Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur noted in the Supreme Court on Friday, “M ain bhi aansoo ro rahan hoon ” (I too am shedding tears), while ticking off a PIL petitioner, who wanted a blanket order from the court directing the authorities all over the country to remove encroachments from footpaths.
Mr Justice Thakur, who had once said he is of an “emotional” temperament, said the Supreme Court cannot be expected to pass orders on every issue bothering the country and create a “Ram rajya.”
The petitioner, who argued in person for his NGO, Voice of India, said: “I shed tears of blood seeing the plight of this country... footpaths all over the country are taken over... billions of rupees are spent on the salaries of officials and the police, who do nothing.”
A Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, found the petition too improbable. Mr. Justice Thakur even initially called the court's security personnel to remove the petitioner from the courtroom. Regardless of this, the petitioner continued to argue, raising his voice.
“Citizens’ fundamental rights are at stake. You are here to protect our fundamental rights... if you cannot do that, what is the point of having fundamental rights under the Constitution... Go ahead and strike them off,” the visibly upset petitioner told the Bench.
To this, Mr. Justice Thakur reasoned that everything cannot be done by the judiciary. Courts can only pass orders which can be implemented. “We cannot order that all the footpaths in India should be cleared... We cannot order that all corruption in India should be stopped... We cannot order that murder should come to an end... We cannot say that Ram rajya (ideal governance) should prevail all over India... Is it possible?” he asked the petitioner.
“But every morning in the newspapers we see that the Supreme Court has sought status reports from the CBI in this case and that... tell me, what is the utility of fundamental rights in this country if every public space is encroached,” the petitioner countered.
The Bench, which was about to dismiss the petition, adjourned the case to February 2017.
Mr. Justice Thakur is retiring in January 2017.
