We are completely divorced from reality when it comes to electing our representatives: Justice Siddharth Mridul

While speaking at the 27th Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture, Justice Siddharth Mridul of the Delhi High Court lamented that the manner in which Indians elect their representatives is divorced from reality..Stating that politics without law is deaf, Justice Mridul said the judiciary has an important role in ensuring socio-economic and political freedom and equality in the country."We are completely divorced from reality when it comes to electing our representatives. It is unfortunate since I thought who would aspire to serve the people would begin on the premise of 'antyodaya', which is the rise of the last person, the lowest common denominator. It's precisely this where the judiciary has a very important role to play to as law without politics is blind, and politics without law is deaf. We must bear in mind that judiciary as an institution is not just an sentinel to safeguard fundamental rights but to ensure that there is socio-economic and political freedom and equality in the country," he said..The lecture was delivered by Nobel Laureate Professor Abhijeet Banerjee on the subject Democracy on the Ground: What works, What doesn't and Why?Towards the end of his lecture, Prof Banerjee stated that according to him, the fundamental problem with democracy in India is the size of the states, and that smaller units are required for improving democracy..However, Justice Mridul disagreed, highlighting the reality of democracy in smaller units in India. He mentioned a report on smaller states in North East India, which said that to contest elections for the post of Member of Legislative Assembly, one needed to have a substantial war chest."Prof Banerjee spoke about smaller constituencies in terms of people, but I am a little ashamed to tell you that I read a report which says that smaller states in the North East, where population is sparse compared to other parts of India, anybody intending to contest elections for the post of an MLA needs to have a war chest of at least ₹50 crores. Those are the realities of our democracy," he said.He went on to opine that for a democracy to work, emphasis must be placed on alleviating hunger and poverty."The reason I begin with this is that I have always believed that democracy, our democracy in particular, should be directed at the two principal crimes we inflict upon our people, and they are of course interlinked - hunger and poverty. Any system that does not alleviate people's hunger and their poverty will not work and it cannot be countenanced," he said..[Watch 27th Justice Sunanda Bhandare memorial lecture]