Photo courtesy of The Hindu
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has observed that Article 32 was born out of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision when he told the Constituent Assembly debates that ‘rights without remedies are meaningless’, The Hindu reported.
Justice Gavai was delivering a lecture on ‘India and the Living Indian Constitution at 75 Years’ at an event commemorating 75 years of the Indian Constitution organised by the Andhra Pradesh High Court Advocates Association at Mangalagiri in Guntur district on Sunday.
Others participated in the event were Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Expanding on the topic, the CJI recalled the Objective Resolution, the Constituent Assembly debates and circumstances leading to several constitutional amendments over the years.
Talking about Dr. Ambedkar’s response to the Objective Resolution, a historic declaration presented in 1946 by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Justice Gavai said Ambedkar had argued that ‘rights without remedies are meaningless’ noting that the Resolution nevertheless speaking of rights lacked remedies.
This argument according to Justice Gavai led to the incorporation of Article 32, which enabled ‘every citizen to approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights,’ according to the report.
Further explaining Justice Gavai said that the Resolution as it failed to address social and economic equality led to eventually shaping the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution.
Urging every law student to read speeches at the Constituent Assembly to know the spirit and philosophy of the Constituation, he said ‘Our Constitution stands on four pillars — justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.’