In her speech, Justice Nagarathna explained how the Public Interest Litigation in the country has steered the Supreme Court to claim the status of a ‘people’s court.’ (File Photo)While it is the duty of every constitutional functionary, public servant, and every citizen to strive towards securing good governance, the role of the judiciary in securing good governance stems from its assurance to the common man or woman that he or she can continue to look to the Constitutional courts for the vindication of their rights, said Justice B V Nagarathna, judge of the Supreme Court, on Saturday.
At the Law Day celebrations of Symbiosis Law School, Justice Nagarathna delivered the Justice Y V Chandrachud Memorial Public Lecture on the topic – ‘Revisiting judicial trajectory on good governance.’
“An assurance that the judiciary will guard and nurture the flame of democracy and keep it burning bright. That the courts will continue to demonstrate compassion, innovation and fairness to ensure that justice is not jejune,” she added.
In her address, Justice Nagarathna said that good governance is a phenomenon which is desirable not only in governmental institutions but also in other public and private spheres and that it has been a fundamental strand of socio-political literature over the ages.
“As per the United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights, the key attributes of good governance include transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and responsiveness to the needs of the people. Good governance is thus linked to an enabling environment conducive to the enjoyment of Human Rights… The golden thread which runs through these varied conceptions of good governance is rule of law, which, when enforced, impartially leads to the protection of human rights and enforcement of fundamental rights, while at the same time, curbing maladministration or non-administration and generally resulting in the enforcement of goals of the Constitution and the laws throughout the country,” she said.
In her speech, Justice Nagarathna explained how the Public Interest Litigation in the country has steered the Supreme Court to claim the status of a ‘people’s court.’
“The concept of PILs was greeted in India with an understanding that important rights are not always individual but diffuse and meta-individual. The emergence of this concept can be traced to the recognition by the Supreme Court of the need to expansively reorient its relationship with the common man. The Supreme Court has democratised access to justice by relaxing the rule of locus standi, with a view to promoting PIL.
“The Supreme Court as well as all the High Courts, have taken what is considered a dismal social problem which is the lack of access to justice for the poor and oppressed and used that problem as a springboard for building a strong tradition of voluntary social action by empowering volunteer representatives to approach the court on behalf of the poor and oppressed or any other class of affected persons, by way of PILs. PIL effectively refutes the traditional assumption that only a petitioner, motivated by self-interest will present a case well,” she said.