JOIN USCJI Ramana terms Indira Gandhi's disqualification in 1975 a 'judgement of great courage'
CJI N V Ramanna on Saturday termed the Allahabad high court's decision in 1975 to disqualify the then-prime minister Indira Gandhi as a "judgement of great courage" and said that it resulted in the declaration of Emergency in the country.
"In 1975, it was Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha from the Allahabad High Court who passed the judgment that shook the nation, when he disqualified Smt. Indira Gandhi. It was a judgment of great courage, which could be said to have directly resulted in the declaration of Emergency," the CJI said, while speaking on the occasion of laying of foundation stone of a new building complex of the Allahabad high court at Prayagraj.
The CJI, however, added that he did not want to "elaborate the consequences" of Emergency.
The Allahabad HC had disqualified Indira Gandhi and barred her from contesting elections for six years on a petition by socialist leader Raj Narain. Narain had lost to Indira Gandhi in the 1971 Lok Sabha polls in Raebareli.
Hailing the glorious traditions of the Allahabad High Court, which has a history of 150 years, he urged the members of the Bar and the Bench to "take a lead in protecting the rights, liberties and freedoms of the citizens".
He said that the importance of strengthening judicial infrastructure could not be overstated. "Sufficient judicial infrastructure can help improve access to justice, by catering to the ever-rising number of cases and litigants, and their changing needs" he added.
The CJI said that the courts in India still operated from dilapidated structures, without proper facilities and remarked that such a situation was "severely detrimental to the experience of litigants and lawyers".
"We neglected and failed to focus on providing good infrastructure for the Courts in India after the British left," he added.
The CJI said that he was "championing the National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC), which will develop concepts of the National Court Development Project and its implementation".
"The NJIC shall be along the lines of different infrastructure development statutory bodies that work towards creating national assets across the country. One of the design principles that the NJIC will follow is socially responsible and inclusive architecture," he said.
President Ram Nath Kovind, who was also present on the occasion, called for increasing the role of women in the judiciary.
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