Columns

On the sidelines of Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament on November 26, 2021, which the Opposition parties boycotted, the attention somehow turned to the role of the judiciary in the Indian polity. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, in his address during the opening ceremony of the Constitution Day function organised on the same day by the Supreme Court registry, stated that lakshman rekha drawn by the Constitution is sacrosanct. But there are times when courts are compelled to pay attention to unresolved grievances in the interest of justice.

A new type of legal action is increasingly being used by powerful people and governments to shut down criticism from activists, academics, whistleblowers, and journalists. This is officially known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP.

Chief Justice NV Ramana’s concern over attacks on the judiciary has led to questions about judges’ relationship with social media and the legal framework to rein in malicious users.

This long running divide in American politics has become a toxic stew of religion and women’s rights, amped up with conservative versus liberal ideology. Opponents of vaccine mandates and masking rules appear immune to the contradiction of opposing government intrusion into personal freedom with the desire to regulate what women can and cannot do with personal health issues.

The unwarranted rush in increasing the tenure to five years by resorting to the ordinance route has dismayed many as investigative agencies are often being used by governments to further their interests.

The framers of the Constitution made accountability an integral element with respect to the legislature and executive. However, they consciously decided to keep the judiciary on a different pedestal. They trusted the competence of the men and women who would adorn the Bench, in upholding the Constitution.” These words of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana were delivered at the 71st Constitution Day meet at Vigyan Bhawan recently.

The system can lament, apportion blame, but it never interfered, never once tried to understand why a man would want to live among tribals and work for them, ignoring calls to comfort. Death was virtually delivered to Stan Swamy’s cell by the system.

In a parliamentary democratic set up, it is not possible to impose laws on an utterly hostile community despite the best of intension and the promise of long-term national gains, without due consultation, consensus and credible parliamentary scrutiny.

The 82nd All India Presiding Offices’ Conference (AIPOC), held in Shimla from November 17-18, 2021, was a rather lacklustre event. There was ceremonial reiteration of the need to increase the number of sittings of legislative bodies as well as a resolution against ritualistic disruptions during Question Hour, presentation of the budget and addresses by the president/governors.

The Bill is a great move in the right direction, but just merely passing it may not ameliorate all the pains of the data principal in several instances, specifically related to social media.