NEW DELHI: Representing Indian judiciary at Commonwealth Law Conference at Malta, Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant cited ‘Shah Bano’ case judgement, which had ruled that women irrespective of their faith, are entitled to maintenance from their husband and sounded the need for Uniform Civil Code, as a flag-post ruling for gender justice.
Justice Surya Kant, the third most senior judge of the SC, highlighted the rulings of the highest court that through progressive interpretation of the law and transformative adjudication has promoted constitutional morality, the leitmotif of the Commonwealth Charter of 2013, which has since become the defining document enlisting the core values and principles to which all member countries have committed themselves.
Quoting B R Ambedkar that the Constitution is not a mere lawyers’ document but a vehicle of life whose spirit is always the spirit of the age, Justice Kant said the SC has set dazzling examples in upholding human rights, freedom of speech, right to life and equality.
Putting focus on India’s commitment to gender justice and empowerment of women, the judge said in the 1985 Shah Bano judgment, the SC had declared that divorced women from all religious communities are entitled to maintenance. He also cited the quashing of the regressive triple talaq mode of instant divorce prevalent among Muslim community by the SC in Shayara Bano case (2017) and the judgment giving equal inheritance rights to women.
He said, through continuous monitoring, the SC has emerged as protector of forests and environment and has given several rulings for prevention of pollution of water and air while introducing the innovative ‘polluter pays principle’. The SC has also ruled that the right to a healthy environment is part of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21.
“The judiciary has consistently safeguarded women’s reproductive autonomy, affirming that women’s control over their own bodies is fundamental to their dignity and their right to life, whether it is in terms of their right to choose abortion or challenging coercive sterilization practices,” Justice Kant said.
