Mar 06 2016 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
Justice Rohinton Nariman Says He Pins His Hope On Dissents
Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohinton Nariman, said on Saturday that the Indi an judiciary, like any oth er judiciary of the world, has fre quently given in to pressure during times of trouble, and failed to protect fundamental rights of citizens. He was speaking here on the topic `Judiciary the least dangerous branch?' as part of Justice PD Desai memorial lecture series .Justice Nariman narrated the history of the judiciary in the US, UK during the wars, and of India during the colonial period, to illustrate how judiciary had buckled under pressure.
Equating the troubled times in the West with the Emergency in India, he said the majority of judges let people down and fail to stand up against political power.
However, dissents by courageous judges to protect citizens' rights have later often become the law of the land . Citing the example of Justice H R Khanna, who recorded his dissent in order to uphold the fundamental rights of a citizen during the Emergency, Justice Nariman said: “Fortunately, dissents become law in this country.Unfair majority judgments were either overturned by courts or by constitutional amendments.“ Justice Nariman said he pins his hopes on such dissents.
Speaking about the Supreme Court, he said that what is important is that this institution has been given the greatest power to see that the laws conform to the Constitution and that they are faithfully obeyed.
Putting his hope in the judiciary, the judge said: “As a constitutional lawyer, I have great hope that the institution will always stand up to the great task of guarding fundamental rights, and speaking as a priest, I pray for the same to happen.“
Senior counsel Dush yant Dave, however, did not sound so optimistic. Hinting at the incident in JNU, he said, “I can only pray.This is no time of war, nor is there an emergency now.But the judiciary is facing great challenges due to various reasons including the majoritarian approach.Our judges will have to passionately deal with this.And I can only join Justice Nariman in his prayers.“
Equating the troubled times in the West with the Emergency in India, he said the majority of judges let people down and fail to stand up against political power.
However, dissents by courageous judges to protect citizens' rights have later often become the law of the land . Citing the example of Justice H R Khanna, who recorded his dissent in order to uphold the fundamental rights of a citizen during the Emergency, Justice Nariman said: “Fortunately, dissents become law in this country.Unfair majority judgments were either overturned by courts or by constitutional amendments.“ Justice Nariman said he pins his hopes on such dissents.
Speaking about the Supreme Court, he said that what is important is that this institution has been given the greatest power to see that the laws conform to the Constitution and that they are faithfully obeyed.
Putting his hope in the judiciary, the judge said: “As a constitutional lawyer, I have great hope that the institution will always stand up to the great task of guarding fundamental rights, and speaking as a priest, I pray for the same to happen.“
Senior counsel Dush yant Dave, however, did not sound so optimistic. Hinting at the incident in JNU, he said, “I can only pray.This is no time of war, nor is there an emergency now.But the judiciary is facing great challenges due to various reasons including the majoritarian approach.Our judges will have to passionately deal with this.And I can only join Justice Nariman in his prayers.“
No comments:
Post a Comment