Secularism entrenched in Constitution; tolerance key to achieving secularism: Justice BV Nagarathna

Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna on Monday said that tolerance is a vital constitutional duty towards achieving the ideal of secularism which is entrenched in the Constitution..Justice Nagarathna said that tolerance had assumed increased importance in present times."I highlight the constitutional duty of tolerance, without which democracy would be placed under siege. To achieve the noble ideal of secularism entrenched in the Constitution, tolerance is a key virtue," the apex court judge stated.Unlike in the West, where the basis of secularism is the separation of Church and State, in India, the same is possibly rooted in our history and culture, she added."It was a very likely response to her pluralism. Secularism, in the sense that it is meant under the Indian Constitution is that the State does not owe loyalty to any one religion. At the same time, it is not irreligious or anti-religion. The State equally respects all religions." In this regard, the top court judge stressed that the Constitution had envisaged a new social order free from communal conflicts..The judge was speaking as the Chief Guest for the launch of the book Constitutional Ideals: Development and Realisation through Court-led Justice by think tank and research organisation, DAKSH..In her speech, Justice Nagarathna touched on how the Constitution sought to establish a secular order under which the religious majority did not enjoy any preferential treatment by the State, even as the religious rights of the minorities were protected.As per precedents, the Supreme Court's conception of secularism is two-pronged: first, the separation of the temporal from the religious; and second, the spirit of neutrality and tolerance, she stated. Tenets like secularism form the basic ideals of the Constitution, she said, adding,"An introspection as to whether these ideals have been secured in the Indian context would also provide a template for conversations about building a better tomorrow.".She went on to note that in the same way a government cannot question why a court decided a case in a particular way, courts cannot question the wisdom of the legislature.Pertinently, Justice Nagarathna argued that there was still scope for more rights to be interpreted within the fundamental rights enumerated under the Constitution, but such expansion depended on how much the Bar assists courts.Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale, Senior Advocate and DAKSH co-founder Harish Narasappa, and National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru Associate Professor Aparna Chandra were also present at the event..Read more about her speech here and here..[Read our live-coverage of the event]