In a landmark development, the new statue of Lady of Justice will not be blindfold. The new statue is being seen as an attempt to leave the colonial legacy that existed in the British India behind and emphasise on the message that law is not blind in new India.
Commissioned at the direction of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the statue, located in the Supreme Court’s Judges’ Library sends the message that law in India is equal for all. The saree connects with Indian tradition.
Since decades the statue had been blindfolded depicting equality before the law, implying that courts cannot see the wealth, power, or other markers of status of those that appear before it, while the sword symbolised authority and the power to punish injustice. The subject had attracted the attention in numerous films, theatres questioning why the Lady of Justice is blindfolded?
In the new statue unveiled at the Supreme Court, the Constitution has replaced the sword with a new message that the law is not blind in the country, and nor does it symbolise punishment. The new statue dons a saree.
The new statue in the judges’ library in the Supreme Court, commissioned at the orders of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, has the eyes open and the sword replaced by the Constitution in its left hand in a move that is also being seen as an attempt to leave the colonial legacy behind, just as was done by replacing the colonial era criminal laws like the Indian Penal Code with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to top sources associated with the Chief Justice’s office, Justice Chandrachud believes that India should move forward from the British legacy and that the law is never blind, it sees everyone equally. “The sword is a symbol of violence but courts deliver justice according to constitutional laws,” source added.
However, the scales of justice in the right hand, have been retained as they represent balance in society and the idea that facts and arguments by both sides are weighed by courts before arriving at a conclusion.
