The State exists for the welfare of the citizens and not the other way round, retired Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat said on Wednesday..Explaining his point further, Justice Bhat said citizens are the right bearers and not the State. He added that the State on the other hand has a duty to secure and facilitate the development of citizens. “The State exists for the citizen, not the citizen for the State. This must be reiterated, retold in bhajans and ballads,” Justice Bhat said during his address at the Kerala High Court auditorium. Only a right-bearing citizen can assert her dignity, equality, right to livelihood and right to assert herself in governance, he added.The former top court judge was speaking at an event organized by Kerala Judicial Academy and Indian Law Institute’s Kerala Unit on “Shedding the Colonial Hangover - Perspectives on Indianising the Legal System”..Justice Bhat further said that Swaraj or self-rule was not compatible with an “overwhelming State” and swaraj cannot be attained by reversing the right-duty dynamic by demanding that citizens pledge duties to the State. “That is what Soviet Russia did. Are we to go to that?” he asked.Swaraj, he said, respects every citizens right and therefore a duty is owed by citizens to fellow citizens in respect of her dignity and inherent worth as a fellow citizen. "That duty is embedded in the preamble's idea of fraternity. This is the Bharatiya understanding of the citizen-state relationship, one that is informed by the freedom struggle, and the collective memory of the suppressed," he opined..Besides talking about decolonization, Justice Bhat also commented on the issues being currently faced by the judiciary. Specifically on tribunalization of the judicial system, the retired judge said:“I am sorry to say but the tribunal system has not been working for the last few years.”Speaking about the uniform worn by the lawyers and judges, Justice Bhat stressed on the need to adopt an attire more suited to the local climate and culture. He added that the attire should be dignified and not show opulence.The black gown was adopted in 1658, said Justice Bhat. More significantly, Justice Bhat spoke about the need to “demystify” the legal language starting with doing away of “my lord” in the courts, he said.“There must be a balance between simplifying access to justice without minimizing rights and justice,” Justice Bhat added.Read more about Justice Bhat's speech here..[Read live coverage of the lecture below]
The State exists for the welfare of the citizens and not the other way round, retired Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat said on Wednesday..Explaining his point further, Justice Bhat said citizens are the right bearers and not the State. He added that the State on the other hand has a duty to secure and facilitate the development of citizens. “The State exists for the citizen, not the citizen for the State. This must be reiterated, retold in bhajans and ballads,” Justice Bhat said during his address at the Kerala High Court auditorium. Only a right-bearing citizen can assert her dignity, equality, right to livelihood and right to assert herself in governance, he added.The former top court judge was speaking at an event organized by Kerala Judicial Academy and Indian Law Institute’s Kerala Unit on “Shedding the Colonial Hangover - Perspectives on Indianising the Legal System”..Justice Bhat further said that Swaraj or self-rule was not compatible with an “overwhelming State” and swaraj cannot be attained by reversing the right-duty dynamic by demanding that citizens pledge duties to the State. “That is what Soviet Russia did. Are we to go to that?” he asked.Swaraj, he said, respects every citizens right and therefore a duty is owed by citizens to fellow citizens in respect of her dignity and inherent worth as a fellow citizen. "That duty is embedded in the preamble's idea of fraternity. This is the Bharatiya understanding of the citizen-state relationship, one that is informed by the freedom struggle, and the collective memory of the suppressed," he opined..Besides talking about decolonization, Justice Bhat also commented on the issues being currently faced by the judiciary. Specifically on tribunalization of the judicial system, the retired judge said:“I am sorry to say but the tribunal system has not been working for the last few years.”Speaking about the uniform worn by the lawyers and judges, Justice Bhat stressed on the need to adopt an attire more suited to the local climate and culture. He added that the attire should be dignified and not show opulence.The black gown was adopted in 1658, said Justice Bhat. More significantly, Justice Bhat spoke about the need to “demystify” the legal language starting with doing away of “my lord” in the courts, he said.“There must be a balance between simplifying access to justice without minimizing rights and justice,” Justice Bhat added.Read more about Justice Bhat's speech here..[Read live coverage of the lecture below]
