The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday said that Dr Ambedkar was making a revolutionary statement by dressing in a three-piece suit to reclaim his community’s identity.
The CJI was delivering a lecture on “Law and Morality: Bounds and Reaches” in memory of former Attorney General of India late Advocate Ashok Desai, legal news portals reported.
Chandrachud, according to Live Law, added that Ambedkar crushed the Code of Conduct prescribed by the oppressor caste through his clothing choices to reclaim his community’s identity in society.
The groups that traditionally have socioeconomic and political power have an advantage over the weaker sections in establishing the code of conduct of morality for society.
“The argument that I’m trying to build is that vulnerable groups are placed at the bottom of the social structure; that their consent, even if obtained, is a myth,” he said.
Hundreds of young people die in India due to honour killings merely because they love someone or marry outside their caste or against their family’s wishes, Chandrachud lamented.
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In this regard, the CJI said that morality is a fluid concept that varies from person to person. But it is often dictated by dominant groups.
The CJI, according to Bar and Bench, added that members of weaker and marginalised groups are forced to submit to dominant groups and cannot develop their counterculture because of oppression.
He opined that the Indian Constitution was designed not for people as they were, but how they ought to be, Bar and Bench reported.
“It is the flag bearer of our fundamental rights. It guides us in our daily life,” Chandrachud said.
