[Judicial Independence] Essential to start discourse on how social media trends affect institutions: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana

While there is a lot of discussion on how pressure from executive affects independence of judiciary, time has also come to ponder over how social media trends influence independent institutions, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said on Wednesday..He emphasised the importance of free judiciary to apply checks on governmental actions.“It is extremely vital to function independently and withstand all external aids and pressures," he said. For the judiciary to apply checks on governmental power and action, it has to have complete freedom.However, while there is a lot of talk about pressure from executive, judges should take care to see that they are not swayed by public opinion which gets amplified through social media platforms. "While there is a lot discussion about the pressure from the executive, it is also imperative to start a discourse as to how social media trends can affect the institutions,” he said. The new media tools, that have enormous amplifying ability, are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad and the real and fake, he said. Judges, therefore, have to be mindful of the fact that the noise thus amplified is not necessarily reflective of what is right and what majority believes in, CJI opined. .CJI Ramana was delivering the 17th PD Desai Memorial Lecture on the topic "Rule of Law". .The CJI observed that the subject of “Rule of Law” is one topic that will never lose its sheen and relevance because, the story of ‘Rule of Law’ is nothing but the story of civilisation of humans.The address reflected on how the British period was marked by “Rule by Law” rather than “Rule of Law”. "The British used the law as a tool of political repression, enforcing it unequally on the parties, with a different set of rules for the British and for the Indians. It was an enterprise famous for “Rule by Law”, rather than “Rule of Law” as it aimed at controlling the Indian subjects," he said. Our struggle for independence, thus marked our journey towards establishment of a state defined by the 'Rule of Law', the CJI said. .The framers set out to draft the Constitution that embodied within itself the concept of Rule of Law to ensure that the laws were framed with human face for benefit of the masses.“The framers envisaged a document which not only took care of the prevailing conditions but would also continue and be relevant for all times to come.”.The CJI in his address also adverted to the COVID-19 crisis being faced by the nation and asked for introspection as to what extent Rule of law was used by us to ensure protection and welfare of people. "I do not intend to provide an evaluation of the same. Both my office and my temperament prevent me from doing so. But I began to feel that this pandemic might yet be a mere curtain-raiser to much larger crises in the decades to come. Surely we must at least begin the process of analysing what we did right and where we went wrong," he said..The address then proceeded to emphasise on four relevant principles of the Rule of Law.First was that laws must be clear and accessible and in India constant efforts are being made to make legislations accessible by translation into regional languages.Second, the idea of equality before law which the CJI termed most important fundamental right promised under the Constitution. In this regard, he spoke about gender equality and changing traditional roles within families.“The legal empowerment of women not only enables them to advocate for their rights and needs in society, but it also increases their visibility in the legal reform process and allows their participation in it,” he said. The third principle touched upon was that members of society must have the right to participate in the creation and refinement of laws.“The very essence of a democracy is that its citizenry has a role to play, whether directly or indirectly, in the laws that govern them.”The fourth and final principle was the presence of a strong judiciary. The CJI discussed the importance of judicial review, reiterating that the same is part of the basic structure. "The judiciary cannot be controlled, directly or indirectly, by the legislature or the executive, or else the Rule of Law would become illusory," he emphasised. .The Chief Justice further spoke on the obligation on the part of lawyers to uphold Rule of Law. He remarked that we need social-virtue rather than economically self-interested behaviour..The CJI concluded his speech by reciting a poem by Rabindranath Tagore,“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held highWhere knowledge is freeWhere the world has not been broken up into fragmentsBy narrow domestic wallsWhere words come out from the depth of truthWhere tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfectionWhere the clear stream of reason has not lost its wayInto the dreary desert sand of dead habitWhere the mind is led forward by theeInto ever-widening thought and actionInto that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”.[Read Full Speech]