Constitution prevails over personal religious beliefs: Justice Rohinton Nariman

If the Constitution says something that is in conflict with one's personal religious beliefs, the Constitution prevails, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman said at an event recently..The former judge, who is also an ordained Parsi priest, was asked to what extent it would be right for a judge to bring his own religious beliefs while deciding a case. He said,“It is very important first for you to realise that you have taken a very different oath. Your oath is to the Constitution and the laws. Now, if the Constitution says something which conflicts with your religious belief, the Constitution prevails, right? It's a very difficult thing. But the Constitution usually will not (conflict with the religious beliefs) because both are moral precepts...How the Constitution views a particular moral precept may be difficult from what your religion tells you about a moral precept. But you must be true to your oath first.”.The judge was speaking on a podcast conducted by the Bombay Bar Association and hosted by Senior Advocate Fredun DeVitre..DeVitre also asked Nariman about his experience of transitioning from a Senior Advocate appearing against the government to representing the government as the Solicitor General of India for two years. He also asked Nariman whether he, as Solicitor General, had the discretion to contest the government's views..Justice Nariman clarified that the posts of Attorney General, Solicitor General and Advocate General were 'pleasure posts' that a lawyer can hold on to till the government has confidence in the lawyer.“This is one of the ‘pleasure posts’ in the Constitution. You are at the ‘pleasure’ of the Central government, which means the Central government must have confidence in you. If it loses confidence, it can get rid of you instantly. So one must keep that in mind. The client may take up any other person as Attorney General because he's lost confidence in you,” the retired judge elaborated..Justice Nariman also added that every law officer had a paramount duty to the court.“You have a completely different duty to the court and this goes for any lawyer; from the Attorney General downwards. Your duty to the court is paramount. You have a duty to your client; you have a duty to the court. And where the two conflict, the duty to the court comes first. I have always believed this. As a law officer, but as a lawyer generally. Therefore, very often as Solicitor General, I have honestly told the court that, ‘Look, this is what the government's position is, but since you are asking me, my position is X’. I have said that often and I've been appreciated for it,” he said..He also emphasised,“It is important for you to first realize that you are part of a system where you have to uphold the rule of law. This is the single most important thing. You uphold the rule of law best by first serving the court and then serving your client."