‘12,471 Cases Disposed of by Supreme Court, While 12,108 Cases Instituted in Last Three Months,’ Chief Justice DY Chandrachud

The chief justice was speaking at the first annual lecture organised by the Supreme Court to commemorate the seventy-third anniversary of its establishment. The lecture was delivered by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, on ‘The Role of the Judiciary in a Changing World’.

Further, in what appeared to be a pointed response to the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju disapproving of the Supreme Court taking up ‘bail pleas and frivolous public interest litigations’, the chief justice said, “For the court, there are no big or small cases. Every matter is important. Because it is in the seemingly small and routine matters involving the grievances of citizens that issues of constitutional and jurisprudential importance emerge. In attending such grievances, the court performs a plain constitutional duty, a plain constitutional obligation, and a plain constitutional function.”

The history of the Supreme Court is the history of the daily life struggles of the Indian people, the judge added.

In order to demonstrate the top court’s continuing commitment to delivering justice to the masses, Justice Chandrachud proudly stated that between March 23, 2020, and October 31, 2022, when the pandemic was raging, the Supreme Court adopted innovative technological solutions. “We updated our video conferencing infrastructure in courtrooms at a meta scale. In this period, the Supreme Court alone heard 3.37 lakh cases through video conferencing,” Justice Chandrachud informed the gathering. “We are continuing to use such technological infrastructure to allow a hybrid mode of court hearings that allows parties to join court proceedings from any part of the world online,” he added.

While speaking about the role of the Supreme Court, Justice Chandrachud said that unlike the Federal Court, whose jurisdiction was limited to adjudicating disputes between provinces and federal states, and hearing appeals against the decisions of the High Court, the jurisdiction of its successor extended to hearing criminal and civil appeals, the enforcement of fundamental rights, adjudicating disputes involving the states of the Indian federation, as well as advising the president on important questions of law. He explained, “The Constitution has envisaged a unified and integrated judiciary with the Supreme Court at its apex, which has, over the past few years, furthered the transformative vision of the Constitution by recognizing and protecting fundamental rights such as the right to privacy, decisional autonomy, and sexual and reproductive choices.” Justice Chandrachud also spoke at length about how the judicial innovation in the form of public interest litigation, which was brought into being by relaxing the rules of locus standi, increased access to justice. “By doing so, the court opened its door to persons bereft of the means to approach the court because of their social and economic disadvantage. This has provided a space for citizens to converse with the state on equal terms. In turn, the court has been using its jurisdiction to make the rule of law a daily reality for persons belonging to the marginalised communities.”

“The Supreme Court building, designed by Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar, is itself in the shape of a balance with a pair of scales of justice,” Justice Chandrachud pointed out. He also said, “When you enter the court premises, you will find the pensive statue of Mahatma Gandhi facing the court building. The logo consists of the wheel of dharma with the inscription ‘Yato Dharmastato Jaya’, meaning where there is dharma, there is victory.” These are not merely ornamental imageries, but they represent the values of the Constitution and the aspirations of our people, explained Justice Chandrachud, “They serve as a reminder for both judges as well as lawyers to act righteously.”

The Supreme Court of India, which serves the world's most populous democracy, is, in the truest sense, a ‘people’s court’ because it is a collective heritage of the people of India, the chief justice further said. Referring to the address by the first Indian chief justice, Harilal J. Kania, at the inaugural session of the top court on January 28, 1950, where the judge ‘prophesized’ that the Supreme Court would play a great part in the nation-building exercise, Justice Chandrachud said, “These words were prescient, and have animated successive generations of judges.”

Chief Justice Chandrachud concluded his address with an appeal for judges to apply the precautionary principle, the principle of sustainable development, and the public trust doctrine, not just in environmental litigation, but also in their daily lives. “If we apply these three principles, we will ensure that our court remains vibrant despite climate change,” said the Supreme Court judge.