Recently, a Bombay High Court judge said that not just government or the police but judicial power too should be restrained if exceeded. He said the judiciary was not above criticism. Judges need not necessarily agree with the pressures of the majority or the government’s point of view, it is the judge’s constitutional duty to guarantee free speech and remain neutral on volatile subjects. Voltaire famously said, “I may not agree with what you say but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” More than law, it is liberty that resonates with the common man, the liberty to think, act, speak, eat, dress and marry as he deems fit provided it does not harm others. There have been cases of judicial overreach by lower courts which generally go along with the government of the day in suppressing freedom of expression due to bad logic or poor application of mind. Such faulty jurisprudence should be called out by civil society and the free press. Sometimes it is good to give the learned judges a taste of their own medicine i.e. Be ye never so high, the law is above you. This would contribute to healthy ‘checks and balances’ in the judicial system.
