Liberty has to be protected, inequality needs to be confronted: CJI Surya Kant

15/07/2026

NEW DELHI, Jul 14: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday said that inequalities persist despite formal equality and institutions strive to retain public trust in an age of impatience, emphasising the need for confronting inequality and protecting liberty.
Speaking at a ceremony for the launch of a book titled "The Voice of Justice: Justice Gavai Speaks" written by former CJI B R Gavai, Justice Kant said while fundamental rights give the citizen protection against arbitrary power, the directive principles give the republic its direction towards a more just social order.
"This balance, between individual freedom and social transformation, is one of the recurring concerns of his constitutional thought," he said.
The CJI further said, "This is where the book speaks most clearly to the present moment. The questions before constitutional courts nowadays are not simple ones.
"Today, technology often moves faster than doctrine. Inequalities persist despite formal equality. And institutions strive to retain public trust in an age of impatience."
The book, which comprises speeches of ex-CJI Gavai given in his public life, was launched by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.
Judges of the Supreme Court, including Justice Vikram Nath, several judges of the Delhi High Court, Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and others attended the function.
In his address, the CJI said, "Liberty has to be protected, but inequality also has to be confronted."
He said Justice Gavai's speeches do not offer easy answers to these anxieties but offer a method, an insistence that the law retain its human face even while modernising, that courts remain accessible even while managing complexity, and constitutional morality must not remain a phrase reserved for judgments but should inform institutional 'dharma' in everyday life.
While lauding Justice Gavai for the book, CJI Kant said, "Even while occupying high constitutional office, he has remained connected to the world which he came from -- to the Bar, to the regions and institutions that shaped him, and to the constitutional promise that law must reach people who do not always come to court with power, privilege or resources."
Justice Vikram Nath, who also spoke on the occasion, said the book is both timely and long overdue, because it captures the thoughts and ideas of someone whom he had the privilege of knowing not only as a colleague on the bench but also as a dear friend.
He said a courtroom can often be an intimidating place, but Justice Gavai's wit and natural ease reminded everyone that courtesy and compassion are not inconsistent with firmness or discipline.
"Perhaps that is why I have always felt that a book like this was long overdue," he said.
Justice Nath said judgments necessarily speak in the disciplined language of law but speeches, however, often tell us a lot more about a judge, the values he holds, the institutions he believes in and the society he hopes to help build.
"In that sense, this book complements his judicial work by offering readers a fuller picture of the person behind the judgments. The book contains an impressive range of subjects -- constitutionalism, access to justice, legal aid, fundamental rights, judicial reforms, technology, conflict resolution, international judicial cooperation and social justice," he added.
Justice Gavai, who thanked the dignitaries, including the vice president and CJI for taking out their valuable time for the book launch, said the book will serve not just as a collection of addresses but as a record of ideas that have engaged him throughout his public life.
Speaking about the book, he said, "The speeches carried in this volume span different stages of public life, a collection of a wide range of themes, values, access to justice, social justice and evolving roles of the court in a constitutional democracy."
Justice Gavai pointed out that though each speech given by him was in a different context, they were connected by a common belief that the Constitution is ultimately meant to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.

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