On the 3rd of October 2018, the third pillar of Indian democracy, the Judiciary, saw a major change, as the former Chief Justice of India, Shri. Dipak Misra retired and made way for his successor, the current Chief Justice, Shri. Ranjan Gogoi.
📷Illustration by Indian Express
Jurists, lawyers and fellow judges had mixed opinions about Misra. No Indian can forget the month of January in 2018, when for the first time, India saw the top Court’s four senior- most judges come out openly opposing his role as the ‘Master of Roster'. This, along with his failure in appointing an independent investigating body to investigate the unnatural death of Justice BH Loya, led to the opposition initiating the first ever impeachment motion against him. This, along with his judgements such as the mandatory playing of the National Anthem in cinema halls, made him quite unpopular.
All this hatred changed into deep respect for him, after a string of judgements which came at the right time for India. His most welcomed judgement was indeed, striking out Section 377 from the IPC, a draconian Victorian era law which criminalised sexual activities "against the order of nature" and was used to criminalise homosexuality. He recognised the need for decriminalising the Indian LGBTQ+ community, recognising their rights to live a life of dignity and happiness. The bench also saw that with the Right to Privacy now under Article 21 of our Constitution, the State has no business in invading into an individual's personal choices, such as his or her choice of partners.
This brings me to the second most popular judgement, which made Aadhar cards non mandatory for private businesses. Though the bench recognised its need to deliver government schemes better, it also said that sharing of biometric data to private entities is unnecessary and can be dangerous. It again recognised the Right to Privacy, where the bench said that each individual has their own right over their biometric data, and they can decide whether to share the data with third parties or not.
The benches headed by him were also responsible for banishing certain patriarchal laws and practices which once prevailed in India. By upholding everyone’s Right to Pray, an order by his bench allowed women from the ages 10- 50 to enter the sacred shrine of Sabarimala. In another judgement, the supreme court ruled that Adultery is no longer a criminal offence, which was another Victorian era law (seeing wives as belonging to their husbands and not individuals with an identity of their own).
An additional one of his judgements made public declaration of the criminal records of electoral candidates mandatory, thus increasing transparency in the way we elect our voted representatives. He also increased the transparency of the Judiciary, when he allowed live streaming of the proceedings of the Supreme Court. The list goes on.
He should be appreciated for upholding each and every individual’s rights and making sure that people can live a life of respect, love and dignity. Despite a series of dents on his image and reputation, he made sure that the Supreme Court is seen as a sacred institution which provides justice for individuals when they arrive at its doorstep. His legacy of landmark judgements will be heard through the corridors of the topmost court of India.
By G Siddharth
Any views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the newspaper.
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