Audit of effectiveness of fundamental rights could yield ‘unpleasant’ findings: J. Chelameswar

Former Supreme Court Justice J. Chelameswar on Saturday (May 30, 2026) expressed doubts about how effectively constitutional fundamental rights protect the common people. He said an audit into the matter could produce “very unpleasant” findings.

He made the critical remarks while inaugurating a two-day national conference at the Government Law College, Ernakulam on the theme ‘Shaping the Future of Legal Education: Innovation, Practice and Reforms’.

“The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights textually. But if there is a proper audit of how the safeguards work to protect the common man in practice, the report would be very unpleasant. I have no statistics. I am speaking from my life experience,” said Mr. Chelameswar.

“All that is required to deprive an individual of their liberty is that someone in government must believe that the person’s actions harm the sovereignty of the country,” he added.

He emphasized that the direction in which the constitutional system is headed is a matter for each judicial fraternity to examine.

He said it is important to understand what is wrong with the system to innovate constitutional law. In the field of private law, history and technology played a vital role in innovation or reform, he added.

The former judge pointed out that there is a renewed interest in the study of law compared to the old days and urged law students to be clear about the purpose of the entire legal system by the time they graduate. “Ultimately, it’s all for the people, for maintaining an orderly society. Powerful people can always take care of themselves. The weaker sections of society don’t have to defend themselves. It’s for them that we have to study, understand and improve the system,” he said.

K. Chandru, a former judge of the Madras High Court, was the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony. He disputed the argument that “Indian jurisprudence” must be introduced in place of the current system, which is often seen as a colonial legacy. “Some judges keep saying that certain interpretations should be thrown out because we have our own interpretations. If you believe that the law is universal and that there are certain principles that cannot be compromised, then we should also welcome knowledge from all places,” he said.

He said it was high time legal studies covered topics like poverty and caste system. “We need to approach legal studies by asking how they are relevant to the larger population of the country. Law schools today are not discussing contemporary issues that really affect us all. When the court fails or takes a different path, we can take the position that this cannot be allowed,” he added.

Published – 31 May 2026 01:40 IST