From Nehru to Modi, they believed judiciary is overstepping: Telangana HC advocate

Hyderabad: Telangana High Court senior advocate L. Ravichander in his keynote address at a lecture organised by Nyavadi Parishad, High Court unit, remarked that it is strange that from 1950–2022 one common feature from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi has been in the belief that the judiciary is over acting. They believed that the judiciary is overstepping and it is the prerogative of the executive to run the country, he said.

The lecture was held in the Meeting Hall, Bar Council of Telangana, Hyderabad.

Mr. Ravichander, who spoke on “Right to Life and Personal Liberty - Article 21 of Constitution - A Case Study,” said, “We need to reiterate very strongly that democracy is not about being right. Democracy is tolerating the people who are wrong.”

The senior advocate who was special government pleader in the erstwhile High Court of AP and additional standing counsel for the Union of India in the High Court of AP said Article 21 is the temple of the Indian Constitution. “Article 21 protects you, whether you are a criminal, lunatic, convict, or a foreign national,” he said.

He added that there is no provision in the Indian Constitution that determines the width, depth, walk, and move of the Spirit of the Constitution. It is quintessentially the very essence of the Indian Constitution, he said.

“The prerogative of the executive to run the country is in conceded premise by the judiciary, except that running the country shall be in accordance with the Constitution,” Mr. Ravichander said. He added that the right to expression in a democracy is being typically connected in a democratic form of government and is intrinsically connected to the right to decent living.

Further, Mr. Ravichander pointed out that very consciously, the makers of the Constitution did not use the word “Due Process of Law” but said “Procedure Established By Law.”

“How did all the awareness begin? Earlier, when there was an orthodox belief of governance, when the zamindari system was going on, the Supreme Court struck it off, it’s due process. When certain other things happened, the Supreme Court struck it off. That's why the ‘Right to Property’ was removed from the Fundamental Rights,” he said.

He continued, “The expanding scope of Article 21 judgments are right to life, including human dignity. It is only during the Emergency, we had a Jabalpur case, a constructive meaning was given to Article 21 by the Supreme Court. Till today, the world respects Justice A.K. Khanna.”