Justice B.V. Nagarathna’s message on Constitution Day, 2023

Transcript:

Justice B.V. Nagarathna: The goals of a society, and particularly the Indian society, are all there in the Constitution. It is for us, the citizens, the judges, the advocates, the persons who are in the executive, the politicians, et cetera, to understand those goals and not to give up any opportunity in implementing the goals. If you go through the framing of the Constitution, and particularly with regard to the constitutional debates, read them how meticulously the placing of a word in an Article has been debated upon, you will know, and therefore, in order to see that the vision of the Constitution which the framers have given us is perpetuated, it becomes the duty of every citizen not only to understand it, but to live by the spirit of the Constitution. And one more aspect I would like to say is the Indian constitution has been a binding force. I have always thought India has over a 1.30 billion population. It is a subcontinent, it has a history, a huge geography. What binds us as Indians? There is something which binds us as Indians. According to me, it is the Indian Constitution. Particularly after 1950, and a common legal system with a common hierarchy of courts and the Supreme Court at the helm. These are all binding forces. We say unity in diversity. Constitution is one of the unifying factors and hence the need all the more now to go by the letter and spirit of the constitution.