The British introduced into India western democratic institutions of liberty, justice and a free press. He felt the constitutional framework was to be seen in the context of British rule. His views on the political and legal system adopted by the country stand out as they are in marked variance with the established concept. Gurnam Singh was the only permanent judge of the higher judiciary in India to head an elected government. The field was fertile for professed nationalists and patriots to inflame passions for partisan interests regardless of drainage of blood and treasure. Generations on both sides of the divide were condemned to conflict and sectarian violence. This situation could be summed up in Abraham Lincoln’s words, "A house divided against itself cannot stand.” After all Pakistan was Punjab, Sind, Bengal and the Frontier provinces by another name. Millions were killed or forced into migration in the brutal ethnic cleansing that followed. Gurnam Singh felt the partition of India into India and Pakistan on a religious basis was a great national tragedy arising from failure of statesmanship. For his convictions and beliefs, Gurnam Singh was regarded as a liberal hence an “anti-establishment judge”. Therefore, a judge had particular responsibility to safeguard the interests of the citizens and political opponents, especially in cases of malicious prosecution and repression. The checks and balances were not effective and power was increasingly concentrated in one hand. India had not broken with its colonial legal system. This was because the system, instead of balancing the rights of the state with those of the individual, in effect gave primacy to the executive and the police. In spite of framing the Fundamental Rights in free India, democracy was often observed in the breach rather than in its true spirit. Perhaps more than any other judge or jurist, he realized the ingrained deficiencies of a legal system framed to facilitate colonial rule by curtailing political activity and individual rights (emphasis added). He welcomed the Constitution of India as an indelible national commitment to democracy and rule of law. He brought to the Bench integrity, clarity of mind, a quick grasp of issues, capacity for hard work and an independent disposition. “Gurnam Singh was an outstanding judge in all aspects of law. Gurnam Singh served as Judge of the PEPSU High Court (1950 - 1956) and Punjab High Court (1956-1959). Judges PEPSU High Court(Gurnam Singh second from right) He became Judge of the Punjab High Court in 1956. After partition of India he was elevated as Judge of the Pepsu High Court in 1950. He practiced law in Lyallpur and was regarded as a leading criminal lawyer of pre-partition Punjab. Sant Kaur, the well-respected Assistant Civil Surgeon of Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan). He obtained his Bar-at-Law degree from the Middle Temple, London in 1928. Gurnam Singh’s schooling was at Khalsa School, Ludhiana and he graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore. His paternal uncle Gajjan Singh was Honorary Magistrate, a founding member of the Unionist Party and an elected member of India’s Central Legislature in the 1920’s. His father, Karam Singh Grewal, was the Government Revenue official of the village. Gurnam Singh was born on 25th February 1899 at Village Narangwal in Ludhiana District of undivided Punjab.
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