Why is there a need to have knowledge of laws. By- Akshita Mathur

Why is there a need to have knowledge of laws.

By- Akshita Mathur

Seedling School of Law and Governance, Jaipur National University, Jaipur.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Law in its every aspect sets the norms of conduct for each individual living in a society. It affects ever part of our lives right from driving a car to being employed at our workplace.  Legal education guides every individual to fight for his legal rights. Basic legal education in a person answers all his his questions as to that are his fundamental rights?  What happens if these rights are violated? Where to go in case they are violated? etc etc. Indian Constitution and for that matter, Preamble is structured in such a way that every citizen as well as non citizen must be aware of his rights and obligations and the sole purpose of the Constitution is that no person shall be deprived of injustice and intereference in his fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution of India.

Basic legal knowledge is important to one and can be implemented in day to day activities. For example, if a woman is harassed by her husband or relatives of her husband for dowry from her family, she, having some legal knowledge can approach to Family Court and can demand for either divorce under Section 13 of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and can claim maintenance under Section 25 of the same. She can also make her husband and his relatives liable for their offence under Domestic Violence Act 2005.

Therefore implementing laws for the society for good and harmony is the principle concern for those who want to study law and have knowledge for it. There are several benefits involved in knowing laws of the society-

• Avoids infringement of fundamental rights.
• Provides structure and framework for regulating the society.
• Reflects the nature of a society.
• Creates a sense of awareness of the illegal activities
• Resolve disputes
• Most importantly, when you have legal knowledge, it becomes easy for you to punish the guilty if something wrong happens with others too.
• Law allows just and fair treatment for all. It is belives in equality among equals.

The current legal system nowadays has become more complex and so is the process of giving penalty. Hence it is very important for a guilty to get punished with all the expert knowledge and experience. As indicated by the maxim “Bonus judex secundum aequum et bonum judicat strict juri praefert” which clears its meaning that a good judge decides according to justice and rights and prefers equity to strict law.