A leader with a heart

As the Chief Justice of India-designate readies to take over the country’s top judicial position, the system prepares for a balanced, humane approach to issues

- Sujit Bhar

WHEN Justice Nu thalapati Venkata Ramana takes over the top judicial chair in the country on April 24, it will be the culmination of his decades of struggle against injustice, as experienced from his humble beginnings, followed by student activism and even a stint in journalism. In the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI), the country will get a leader with immense achievement, yet with the humility to deal with fame and power. President Ram Nath Kovind put his official signature on the appointment of Justice Ramana on April 6. He will be succeeding CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde.

The importance of such a person leading the current stressed judicial system of the country is that his known and admired balanced approach to issues of law and society will be in evidence in pronouncements that the country follows closely.

He has already delivered several path-breaking verdicts, many around constitutional jurisprudence, commercial laws and civil liberties. In Anu radha Bhasin vs Union of India, he ended the year-long internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir and the progressive nature of the thought process behind the judgment re-established that the freedom of access to the internet was a fundamental right.

The apex court ruled that “an undefined restriction of internet services would be illegal and that orders for internet shutdown must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality.” The Court clearly stated that freedom of speech and expression included right to the internet and therefore was protected under the constitution.