“The State is Morally Bound to Uphold the Fundamental Rights of the People”
India Legal|May 10, 2021
Former Attorney General of India and renowned jurist SOLI JEHANGIR SORABJEE, 91, passed away at a private hospital in New Delhi on April 30, 2021 due to Covid -19. The legal luminary started his career in the Bombay High Court in 1953 and rose to become India’s highest law officer, the Attorney General of India (AGI), first during 1989-90 and then from 1998 to 2004. Also known for championing human rights, he was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur for Nigeria in 1997. He was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in March 2002 for his defence of freedom of speech and protection of human rights. A prolific writer, he has written on various subjects such as the Emergency, censorship, the press, fundamental rights, the Constitution and human rights. In an exclusive interview with RAJSHRI RAI, editor-in-chief, APN News that appeared in India Legal (June 22, 2020 issue), he had talked about the migrants’ plight, judicial activism and the Supreme Court. Excerpts:
Soli Sorabjee
“The State is Morally Bound to Uphold the Fundamental Rights of the People”

During your time as Attorney General, you projected the image that the State was indistinguishable from the people of India. The State represented the people. Today, it often appears that the institution of the A-G represents the State against the people. Distinctions between the government and the State are blurred. Is this a valid observation?

No. The Attorney General represents the State but keeps in mind the human rights of the people of India.

In the huge internal displacement of people now underway because of the corona pandemic, how should the State protect the migrants? It could not have been the intention of the founding fathers of the Constitution that its citizens shall be left to fend for themselves. In the situation which exists today, and not just on account of the pandemic, is it not imperative for the courts to intervene?

Judicial activism is commendable. However, the court cannot intervene in matters which are in the domain of the Executive except in cases where the Executive is acting in violation of a statute or where its acts are arbitrary or irrational.

This story is from the May 10, 2021 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 10, 2021 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM INDIA LEGALView All
PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
India Legal

PIL, Difficult To Swallow?

In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?

time-read
6 mins  |
February 13, 2023
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
India Legal

Till Infertility Do Us Part...

The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
IS THAT LEGAL?
India Legal

IS THAT LEGAL?

Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis

time-read
3 mins  |
February 13, 2023
The Big Lie
India Legal

The Big Lie

In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Flying into the Sunset
India Legal

Flying into the Sunset

Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Star Crossed
India Legal

Star Crossed

Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Walkouts in the UK
India Legal

Walkouts in the UK

An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Myanmar's Misery
India Legal

Myanmar's Misery

Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
AMERICA'S ANGST
India Legal

AMERICA'S ANGST

From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
JUSTICE LEAGUE
India Legal

JUSTICE LEAGUE

There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences

time-read
9 mins  |
February 13, 2023