Constitution should be credited for keeping country united during crises: CJI Gavai
Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): The Constitution has ensured that whenever the country has faced a crisis, it has remained united and strong, Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai said on Saturday.
The CJI was addressing a function after the inauguration of advocate chambers and multi-level parking at the Allahabad High Court here.
"When the Constitution was being made and its final draft was presented before the Constituent Assembly, at that time some people used to say that the Constitution is too federal while some used to say that it is too unitary.
"Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar had replied that the Constitution is neither wholly federal nor wholly unitary. But one thing I can tell you is that we have given a Constitution which will keep India united and strong both in times of peace and war," CJI Gavai said.
He said India has been on the path of development after independence due to the Constitution.
"Today we see what is the condition of our neighbouring countries. And India is making a journey towards development after independence. Whenever there has been a crisis in the country, it has remained united and strong. The credit for this should be given to the Constitution," he said.
In the 75-year journey of the Constitution coming into effect, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary have contributed a lot in bringing social and economic equality, he said.
"It is our fundamental duty to reach out to the last citizen of this country who needs justice. Be it the legislature, the executive or the judiciary, everyone has to reach out to that citizen," the CJI told the gathering.
Referring to the land reforms, he said some laws were brought under which land was taken from the landlord and given to the landless persons.
"These laws were challenged from time to time. Before 1973, the Supreme Court's view was that if there is a conflict between the Directive Principles and the Fundamental Rights, then the Fundamental Rights will prevail."
Gavai said, "In 1973, a decision of 13 judges came that the Parliament has the right to amend the Constitution and for this, it can amend the Fundamental Rights, but it does not have the right to change the basic structure of the Constitution."
The Chief Justice of India said that this bench had also said that both the Fundamental Rights and the Directives Principles are the soul of the Constitution.
Both of these are the two wheels of the golden chariot of the Constitution, if you stop one of these wheels, the entire chariot will stop.
He said, "I have always been saying that the bar and the bench are two sides of the same coin. Unless the bar and the bench work together, the chariot of justice cannot move forward.
"Today the Allahabad High Court has given a good role model for the whole country in which the judges vacated 12 bungalows for the bar (for the construction of the complex) and took care of the convenience of their lawyer brothers."
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
