Speaking on morality and its relationship to the law on December 17, Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud remarked that powerful groups have an edge over the weaker portions to achieve sufficient morality in the socio-economic-political context of society.
The Chief Justice of India noted that hundreds of people are killed every year for falling in love, getting married outside of their castes, or doing things against the wishes of their families while delivering the Ashok Desai Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on the subject of Law and Morality: The Bounds and Reaches. He made this statement in response to inquiries on the unbreakable bond between morality, the law, and collective rights.
The CJI stated that people’s trust in the judiciary to uphold their rights is based on the definition of “sufficient morality,” which he defined as the morality of men, members of upper castes, and physically capable people.
The observations made by the CJI Chandrachud come as numerous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, are developing strict legislation to prevent religious conversions.
The CJI stated that whereas morality rules inner life and motivation, the law regulates relationships with others on the outside.
He pointed out that the dominant groups frequently prevent the vulnerable groups from forging an identity that is distinctively their own by attacking their manners, and he noted that vulnerable groups are frequently at the bottom of the social structure and that their consent, even if obtained, is a myth.
He also bemoaned the prevalence of biases in the law, saying that these biases show a categorical preference for or against particular members of our community.
CJI used limits on dance clubs and bans on plays and books in Maharashtra as examples to back up his claim.
Trust us to protect our citizens’ liberties as their guardians
The CJI also discussed the judiciary’s function in defending citizens’ rights against all abuses. According to him, the judiciary, which he called the “guardians of freedoms,” is responsible for maintaining individuals’ faith in the rule of law and safeguarding their rights.
The CJI noted that the torch of liberty burns bright even now through the lives of the members of the bar who unapologetically support such principles.
He also brought up a theft instance where a man would have served 18 years in prison if the SC hadn’t stepped in and said, “Trust us to be custodians of our citizens’ liberty.”
On December 16, a bench chaired by CJI Chandrachud heard the appeal of Iqram, a man from Uttar Pradesh who had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine relatively small thefts of electrical equipment from the state power department.
The Supreme Court overturned a decision of the Allahabad High Court and mandated that Iqram’s two-year sentences in each of the nine instances run concurrently rather than consecutively. That neither the trial court nor the high court acknowledged the miscarriage of justice and corrected it irritated many.
According to the CJI, no matter is too minor or too large for any court in the country, including the Supreme Court and the High Court. This is because the citizens’ trust in the rule of law and the safeguarding of their liberties rests with us.
Speaking about the lecture’s topic, the chief justice agreed that morality and the law both play important roles in guiding human behavior.
The CJI continued, saying that while morality rules our inner selves and impulses and “morality, in that sense, appeals to our conscience and influences the way we conduct,” law only regulates relationships with others on the outside.
News Mania Desk
