Human rights cannot be separated from questions of social and economic development, former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai said on Friday. 

Justice Gavai examined the deep connection between fundamental freedoms and sustainable development goals.

“A person may formally possess political liberty, but the substantive value of that liberty is diminished when that person is deprived of food, education, healthcare, livelihood, or the basic conditions necessary for living a life with human dignity. Rights therefore cannot exist merely as abstractions,” the former judge said. 

He was delivering the ninth Chief Justice MC Chagla Memorial Lecture.

He stressed that economic growth by itself is insufficient to measure human progress.

“When we speak of development, who the development is for, development towards what end, and development at whose cost?" he asked. 

Justice Gavai recalled his experience presiding over the Supreme Court's Green Bench.

He described judicial decision-making as "walking the tightrope for balancing between ecology and environment on one hand and sustainable development on the other hand." 

He highlighted how the judiciary balanced environmental protections with community livelihoods by establishing eco-sensitive zones near wildlife reserves and phasing out human-pulled rickshaws in Matheran in favour of battery-operated vehicles to safeguard worker dignity.

He emphasised that economic growth must contribute to human dignity.

“Environmental protection must sustain the conditions of life across generations after generations. We hold the resources in trust for the future generations. Public institutions must enable people to participate in those choices and seek remedy when their rights are violated,” the judge said.