Role of the judiciary is less than stellar in upholding rights of minorities: Saurabh Kirpal

He said while it is understandable that the majority would want to have its view reflected in law, it is the solemn responsibility of the courts to uphold the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the Constitution.

Lawyer and author Saurabh Kirpal on Friday said that the role of the judiciary in upholding the rights of the minorities has been less than stellar.

In a discussion with Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) R. Ravichandran during the launch of his (Mr. Kirpal’s) latest book Fifteen Judgments: Cases that Shaped India’s Financial Landscape in Chennai, he said the judiciary has shirked from its responsibility in upholding the rights of minorities sometimes.

He said while it is understandable that the majority would want to have its view reflected in law, it is the solemn responsibility of the courts to uphold the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the Constitution.

He argued that the courts have shirked this responsibility in two ways, one was by not giving the full relief to the affected. He pointed to the Anuradha Bhasin vs. Union of India case in which the Supreme Court upheld access to internet as a fundamental right, but failed to immediately revoke the restrictions on internet imposed on people in Jammu and Kashmir.

The other way in which the courts have sometimes shirked responsibility, was by not taking up the matters for adjudication. “When you do not stop something, it is not simply your inaction. It is your action in permitting that to carry on,” he said. In his view, with the last Chief Justice of India and the present one, there is hope that at least matters will be put up for hearing.

Pointing to the news about ongoing friction between the judiciary and the executive, he said such friction existed even in 1950. The introduction of the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution was a result of such friction. However, such friction is almost desirable as it is an indication that a system of checks and balances is working.

Mr. Ravichandran said he has been happy with some of the occasions in which there appeared to be judiciary overreach as such interventions have helped in ensuring the implementation of certain decisions which the executive was not able to do. He cited the example where the Supreme Court made all the buses in Delhi to run on compressed natural gas (CNG).