Judicial overreach risks unsettling power balance, says Justice Kant

NEW DELHI: At a time when judicial activism is often perceived as intrusion into the legislative domain, senior most judge of Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant, Wednesday warned against courts supplanting the role of the legislature.
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"Courts mustn't supplant the role of 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," he said.
CJI Gavai: Judicial activism mustn't turn into
judicial terrorism
In his keynote address at the 'Envision India Conclave' in San Francisco, Justice Surya Kant said, "True constitutional guardianship lies not in dominance but in restraint - an ethos that reaffirms the judiciary's legitimacy in a vibrant democracy."
Speaking on similar lines on Tuesday night, CJI B R Gavai had said at Oxford Union, "Judicial activism is bound to stay. At the same time, judicial activism should not be turned into judicial terrorism.
.. (judiciary at times) try to exceed the limits and try to enter into an area where, normally, the judiciary should not enter."
Outlining the challenges faced by judiciary in the era of social media explosion where every person has something to say on everything, he said, "In today's hyper-connected world, we are witnessing the rise of a vast digital community - vocal, impatient and, often, uninformed - whose engagement with law is shaped less by understanding and more by sentiment."
CJI B R Gavai further said, "They expect courts to deliver judgments that align with their transient emotions and impulses and when the courts' rulings do not match with their expectations based on half-cooked knowledge of law and Constitution, what follows is not reasoned critique but a barrage of trolling, misinformation and personal attacks."
This phenomenon posed a subtle yet significant threat to the independence of judiciary, especially in a globalised digital age, CJI Gavai said, adding that it posed a challenge to the reputation of judges and the judicial institution. "It must be met not with timidity, but with the firmness and clarity of purpose that befits a constitutional democracy governed by reason, not rhetoric," he said.

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