The Supreme Court said that courts are the “ombudsman” of liberty and its “holy duty” to protect it. Then the question will arise whether the courts are performing their “holy duty” today.,
The Supreme Court is not expected to tell the country what is expected of it. Rather, the expectation remains that it compels the government to implement what is expected. The Constitution of India has made the Supreme Court fully competent for this. Even if there is no law, the Supreme Court can still use Article 140 of the Constitution to issue orders in accordance with the basic spirit of the Constitution. But the recent trend is that judges refer to constitutional spirit in their remarks both inside and outside the courtroom. They also occasionally mention its violations. But when it comes to delivering the verdict, people’s hopes are not fulfilled. A special observation made by the Supreme Court this week is also probably part of this series. Expressing concern over the increasing number of undertrials in the country’s jails, the Supreme Court said that democracy should not resemble a police system as both are opposed to each other. That’s absolutely right.
But is the Supreme Court not aware that the country is slowly turning into a police system? And one of the reasons for this is that when the actions taken in the spirit of the police machinery reach the Supreme Court, then the court hangs the justice in it? The court said that the arrest itself is a coercive step, which should be used sparingly. A police officer does not have the right to arrest someone just because he feels that he should be arrested. There are certain conditions for arrest and they must be fulfilled. The court emphasized the role of the courts in ensuring the liberty of the common people. Said that the courts are the “ombudsman” of this freedom and it is their “holy duty” to protect it “with zeal”. Then the same question will arise that why is there a perception that the courts are not performing their “holy duty”? Now what is expected is that the courts introspect on this. Otherwise, such things will start to feel meaningless.
