Justice, Equity and Good Conscience

Introduction

In 1606, the statute which established the Court of Requests in England introduced the doctrine of “equity and good conscience” for the first time in history. The commissioners of the Courts of Request required it to make such orders “as they shall find to stand with Equity and Good Conscience”. However, in India, the Doctrine was first introduced in the Presidency of Bengal, in the year 1780.

The basis of this doctrine is a general idea that in the absence of any rule of statutory law or custom, the Indian courts apply to the decision of a case “justice, equity and good conscience”. During the British era the development of rules took place. And these rules formed in a way to suit the Indian society and circumstances. It’s development took place on the idea that whenever a law is silent on a matter, the decision for the same is following the doctrine of “justice, equity and good conscience”.

Initially, the judges in India critically observed the doctrine of, “justice, equity, and good conscience” before applying it to the Indian conditions. Certain unjust doctrines such as “actio personalis moritur cum persona” (a personal action dies with the person) are not acceptable by the Indian courts. 

Justice

The word justice comes from the Latin word, “Jus” meaning right. According to jurists like Professor Sidgwick, the best indicator of a country’s political success is the way it administers justice. Justice is not merely the right determination and adjudication of disputes and enforcement of the law, but is so comprehensive in its meaning and import that it takes within its ambit the whole of political, juristic, and moral idealism. Every culture has its concept of justice.

In India, from the Vedic period, the perennial attitude of Indian culture has been that justice and righteousness among men are microscopic reflections of the natural order and harmony of the macroscopic universe. While some advocates of Divine theory argue that justice issues from God. Likewise, theorists like John Locke argued for the theory of Natural law, utilitarian thinkers like John Stuart argued that justice issues from God. 

Equity

Description of Equity as the body of law which developed in the Court of Chancery in England. In those times courts used to impart justice under the principles of Natural Law. Equity is a term denoting a system of fairness and justice. The use of this term is often in contrast with strict rule of law, acquittals as against strictum jus or rigor juris. It defines a set of legal principles used to supplement strict rules of law where it would operate too severely, and this done to achieve Natural Justice. 

For instance, where a law is considerably suitable or essentially correct but too severe or unfair in action, then the system of equity allows for a different course to secure substantial justice. Even after India’s independence in 1947, the common law doctrine of equity was followed. However, with the introduction of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 repealing the earlier Specific Relief, 1877, codifying and making of statutory rights of equitable acts took place, thus ending the discretionary power of the courts to grant equitable reliefs. These courts can exercise their inherent powers in cases or situations not covered under the 1963 Act in terms of Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 which applies to all civil courts in India.

Good Conscience

Conscience refers to the knowledge of one’s act, state, character as right or wrong or it can be referred to as a faculty or principle which determines whether a particular action is lawful or unlawful by approving or condemning them. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the lawyers in England interpreted Conscience as a collection of universal principles gifted to mankind by the almighty to apply the same by reason.

This further led to the reformation of the Medieval Roman Law-Based System with forms of actions, written pleadings, and use of juries and pattern of litigations.