New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Wednesday said elections every few years to change the “ruler need not be a guarantee against the tyranny of those elected.” The CJI underscored that "criticisms and voicing of protests is integral to the democratic process" and any law backed by a sovereign must be tempered by tenets of justice.
The CJI was delivering the Justice PD Desai Memorial Lecture on "Rule of law" online. CJI Ramana said the idea that people are the ultimate sovereign is found in notions of human dignity and autonomy and a reasoned public discourse is vital to a working democracy.
The CJI referred to the colonial period when law was used as a “tool of political repression”. “I think any law backed by a sovereign must be tempered by certain ideals or tenets of justice,” the CJI said.