Incorporate Feminist Thinking In The Way You Deal With The Law: Justice DY Chandrachud To Law Graduates

Justice DY Chandrachud was invited as the Chief Guest at the 9th Convocation of National Law University Delhi where he delivered the Convocation Address for the outgoing batch of students.

At the very outset, he expressed his awe at the number of gold medals bagged by female students in the University. He said–

"It's just an indicator of the times that we live in and the times that are going to come. But I was also struck by the fact that almost all gold medals have been instituted by Shri so and so. And that's an indicator of the times which were- of a male dominated, patriarchal profession and society we live in."

While urging the students to continue fighting for good as law was not an antidote but just a means to uphold the value of Constitution, he said–

"In the words of Sam of the Lord of the Rings- "There is some good in this world and it is worth fighting for"...Laws breathe life in our minds and expect us to behave in a civilised manner with respect to everyone - be it humans, animals or the environment. Law in that sense is a communal enterprise. Laws can only do so much until all of us are willing to participate in its endeavour. A law is not an antidote to prevailing social values. Rather, it is a means to forge a new future based on the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. We live in a society governed by rule of law. Rule of law if understood and implemented properly is a defense against oppressive structures such as patriarchy, casteism and ableism."

He also urged students to look beyond the self centred vision of their own existence and to look to others beyond themselves. He stated that students must strive to make the legal profession more inclusive and accessible and that there was sufficient creativity in the law so as to accommodate the principles of substantive justice to the black letter of law. He acknowledged that the legal field, especially litigation, could be daunting for those who did not belong to the established cliques. He said–

"Many aspiring professionals stay away from litigation because of low pay. I'm aware that sometimes the legal fraternity may seem unwelcoming and formalistic- especially to those who do not have any prior legal background. Women lawyers may especially find it challenging to work in a male dominated profession. One of the great learnings of the pandemic is that when we went virtual in our court hearings, number of women lawyers who were appearing in the court dramatically increased because these young women who were performing manifold tasks, who were combining a multitude of obligations - as professionals, as mothers, as friends, as spouses, as employees...they were able to spend their time productively and address the court instead of being daunted by the sea of men around them in the court. So technology has been a great enabler in liberating young women today in their access to the legal profession."

Here, he gave the example of Justice M. Fatima Beevi, who was the first female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India. He said–

"I would particularly like to mention the story of a girl who was born in a small town in Kerala. The eldest of 8 siblings, her father, a govt servant motivated her to pursue law. When she enrolled to study law at the Government Law College, Trivandrum. She was one of the five girl students in her class. Being a Muslim woman she was an outlier in many ways when she started practicing law in a male dominated court. This was in the year 1950. Later she joined the judicial services and was appointed as the Munsif in the Kerala Subordinate Judicial services in 1958. By her sheer grit, determination and hard work, she rose through the ranks to become the first female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India. I believe many of you might have guessed her name by now- Justice M. Fatima Beevi."

He also advised students to incorporate feminist thinking in the way they dealt with the law and recalled his time as a junior judge at the Bombay High Court, when he used to sit in the criminal roster with Justice Ranjana Desai. He said that while he initially viewed the matters where women were subjected to worst of crimes and violations from a straitjacketed perspective, sitting with a colleague who had more diverse exposure to the realities of gender gave him the necessary feminist perspective.

Justice Chandrachud also spoke about the importance of intersectionality in law. He said–

"In the judgment in Patil Jamal Wali v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court used the theory of intersectionality to understand the violence and discrimination faced by a blind, scheduled caste woman. In Neil Aurelio Nunes v. Union of India, the Supreme Court deconstructed the notion of merit to observe that scores in a competitive examination are not the sole determinant of excellence or capability...Merit should be envisioned as a social good that advances equality."

While stating that he hoped that young lawyers refrained from perpetuating the traditional, formalistic approaches to law and instead strived to adopt a legal approach that puts at its centre, the lives of people who struggle on a daily basis to make their ends meet, Justice Chandrachud concluded his address.