Judicial activism bound to stay, should not turn into judicial terrorism: CJI Gavai

During his address, the CJI also highlighted the positive impact of the Constitution (Image: PTI)

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai -- speaking at the Oxford Union on the theme ‘From Representation to Realisation: Embodying the Constitution’s Promise’ – said judicial activism will stay and play an important role in India. However, he added, that it should not be converted into “judicial terrorism” at any point of time.

“Judicial activism is bound to stay. At the same time, judicial activism should not be turned into judicial terrorism. So, at times, you try to exceed the limits and try to enter into an area where, normally, the judiciary should not enter,” Gavai was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

He further pointed that the power of judicial review must be leveraged in rare cases. “…that power (judicial review) has to be exercised in a very limited area in very exception cases, like, say, a statute, is violative of the basic structure of the Constitution, or it is in direct conflict with any of the fundamental rights of the Constitution, or if the statute is so patently arbitrary, discriminatory… the courts can exercise it, and the courts have done so,” he was quoted.

During his address, the CJI also highlighted the positive impact of the Constitution on marginalised communities and cited his own example to make the point clear.

“Many decades ago, millions of citizens of India were called ‘untouchables’. They were told they were impure. They were told that they did not belong. They were told that they could not speak for themselves. But here we are today, where a person belonging to those very people is speaking openly, as the holder of the highest office in the judiciary of the country,” the CJI said.

He said the Constitution told the citizens that “they belong, that they can speak for themselves, and that they have an equal place in every sphere of society and power”.

“At the Oxford Union today, I stand before you to say (that) for India’s most vulnerable citizens, the Constitution is not merely a legal charter or a political framework, it is a feeling, a lifeline, a quiet revolution etched in ink. In my own journey, from a municipal school to the office of the Chief Justice of India, it has been a guiding force,” he said.

He said India’s Constitution was not merely a legal framework but a social and moral document crafted amidst deep inequality.