The witty and erudite author has remembered that "making a book is a craft, as is making a clock; it takes more than wit to become an author". His ability as a raconteur, nevertheless, keeps surfacing: the reference to the "flattering and...overpowering" portrait of the first Chief Justice Sir Elijah Impey of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Kolkata to the three ideals of justice-Victorian, Indian and Cynical-reflected in the three carved stone images at Bombay High Court and to Nobel laureate Ralph Bunche's comment on the question as to how long can a society atone for past oppressions-are but three examples.

Despite its tiny size, the book is full of insightful and innovative conclusions. For example, despite the vast reach and immense global influence of the British empire, why have no one other than former British subjects adopted the common law? Why did the Indian Constitution framers not mention a Gandhian constitution or panchayats or indirect governance and consciously opt for a parliamentary, federal republic? And why the word "federation" is not used in the bulky Indian Constitution?

Being a member of the high powered group which made recommendations leading to the amendment of the Civil Procedure Code (cpc) providing for a menu of Alternative Dispute Resolution (adr) mechanisms-lok adalat, mediation, conciliation, etc-this reviewer found the author's discussion on the subject apposite and insightful-to this day, we do not know why our suggestion for obligatory adr in civil disputes was converted to an optional one under the amended section 89 of the cpc. The discussion on equality, reservation and untouchability highlights the two issues which are the heart of the problem viz the availability of plenty of constitutional guarantees against the state but the absence of such rights by one group against another and the fact that we may have constitutionally abolished untouchability and backwardness "but, alas, many of us have not eliminated it from our hearts".

There are useful discussions on public interest litigation, judicial review and activism and the serious inadequacies of the criminal justice system. The author shows that he is not just any unrealistic bleeding heart liberal by arguing forcefully that in terrorist related offences, the right of the accused to remain silent should give way to the larger interests of society and of the victims. His questioning of the foundations of the "beyond reasonable doubt test" and its semantic inadequacies is novel and should start a new debate on one of the most venerable pillars of the criminal justice system.

Perhaps the best part of the book are the last 60 pages where two sets of issues are thrashed out in admirable detail and depth but with remarkable brevity under neat and pithy subheadings viz, "The Serious Shortco-mings of the Criminal Justice System" as also "The Structural Revamp of Court Administration in India".

The publishers have done a disservice by not providing subheadings and contents. Some of the very recent laudable reforms-the creation of a national computerised judicial grid-have not received adequate attention. Absence of analysis of court management techniques and the absence of analysis of some of our procedural laws which retard disposal-a vital part of adr and court administration generally-is another lacuna. The absence of proper adr in criminal law should also have received more comprehensive treatment.

But all in all, here is clearly a book to be tasted, chewed, swallowed and digested.

Index