‘It’s been 75 years of the Constitution and we are still not doing our duty of protecting the environment’, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• A former judge emphasizes the importance of environmental protection as a constitutional duty, highlighting attacks on activists and judges for prioritizing environmental issues.
• The judge recalls a 2017 incident involving noise pollution and religious festivals, where the Maharashtra government accused him of bias.
• He suggests adopting High Court models in the Supreme Court for administrative decisions, involving committees of judges instead of the Chief Justice alone.
• The judge defends freedom of speech and expression, stating courts should quash cases against individuals if no offense is committed.
• He advocates for a cooling period for judges taking post-retirement appointments to avoid conflicts of interest.
• The judge notes increasing representation of women in lower judiciary levels due to recruitment rule changes and reservation policies.

Detailed Insights:

• The judge stresses that environmental conservation should be a citizen's duty, not just the responsibility of activists and courts.
• He references landmark cases like AK Gopalan vs State of Madras and Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India to illustrate how laws evolve through Supreme Court judgments.
• The basic structure doctrine, established in the Kesavananda Bharati case, allows Parliament to amend the Constitution but not its fundamental features.
• The judge points out the Supreme Court's current administrative structure is too Chief Justice-centric and could benefit from the committee-based approach used in High Courts.
• He argues that legitimate dissent should not be suppressed, and courts should use a reasonable person's standard when evaluating cases involving freedom of speech.
• The judge acknowledges the debate around post-retirement appointments for judges and suggests a cooling period to mitigate potential conflicts of interest.
• He observes a generational shift in law students, noting their superior knowledge of the law but also their concerns about early career remuneration.
• The judge believes secularism, as enshrined in Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, protects essential religious practices, and a judge's personal beliefs should not affect their rulings.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Fundamental Rights: Basic human rights guaranteed to all citizens in Part III of the Indian Constitution.
• Judicial Review: The power of the judiciary to examine the constitutionality of legislative or executive actions.
• Secularism: The principle of separation of religion from state affairs, ensuring equal treatment of all religions.