Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJI) DY Chandrachud has said that the legal system is used as a weapon to suppress marginalized communities.
He said, ‘The enactment of discriminatory laws in America promoted slavery. Local people were targeted through Jim Crow laws.
He further said- In both America and India, many communities were not given the right to vote for a long time. In this way the law was used to maintain power structures and promote discrimination.
Marginalized communities had to bear the brunt of this for a long time. Discrimination and injustice in the society started being considered normal. Some communities became separated from the main stream of society. This led to incidents of violence and boycott.
CJI Chandrachud said these things in the sixth ‘International Conference on the Unfinished Legacy of Dr. BR Ambedkar’ on Sunday. This conference was organized at Brandeis University of America’.
During this, he said that the legal system played an important role in perpetuating the mistakes committed in history against marginalized communities. Marginalized social groups suffered discrimination, prejudice and inequality.
The CJI further said that even after the discriminatory laws are overturned, many generations may have to suffer the consequences.
CJI said that due to the practice of slavery, lakhs of African people had to leave their country. The local people of America had to leave their land. Due to the caste system in India, millions of people of lower castes had to become victims of exploitation. Women, the LGBT community and other minority communities were suppressed. History is full of such examples of injustice.
CJI said that after independence in India, many policies were made for the communities suffering exploitation. They were given opportunities for education, health, employment and representation. However, despite constitutional rights, women are facing discrimination and violence in the society. Even after the ban on discrimination based on caste, incidents of violence against backward communities continue to occur.
Chief Justice said that Ambedkar used to say – No matter how good the Constitution is, if the people who will be entrusted with the task of implementing the Constitution turn out to be bad, then the Constitution will be destroyed. It is sure to prove bad. At the same time, no matter how bad the Constitution is, if the people who have been given the responsibility of implementing it are good, then the Constitution is sure to prove to be good.
