Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture: CJI Surya Kant Opens 2nd Edition

The correct answer is Justice Vikram Nath, Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, who delivered the memorial lecture on the theme of judging with compassion and argued that a humane approach to justice must stay anchored in the principles of law, fairness and constitutional values. Option A names the Chief Justice of India, who inaugurated the programme and released two law books at it, but did not deliver the lecture. Option C names the Attorney General for India, who offered a special reflection on the life and contribution of Prof. Madhava Menon. Option D names the author of the two books released and the President of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, who also addressed the gathering. Each of the four took part, so the question turns on who delivered the lecture itself, and that was Justice Vikram Nath.

The correct answer is Judging with Compassion: Human Understanding in the Practice of Law. The lecture, organised by the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, brought together judges, legal academics and practitioners to reflect on the human dimension of the judicial process and on the place of compassion, empathy and sensitivity in the delivery of justice. Option D is a trap, because it names one of the two books released at the same function rather than the theme of the lecture. Options A and B are phrases of the kind used for other legal conferences and for legal aid campaigns, and neither is the theme here. The memorial lecture series commemorates Prof. N. R. Madhava Menon, whose work reshaped legal education in the country, so the theme, the venue and the edition are the facts to hold together.

The correct answer is the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, under which the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi functions, and which announced the holding of the second Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture there. Option A is the tempting choice because the event was about law and justice and was attended by the Chief Justice of India, a Supreme Court judge and the Attorney General, but that ministry does not run this centre. Options C and D name ministries that run other cultural and educational institutions in the capital and are not connected with this centre. The centre organised the lecture along with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, and its Director, Col. Akash Patil, gave the welcome address, while the Joint General Secretary of the association proposed the vote of thanks. Only option B is correct.