Public or pvt space, law can't look the other way

A holistic constitutionally governed society must be willing to look beyond the binary of public and private spaces to battle discrimination in terms of gender, caste, class and disability, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Sunday, stressing that the constitutional promise of equal protection of law will fail if the law looks the other way in the name of the sanctity of the household, or the sanctity of marriage, in cases of rights violations.

- Utkarsh Anand

A holistic constitutionally governed society must be willing to look beyond the binary of public and private spaces to battle discrimination in terms of gender, caste, class and disability, Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Sunday, emphasising that the constitutional promise of equal protection of law will fail if the law looks the other way in the name of the sanctity of the household, or the sanctity of marriage, in cases of rights violations.

According to the CJI, who was delivering the inaugural "Justice ES Venkataramiah Centennial Memorial Lecture" organised by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) at Bengaluru, laws ought to act as powerful tools in opening our public spaces as well as curbing private discrimination while addressing power imbalances regardless of their locations.

"The legal landscape must evolve, weaving a tapestry that accommodates differences, eradicates biased, and ensures substantive equality," he said.