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CJI Surya Kant defends lawyers’ role in questioning authority
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said lawyers’ instinct to test state authority against justice, fairness and the rule of law remains relevant today. He was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar…
The Story in Brief
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said lawyers’ instinct to test state authority against justice, fairness and the rule of law remains relevant today. He was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association’s Independence Day function on the Supreme Court lawns on Saturday.
The CJI said lawyers must look beyond the existence of a rule and examine whether the use of power respects liberty, equality and dignity. He described India’s freedom struggle as a sustained challenge to colonial rule through political movements, petitions, public debate and law, rather than primarily an armed insurrection. Courts, he added, remain places where people assert constitutional rights, challenge arbitrary action and seek equal treatment.
The Indian Opinion
The easy narrative is that lawyers are either obstructive defenders of privilege or automatic opponents of government. Both are lazy. The useful standard is whether legal challenges test power against rights and evidence, rather than merely delay decisions or produce headlines. Courts also need to apply that standard consistently, regardless of which authority is being challenged. The real measure will be the quality of judgments protecting liberty, equality and dignity in cases involving executive action.
Source: barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
