CJI underlines that legality alone does not ensure fairness or justice. “Just because something is legalised does not mean it is just.”

FPJ News Service Mauritius 

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Friday said that the Indian legal system is governed by the Rule of Law and not by the “rule of the bulldozer.” He was speaking in Mauritius while delivering the inaugural Sir Maurice Rault Memorial Lecture at the University of Mauritius on the theme “Rule of Law in the Largest Democracy.”

Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling against arbitrary demolitions, CJI Gavai said that demolishing houses of accused persons as punishment without trial violates due process and the fundamental right to shelter under Article 21. He stressed that the executive cannot assume the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. “The judgment sent a clear message that the Indian legal system is governed by the Rule of Law, not by the rule of the bulldozer,” he said. As reported by Live Law and Bar & Bench.

The CJI underlined that legality alone does not ensure fairness or justice. “Just because something is legalised does not mean it is just,” he said, citing the history of slavery in the United States, colonial-era laws that criminalised Indian tribes, and sedition laws misused to suppress dissent. He said new laws in India were enacted to correct injustices and make institutions accountable.

Tracing India’s constitutional journey, he invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar, noting that their vision shaped the Rule of Law as an ethical and moral framework to uphold equality and human dignity. He highlighted landmark judgments, including Kesavananda Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, triple talaq, and the Puttaswamy case on privacy, stressing that arbitrariness is anathema to justice.

Paying tribute to Sir Maurice Rault, the former Chief Justice of Mauritius, Gavai warned against unchecked power. Concluding, he called on India and Mauritius to ensure that the law must always serve justice, and justice must always serve the people.