Constitutional idealism is attainable: Justice Ranjan Gogoi

Attaining constitutional idealism is not like chasing a rainbow; it can be done, said Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Supreme Court of India, while speaking at the 13the Justice PD Desai Memorial Lecture. His lecture had the theme ‘Constitutional Realism & Constitutional Idealism: Is the Supreme Court on the Cusp of Evolution?”.

Justice Gogoi, who cited various verdicts of the Supreme Court that were a reflection of both constitutional realism and idealism, spoke of the apex court’s endeavours to bridge the gap between realism and idealism, that is, what is and what ought to be. He cited the Shreya Singhal judgment (the one in which the Supreme Court struck down section 66A of the IT Act) as progressive and one that safeguards dissidence and diversity of thoughts.

It should be noted  that the draconian Section 66A of the IT Act, before it was struck down by the SC, allowed for arrest of a person for posting allegedly “offensive” content on websites. 

Speaking to the audience many of whom included law students, Justice Gogoi also touched upon the landmark ruling of the SC that recognises transgenders as the third gender. 

“The transgender case was extraordinary as the SC viewed gender identity as integral to individual identity. It not only recognised the third gender, but the judgment also broke many barriers, and more importantly it reiterated the fundamental right of the transgender members,” said Gogoi. While Justice Gogoi mentioned the debate on the apex court entering into the domain of the executive and legislature, he refused to comment on it. “The court’s character and function should be perceived in light of present circumstances,” said Justice Gogoi.

He also touched upon the SC’s triple talaq verdictm saying the judgment had stated that merely because a despotic practice has been going on for too long, that did not make it legitimate.