India Has a Good Constitution That's Often Been Let Down by Politicians and Judges

India has a good constitution that's often been let down by politicians and judges: former Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Madan Lokur, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.

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In an interview to discuss the Indian constitution, as it approaches its 75 anniversary tomorrow, 26th January, one of the most highly regarded former Judges of the Supreme Court has said that India has a good constitution but at critical moments it’s been let down by people whose job is to honour it i.e. the executive and the legislature, as well as by those whose duty is to defend it i.e. the judiciary. Justice Madan Lokur said B. R. Ambedkar was “spot on” when he said that a good constitution can be rendered a poor product if the men and women whose duty is to operate and defend it do so improperly or inadequately.



In a 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, which covers a whole range of issues to do with the constitution, the praise its received and the criticism it’s had to defend itself against, Justice Lokur spoke both about Indira Gandhi’s dictatorial behaviour during the Emergency as well as similar aspects of behaviour from Narendra Modi in recent years.



I don’t wish to precis or paraphrase Justice Lokur’s views because I think you should hear them in full for yourself. So I will stop there. What I will do instead is to give you the questions that were asked so that you can see the range of issues covered. Here they are:-



1) Tomorrow the Indian constitution will be 75 years old. Given that the global average lifespan of a constitution is 19 years and, second, none of the constitutions of our neighbouring countries has lasted anywhere as long, how significant a landmark is this?



2) Over the decades the constitution has had both its supporters and critics. Some scholars have criticized it for being colonial. The RSS claims it’s not rooted in an Indian ethos. But as you view the constitution has it been good for India?



3) Unlike Britain and America, the Indian constitution conferred Universal Adult Suffrage at one go, regardless of creed, class, caste, education or wealth. And that became the bedrock of India’s democracy. How significant is this?



4) Over the 75 years of its existence the constitution has been amended 106 times. Do you view that as a source of strength or proof of weakness?



5) Let’s come to some of the criticisms. First, it’s said that the constitution has strengthened the executive over the legislature, a tendency that’s been exacerbated by the 10th Schedule and the way Speakers have functioned. As a result, MPs have been subordinated to their party leadership and the Speaker doesn’t have the authority he would in the House of Commons. How do you respond to that?



“The Indian parliament was born a structurally weak institution, depending on the good will of the executive for its functioning”: Gautam Bhatia.



6) In this context let me cite what the scholar Gautam Bhatia has written (TOI): “The Indian constitution … conferred great power on the executive and trusted it to wield that power well, instead of putting structural constraints upon it.” Was the constitution mistaken in assuming our rulers would be good men who would always act within both the letter and the spirit of the constitution?



7) The constitution also created a federal structure but, again, it’s given the Centre overriding authority over the states, both financially and administratively as well as with the power to re-arrange the federal map as parliament wants. This may have been necessary at independence but is it still necessary three quarters of a century later?



8) Third, the constitution conferred several fundamental rights on Indian citizens but stopped short of an absolute right of freedom of speech and expression. In fact, free speech can be restricted on grounds of morality, defamation and, even, friendly relations with foreign states. Do those restrictions go too far?



9) Fourth, how do you view Indira Gandhi’s Emergency? It happened not by suspending the constitution or acting outside of it but by imposing the constitution’s own mechanisms. Did that expose a weakness or flaw in the constitution?






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