Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

1 results

  • 10 - PN Bhagwati and the Transformation of India’s Judiciary

  • Edited by Rehan Abeyratne, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Iddo Porat
  • Book:
    Towering Judges
    Published online:
    25 March 2021
    Print publication:
    25 March 2021, pp 195-214

  • Summary

    Justice PN Bhagwati, who served on the Supreme Court of India from 1973 to 1986 (including as chief justice from 1985 to 1986) is widely regarded as the most influential jurist in post-independence India. He was the main architect of public interest litigation (PIL) in the 1980s. Moreover, his engagement with the press and civil society, along with his post-judicial career as a global advocate for human rights, made him a well-known figure beyond legal circles and kept him in the limelight long after his retirement from the Court. That Justice Bhagwati was a towering judge is beyond dispute. More contested is his legacy. This chapter argues that Bhagwati’s greatest strength as a justice – unwavering confidence in the rightness of his cause – turned out to be a grave weakness, causing substantial damage to India’s higher judiciary.