For citizens to feel free in democracy, State must side with weaker sections: CJI DY Chandrachud

For all citizens to feel free in a democracy, the State must side with the weaker population which may be a numerical or social minority, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Saturday..Citizens must associate with each other not only as competitors but also in a relationship of reciprocity and mutual respect, he emphasised."But this can only happen when democracy works towards uprooting social hierarchies and prejudices. For all citizens to feel safe in a democracy, state must side with the weaker population which may be a numerical or social minority," he said. He added that though this may appear to be at odds with the democratic principle of majority rule, the beauty of a democracy is the sense of moral status with which all citizens can participate in a country and the consensus in its decision making.In a democracy, the majority will have its way but the minority must have its say, the CJI stated. "Members of social minorities who are unlikely to be represented through electoral democracy are over-represented before the courts in constitutional cases. But certainly, judicial institutions not meant or equipped to handle all such cases," he opined..CJI DY Chandrachud was speaking at the Justice KC Dhulia Memorial Lecture at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.The late Justice KC Dhulia is the father of sitting Supreme Court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia who also spoke at the event..On the subject of equality, the CJI said that to be equal is not only to be equal in the eyes of the law, but also to be treated as equals by our fellow citizens."However, the indignity of inequality often comes not in the form of a policy or a law but in the form of, say, exclusion from informal workplace gatherings or even social groups in school and university due to religion, caste, gender or sexual orientation. One of the biggest challenges we collectively, face is how we surmount issues of this nature, where there is no violation of a legally enforceable right in the traditional sense.".Framing all social and political issues as rights and resorting to courts for resolution of the same limits the constitutional space intended for alternative democratic mechanisms, CJI Chandrachud remarked."The Constitution envisions other methods through which abuse of power can be legitimately checked. This includes debates and discussions inside and outside the legislature on crucial issues. The executive can be held accountable for its actions by Parliament inside the house, and outside by citizenry," he added..He further stressed on the need to strike a delicate balance between the diversity of agreement on one hand and the rules of basic engagement on another."In diverse democracies, some opinions may be heftier, some ideas more widely acceptable. The idea lies in what the outcomes are, and deliberation enables discussion on the same...Deliberation enables and dissent nourishes democracy," he pointed out..Democracy is messy and imperfect, but inherent in it are the postulates of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, he remarked.Merely relying on voting and governance by periodically elected officials will be an incomplete aspect of the democratic experiment without upholding these principles, he said."These postulates are upheld in two ways: first, by robust institutions that carry out democratic functions, and second, by introducing procedural guarantees which prevent seepage of bias and unfairness in the process of decision making.".[Access the lecture thread here]