“The State is Morally Bound to Uphold the Fundamental Rights of the People”
India Legal|May 10, 2021
Former Attorney General of India and renowned jurist SOLI JEHANGIR SORABJEE, 91, passed away at a private hospital in New Delhi on April 30, 2021 due to Covid -19. The legal luminary started his career in the Bombay High Court in 1953 and rose to become India’s highest law officer, the Attorney General of India (AGI), first during 1989-90 and then from 1998 to 2004. Also known for championing human rights, he was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur for Nigeria in 1997. He was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in March 2002 for his defence of freedom of speech and protection of human rights. A prolific writer, he has written on various subjects such as the Emergency, censorship, the press, fundamental rights, the Constitution and human rights. In an exclusive interview with RAJSHRI RAI, editor-in-chief, APN News that appeared in India Legal (June 22, 2020 issue), he had talked about the migrants’ plight, judicial activism and the Supreme Court. Excerpts:
Soli Sorabjee
“The State is Morally Bound to Uphold the Fundamental Rights of the People”

During your time as Attorney General, you projected the image that the State was indistinguishable from the people of India. The State represented the people. Today, it often appears that the institution of the A-G represents the State against the people. Distinctions between the government and the State are blurred. Is this a valid observation?

No. The Attorney General represents the State but keeps in mind the human rights of the people of India.

In the huge internal displacement of people now underway because of the corona pandemic, how should the State protect the migrants? It could not have been the intention of the founding fathers of the Constitution that its citizens shall be left to fend for themselves. In the situation which exists today, and not just on account of the pandemic, is it not imperative for the courts to intervene?

Judicial activism is commendable. However, the court cannot intervene in matters which are in the domain of the Executive except in cases where the Executive is acting in violation of a statute or where its acts are arbitrary or irrational.

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