Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the Constitution belongs equally to all citizens, not just a privileged class. He warned that well-off cosmopolitans using costly legal processes and top lawyers to gain unintended outcomes undermines constitutional fairness.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that the Constitution belongs to all citizens equally, adding that it is not a benefit reserved for a small group of well-off cosmopolitans who can afford costly legal processes and use top legal talent to seek outcomes the Constitution never intended to provide.
His remarks were made in a speech delivered at the launch of senior advocate Indira Jaising’s memoir, “The Constitution Is My Home: Conversations on a Life in Law.”
The CJI, who was the chief guest, was unable to attend the event in person and instead shared a video message extending warm greetings for the book release. In the clip, he also expressed regret for missing the event due to an upcoming meeting of BRICS judges.
He said,
“The Constitution is truly our shared home. It belongs not to judges alone, nor to lawyers, State or public authorities. It belongs equally to every citizen, be it an urbanite or a ruralite, or the poorest of the poor, or the marginalised, who seek justice within its framework and place faith in its promises.”
The CJI added,
“The Constitution is not a privilege of a few cosmopolitans who can afford cost-bearing processes and engage the best of the brains to assert something which our Constitution never intended to offer,”
He further said that the Constitution is not merely a legal document that governs society from afar, but an enduring presence in public life.
He said,
“It accompanies us in courtrooms and chambers, in arguments and deliberations. But its reach extends far beyond formal legal spaces and its influence is ultimately measured in the lives of citizens and in the character of our democracy,”
The CJI noted that constitutionalism aims to maintain harmony between authority and principle, and that public institutions perform best when power is exercised alongside responsibility through balance, accountability, transparency, and adherence to core values.
ALSO READ: CJI Surya Kant: Technology Is the Most Effective Way to Address Judiciary’s Time Wastage
He said,
“It is this continuing commitment that allows a democratic society to respond to changing circumstances while preserving the ethos and ideals that sustain it,”
In congratulating Jaising on her memoir, he said that her legal career and her decades-long involvement with constitutional issues should motivate both junior and senior members of the Bar.