Justice Gautam Patel: ‘A govt committed to democracy has nothing to fear from dissent’

Justice Patel’s comments on the RTI Act came a day after Chief Justice of India SA Bobde flagged fears of abuse of the legislation and indicated that the Supreme Court could frame guidelines to review its working.

Delivering the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy’s annual lecture, Justice Patel spoke on Institutional Autonomy in Democratic Governance. Senior advocate Arvind Datar also spoke at the event.

Justice Patel said that institutional autonomy is not merely desirable but fundamental to the functioning of a democracy. “Educational institutions have always been spaces for independence of thought and dissent. That is why illiberal governments first target educational institutions,” he said.

Providing little or no autonomy to educational institutions defeats the purpose of education itself, he added.

Also Read | Supreme Court: Need to evolve guidelines to stop misuse of RTI law

Apart from offices of information commissioners and educational institutions, Justice Patel cited environmental protection bodies such as the Pollution Control Board and Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) as among the institutions that must have institutional autonomy.

“Adjudication cannot be done as per the palate of the ruling government. Doing that would be the very essence of fascist regime and going away from a constitutional mandate,” Justice Patel said on the role of CBFC. “Art is political. All art is dissent. Art has value even if it is directly in opposition to the ideology of the government.”

Justice Patel said that institutions in a democratic republic are often ignored. He also regretted that the quality of discourse in the country is deteriorating. “The Constituent Assembly debates are an example of exemplary civility. Despite strong sentiments, the tone remained measured and debates were reasoned,” he said.

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