Freedom does not come for free, you have to work for it: Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat

Many branches of law are deployed to harass people and this is a tendency which the society has to address, Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat said on Sunday. .Justice Bhat refused to comment specifically on the issue of misuse of sedition since the same is pending before the Supreme Court. "You are asking me to make a political comment and I'll refrain from it. I will take a more neutral example- defamation. Do those cases really stick? There are many branches of the law which are deployed. That's a tendency which we as a society have to address," he said. "Your freedoms don't come free. You have to work for it," he added.Justice Bhat was responding to a question by satirist Akash Banerjee at launch of the book 'How Gourango lost his O' authored by Senior Advocate Sanjay Ghose. "In your personal opinion, do you think we've made a mockery of the sedition law by implementing it in the most ridiculous circumstances," Banerjee asked. "I would not like to make a comment because it is a matter seized of by court and it has political repercussions," Justice Bhat made it clear. Below are some of other excerpts from Justice Bhat's .Your freedoms don't come free. You have to work for it.Justice S Ravindra Bhat .On live tweeting and streaming of court proceedings.He said that live tweeting of court proceedings might not paint the complete picture of what actually happens in court during a hearing. "I don't follow tweets. But the point is, you can pick up a fragment of a court conversation and tweet it. Living in an age of perceptions, this can magnify into whatever you want to say. And that would not be a complete picture (of the court proceedings)," he said. On live streaming, he said that it has its pros and cons and the Supreme Court is also examining the issue. "Live streaming has its positives and it's darker sides. Some courts have started (live streaming). During Covid, it was very open. If you ask me whether there will be live-streaming- we are looking into it," he stated. .On frivolous PILsBanerjee highlighted the recent public interest litigation (PIL) on Taj Mahal and how the Allahabad High Court had dismissed the same. "In your opinion what can be done in such frivolous cases," he asked."There are certain things we have to live with because the remedy can be worse than the disease. PIL was meant to be a channel for those most oppressed. There have been attempts by certain supreme court judgments. But there has to be extreme caution in this. You can't bind it down by rules, there can only be certain broad guidelines," he said. .PIL was meant to be a channel for those most oppressed.Justice S Ravindra Bhat .Are judges aware of public perception towards judiciary?"I don't know if I can speak for the judiciary. We are part of a society and what each institution you get to see is part of a context. If you are saying that the judiciary is not aware of its image, I don't think that's correct. You can't expect judges to clarify. Judges speak through their judgments. Ultimately, you've to see the work it does. That is the only thing that matters. Rest is all perception," said Justice Bhat. .You can't expect judges to clarify. Judges speak through their judgments.Justice S Ravindra Bhat .Judges don't lead a cushy life Justice Bhat said that being a judge is not easy and it takes a lot of hard work. "The perception is that a judge leads a cushy life. Ask yourself, if you were to argue a matter, for four days. Do you think a judge can decide in a jiffy? The real work begins in the evenings after a judge returns to her chambers," the judge said. So what made him say 'yes' when he was offered judgeship?"As a lawyer maybe you can make a difference in one or two cases but as a judge you'll definitely make a difference in six or seven cases. A man/ woman who wins, wins it 100 percent. That's what made me say yes," Justice Bhat said. .[Read a live account of the event below]

Freedom does not come for free, you have to work for it: Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat

Shagun Suryam

Related Stories