On Thursday, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the Constitution cannot become an exclusive tool for those with financial power and elite legal access, asserting that its promises extend equally to every citizen. At the launch of Senior Advocate Indira Jaising’s memoir The Constitution Is My Home: Conversations on a Life in Law, the CJI stressed that constitutional guarantees cannot remain confined to the privileged few and must meaningfully reach ordinary citizens, including marginalised communities and those far removed from urban legal systems.
Reflecting on constitutional values and the role of courts and lawyers in shaping rights jurisprudence, the CJI described the Constitution as a collective space of belonging rather than merely a governing document. He said India’s constitutional framework was consciously designed to prevent concentration of arbitrary power and preserve institutional balance. Referring to landmark constitutional rulings, he noted that principles such as dignity, liberty, privacy, livelihood, and access to justice evolved through continuous engagement between the judiciary and the Bar. He also highlighted the importance of public interest litigation in bringing the concerns of disadvantaged communities before constitutional courts.
Addressing concerns over unequal access to justice, the CJI observed that constitutional guarantees were never intended to remain confined to a privileged class. “Constitution is not a privilege of a few cosmopolitans, who can afford cost-bearing processes and engage the best of the brains,” he remarked while stressing that constitutional protections belong equally to rural citizens, the poor, and historically marginalised groups. The CJI further stated that judges, lawyers, and institutions function only as “temporary custodians” of constitutional values and must preserve them while responding to changing social and technological realities. He also praised Jaising’s contribution to constitutional law and said her legal journey would continue to inspire the legal fraternity.
Source PTI
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