'Not legislature or judiciary, it is the Constitution that is supreme'

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh High Court Judge Justice DVSS Somayajulu said neither the judiciary nor the legislature is supreme and that it is the constitution that is supreme in India. In a seventy-minute-long comprehensive address that focused on 'Judiciary in Retrospect and Prospect' organised jointly by the Centre for Policy Studies and Visakhapatnam Public Library, the AP High Court Judge traced the growth and role of the Supreme court during the last seven decades.

Referring to the important judgments in the initial period of the Apex Court, he narrated how the concept of fundamental rights and the concept of judicial review were treated earlier by drawing comparisons to the later period.

Justice Somayajulu said that by reason of forward looking interpretations and not merely textual interpretations, the higher courts have enormously benefited society in general. He noted that positive forward looking interpretations led to the growth of law in the area of women's rights, protection of women form sexual harassment, etc., He said the need for a solution and the need to address a problem led the SC to lay down guidelines for protection of women in the case of Visakha and later cases. He said that if there was any executive or legislative inaction the courts stepped in to give a solution and address the issue with immediate effect.

Further, Justice Somayajulu referred to the human rights jurisprudence, growth of public interest litigation and their benefits. He said that even a letter or a postcard was treated as a petition and access to justice is now available to the poorest of the poor and the downtrodden. He concluded by saying that despite the criticism leveled, the judiciary is highly respected and the faith of the common man in the system is still not shaken and it reflects in the increasing cases filed per year in all the courts.

While A Prasanna Kumar of the Centre for Policy Studies presided over the meeting and secretary of the Visakhapatnam Public Library DS Varma welcomed the gathering. Secretary of Dr Lankapalli Bullayya College Dr G Madhukumar recalled how Justice Somayajulu, who graduated from the college, inherited judicial prowess.  Former Vice Chancellor of National Law School of India University R Venkata Rao, who was Justice Somayajulu's teacher, also spoke on the occasion.