Institute of Legal and Management Studies

Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, former judge of the Supreme Court, said that those judges that say they sought divine intervention while pronouncing a certain judgment are actually violating the oath to the Constitution.

"Whether divine or bovine intervention, or any other kind of intervention, if a judge delivers a judgment, he is violating his oath to the Constitution. You are only to live by the oath of the Constitution and the laws and when you live by the oath to the Constitution and the laws, you certainly bring your own morality. That's about as far as it goes."

He was speaking at the 16th K.M. Bashir Memorial Lecture on 'Fraternity in a Secular State: The Protection of Cultural Rights and Duties' organised by the Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram.

Justice Nariman replied to an audience question : "Some judges, including chief justice, while pronouncing judgments talk of a divine intervention. What is this divine intervention, which I don't understand".

Last year, former Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, had said that the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid dispute was a case which was difficult to adjudicate and he had to pray to God to find a solution.

He had said: "Very often we have cases but we don't arrive at a solution. Something similar happened during the Ayodhya (Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute) which was before me for three months. I sat before the deity and told him he needed to find a solution. If you have faith and pray regularly, then God will find a way,"

Justice Chandrachud was part of the 5-judge bench which delivered the verdict in the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid case in November 2019.

His statement was criticised by many, including senior Advocate Indira Jaising, who said that its anti-constitutional to say the judge sought divine intervention to make their decisions.