"Human Rights -- The Essence of Constitutional Governance"

Chairperson Justice J.S. Verma delivered the first part of the Dashrathmal Singhvi Memorial Lecture – 2002 on “Human Rights – The Essence of Constitutional Governance” on 16 November 2002, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.



Speaking on the concept of human rights, the Chairperson said that human rights are not the gift or bounty of any political sovereign through legislation or any edict, but are rights inherent in human existence. The purpose of any law dealing with these rights is merely to recognize them, to regulate their exercise and to provide for their enforcement and ancillary matters. Non-derogation of certain basic rights in a civilized society is based on this premise. Human rights are considered to be universal, indivisible and interdependent.



Human dignity is the quintessence of human rights. It is the proper comprehension of the scope of this idea, and an appreciation of the amplitude of the concept of the dignity of the individual, that must define the true scope of human rights. A proper synthesis of human rights philosophy with that of human responsibility is essential for the effective realization of the rights of the human family.



Referring to good governance, he said, inclusive democracy is necessary, wherein there is fair representation of all sections of the community in governance and the rule is not by majority alone. Corruption-free governance is also a right of the people because it is directly related to the prospects of development.



Speaking of the limits of derogation, the Chairperson said that in a civilized society, in case of conflict, individual interest must always give way to public interest. However, certain civil liberties are deemed so important that even in times of public emergency their derogation is not permitted. Such is the significance of human rights even in difficult situations, wherein certain basic human rights remain non-derogable. Justice Verma also stressed the important link between human rights and human development in the process of empowering people.



Concluding the first part of his lecture, the Chairperson said that the essence of good governance lay in respecting the human rights of each individual, so that there could be full development and empowerment. In that sense, human rights and human development shared a common vision and served a common purpose.



Delivering the second part of the Dashrathmal Singhvi Memorial Lecture on 16 December 2002 in New Delhi, Justice Verma observed that the right to corruption-free governance was a basic human right as corruption denied the people what was legitimately due to them for their development. Further, corruption led to the violation of the right to equality and the right of life guaranteed in the Constitution. The Supreme Court had, accordingly, intervened in the Hawala Case to enforce probity and accountability in public life.



Through the judicial process of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), serious issues pertaining to probity in public life, rights of marginalized sections, sustainable development, environment, ecology and other issues had been dealt with by the Supreme Court and High Courts, he pointed out.



Notwithstanding resistance in certain quarters, PIL had come to stay because it was perceived by people as providing a public law remedy for the enforcement of their rights. It was within the ambit of constitutional governance, he added.



Justice Verma stressed the need to compile the judicial orders on PIL in order to give them a form of binding rules to ensure uniformity of procedure and predictability of the outcome in accordance with settled norms. “Juristic basis for every order in PIL is necessary for uniformity, certainty and its lasting effect. The principle underlying a representative action under order 1 Rule 8 CPC and control of the court through prior leave, with similar procedure, and appointment of an amicus curiae would prevent the possibility of abuse of PIL for ulterior purposes by motivated people. There is need to amend rules of the Supreme Court and High Courts to embody these principles”, he added.



Even though an independent judiciary was the constitutional watchdog, the ultimate responsibility for good governance was that of the people, he said. Education of citizens in the spirit of the Constitution and their empowerment to live by the rule of the Constitution would ensure good governance as envisaged by the Constitution, he said and added that people were the “only keepers” of the Constitution.



(The full text of the Chairperson’s speech is available on www.nhrc.nic.in).