In Modi's Time Successive Chief Justices of India Failed the Country, Judicial System & Justice

Video Description

In Modi's time successive Chief Justices of India failed the country, judicial system & justice: Dushyant Dave to Karan Thapar for The Wire. .......................................... In an interview to discuss his surprise decision to retire from the judicial profession, one of India’s most highly regarded Supreme Court lawyers has delivered a stinging critique of the judiciary and, in particular, of successive Chief Justices of India who have served during the eleven years that Prime Minister Modi has been in-charge of the country. Dushyant Dave, a three time former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, says: “After Mr. Modi took over as Prime Minister, Chief Justice Thakur was the last one who stood up. After that every Chief Justice has virtually succumbed except Justice Sanjiv Khanna … Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Khehar, Justice Gogoi, Justice Ramana, Justice Bobde, Justice Chandrachud, each one of them really failed the country, failed the judicial system and, most of all, failed justice delivery. Speaking more generally about the judiciary, Dushyant Dave said that the judiciary is the single biggest reason for the failure of the rule of law in India. He said: “The single biggest reason for the failure of the rule of law in this country is the judiciary. Because the executive will definitely like to take the law into its own hands. But it’s the judiciary which has the duty, obligation, a constitutional duty to stop that nonsense. But the judiciary has not been able to do it at all.” Mr. Dave said he was disillusioned with the judiciary in India and expressed what he called “great dissatisfaction”. I will stop there. I think you should hear Mr. Dave’s critique yourself. He has said a lot of things that will make you sit up and think. However, this interview begins with a discussion about why Mr. Dave has decided to retire, what his early years as a lawyer were like, the memorable cases he remembers, the judges he admired and those who did not gain his respect. Mr. Dave also talks about important cases that have been handled in recent years by the Supreme Court and, in the process, explains why he’s not that impressed by Supreme Court judgements on issues like homosexuality, adultery, Sabarimala and privacy. I will stop there. I have given you enough pointers and hints about the contents of this interview. Now it’s time for you to watch it. Here is the link to the interview: Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join