Neither judiciary nor executive or legislature supreme; what is supreme is Constitution of India: Justice BV Nagarathna

Justice BV Nagarathna said on Monday that neither the judiciary nor the executive or legislature is supreme, and what is actually supreme is the Constitution of India..The Supreme Court Judge added that the same way a government cannot question why court decided a case in a particular way, the court cannot question wisdom of legislature."Independence of judiciary is one of the most cherished ideals of the Constitution. We the judges value it the most. Ultimately it is the personality of the judge that matters how much ever institutional independence is there", she said. .The judge was speaking as the chief guest for the launch of book ‘Constitutional Ideals: Development and Realisation through Court-led Justice’ by Daksh.During her address, she said that the ideal of socio-economic justice was central to the founding fathers of the Constitution. "Another ideal which is of great importance today is liberty", she added. .She went on to say that there was still scope for more rights to be interpreted within the fundamental rights enumerated under the Constitution, but its expansion depended on how much the bar assists courts."It is up to is people of India to ensure liberty remains with us.".Justice Nagarathna also said that of all the four ideals, fraternity had been least understood. "Fraternity will help deepen democratic values despite our religious, linguistic and other differences. To become ideal citizens, we need to cherish and practise values of Indian Constitution. It is what binds us together", she opined. .While also taking a poor view of corrupt practices, she noted that while the country has grown economically, bribery, corruption and disproportionate assets signs of lack of integrity."Shun benefits from Ill-gotten money. For that it is necessary to shun consumerism and devote greater attention towards being ideal citizens of the country.".The judge concluded her speech by quoting Justice Chinnappa Reddy, "Our tradition teaches tolerance, our philosophy preaches tolerance; our Constitution practices tolerance; let us not dilute it.".[Read our live-coverage of the event below]