Constitution Is A Powerful Tool To Address Social Inequalities: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Wednesday said that the Constitution of India is a powerful tool to curb disparities within the society. He highlighted the recent Supreme Court decision against high enrolment fees in state bars and the special Lok Adalat conducted last week as illustrations of such disparities.

The Supreme Court held that such fees for young law graduates, which exceeded the legally stipulated amount and disproportionately affected marginalized communities and first-generation lawyers violated substantive equality and posed an entry barrier into the profession.

The CJI said that the special Lok Adalat underscored the impact of delays, sometimes forcing litigants to settle for less than they deserved.

“The Constitution is a powerful tool to curb such disparity. It creates institutions and structures that are meant to guard against inequality, apparent or invisible. The Constitution provides for checks and balances within these institutions. It also stipulates institutional priorities and obligations to the citizens of our country…It entrenches these values into our social fabric”, the CJI said.

The CJI was addressing the graduating cohorts of OP Jindal Global University as the Chief Guest for its 13th Convocation Ceremony and Founders Day celebration.

Justice Chandrachud called on graduates, specifically the ones from disciplines other than law, to imbibe the values of the Constitution in their professional journeys and to engage critically with the world around them.

“Those of you who are not lawyers, I encourage you to imbibe the values of the Constitution. Engage with it, know how it became the document that defines your legal rights and duties. Once you have, you must look around and see what it is that you can do as civic participants, as contributing members of society to align your surroundings with the ideals envisioned by the Constitution”, he said.

He discussed the complexity of equality, noting that while inequality is unjust, the definition of equality can vary. For example, while the law prohibits discrimination based on sex, a law intended to protect women by restricting their work hours for security reasons may seem beneficial. However, he said, it ultimately perpetuates stereotypes and limits women's opportunities. Such laws, despite good intentions, would not meet constitutional standards as they entrench gender biases in the workplace, he highlighted.

Drawing from his 24 years of experience as a judge, Justice Chandrachud spoke on the challenges of building and sustaining institutions, underscoring the importance of institutional values and goals. He cited John Rawls' “Theory of Justice”, highlighting that justice-oriented laws alone are insufficient without just societal institutions and structures.

“Justice oriented laws alone do not ensure just societies. We need our societal institutions and structures to be just as well. And you, the young, would lead our institutions into creating a just society for the future. Constitutional theorists have attributed the stability of democracies to the stability of their founding principles. But something we take for granted in our democracy is the stability that our institution affords to our civic lives”, the CJI said.

Justice Chandrachud reminded the graduates that they are now representatives and mascots of their alma mater. He encouraged the graduates to envision their goals not just as individuals but as members of society, stressing the responsibility of institution building.

The CJI addressed the graduates from various disciplines, urging them to spot and address injustices in their respective fields.

“I exhort you today to spot injustice in all its facets in the world around you. Far from it being the exclusive domain of lawyers, one does not even need to know the law to spot vacuums in our decisions, policies and institutional choices. The economists among you would perhaps similarly spot the cost of low female workforce participation to the countries fiscal progress or the cost of women 's unpaid labour as homemakers...Similarly, students of architecture would perhaps have an eye for structural and design choices that are not conducive to the needs of women or to persons with physical disabilities. An investigative journalistic report could bring forth the pervasiveness of all these problems in our society”, Justice Chandrachud highlighted.

He spoke on the importance of equality, using examples such as workplace security laws that inadvertently perpetuate gender roles.

The CJI emphasized the complexity of societal inequalities, stating that there are no straightforward or purely legal solutions to these problems. He urged graduates to approach these issues with compassion, sincerity, and professionalism. Highlighting the potential pitfalls, he warned that their education might lead to complacency or insensitivity to others' suffering. “Let not your education and the professional growth and the personal advancement which it brings blind you to the injustice in the world around you”, he said.

Justice Chandrachud encouraged the graduates to use their work and observations to uncover new avenues for improvement. He pointed out that solutions to societal issues are interdisciplinary, requiring contributions from law, policy, design, economics, and other fields.

The CJI said that the broader problems like climate change, the information gap, and resource inequality do not have neatly boxed solutions within a single domain. Their answers lie in exploration, cooperation, and a compassionate approach. He urged graduates to weave finer strands of accessibility, inclusion, and diversity into their decisions, recognizing that societal issues are often exacerbated by preexisting inequalities.

“In your professional journey, do account for pragmatic realities and always create room for them in your decisions. But do not let these wash over your aspirations for a better world. Let your idealism be perfected by considerations of ground realities. Accept those with humility, but never without deliberation, never without critical assessment”, the CJI added.

Quoting American author Annie Dillard's words “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives”, he urged the graduates to be voices of reason in a noisy society and to embody founding values in their work.

“I implore you to spend your days and lives not only as ambassadors of your alma mater, but also as the voices of reason in a clutter of noise. The danger to our societies today is the clutter of noise, and we need the voice of reason among the voices of unbridled passion. Take it from a judge who sits through long and cognitively taxing hours of courtroom conversation, a voice of reason and sincerity resonates loud and clear.”

Graduates should see themselves as key stakeholders in societal well-being, using their skills to bring transformative change, he said.

“You must incorporate the spirit of our founding values in all that you do. You do not have to be in a court to speak the language of the founding values of our society and nation. Each one of you possesses the calibre to bring transformative change in your areas of expertise. The first step in recognizing that is seeing yourselves as vital stakeholders in the diversity and well-being of our society”, he said.

He concluded by encouraging graduates to remain open to learning, to embrace uncomfortable transitions, and to reflect on their privilege and to use their skills to achieve their dreams and contribute to the nation's well-being.