NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India B R Gavai Wednesday said dignity serves as a guiding principle that connects rights, allowing the judiciary to develop a coherent framework for constitutional adjudication - whether in context of prisoners, workers, women or persons with disabilities.
Delivering the keynote address at the 11th L M Singhvi memorial lecture, CJI Gavai said the judiciary has always emphasised human dignity as the soul of the Constitution . He described it as a pervasive principle that underlines the spirit and philosophy of the Constitution, shaping the core values articulated in the Preamble - liberty, equality, fraternity and justice - across a wide array of judgments through the 20th and 21st century.
"SC has consistently recognised that human dignity is both substantive right and a normative lens through which all fundamental rights must be understood. It has been employed not only to safeguard a dignified existence for individual citizens but also as a constitutional tool to expand, interpret and harmonize rights," he said.
By anchoring constitutional interpretation in dignity, he added, SC has ensured Constitution remains a living instrument responding to evolving societal challenges while staying faithful to foundational values.
LS Speaker Om Birla, at the lecture, said that speedy justice is central to dignity.
Delivering the keynote address at the 11th L M Singhvi memorial lecture, CJI Gavai said the judiciary has always emphasised human dignity as the soul of the Constitution . He described it as a pervasive principle that underlines the spirit and philosophy of the Constitution, shaping the core values articulated in the Preamble - liberty, equality, fraternity and justice - across a wide array of judgments through the 20th and 21st century.
"SC has consistently recognised that human dignity is both substantive right and a normative lens through which all fundamental rights must be understood. It has been employed not only to safeguard a dignified existence for individual citizens but also as a constitutional tool to expand, interpret and harmonize rights," he said.
By anchoring constitutional interpretation in dignity, he added, SC has ensured Constitution remains a living instrument responding to evolving societal challenges while staying faithful to foundational values.
LS Speaker Om Birla, at the lecture, said that speedy justice is central to dignity.
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