Unwavering clarity and commitment to deepening democracy at the grassroots was a passion for Justice P B Sawant and also led him to be recognised for verdicts of depth and calibre.
“Love jihad” is now entrenched in the public landscape. The term is today wielded by an aggressive majoritarianism, woven into a dominant caste Hindu narrative of religious extremism, Islamophobia, and communal hatred that has crept into Indian courtroom discourse as well.
For this saffron-robed modern-day Swami, the colour of the robes Agnivesh proudly sported meant sacrifice, purity and commitment. In a life well and fully lived – one that should be celebrated—he brought a renewed faith in the colour saffron.
Teesta Setalvad writes: India’s gaze has, for the first time, been turned towards the “migrant labourer”. For Indian democracy to learn the right lessons from the plight that a sudden lockdown caused this vast section of Indians, a condition that has been brought before the more settled and privileged sections, including politicians, one crucial element must surely be to secure to them the right and facility to vote.
Will Justice Suresh be remembered because with men (and women) like him on the bench, the lawyer and citizen felt “safe”? Because, whatever the outcome of a particular case, justice would be done and the constitutional mandate upheld?
The tone of this government’s argument for the National Judicial Appointments Commission recalls how a former regime browbeat the judiciary in the run-up to the Emergency.
