Constitution not a privilege of few cosmopolitans, belongs to every citizen, says CJI Surya Kant

The comments from the CJ came in a speech at the launch of senior advocate Indira Jaising's memoir "The Constitution Is My Home: Conversations on a Life in Law".

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday said the Constitution belongs to all citizens equally and is not a privilege of a few cosmopolitans who can afford cost-bearing processes and engage the best of the brains.

The comments from CJI came in a speech at the launch of senior advocate Indira Jaising's memoir "The Constitution Is My Home: Conversations on a Life in Law".

The CJI, who was invited as the chief guest, could not attend the event and sent a video clip extending his warm greetings for the book launch and expressed his regret for not being present due to an upcoming meeting of BRICS judges.

"The Constitution is truly our shared home. It belongs not to judges alone, nor to lawyers, State or public authorities. It belongs equally to every citizen, be it an urbanite or a ruralite, or the poorest of the poor, or the marginalised, who seek justice within its framework and place faith in its promises.

"The Constitution is not a privilege of a few cosmopolitans who can afford cost-bearing processes and engage the best of the brains to assert something which our Constitution never intended to offer," the CJI said.

He said the Constitution is not simply a legal text governing society from a distance but is also a constant presence.

"It accompanies us in courtrooms and chambers, in arguments and deliberations. But its reach extends far beyond formal legal spaces and its influence is ultimately measured in the lives of citizens and in the character of our democracy," he said.

Observing that constitutionalism is concerned with preserving coherence between authority and principle, the CJI said public institutions function best when power and responsibility are exercised in a spirit of balance, accountability, transparency and fidelity to foundational values.

"It is this continuing commitment that allows a democratic society to respond to changing circumstances while preserving the ethos and ideals that sustain it," he said.