PANAJI: Bombay high court judge Justice Mahesh Sonak said on Thursday that not just government or police power, even judicial power should be restrained if exceeded. Speaking at an event at Dhavali, Ponda, he said that the judiciary is not above criticism.
Sonak said that judges may not always agree with the views of the media, but it is the judges’ constitutional duty to guarantee free speech. He was speaking after the presentation of the Lokvishwas Pratishthan’s Shree Narayan Athawale Smruti Patrakarita Puraskar.
“As an institution, just as we are sure that you (media) will not let us down, we will also stand by the constitutional guarantee of free speech, whether such speech is to our liking or not. That, we believe, is our constitutional duty. Let us recall Voltaire’s famous words: I may not agree with what you say but I shall defend to the death your right to say it,” said Sonak.
He said that more than law, liberty is finally what lies in the hearts of men and women.
Commending on the work of Lokvishwas Pratishthan, which has a number of institutions across Goa working with children with special needs, Sonak said, “Our efforts at reasonable accommodation and inclusivity, which is a right of the differently-abled, fall woefully short. Lokvishwas has consistently toiled and continues to strive to see that this environment changes”.
He said that disability exists not because some person has to use a wheelchair or crutches, but because the broader environment around such a person is not made accessible to them. “Unfortunately, we are not fully prepared, fully sensitised to these issues as a society,” he said.
