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Milton and Yeats have been perennial favourites to this day and have been cited in varied ways by judges to advance equity and justice,” he pointed out.

Participants from CNLU Patna, Law College Pune, MDU Rohtak and RGNUL attended the online symposium. — TNS