Senior advocate Indira Jaising, at the 29th Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture at the India International Centre on Friday, said, “A ‘Hindu Rashtra’ cannot coexist with a secular Constitution.”
She claimed that those entrusted with preserving the Constitution are rejecting it. This is seen in amendments like the Citizenship Act, which fast-tracks citizenship for select religious groups.
Ms. Jaising criticized the new criminal laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam—stating they fail to address issues like marital rape. She also condemned anti-conversion laws, which target minorities.
She pointed out judicial controversies, citing Allahabad High Court Justice Shekhar Yadav’s ‘hate speech’ case and a Gujarat High Court judge’s remark to a minor rape victim about consulting her grandmother before seeking an abortion.
“Judges seeking divine inspiration for rulings is anti-Constitutional. I reaffirm my commitment to the Constitution,” she said.
Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court called the lecture’s topic, ‘India’s Modern Constitutionalism,’ highly significant. He stressed the difference between having a constitution and practicing constitutionalism.
Justice Upadhyaya emphasized the rule of law, stating authoritarian regimes have constitutions but lack constitutionalism. He cited Hitler’s rise in Germany as an example.
