Topic Of The Day:- “Judicial Empathy”
The first aspect is the importance of judicial empathy. In a violently exclusionary society, the application of the Constitution to lives as lived is an extremely emotional moment. We have people from India’s most oppressed castes dying painful deaths without dignity in the sewers of the same city where the court sits. There is neither accountability nor due diligence on the part of the state. The time for the expression of judicial empathy is now. Justice Indu Malhotra’s lines in Johar are apposite: “History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries.” Given the urgency, with people dying daily despite constitutional and statutory protections, how do we right these historical wrongs, or at least “set the course for the future”? We are all agreed that the de minimis approach is bad law — rule by law rather than rule of law, as it should be, to echo Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The fact that it is still possible for people to be sent into sewers without protection, and to be forced to perform degrading labour is enough for us to sit up and take note. Outgoing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra set out four cardinal corners of the Constitution: Individual autonomy and liberty; equality sans discrimination; recognition of identity with dignity; right to privacy. He also underscored the centrality of fraternity to the constitutional value system. These signposts require us tocontemplate and act on the meanings and expressions of “intrinsic dignity” for conservancy workers and safai karamcharis. If “self-determination and the realisation of one’s own abilities” lie at the core of personhood, how would forced, unsafe and degrading labour, and persistent untouchability figure in this new constitutional imaginary? In the case of safai karamcharis, we are today witness to the “violation of fundamental rights that strikes at the root of their existence” (Justice Misra), and there are no visible pathways to freedom in this virulent caste society. Lest we forget, untouchability is a crime under the Constitution.
MEANING AND WORD
1) diligence
Meaning : careful and persistent work or effort.
Synonyms : alertness , intensity
Antonyms : inactivity
Example : “few party members challenge his diligence as an MP”
2) apposite
Meaning : apt in the circumstances or in relation to something.
Synonyms : germane , relevant
Antonyms : inappropriate
Example : “an apposite quotation”
3) ignominy
Meaning : public shame or disgrace.
Synonyms : baseness , lowness
Antonyms : honor
Example : “the ignominy of being imprisoned”
4) recognition
Meaning : identification of a thing or person from previous encounters or knowledge.
Synonyms : acceptance , admission
Antonyms : denial
Example : “she saw him pass by without a sign of recognition”
5) fraternity
Meaning : a group of people sharing a common profession or interests.
Synonyms : camaraderie , guild
Antonyms : sorority
Example : “members of the hunting fraternity”
6) contemplate
Meaning : look thoughtfully for a long time at.
Synonyms : aim , consider
Antonyms : forget
Example : “he contemplated his image in the mirrors”
7) virulent
Meaning : (of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its effects.
Synonyms : venomous
Antonyms : kind
Example : “a virulent strain of influenza”
