Justice VG Arun : Gentleman Judge With Progressive Views

January 23, 2026 marked the retirement of one of the most eminent judges of the Kerala High Court, Justice V.G. Arun known for his calm composure and gentle demeanour among the members of the Bar.Justice Arun has spoken loudly through his forwarded-thinking judgments on freedom of speech and expression, mental health, secularism, equal rights, freedom from surveillance, to name just a few.Justice Arun's Outlook on SecularismWhile speaking at an event last year, the retired judge had commended parents, who chose to bring up their children without religious labels, and had remarked that children without religion are tomorrow's promise.In one of his judgments, Justice Arun had allowed the plea of two youngsters, who had embraced a new religion, seeking to change their religion in their school certificates. He had observed that even though there was no specific provision enabling change of religion in school certificates, the same cannot be reason to “tie down a person to one religion” when freedom to embrace religion of choice is guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution. In 2022, Justice Arun had called upon the government to frame a policy for issuing community certificates to persons belonging to the non-religious category for enabling them to avail the benefits of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).In a judgment authored by Justice Arun, he had spoken against animal and bird sacrifice conducted as part of religious activities – “All unhealthy, unscientific and deleterious practices are to be prevented, even if it is done in the name of religion,” he had remarked.In one of his speeches, Justice Arun had said, “To live without adhering to any religion in our democratic secular country is certainly in tune with our Constitutional principles.” Freedom of Speech and ExpressionIn his recent judgment in Juby Thomas and Anr. v. Union of India, relating to the movie 'Haal', Justice Arun had delivered a verdict that underscored the creative freedom of a filmmaker to express his views, enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.Not long back, he had considered a plea preferred by a UAPA convict who wanted to publish a book that he had written in jail [Roopesh T.R. v. State of Kerala and Ors.]. Justice Arun had asked the government to expeditiously consider whether the book can be published and remarked “thoughts and dreams being internal and intangible, are beyond external control or curtailment. They are the ultimate realm of personal freedom… For prisoners like the petitioner, the examination can be stricter, but never an insurmountable obstacle.”The freedom of expression of common man has also been recognized by Justice Arun in his various judgments. He had, in Sharmina S v. Sub Divisional Magistrate, held that merely protesting or shouting slogans cannot be perceived as activities in violation of reasonable restrictions under Article 19.Quashing criminal proceedings initiated for criticising CMDRF on social media, he had observed: “Clamping persons expressing dissent or raising criticisms with criminal cases is an affront to the democratic values enshrined in our Constitution.”Justice Arun had also observed: “Free flow of opinions and ideas is essential to sustain the collective life of the citizenry. Fear of setback to Government's initiatives, due to expression of opinion or dissent by a citizen, cannot result in Article 19(2), restricting the freedom of speech and expression, being brought into play.” Recently, Justice Arun refused to stay the release of the web series 'Anali' which was alleged to have been based on the sensational Koodayi murder case in which Jolly Joseph is accused. He had touched upon the importance of artistic freedom and stated that stay cannot be granted when there is nothing concrete but mere surmises and conjectures.On Equal Rights and Bodily IntegrityJustice Arun's judgments were vocal about the need for equal rights and bodily integrity, particularly of women, children and transgenders.He had, while considering a case, observed that transgender persons have the right to participate in sport events in the category of their choice if the organisers had not arranged for a separate category.While considering a challenge against a Child Welfare Committee order granting custody of one-year-old breastfeeding child to father, Justice Arun had opined the CWC members ought not to have taken child from mother and judged her by their moral standards.Justice Arun had also highlighted upon the importance the need for appropriate sex education for youngster and expressed concern regarding the increasing number of child pregnancies and easy access to porn (X v. Union of India & Ors.).In a 2023 judgment, the retired judge had directed the Government to constitute a State-Level Multidisciplinary Committee with experts to examine requests for performing sex-selective surgeries on intersex children. He also made observations regarding the consequences of allowing parents to permit genital...

Justice VG Arun : Gentleman Judge With Progressive Views

K. Salma Jennath

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