ICYMI#TheTribuneOpinion: Steps should be taken to regain the Supreme Court’s lost glory

No country can claim to be free unless it has an independent and fearless judiciary. Democracy is the rule of the majority, but majoritarianism, where the voice of the other side is not heard, is anathema to democracy, writes Justice Deepak Gupta, former Judge, Supreme Court, in his widely acclaimed article The true meaning of freedom. Unfortunately, courts at all levels are moving towards majoritarianism. The vast majority of judges are men and women of integrity, but the number of black sheep is increasing. Citing various examples from Umar Khalid, Sonam Wangchuk to the Gyanvapi mosque case and chicken-on-Ganga boat, he writes that dissent is an essential part of democracy. The root of the problem is the manner of appointment of judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The collegium system has failed, he writes. It has become totally opaque. The collegium takes extremely important decisions without giving reasons. Even today, most of the people repose more confidence in the judiciary compared to the legislature or the executive. Steps should be taken to regain the lost glory, he writes. This can and must be done because if people lose faith in the judiciary, the judiciary itself becomes irrelevant. That will sound the death knell for a democratic India, he warns.