Senior advocate Harish Salve argued before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday that every government minister is individually liable for the remarks he or she makes in public.
A five-judge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra is examining whether further “reasonable restrictions” should be imposed on the right to free speech of government ministers to protect the fundamental right to dignity and life of ordinary citizens.
The Bench is examining the question in the background of the public comments made by former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan that the gruesome Bulandshahr gangrape of a girl and her mother by bandits was a political conspiracy of then State government led by Akhilesh Yadav.
‘Faith in system’
Mr. Salve argued that the minister concerned does not need to hold a portfolio or need to be the Home Minister in charge of law and order to adhere to the Constitutional principles of his office.
“What is at stake is public faith in the system and in the institution... Democracy is very fragile, it depends on the faith of the public on the system,” Mr. Salve said.
Mr. Salve, who is the amicus curiae in the case before the Bench, said people do not take the law into their own hands because they trust the system to do justice for them.
“If you undermine the faith of the public in the justice delivery system, there will be complete anarchy,” Mr. Salve submitted.
‘Frame guidelines’
The senior advocate said the courts cannot remain a mute spectator when the fundamental right of life under Article 21 is violated in the exercise of free speech. He suggested the court could frame something in the line of the Vishaka Guidelines when there is a vacuum and until the Legislature kicks in to fill the loophole.
Mr. Salve pointed out that, increasingly, more and more public services are being given to private agencies. The theory that only government servants perform public service is outdated.
As we progress in society, the role of the State shrinks. The State has less and less of a role in our lives. Our jurisprudence has to change accordingly, he contended.
