New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, on Friday said that the Constitution of India is a 'feminist document and a product of true Indian imagination'. Speaking at the 8th Dr. LM Singhvi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, the CJI said that the drafters of our Constitution were aware that political equality would not suffice for the removal of social inequalities.
CJI Chandrachud further said that voting rights were denied to women initially until social reformers demanded equal citing rights. "Dr Ambedkar believed that without exercising the right to vote, the Universal Adult Franchise (UAF) would not be useful. Preparation of the first electoral roll was a momentous task as people were still grappling with the horrors of partition. In the electoral roll, women's individual names were missing. They were named as X's daughter or X's mother. The ECI took the time to rectify this amid all adversities," said CJI.
Talking further about the UAF, CJI said that it played a key role as those who were denied rights and power now became a deciding force in selecting the composition of Parliament leading to social transformation, and providing rights to social communities. CJI said that Indian UAF contradicts the myth that only a few can vote as the most vulnerable can also vote in our society and the uneducated have also shown tremendous political acumen. "Electoral democracy has been an agent of change at social and village levels," he said.
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Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, also spoke at the event. "India in 2015-16 was dealing with the Constitutional Amendment Act and as a matter of record, the entire Lok Sabha voted simultaneously and there was no abstention in Lok Sabha. Consequently, that amendment act was passed," he said.
"In Rajya Sabha, there was no opposition. The ordainment of the people came to be reflected through the most sanctified mechanisms, most applicable mechanisms. That power was undone. The world does not know of any such instance. I appeal to all judicial minds please think of a parallel in the world where a constitutional provision can be undone," said Dhankar, referring to the amendment regarding National Judicial Appointments Commission.
Dhankar further said that constitutional provisions should not be struck down by courts. "If the provision of the constitution which has the backing of so many people is undone, imagine what will happen," said Dhankar. He said that such judgment can make Dr BR Ambedkar turn in his grave and that the verdict should be overturned.
