Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 11: Hailing the Indian Constitution as an unpretentious social document that does not avert its gaze from the brutal truths of caste, poverty, exclusion and injustice in the country, the Chief Justice of India BR Gavai said the Indian constitution was “not merely a legal charter or a political framework, but a feeling, a lifeline, a quiet revolution etched in ink.”
“It (the Constitution) does not pretend that all are equal in a land scarred by deep inequality. Instead, it dares to intervene, to rewrite the script, to recalibrate power, and to restore dignity,” Chief Justice Gavai said in his Oxford Union speech on ‘From Representation to Realisation: Embodying the Constitution’s Promise.’
Giving his own example, Justice Gavai, the second Dalit Chief Justice of India, credited the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution to ensure his journey from municipal schools to occupy the highest judicial office in the country. “Many decades ago, millions of citizens of India were called ‘untouchables’. They were told they were impure. They were told that they did not belong. They were told that they could not speak for themselves.
“But here we are today — where a person belonging to those very people is speaking openly, as the holder of the highest office in the judiciary of the country. This is what the Constitution of India did. It told the people of India that they belong, that they can speak for themselves, and that they have an equal place in every sphere of society and power… At the Oxford Union today, I stand before you to say: for India’s most vulnerable citizens, the Constitution is not merely a legal charter or a political framework. It is a feeling, a lifeline, a quiet revolution etched in ink.” The CJI said.
He said the oppressed classes in India had never sought charity after centuries of exclusion and silence. “Their call was for recognition, dignity, and protection in the new India. They sought not charity, but a rightful space in the fabric of a free and constitutional democracy. To be seen in the Constitution was to be seen by the nation. To be included in its text was to be included in its future,” the CJI said.
The CJI said one of the most remarkable and often overlooked truths in the framing of the Indian Constitution was that many of the nation’s most vulnerable social groups were not merely subjects of Constitutional concern, they were active participants in its making. The Constituent Assembly had been composed of Dalits, Adivasis, women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and even those once unjustly branded as ‘criminal tribes’ to craft a broader Constitutional imagination, and collectively ensure the demands for justice and equality were met, the CJI said.
The CJI Gavai, who has said he and his colleagues in the Supreme Court have publicly pledged to not undermine the public’s trust in judicial integrity by accepting post-retirement roles or positions from the government, said a judge contesting elections for political office immediately after retirement or resignation could lead to doubts about the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, “as it may be seen as a conflict of interest or as an attempt to gain favour with the government.”
“If a judge takes up another appointment with the government immediately after retirement, or resigns from the Bench to contest elections, it raises significant ethical concerns and invites public scrutiny… The timing and nature of such post-retirement engagements could undermine the public’s trust in the judiciary’s integrity, as it could create a perception that judicial decisions were influenced by the prospect of future government appointments or political involvement,” Chief Justice Gavai said during a discussion on ‘Maintaining Judicial Legitimacy and Public Confidence.’
Referring to the striking down of the National Judicial Appointments Commission in 2015, the CJI said it was a counter-action to government’s efforts to dilute judicial independence. “There may be criticisms of the Collegium system, but any solution must not come at the cost of judicial independence. Judges must be free from external control,” he said. “Judiciary acts as a counterbalance against the arbitrary exercise of power… Certain fundamental principles, such as democracy, rule of law, and the separation of powers, are inviolable and cannot be altered,” the CJI said.
Chief Justice Gavai acknowledged the recent incidents of corruption in judiciary but said the path to handling judicial misdemeanour and re-build the path to public trust was “swift, decisive, and transparent action.” “In India, when such instances have come to light, the Supreme Court has consistently taken immediate and appropriate measures to address the misconduct,” the CJI said but was silent that Parliament was expected to bring a removal motion against High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma.
The Chief Justice also referred to the voluntary disclosure of assets by the Supreme Court judges to promote greater accountability and ethical leadership, live streaming of court proceedings, real-time information on case pendency offered on the National Judicial Data Grid, translation of apex court judgments to regional languages and broader access to justice for vulnerable communities through the public interest litigation system.
“Article 32, which guarantees all citizens the fundamental right to approach the Supreme Court, has been referred to as the ‘soul’ and ‘heart’ of the Constitution,” the CJI noted. Chief Justice Gavai highlighted the importance of courts having an independent power of judicial review while examining the constitutionality of laws. The court is currently seized of a challenge to the amendments to the waqf law.
“Courts must have the power of independent judicial review, allowing judges to assess the constitutionality of laws and government actions that conflict with the provisions of the Constitution or established constitutional principles,” the CJI said.
