A Sterling Example

The High Court’s verdicts have strengthened the rule of law and reminded the state government about its constitutional duties to protect people’s fundamental rights and dignity

- Shivam Sharma

THE judiciary in India is often regarded as the most sacred of all democratic institutions. Due to the dominant role it plays in public life, the courts also hold the paramount responsibility of shaping democracy and enacting social justice in the public sphere. In view of the coronavirus pandemic this year, the judiciary has had to undergo a radical overhaul in how justice can be accessed.

While most courts have dispensed laudable judgments, those of the Allaha bad High Court stand out considering that the state it is located in, Uttar Pradesh, is “bimaru” in more ways than one. It has shown the way forward to the regressive state government with its judgments and provided much-needed succour to the people. These verdicts have strengthened the rule of law and reminded the state government about its constitutional duties to protect people’s fundamental rights and dignity.

On February 24, 2020, the Allahabad High Court ordered that “suitable action” be taken against delinquent police officers found to have indulged in “unnecessarily caning” of students of Aligarh Mus lim University (AMU) and damaging vehicles during student protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in December 2019.