India needs an independent, fearless judiciary, says ex-SC judge Justice Arjan K Sikri

"India needs an independent and fearless judiciary," reiterated Justice Arjan K Sikri, former Judge, Supreme Court of India and International Judge, Singapore International Commercial Court at the Dr HR Bhardwaj Memorial Lecture held at Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University. The title of the Dr HR Bhardwaj Memorial Lecture delivered by Justice Sikri was "Constitutionalism, Democracy and Rights: Role and Responsibilities of the Indian Judiciary."

Justice Arjan K Sikri observed, "The constitution of any country is the highest law of the nation. It is the instrument of governance of a nation state, with its defined objectives and institutions established to accomplish those objectives. Every good system of democracy, also commands that the elected government should follow well recognised precepts. These include following the legal norms and rules because the rule of law applies to elected representatives as well.”

He added, "More importantly, it is the responsibility of the government of the day to respect human rights such as freedom of speech, right to equality, and the right to life and liberty. It is also important to ensure certain rights to ethnic and other minorities, while adhering to the principles of democracy, thereby giving voice to the opposition as well."

"The principle of constitutionalism shows that the government acts within the sphere of powers allocated to it in a constitutional framework, and does not reach the limits of powers prescribed in the Constitution. This brings the necessity of governance by the rule of law, which essentially tells that the society is to be governed by law and not by the whims and fancies of those who govern. All those who exercise powers will have to act within the confines of law. In order to ensure that the rule of law prevails, a good Constitution also ensures that all powers are not in the hands of one institution,” Justice Sikri said.

"In this lecture, my endeavour is to mention how the Constitution becomes a document of deliberative democracy by incorporating precepts and principles of constitutionalism. How rule of law ensures the attainment of limited government, where people are sovereign, and ultimately how all these cherished values can be achieved only when there is an independent judiciary, which is capable of discharging its functions without being influenced by others. Constitutionalism puts an obligation on the government to act in a manner which achieves social welfare, solidarity, economic equality and social justice. That is why an independent and fearless judiciary is needed in this country," he said.

He further said, "The task assigned to the judiciary is to become the final arbiter to decide whether any rights of the people are violated by government or government institutions. This is known as judicial review as we know it, and in many constitutions including the Indian constitution has the power of judicial review. This power is not limited only to the review executive actions, but it extends even to legislative acts as well. Therefore, if a particular act, even by the Parliament or the state legislature, has been enacted, which violates the provisions of the Constitution, the judiciary is given a power to invalidate or declare that particular Act as unconstitutional."