Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Prashant Bhushan
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Indian lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
Last updated on December 23, 2024.
Not wanting to suffer criticism, the judiciary has used its power of contempt to stifle criticism.
I have had the greatest respect for the institution of the Supreme Court. I have always believed it to be the last bastion of hope, particularly for the weak and the oppressed who knock at its door for the protection of their rights, often against a powerful executive.
Independence of Judiciary means independence from Executive and Legislature, but not independence from accountability.
The secreting of wealth in tax havens is often justified as 'legitimate tax planning.'
Selecting about 100 judges of the higher judiciary every year in a rational and fair manner is an onerous task requiring a full-time and not an ex-officio body. An ex-officio body of sitting judges and ministers cannot devote the kind of time required for this job.
Over the years, the judiciary has expanded its own powers by creative interpretations of the Constitution, particularly Article 21 which guarantees the right to life. This has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the right to a healthy environment, to health, primary education, livelihood and shelter.
In any food crisis, it is the top of the food chain that suffers the most. In the case of farmer's distress, the top of food chain is us - the end consumer.
You cannot cave in saying something that is against your conscience and belief. That self-righteous ego is a must for any self-respecting, truth-loving person.
Stiglitz is not a Left economist. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a more authentic insider and establishment figure than Stiglitz.
Some are motivated by a desire to mould the law to expand the rights of the downtrodden, while other may be motivated by a desire to maintain the Status Quo. Some may even be motivated by a desire to protect what they perceive to be their class interest. And such motives may not always even be conscious to the judges.
A corrupt judiciary is hardly likely to hold a corrupt executive to account.
Man's endeavour to cross even the most difficult terrain with railway lines has produced some of the most stunning marvels of engineering of the modern age.
When the fascists are through with the Muslims and Christians, they will turn on the others.
The retention of the power to punish for contempt for acts of speech alone, which do not directly interfere with the administration of justice, has removed the last shred of accountability of the higher judiciary in the country.
If public servants are freely allowed to take up lucrative post retirement jobs with companies to whom they have awarded contracts while they were in government, it would open up an easy way for companies to bribe public servants by offering them lucrative post retirement jobs.
Chinese engineers have spent years finding solutions to the problems of building a railway line on permafrost ground at altitudes above 4,000 metre.
It is well settled in our Constitutional scheme that all Parliamentary Acts and mandates bind the executive. Any executive act, which violates any express or implied mandate of the Parliament, is unconstitutional and void.
It has always been accepted, even in pronouncements by the Supreme Court that the Court and its judgements can be subjected to strong, even trenchant criticism. Is the same yardstick not available for comments on the use or abuse of the Court's powers of contempt?
It is this obsession with GDP and FDI growth and a facile belief that this growth in the GDP would trickle down to the poor as well, that has led to the neglect of the genuine concerns of the poor in the country.
Every institution, including the judiciary has its share of black sheep and corrupt judges.
If only Rs.10 lakhs on an average were given to each of the less than 1 million villages in the country for rainwater harvesting on the lines pioneered by the Tarun Bharat Sangh in Rajasthan, much of the agricultural land in the country could be irrigated.
During Manmohan Singh's formative years, it was a matter of great pride to be called to the Indian Civil Service for serving the Empire.
The judiciary is peopled by judges who are human, and being human, they are occasionally motivated by considerations other than an objective view of law and justice.
One should at least have some self-righteous ego. Not in the sense that you refuse to apologise even when judges reason with you to apologise. Self-righteous ego in the sense that nobody can force you to apologise if there is no reason to do so.
It is true that the battle for secularism must be fought in the hearts and minds of people, but how does one reach out to the hearts and minds in a fascist state?
The main reasons for the growth and institutionalization of corruption are: a culture of secrecy with lack of transparency, and weak institutions for securing the accountability of public servants, such as the Vigilance bodies, the criminal investigative agencies and the judiciary.
Having enjoyed enormous powers, including the power of contempt, without any accountability, the higher judiciary has over the years, trampled the toes of many persons and institutions, particularly the media.
When I said that the court should be willing to suffer even intemperate criticism, I did not mean that people should level intemperate criticism. What I said is even if criticism is intemperate or unfair and bordering on scurrilous and abusive, it will be understood for what it is by the people.
The court's reputation is affected by what people say only if it seems to have a ring of fairness and authenticity.
Since environmental and health damage is not factored into reducing GDP - and in fact the resulting health costs and the costs of cleaning up the environment would also inflate GDP, a GDP obsessed government would try and dismantle environmental and health regulations.
How we decide the vexed issue of the method of selection of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts would determine the future of our democracy and the rule of law in the country. We are faced with the twin problem of selecting the best judges and also ensuring that the judiciary would be insulated from executive interference.
Every Indian wants a strong and independent judiciary. Obviously if the courts get weakened, it weakens the republic and harms every citizen.
The U.S. diplomacy in trying to bring around small-undecided nations to support its resolution to attack Iraq has been marked by threats and blandishments. The blandishments held out are a piece of the pie of the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.
Indeed, public scrutiny is desirable for healthy functioning of judiciary itself.
Long live democracy!
No public servant or legislator can claim any privacy to take money for conducting their official functions.
Unless there is a strong movement of citizens, who are the consumers of justice, we are hardly likely to see any serious judicial reforms in this country.
No one can say that there are no monopolistic or restrictive trade practices in India.
The problem of illegal migrants into India, particularly from Bangladesh has been a longstanding and vexed political and legal problem, particularly since 1971 when there was a large scale influx of Bangladeshi refugees into India.
Joseph Stiglitz was the chief economist of the World Bank for three years till January 2000. Before that he was the chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. No one can speak more authoritatively or with greater inside knowledge about the functioning of the Washington consensus institutions.
Any unfair and scandalous allegations made by disgruntled litigants will be ignored and recognised for what they are by the public, and can be dealt with under the law of civil and criminal defamation.
When a few people control the bulk of money, they can not only influence elections by money power - which enables various forms of advertising and propaganda campaigns - they can also corrupt and misuse all institutions of the state to influence elections.
It is difficult to believe that parties are unaware of the crimes that their M.P.'s are committing. But there is no effort to take action against them, till they are caught and publicly exposed.
Implementation of reforms within the Police and Intelligence agencies should certainly improve security and reduce terror attacks. But that will not eliminate the problem. Israel, with the most efficient intelligence, security and police has not been able to eliminate the problem, despite the small size of the country.
It does not take much technical knowledge to understand why the interlinking of rivers is an absurd idea and a ruinous project.
I am extremely grateful and humbled by the solidarity and support expressed by countless persons, ex-judges, lawyers, activists and fellow citizens who encouraged me to remain firm and true to my beliefs and conscience.
I believe that open criticism of any institution is necessary in a democracy, to safeguard the constitutional order.
In the Constitution of India the Supreme Court and the High Courts were seen as watchdog bodies, independent of the executive, and entrusted with the task of seeing that all institutions function in accordance with the Constitution, and the Rule of Law.
A serious flaw found by the Court in the IMDT Act was that it did not place the burden of proving his Indian citizenship on the person accused of being a foreigner, unlike in the Foreigner's Act.
When the entire administration of the state connives with the perpetrators of violence to thwart justice at every step, clearly there is no rule of law in that state.
The question of burden of proof is relevant only in a situation where there is no evidence either way.
India is a land of minorities. Everyone belongs to some minority.
PM Narendra Modi had promised to bring back black money, which he said could put Rs 15 lakh in each of our pockets. If he wants to repair his damaged credibility in this regard, we need to see swift and visible action on the Panama Papers.
I am pained that I have been held guilty of committing contempt of the Court whose majesty I have tried to uphold - not as a courtier or cheerleader but as a humble guard - for over three decades, at some personal and professional cost. I am pained, not because I may be punished, but because I have been grossly misunderstood.
The wide and unregulated power of contempt given to the courts has been deliberately interpreted by the courts in a manner which has served to intimidate the media from exposing corruption and misbehaviour by the courts and judges.
For any unbiased and realistic enquiry against judges, one needs a full time body, independent of the government as well as of the judiciary, with an investigative machinery under its control, through which it can get complaints investigated.
It is argued by our GDP obsessed policy planners that eventually the money being made by the stock market operators or the IT industry would trickle down to the poor farmers in terms of ancillary jobs that would be created. But the fact is, that this has not happened, despite the boom in the stock market and the IT industry.
In order to keep the judiciary independent of the executive, the constitution provided impeachment as the only method for disciplining errant judges.
With the passing of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, who had just entered his 100th year, the world has lost one of the greatest judges and jurists of all time and also a fine human beings. He used his extraordinary juristic and intellectual gifts to help everyone he could and to address all forms of human suffering.
There exists a cell of policemen within the Delhi Police which is accountable to no one but itself. Operating without uniforms, these are the dreaded encounters specialists of Delhi.
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