Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said on November 25 that the nation should evolve and progress through the framework of debate provided in the Constitution.
“The most important feature of the Indian Constitution is the fact that it provides a framework for debate. It is through such debate and discussion that the nation ultimately progresses, evolves, and achieves higher levels of welfare for the people,” Chief Justice Ramana said in his address on the Constitution Day.
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The CJI said the Constitution of today, built upon the foundations laid by the framers, was a richer and more complex document than it was when it was adopted in 1949. “This is a result of the dialogue that took place both inside and outside the courtroom, resulting in novel and unique interpretations,” Chief Justice Ramana said.
The Chief Justice said “no one can forget” the pivotal role played by the legal community in the Freedom struggle. “None can forget the contributions of lawyers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Patel and Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, whose dedication and sacrifices for the cause of the people are legendary... All of us here are successors of that glorious legacy,” the CJI told the audience of Supreme Court judges and lawyers at the programme organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association.
While paying homage to the freedom fighters and the framers of our Constitution, the CJI said the country should also celebrate the “citizenry of independent India” for enriching the Constitution.
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“It is their actions over the past seven decades, the litigants, lawyers, judges, legislators, businesspersons, workers and many more, that has breathed life into what might otherwise have been just another bare document,” the Chief Justice said.
