Thread by @TheLeaflet_in

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#ConstitutionDay2021

https://twitter.com/theleaflet_in/status/1464202011516104705

Sr. Adv Darius Khambata: Ours is a magnificent Constitution. It encapsulates respect for fundamental rights, institutions, separation of powers and so many other things. It is a document that can and must unify us.
#ConstitutionDay2021

Khambata: The Constitution gives us a template within which we can learn to respect each other. The 'Idea of India' is reposed in our Constitution, summarised in our Preamble.

#ConstitutionDay2021

Khambata is introducing Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Gautam Patel. Says Justice Lokur is a courageous judge. Refers to his tenure as a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Makes references to his judgment in Nipun Saxena and environmental matters.

Justice Gautam Patel: It is a privilege to be here, especially today. I compliment Indira and Anand's online journalism portal- The Leaflet. From Indira and Anand, it was not an invitation, more like a mandamus but I gladly obeyed.

Justice Patel: India is a different thing to different people. It is not one thing to all. But there is only one idea of India that is the Idea of the Constitution. Here too people disagree.

Justice Patel: If we have to look for the idea of India in the Constitution, we need to see the seldom-discuss Article 1 which states : India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.

Justice Patel: It is now time to make a conscious change to our vocabulary. We should stop saying “the ruling party”. India has no ruler, India is not ruled, and so long as the Constitution exists, it never will be. It may be governed for a limited period of time but never ruled.

Justice Patel: The sooner we rid ourselves of this colonial linguistic baggage, the better.

Justice Patel: The first self-preserving strategy is to criminalize dissent.

#ConstitutionDay2021

Justice Patel: Let me return to attempts that are being made by governments in power. The most recent of these attempts to muzzle dissent is also perhaps the most inevitable. And it comes from a surprising quarter.

Justice Patel: Last week, a serving civil servant said that the new frontiers of war, something he called fourth-generation warfare, is civil society; specifically that civil society can be subverted, can be divided and can be manipulated to subvert the interest of a nation.

Justice Patel: As critics have pointed out-what is 'Civil Society'? Is it in contrast to an uncivil society? Does it include journalists, lawyers, bureaucrats, judges? Are judges a threat to the government?

Justice Patel: The seed planted in the Constitution has taken hold. Attempts to uproot it have not succeeded yet.

Justice Patel: But we should not, I think, be too sanguine as we have seen there will be continuing attempts by every govt, everywhere to maintain control, to transition from govt to ruler - that is something we must guard against.

Justice Patel: Govts will come, and govts will go but the idea of India, the constitutional idea of India - resilient as it has proved to be - must be protected.

Justice Patel: History will not judge us by our highways, bridges or statues, it will judge us by how well we have preserved this constitutional idea of India and saved it from being undermined.

#ConstitutionDay2021

Justice Lokur: We have not been giving importance to human rights and as much as we do. Dissent is the essence of Freedom of speech, democracy and good governance.

Justice Lokur: Wanton arrests, search and seizure are undermining life and liberty and are troubling on the human rights front.

Justice Lokur raises the issue of mass transfers of high court judges. Says why are so many judges being transferred. Says the practice of transfer of judges must be abolished.

Justice Lokur compliments Prof Mohan G Gopal who recently wrote an article for The Leaflet on the transfer of judges.

Read the article here: theleaflet.in/abolish-the-po…

Justice Lokur: If you ask me what my idea of India is, I would say an independent judiciary. And unless we have a judiciary that stands up, that speaks out, that introspects, our Constitution will become just another written document.

Event concludes.