'We Need More Bold & Courageous Judges, That Is How The Constitution Will Survive': Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Speaking at the farewell ceremony organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa for former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka, sitting SC judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said that the Constitution of India would survive by the appointment of more bold and courageous judges.

"As Caroline Kennedy said, we need to have more bold and courageous judges. We have had such judges and will continue to have them and this is how the Constitution will survive," he said.

Quoting Caroline Kennedy, he stated that the bedrock of all democracies is the rule of law, and that means we will have to have an independent judiciary with judges who can make decisions independent of the political wings that are operating. This is apt in India and speaks about the journey of Justice Oka, he added.

In discussing the journey of the basic structure of the Indian constitution, he stated that although India and Pakistan were adversaries across the borders and on the cricket field, India has always been a country of non-violence and peace.

He discussed the 1963 Pakistan Supreme Court case of Fazlur Kadir Chaudhary vs Mohammad Abdul Haq, where the basic structure of the Pakistan Constitution had been upheld and stated that this was the first germination of the concept of basic features.

In discussing the Kesavananda Bharti judgment, he noted that it had been long criticised due to its "anti-democracy" character, but that he didn't agree with the same and even the Supreme Court's constitution bench had upheld it in at least 10 judgements.

In speaking about the appointment of judges, Justice Bhuyan stated that the NJAC Act was brought in to do away with the Collegium system, but was struck down by the SC as it violated the separation of powers and interfered with the independence of the judiciary.

"Arun Jaitley, was much upset with this judgment. That he described the tyranny of unselected judges. He wondered as to how law passed by lawmakers were set aside by unselected judges. This objection, according to me, is untenable at all and has no place at all," Justice Bhuyan said.

In conclusion, he mentioned a quote by the first Indian President Rajendra Prasad, "We have prepared a democratic Constitution but the successful working of the Constitutional Institutions requires in those, who have to work them, willingness to respect the view points of others, capacity for compromise and accomodation."

In reflecting on the quote, Justice Bhuyan said, "How prophetic his words were. He spoke this in 1949, and today we are 2025. It was important then and so relevant even now."