Institution that is both a monument and a mirror

India’s history is littered with bold experiments that fizzled and grand pursuits that stumbled under the kaleidoscope of its complex society.

- Ashish Bharadwaj Insiyah Vahanvaty

But some institutions became glorious successes, earning respect and shaping the nation.On January 26, 1950, India adopted its Constitution and two days later, the first hearing of the Supreme Court was held with a total strength of eight judges led by the first Chief Justice of India, Justice H J Kania. Eight years later, the Court found a permanent address on Tilak Marg in the national Capital, named after Lokmanya Tilak. A lawyer by training, Tilak was charged in arguably India’s first significant sedition case, in 1897, for publishing newspaper articles. Who knew that censorship, free speech, and freedom of press would be the centre of attention in the first year of the founding of the Supreme Court!