Thread by @gautambhatia88

Thread: Some quotes to follow.

"Whenever the perils of the State have been held sufficient to warrant this sacrifice of personal liberty, no Minister or Magistrate has been suffered to tamper with the law at his discretion."

(1/n)

"Where the Government believes the State to be threatened by traitorous conspiracies during times of grave emergencies the rights of individuals of ordinary times become subordinate to considerations of the State."

(2/n)

"People who have faith in themselves and in their country will not paint pictures of diabolic distortion and mendacious alignment of the governance of the country. Quite often arguments are heard that extreme examples are given to test the power."

(3/n)

"In period of public danger or apprehension the protective law which gives every man security and confidence in tunes of tranquility, has to give way to interests of the State ... Ring leaders are seized and outrages anticipated."

(4/n)

Jurists do not have the vital sources of information and advice which are available to the executive and the legislature; nor have they the burden of formulating and administering the continuing programme of the government ...

... and the-political responsibility of the people, which, although intangibles, are of crucial importance in establishing the context within which such decisions must be made." (5/n)

"It will be useless to attempt to examine the truth of the fact alleged in the order in a case when the fact relates to the personal belief of the relevant authority formed at least partly on grounds which he is not bound to disclose."

(6/n)

"I do not know whether it was a too liberal application of the principle that courts must lean in favour of the liberty of the citizen, which is, strictly speaking, only a principle of interpretation for cases of doubt or difficulty..."

(7/n)

"Courts must presume that executive authorities are acting in conformity with both the spirit and the substance of the law : "Omina praesumuntur rite esse acts", which means that all official acts are presumed to have been rightly and regularly done..."

(8/n)

"Laws and law Courts are only a part of a system of that imposed discipline which has to take its course when self-discipline fails. Conditions may supervene, in the life of a nation, in which the basic values we have stood for and struggled to attain...

... imperilled by forces operating from within or from outside the country. What these forces are, how they are operating, what information exists for the involvement of various individuals, ... could not possibly be disclosed publicly or become matters suitable for inquiry...

... in a Court of Law."

(9/n)

... when danger is imminent, the liberty of the subject must be sacrificed to the paramount interests of the State. Ring leaders must be seized, outrages anticipated, plots disconcerted, and the dark haunts of conspiracy filled with distrust and terror.

(10/n)

"... the term Rule of Law is not a magic wand which can be waved to dispel every difficulty. It is not an Aladin's Lamp which can be scratched to invoke a power which brings to any person in need whatever he or she may desire to have...

... it can only mean, for lawyers with their feet firmly planted in the realm of reality, what the law in a particular State or country is and what it enjoins."

(12/n)

I have ...no doubt that the machinery of the preventive detention is not so defective as to prevent executive authorities at the highest levels from doing justice... where real injustice due to misrepresentations or mis-apprehensions of fact is brought to their notice."

(13/n)

"It seems to me that Courts can safely act on the presumption that powers of preventive detention are not being abused."

(14/n)

"... we understand that the care and concern bestowed upon the welfare of detenus who are well housed, well fed and well treated, is almost maternal Even parents have to take... preventive action against these children who may threaten to burn down the house they live in."

(15/n

"A frank and unreserved acceptance of the Proclamation of emergency, even in the teeth of one's own pre-disposition. is conducive to a more realistic appraisal of the emergency provisions."

(16/n)

"...there are times in the history of a Nation when the liberty of the individual is required to be subordinated to the larger interests of the State...

... In times of grave disorders, brought about by external aggression or internal disturbance, the stability of political institutions becomes a sine qua non of the guarantee of all other rights and interests."

(18/n)

"Amidst the clash of arms and conflict of ideologies, laws will not be silent but in times when the Nation is believed to be going through great strains and stresses, it may be necessary to entrust sweeping powers to the State."

(19/n)

The people of this country are entitled to expect when they go to the ballot-box that their chosen representatives will not willingly suffer an erosion of the rights of the people. And the Parliament, while arming the executive with great and vast powers of Government...

... may feel fairly certain that such powers will be reasonably exercised ... the checks and counter-checks which the law provides and above all the lofty faith in democracy which ushered the birth of the Nation will, I hope, eliminate all fear...

... Ultimately, the object of depriving a few of their liberty for a temporary period has to be to give to many the perennial fruits of freedom."

(20/n)

"Such misdeeds have not tarnished the record of Free India and I have a diamond-bright, diamond-hard hope that such things will never come to pass."

(21/n)

"The government has to assume larger powers in order to meet the crisis situation and that means that the people would have fewer rights. There can be no doubt that crisis government means strong and arbitrary government."

(22/n)

"The maxim salus populi suprema lex esto, that is public safety is the highest law of all, must prevail in times of crisis and people must submit to temporary abdication of their constitutional liberties in order to enable the government to combat the crisis situation."

(23/n)

"It is possible that when vast powers are vested in the executive, the exercise of which is immune from judicial scrutiny, they may sometimes be abused and innocent persons may be consigned to temporary detention...

... But merely because power may sometimes be abused, it is no ground for denying the existence of the power. All power is likely to be abused. That is inseparable from the nature of human institutions...

In the last analysis, a great deal must depend on the wisdom and honesty., integrity and character of those who are in charge of administration and the existence of enlightened and alert public opinion."

(24/n)

"... when a crisis arises in the life of the nation, the rights of individuals must be postponed to considerations of State and national safety must override any other considerations. I may add that there is nothing very unusual in this situation."

(25/n)

Curious about the source of these quotes?

Maybe they sound a little familiar?

Each one of them is from the majority opinions in a judgment known as A.D.M. Jabalpur v Shivakant Shukla, popularly known as the "Habeas Corpus case."

indiankanoon.org/doc/1735815/

(26/n)

There was a dissent in that case. A certain Justice H.R. Khanna wrote:

"The history of personal liberty is largely the history of insistence upon procedure."

(27/n)

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

(28/28)