The legislature and the executive ”must enable” the practice of democratic ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity besides the courts sustaining these values by ”foregrounding” them in their judicial decisions, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday.In his speech at the end of the day-long Constitution Day function in the Supreme Court premises here, the CJI said, ”The Constitution does not force its citizens to choose between their rights and their culture. Rather, it includes the cultural, social and religious aspects in its journey to the goal of a democratic society.”The people of India, in their interactions with one another, must breathe life into the Constitution by practicing the democratic ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, he said.”The courts of the country must sustain this practice by foregrounding these same values in their judicial decisions, and the legislature and executive must enable the practice of liberty, equality, and fraternity,” he said.Listing out some of the achievements and future projects, Justice Chandarchud said there was no better way to celebrate the Constitution than by practicing its ideals every single day of our lives, the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity ”Through its programs, the Supreme Court has attempted to apply these ideals as well: it is in the process of extending the establishment of Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres to courts across jurisdictions and enabling paperless courts,” he said.
The top court recently inaugurated an online RTI portal to streamline processes of transparency, he said, adding that ‘E-seva kendras’ are being set up in every district so that every citizen may deploy technology to ease their journey through the legal system and the National Judicial Data Grid is a giant step towards making the legal profession more accessible.