Justice in sedition cases or cases involving colonial laws depends on who wields power: CJI DY Chandrachud
- Category: Consumer Tribunal Cases
- Date 18-09-2023
Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Sunday observed that in cases involving colonial-era laws like sedition, the question of whether justice is served depends on those wielding power.
The CJI added that such laws today have different aspirations compared to when they were enacted.
He recounted that laws such as those on sedition were earlier used in the colonial times to send freedom fighters away to places ranging from Mandalay in Burma to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
"But the same law today has different aspirations, the difference is that when the law is wielded with compassion, the law is capable of justice. It produces injustice when wielded with arbitrary power. The law is the same, it depends on who wields the power in their hands. I mean not just judges and lawyers, but I mean society. Civil society determines how the law will be wielded," he further explained.
On a related note, a challenge to the Constitutional validity of the sedition law is presently pending before the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice of India touched upon this topic while speaking at the convocation ceremony held at the Maharashtra National Law University in Aurangabad, of which he is the Chancellor.
In his address, CJI Chandrachud also observed that although quality legal education is still a matter of financial and academic privilege, the profession is not a one-track one any longer.
"When I was in your position in 1982, almost everybody wanted to join the courts and practice law. Now so many of you want to set up start-ups in the legal profession. Our profession is so radically different today and I am thrilled to say that law is no longer a one-track profession, if I may say so, today. It opens up a world of opportunity," he said.
The CJI advised the graduating students that it is fine if they are unsure of their career path at this stage. Plenty of opportunities await them, he added.
"Should you decide to become lawyers and pursue this path of life, it will be as satisfying as any other path in life. That is because law is not just a discipline. You learn about concepts, procedures, the law is surely an internal discipline with its own universe and logic. Law is something in which you gain through your experiences, your years in the law school, meeting and losing friends, meeting professors. And later on as you gain your own experiences. Because the substance of law is grounded in compassion and a tradition of humanism. There is no law really if it exists except for the quest for justice," he added.
The CJI further stressed that education, particularly in the law, imbibes in one the spirit of enquiry, makes one question and engage in reason and dialogue.
"What marks our profession out from others is reasoning and dialogue, we do not shoot people who do not agree with us, we do not ostracise those who dress or eat differently than us. Our profession represents a culture of inclusion, which is something more than tolerance which is when you are required to subsist. When you respect people who are different from you, you recognise the need for including that people of all hues in our society are entitled to lead the same good life as each one of us," he said.
He asked students to be inclusive, give back to society through service, shed biases and not develop a sense of arrogance with their privilege.
"The more you develop in life, the more successful you are, there is no harm in aspiring for more economic benefits. But if you allow your learning to degenerate into arrogance of social, economic and political power then you would have missed the woods for the trees," he added.
On a parting note, the CJI advised law students to find joys in the simple things in life and take only their work seriously.
"If I were not to take my work as Chief Justice of India seriously, I would not be justifying the faith people put in me. But if I take myself too seriously, I am sure many of you would say there goes another pompous judge. While the law may be black and white, life is a dazzling array of colour. Embrace the shades of experience the hues of diversity and vibrancy of passions to enhance the tapestry of your life ... Never forget the first step of the ladder nor kick it when you're are at the top," he said.
Supreme Court judges Justices Abhay S Oka (who hails from Maharashtra) and Dipankar Datta (former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court) along with Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya were also present at the event.