Judicial verdicts cannot be reflection of influence of public opinion: SC judge Pardiwala
New Delhi, Jul 3: Supreme Court judge Justice J B Pardiwala on Sunday said the top court has only to keep the "rule of law" in mind while deciding on disputes as "judicial verdicts cannot be the reflection of the influence of public opinion".
Stressing on the primacy of the rule of law over popular public sentiments, Justice Pardiwala said balancing the intent of the majority populace on one hand and meeting its demand and affirming the rule of law on the other is an "arduous exercise".
"It requires extreme judicial craftsmanship to walk the tightrope between the two, that is 'log kya kahenge, log kya sochenge' (what will people say, what will they think) is an enigma which haunts each and every judge whenever he is to pen down a judgment," he said.
The apex court judge was speaking at the second Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium, organised by the Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow and the National Law University, Odisha, along with the Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities (CAN Foundation).
"I firmly believe that it is for the highest court of the country to decide things keeping only one thing in mind that is the rule of law.... The judicial verdicts cannot be the reflection of the influence of public opinion....
"I believe in a democracy, we have systemic agreements to live by court decisions. It does not mean that court decisions are always right and free of all other considerations. We simply agree to live by those. In a democracy, law is more important," he said speaking on the subject of "Vox Populi vs Rule of Law: Supreme Court of India".
Justice Pardiwala also said digital and social media need to be mandatorily regulated in the country to preserve the rule of law under the Constitution as it is "dangerous" on their part to cross the "lakshmanrekha" and undertake personalised, agenda-driven attacks on judges.
"The judiciary cannot exist independent of the society but the rule of law is insurmountable," he said.
Justice Pardiwala said conviction in the constitutional values and a conceptual understanding of the rule of law are needed to overcome the popular public sentiments, which at times are not in consonance with legal schemes.
"The rule of law is the most distinguishing feature of the Indian democracy. I firmly believe that there is no exception to it. The rule of law must prevail and public opinion has to be subordinate to the rule of law," he said.
The Supreme Court judge referred to jurists and said "we are the guardians of the right and we have to talk about things which people may not like to hear".
A judge, in an exceptional case, may have to be cognizant of the sentiments of the society and the effect of the judgment that he is going to deliver, he added.
Justice Pardiwala referred to various judgments, including the verdict that allowed the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala and the one that decriminalised consensual gay sex, and said these were against the popular public sentiment but in conformity with the concept of rule of law.
"The will of the people must prevail. The Constitution of India provides for an elected president.... State legislatures are also elected. But the Supreme Court judges are not elected neither are the high court judges, yet the Constitution confers the powers to undertake the judicial review and writ that the courts can nullify the unconstitutional act of the executive and the elected representatives of the people assembled in Parliament and the state legislatures," he said.
This conclusion does not necessarily imply that the judiciary is superior to the legislature and it only supposes that the power of the people embodied in the Constitution is superior to both, he added.
"The role of the judiciary and the role of the Constitution is the pious trust reposed by the people," Justice Pardiwala said.
Stating that judges must not participate in social media discussions, he said, "Judges never speak through their tongue, only their judgments."
"The rule of law is a distinguishing feature of the Indian Constitution. Countries which do not have parliamentary systems also have the rule of law. Even a dictatorship can also claim that it rules by law," the Supreme Court judge said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
