Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai, has cautioned the judiciary against the excessive use of its power of judicial review on Tuesday (10th June). Speaking at Trinity College, Oxford Union, the Chief Justice remarked, “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.”
CJI Gavai said that the judiciary is bound to intervene when the legislature or the executive fail in their duties to safeguard the rights of the citizens. However, he added that the power of judicial review is to be used by the judiciary in certain exceptional 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,” the CJI emphasised.
The Chief Justice repeated the words of Justice Surya Kant where he said that courts must not supplant the role of the legislature or override the will of the people. “Instead, they must act as facilitators of democratic dialogue – strengthening participatory governance, protecting the vulnerable, and ensuring rule of law prevails even in moments of political uncertainty. Judicial overreach risks unsettling the delicate balance of power,” said Justice Kant during a keynote address at the ‘Envision India Conclave’ in San Fransciso earlier this week.
CJI Gavai’ statement comes at a time when a tussle has been going on between the government and the judiciary with the former accusing the latter of judicial overreach.
CJI praises the Indian Constitution
Praising the Indian Constitution during his address titled ‘From Representation to Realization: Embodying the Constitution’s Promise‘, the CJI pointed out that the Constitution has ensured that someone (referring to himself) from a group, which was considered as untouchable decades ago, is addressing the Oxford Union as the holder of India’s highest judicial office.
“The Constitution of India carries within it the heartbeat of those who were never meant to be heard, and the vision of a country where equality is not just promised, but pursued. It compels the State not only to protect rights, but also to actively uplift, to affirm, to repair,” the CJI said.
Explaining why the Indian Constitution envisiges representation of all along with a separation of power between the three organs of government, viz. legislature, executive and judiciary, the Chief Justice said that Dr BR Ambedkar belived that in an equal society, democracy cannot survive unless power is divided among communitie, not just among institutions. “Representation, therefore, was a mechanism of redistributing power, not only between the legislature, executive and judiciary, but among social groups that had been denied a share for centuries,” he said.
The Chief Justice urged the Indian students studying in the UK to return to India and contribute to nation-building.
