The Constitution of India enjoins the countrymen to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement, Sashikanta Mishra, Judge of the High Court of Orissa, said on Saturday.
“To abide by the Constitution is a fundamental duty, and justice is the engine that runs the nation,” Justice Mishra said while addressing faculty members and students of the SOA Deemed to be University here as part of the SOA Lecture Series.
“The Constitution starts with justice, goes through justice and ends with justice,” he said, adding the country should be proud of its civilisation, which influenced the drafting of the Constitution by the eminent members of the Constituent Assembly.
Justice Mishra said there existed a wealth of wisdom, knowledge and civilisational ethos before the experts sat down to draft the Constitution, adding that “it would be wrong to say that the British taught us law.”
Referring to the impact of the Constitution on the Indian people, he narrated his experience with an auto driver in New Delhi on a winter night long ago, when he refused to jump the traffic lights in the middle of the night when there were few vehicles on the road. “Though I prodded him to go ahead as I was eager to catch a train, he did not budge,” he said.
“Khud ko achha nahi lagega” (It will not feel good if I jump the traffic lights), the auto driver responded.
Justice Mishra said he had studied the Constitution as a lawyer, while the auto driver had never gone through the charter, but nonetheless, he was living by the provisions of the same. It reflected the impact of the Indian Constitution on its citizens, he said.
He also cited several everyday examples to highlight that one may or may not be aware of the constitutional provisions verbatim, but if the underlying principles, such as justice, equality, etc are reflected in one’s daily conduct, one would be truly living the Constitution.
“I have seen in England, as also in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that though there are no police personnel at traffic intersections, everybody follows the rules. When you follow the law, you are upholding the Constitution,” he said.
Describing Article 21 as the most important provision of the Constitution, as it guarantees personal liberty, he said this liberty can only be taken away by procedures established by law. Articles 14 and 21 also apply to undertrial prisoners as well as convicts, Justice Mishra added.
Though the Indian legal system had borrowed from other nations, its essence remained Indian, he said.
SOA’s Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Prasanta Kumar Patra presided over the programme, while Prof. S.A.K. Azad, Dean of SOA National Institute of Law, welcomed the guest speaker. Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare), proposed a vote of thanks.