The saga of several academics, thinkers, journalists, civil society activists and political dissenters languishing behind bars for months and years without bail, their reputation, privacy and dignity in tatters speak for itself. With deference to the distinguished law lords, the judgment has caused the bloom to come off their robes as it negates the court’s counter-majoritarian role in defence of constitutional democracy. Its logic, legalese and deference to legislative policy mock the Constitution's libertarian ethic rooted in the history of our founding document. The Supreme Court’s recent validation of the ED’s unfettered powers of investigation, search, seizure and arrest in Vijay Madan Lal Chaudhary (2022) is a sad reminder of the ADM Jabalpur (1976) moment.
#USHER INSTAGRAM TRIAL#
Legislative apathy and judicial imprimatur for reversal of a cardinal rule of criminal jurisprudence - the presumption of innocence in favour of the accused - has dented constitutional justice founded in the sacrosanctity of fair trial and just procedures. Its ‘lurching retreats’, evidenced in institutional conflicts, politics pandering to the extremes and a debilitating political discourse laced with animosity, invective and sophistry, distracted from the nation’s core issues, have stymied a constructive conversation for national renewal.Ī pervasive sense of fear generated by unlawful persecutions and bulldozing of justice signals the mortality of law in the ‘shadow of tyranny’.
The spectre of dysfunctional legislatures driven at will by momentary majorities, a judiciary faltering in the defence of civil liberties and unable to enforce its own edicts, an increasingly pusillanimous media, a bureaucracy tamed to execute without question the will of those in authority, a political class generally discredited for its routine prostitution of power and the venal business elites foretell the story of a flailing democracy. Since then, tireless exertions of the torchbearers of our founding fathers’ vision have catapulted the nation to a leadership role on the global high table in the shaping of a new world.īut even as we rejoice in our significant national achievements in several spheres, the backsliding of democracy is fraught with grave consequences for the future of our republic.
The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ sentiment is a proud reminder of the defining moment in India’s history 75 years ago, when the nation found its soul in the freedom of its people. The 75th anniversary of our Independence is an occasion for celebration and also introspection that does not shirk from its conclusions. Former Union Minister for Law and Justice
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