Constitutional morality should prevail over cultural morality: SC Judge Ujjal Bhuyan

Some instances, like the one in which parents objected to mid-day meal prepared by a dalit woman, show how distant the systems were from constitutional morality, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the Supreme Court said on Saturday.

The Supreme Court Judge was delivering the keynote address on ‘Constitutional Morality and Role of the District Judiciary’ in an academic session convened at Telangana State Judicial Academy. A hue and cry was raised over the parents vowing that their wards would not eat food prepared for mid-day meal programme by a dalit woman, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said.

Recalling another incident of a landlady in Delhi declining to provide accommodation to a person after ascertaining the latter’s religion, he said such instances mirrored the situations faced by individuals. This was tip of an iceberg, the judge said suggesting many more would be witnessing such humiliating circumstances in day to day life.

The district courts being the base of judiciary pyramid in the country, should be strong and independent so that the courts at the apex level have stability, he noted. “While police department had command structure, that was not the case with the judiciary,” Justice Ujjal Bhuyan noted. Asserting importance of the district judiciary, he reminded that from the first woman judge of the Supreme Court, Fathima Beevi – to former Chief Justice of the SC, Justice Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi – to former SC judge Justice Han Raj Khanna, several eminent judges started their career from district courts.

Noting that Telangana had taken lead in ensuring higher representation for women in judicial officer posts, he appreciated that 283 out of the 478 judicial officers were women in the State. While the percentage of women in Grade-I officers was close to 50%, it was nearly 70% in junior civil judge posts. The percentage of minorities in judicial officer posts was 5.23.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan expressed concern over the low legal literacy among public in general and the educated in specific. Even educated persons were equating granting of bail with acquittal from cases, he said. He said that constitutional morality should prevail over cultural mortality.

Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh said judiciary excellence should begin at the district courts, noting that the culture of adjournments would end up only in expanding the litigation. The session was convened by Telangana Judges Association in association with the Telangana State Judicial Academy. Association secretary K. Murali Mohan coordinated the programme.