What should the courts protect: power or justice?
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In a democracy, judiciary is the last refuge of the citizens. When that door is not opened, or the court makes one feel that it won't listen to the pain of the citizens, it will hurt the very concept of justice which the Constitution upholds and diminishes faith of the people in democracy. The language used by Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant while rejecting a request for an early hearing of the petition that challenged the police excesses against the students who peacefully protested at Jantar Mantar, have to be called inappropriate and one that lowers the prestige of the post he holds. The national capital has come to a complete halt over the last few days. And the reason for that is nothing other than the high-handed attitude of the police and the government. It is in such a situation that the Chief Justice of India summarily refused to hear a Public Interest Litigation saying 'Don't waste our time, and don't waste your time'. When the lawyer of the petitioner tried to persist with his plea saying that there are videos showing police brutally treating the students, it was rejected with a terse reply 'We are not interested in videos, we don't have time to watch them'.
Prior to that, the Delhi High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya also had refused to allow urgent hearing of the petition and said 'Please don't drag the court into this. It will come up tomorrow'. The paradox in this is that the Supreme Court Chief Justice himself had heard the petition pleading that the lawyers were not able to reach the court in time because the metro stations were closed as part of suppressing the protest, and he also gave a warning that if steps were not taken to open the metro stations before lunch time, he would intervene in that. Why is it that the court that is sensitive to the travel woes of the colleagues, could not be seized of the rights of the youth who stood up for the future of the country?
The Constitution envisioned the Supreme Court not only as a court of appeal, but also as an independent entity that has to perform the responsibility as the last guardian that ensures the exercise of power by the executive to be within the framework of the Constitution. When the world is watching the ruling establishment ruthlessly suppressing protesting citizens and violating human rights and the court crying off saying 'don’t drag us into this, we are interested and don't have time to see all this', that shatters the trust of the people in the judicial system. The birth of this Cockroach Party that spearheads this agitation was it self caused by another inappropriate remark by the CJI on May 15 in the course of the trial of another case. And that is why slogans are raised by the students that the court should not be so arrogant. It will do well for all to remember that the evolution of a protest against the government evolving into one against the court will hardly be desirable for our judiciary and the credibility of the judicial system.
During the emergency, the majority judgement of the five-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice AN Ray that citizens do not have the right to approach courts to protect Article 21 of Constitution (the right to live and the right to personal freedom), was adjudged as a serious flaw by the nine-judge Constitution bench in the Puttaswamy case in 2017. In the In the absence of that, in the surge of the people's will, the judicial establishments which produce justifications and judgements for the fascist government will also be washed away together with the fascist governments, as history has proved. If the independence of the courts moves aside to the shadow of political power, and if the courage of the courts weakens, it is democracy itself that will fall apart. The strength of the Supreme Court should be grounded in unflinching commitment to the Constitution. The courts should be able to view through the eyes of the Constitution every complaint with an open mind, in a way that strengthens the sense of justice of the people and with humility. What the citizenry looks forward to from the court is a confidence that guarantees their rights will be protected - be it of protesters, minorities or Opposition workers. That is the greatest protection of India's democracy.
