Judicial Independence Demands Judges Be Insulated From Political Pressures : Supreme Court Judge Justice BV Nagarathna

Justice BV Nagarathna on Tuesday opined that in order to uphold judicial independence, Judges must be free from partiality and political pressures.

“Independence of the Judiciary is one of the most cherished ideals of the Constitution. Judicial independence demands that judges need to be impartial and insulated from political pressures. In my personal view, ultimately it is the personality of the judge which matters. Howsoever we may say that the Judiciary as an institution which is independent, I would go a step further to say that it is the personality of the judge which finds its imprint in the judgement that he or she delivers."

The Supreme Court Judge was speaking at the launch of the Book titled “Constitutional Ideals” organised by DAKSH. The book is a volume of essays curated by DAKSH that describes how the judiciary has interpreted and enriched the Constitution in diverse political, social, and economic circumstances.

The Book divided into four parts and explores the manner in which individuals engage with the Constitution to demand citizen-centric justice; the navigation of group identities (such as religion and caste) in constitutional litigation; the significance of procedural rigour in ensuring substantive justice, including in the context of insolvency, preventive detention, and public consultations before executive decisions among others.

Speaking at the event, Justice Nagarathna highlighted that a nation can only be as independent as its institutions. The Judiciary, the Central Bank, the Election Commission, the UPSC must be independent and autonomous. Mostly importantly, act within the bounds of law. Further, she added that the lesser the external influence, the higher will be the scope for autonomous functioning.

Addressing another important topic, the Judge said that Centre should have an impartial approach to all the states, whether a State is a small state or a large state, industrialised or not, having more of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes or less of such population; each state should be considered on an equal footing with every other state.

“The Centre must play the role of "parents patriae" and ensure that there is no discrimination among the states themselves”.

She also discussed how the Courts can’t question the Parliament as to why a law was made and how Parliament can’t criticize the Courts for passing a judgement.

“Just as no executive or government can question a court as to why it decided (a case) in a particular way, I feel, similarly, the Court cannot question the Parliament as to why it made a particular law. Its ultimately left to the wisdom of the authorities concerned. The only thing is whether the law is in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law. Similarly, a judgement can be criticised only if it not in accordance with the law and not as to why a particular view has been taken. These are the checks and balances within the Constitution”, she said.

She also threw light on how the Constitution is a “living tree” and that how the Indian Constitution is one which has endured.

“The Constitution is a living tree, according to me. Life into the Constitution has been infused, not just by the Courts, by governance, by executive by the Parliament but by we, the people of India. The Indian Constitution is a product of anti-colonialism and progressive mass movement with its own aspirations. It bears, at its core, the anti-colonial founding ethos which are impressed in the preambular principles. The Constitution of India, is indeed transformative of the Indian society and one of the most enduring Constitutions till date.”

The real question, according to her was - how many Constitutions of democracies have really endured? The real value of a constitution, the judge said, would be to extent to which it is successful in achieving the ideals. “There is something in the Constitution which more primordial than the structure and the features....the ideals that were thought of by the founding fathers in their wisdom and sagacity which is embedded into the Constitution itself.”

She further stated that with each passing decade, the country will realise the wisdom and the forethought of the Indian Constituent assembly members. She added that it was imperative that the Constitutional ideals are implemented or in other words, put into practise. The ideals, Justice Nagarathna said, begin with the study of the Preamble.

She also urged everyone who is interested in being an "enlightened citizen of India" to go on reading the Preamble. "Each passing year, with the passage of every decade, the Preamble throws light to a greater and greater extent. What the Preamble meant to the Supreme Court in 1950 is different from what it meant to the Court and the people in 1970 and in this century".