Former SC judge Rohinton Nariman said, “You have to feel the constitutional values; otherwise they are nothing,” while commenting on cases against social media posts. On a lighter note, he quipped, “Remedy is you bring me back to the bench.”
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman on Wednesday reminded that constitutional values are not just words written in the Constitution but must be experienced and lived in daily life.
Speaking at the KM Bashir Memorial Lecture organised by the Press Club of Ernakulam in Kerala, he said,
“You have to feel the constitutional values; otherwise they are nothing.”
Justice Nariman was delivering his lecture on the topic “Fraternity in a secular state: the protection of cultural rights and duties.”
His remarks came in the backdrop of a question raised by an audience member about the Supreme Court’s handling of the case related to the social media post of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Operation Sindoor.
The audience recalled that it was Justice Nariman who had struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, a provision that criminalised online speech, for violating the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
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Referring to that judgment, one of the members said that despite the striking down of the provision,
“the Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was arrested for putting a post ‘which probably did not mean anything’.”
The questioner further asked whether the striking down of Section 66A had really served its purpose and if not, what remedy could be found.
Responding to this, Justice Nariman first reiterated the importance of internalising constitutional principles.
“You have to feel the constitutional values; otherwise they are nothing,”
he said, stressing that mere legal provisions are not sufficient if citizens and authorities do not embody these values in spirit.
On the specific question of a remedy, Justice Nariman chose to respond humorously but with a deeper message.
“Remedy is you bring me back to the bench. And I’m not being specious. Bring me back to the bench,”
he said, drawing laughter and applause from the gathering.
Justice Nariman’s words highlighted both the continued challenges in protecting freedom of speech in India and the crucial role played by the judiciary in upholding constitutional guarantees.
His remarks serve as a reminder that constitutional rights need constant vigilance and that their true strength lies in being felt and practised, not just written in the statute books.
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