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Suddenly new bold judgments and brave noises can be heard from the judges’ corner. On Monday (September 7), according to The Indian Express, the new Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court asserted: “This court would be governed by the rule of law and this institution will not be browbeaten by any kind of tactics. So, therefore, we will go strictly as per the law. We have taken the oath of the Constitution and we know how to preserve our oath and defend it…” Go forth, my Lordship.

Also on Monday, a division bench of Allahabad high court, boldly rebuked the Uttar Pradesh government and its officers for their “casual and cavalier exercise of authority.” The bench cautioned officers against reducing Uttar Pradesh to an “Orwellian dystopia” and reminded them that their loyalty lay with the Constitution, not the political executive.” About time, my Lordship.

And, then, a few Mondays ago the Chief Justice of India (CJI) himself had ticked off the Union government for wanting to ban a peaceful protest march planned by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). For good measure, CJI Surya Kant also upheld the idea of dissent. Better late than never, my Chief Lordship.

Every republican voice will welcome this display of judicial assertiveness. Indeed, future historians would be at a loss to decode as to how and why a whole generation of senior judicial corps allowed itself to be intimidated into submission by a bunch of politicians – even if “elected” with a clear-cut ‘mandate’ –........

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