The dumbo's guide to apex court

You and I are befuddled by erudite articles criticising the Supreme Court for pussyfooting around petitions challenging the governments decision on Kashmir Our befuddlement arises because our knowledge of the judiciary is derived from school textbooks read years ago These emphasised the Supreme Courts pivotal role in protecting citizens from the states absolutism Its majesty shone because we believed that it would fearlessly restrain the executive from going amokBelow are extracts from some articles followed by the inference that dumbos such as you and I might draw from them This might help dispel our confusion about the judiciaryCongress leader Salman Khurshid wrote For decades since the Emergencyhellipour appellate judges have assiduously built a remarkable edifice of liberty jurisprudence Yet suddenly an amorphous notion of national security has become the catchphrase that is virtually pushing freedom of the individual to take a backseathellip The temple of freedom appears perplexed from Koregaon to KashmirThe dumbos inference Khurshid is saying India is slipping back into the Emergency era when individual freedom depended on the executives determination of the measures required for national security When the temple of freedom appears perplexed can dumbos take their liberty for grantedNo they cant As academician Pratap Bhanu Mehta wrote hellipThe cowardly almost impeachable abdication of the judiciary in the face of threats to civil liberties has now made an appeal to the law akin to an appeal to the majestic benevolence of an odd judge at best and a laughing joke at worstThe dumbos inference Against whom is the judiciary behaving cowardly The answer the government which alone can shrink libertyNALSAR law university vicechancellor Faizan Mustafa in an interview said Our experience has been that when you have governments with massive majorities courts stay away from political questionshellip I have a feeling that when it comes to their own powers they jealously guard them But when it comes to the Constitution citizens liberties same kind of anxiety is not demonstrated by the courtsThe dumbos inference The judiciary is behaving cowardly as Mehta said because the government enjoys a massive majority Worse liberty isnt of as much concern to the judiciary as its own rights are Is abdication the judiciarys strategy to protect its own rightsYes suggests senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde He wrote The judiciary and especially the Indian Supreme Courts record in recent times is one of conciliation and propitiation of the government It has not intervened on the citizens side in any cause where the government has invested political capitalThe dumbos inference Our liberty will be automatically protected as long as we dont engage with politics None stops us from visiting a mall after all But mobile phones are radioactive as we saw in Kashmir Silence best protects liberty not the judiciaryLegal scholar Gautam Bhatia wrote Unlike the Emergency the courts have not upheld the governments actions on Kashmir ndash so far What they have done is dodged ducked evaded and adjournedhellip This is nothing other than executive supremacy by stealthThe dumbos inference A judicial verdict upholding curbs on liberty would mean courting infamy in perpetuity The doctrine of evasion has people perennially wait for justice and keep their hope flickering Hope confuses humans certainty doesntExplaining the judiciarys deafening silence on Kashmir senior Supreme Court advocate Dushyant Dave wrote The reason is not far to fathom The distance between the judiciary and political and executive leaders is blurringThe dumbos inference The system of checks and balances works because each of the states three wings doesnt encroach upon the turf of others or so our textbooks explained Dave is saying that the executive has usurped the judiciarys role HowJournalist Aakar Patel answered Indian courts show enthusiasm for upholding their own dignity through the contempt law the rest of us can be manhandled in the way P Chidambaram is and that is fine with themThe dumbos inference Since the judiciary isnt moved by the plight of even Chidambaram who is not us in class terms you and I in reality have no protection from the executivePatel proffered advice Those accused of criminality in India mumble the mantra I have full faith in the judiciary The formulation is regurgitated out of fear and not respect It is the responsibility and duty of the courts to change that Likewise former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur in another context said Silence of the judiciary on crunch issues is not goldenThe dumbos conclusion Wish I hadnt read those textbooks which should be rewritten to bring legal idealism approximate to reality The diminishing of an institutions majesty is directly proportionate to confusion about its own role As we await judgment on Ayodhya lead us from darkness to light my lordThe writer is a senior journalistThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates