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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie India

Indian Society Must Find Ways to Hold ‘Privileged’ Judicial Community Accountable

In recent years, some of the most dramatic situations in Indian public life have arisen in the higher judiciary—an arm of the state ideally characterized by collegiality, scholarship, predictability, and remoteness from raucous politics.

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By Suyash Rai and Anirudh Burman
Published on May 7, 2019
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Project

Political Economy

This program studies contemporary developments in India’s political economy, with a view towards understanding and informing India’s developmental choices. Scholars in the program analyze economic and regulatory policies, design and working of public institutions, interfaces between politics and the economy, and performance of key sectors of the economy such as finance and land.

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Source: Print

In recent years, some of the most dramatic situations in Indian public life have arisen in the higher judiciary – an arm of the state ideally characterised by collegiality, scholarship, predictability, and remoteness from raucous politics.

From the disregard of principles of natural justice and public squabbling among the judges to the politically consequential activism around the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and unpredictable reasoning in judgments (treatment of money bill argument in the Aadhaar case, and ignoring of evidence of low fatalities in the liquor ban case), the reality of the higher judiciary is increasingly divergent from the ideal conception. These situations also remind us how difficult it is to hold the higher judiciary accountable.

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This article was originally published in the Print.

About the Authors

Suyash Rai

Former Fellow, Carnegie India

Suyash Rai was a fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms, and the performance of public institutions in India.

Anirudh Burman

Former Associate Research Director and Fellow, Carnegie India

Anirudh Burman was an associate research director and fellow at Carnegie India. He works on key issues relating to public institutions, public administration, the administrative and regulatory state, and state capacity.

Authors

Suyash Rai
Former Fellow, Carnegie India
Suyash Rai
Anirudh Burman
Former Associate Research Director and Fellow, Carnegie India
Anirudh Burman
Domestic PoliticsDemocracyIndiaSouth Asia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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