Lawyers have to play big role in defending democracy; rule of law being ignored: Indira Jaising

Lawyers have to play a big role in defending democracy, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising said on Saturday. .The veteran lawyer was speaking at a National Convention on the topic Save Constitution, Save Democracy, organised by the All India Lawyers Union, Delhi Union of Journalists and Democratic Teachers Front.During her address, she emphasised that the nation was at the cusp of history and that those in the legal profession needed to recognise the onerous nature of this duty."Today, the rule of law is being ignored, and we have to confront the question: are we a country of rule of law? In my view, we are not," she said..Jaising went on to share that her generation fought for social and economic rights in courts after the Emergency gave them a huge shock. "The legacy of our struggles were brought to a brutal end. A transformation was brought by declaration of the Emergency; we saw the end of liberal democracy."However, the same could not be compared to the present day, she added. "The Emergency was on a piece of paper and we could contest it in a court of law, but not now.".The ruling government tried to convince us that the freedom struggle never happened, the Senior Advocate went on to say. Further, some judges are speaking a similar language as the ruling party in terms of believing that India has had all the knowledge in its existence since its glorious past. "They (the government) openly say they want a Hindu State and cultural nationalism, whatever that means. Some judges are also speaking a similar language, by quoting from Ramayana etc. Like during the recent Adhivakta Parishad by a Supreme Court judge and a Madras High Court judge. It is ahistorical to make those claims.".Jaising said that she was a fan of Justice BV Nagarathna in relation to her dissenting judgment in the demonetisation case. "Justice Nagarathna asked why the notification did not emanate from the RBI. I am very proud of her, am a fan.".She further stressed that one does not need a gun to be a terrorist, and that persons could be thrown in jail for the thoughts in their minds. "We all know what happened in the Delhi Riots and Bhima Koregaon cases; in these the victim become the accused in a court of law by the use of the UAPA", she discussed. .Jaising went on to call attention to attacks on the media and civil society. She elaborated that print media had already been silenced, and now the new Information Technology Rules could dictate what can be published by digital media outlets. .[Read our live-coverage of the event below]