New Delhi: Most weekend memorial lectures by sitting judges pass with little public attention. Not those delivered by Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who has often used such platforms to candidly critique the judiciary’s role in some of India’s most politically and constitutionally sensitive issues—a rarity in today’s judiciary.
The issues and incidents he has spoken about with unusual candour for a SC judge over the past year are varied—the criminalisation of protests and shrinking space for dissent, arrests of 14 Muslim youths in March for holding an Iftar on the Ganga in Varanasi, Bombay HC refuting to allow a solidarity demonstration in support of Palestine, judicial independence and post-retirement appointments.
Appointed the Additional Judge of Gauhati High Court in 2011 and confirmed in 2013, Justice Bhuyan was elevated to the top court in 2023. In between, he served in the Bombay High Court in 2019, and the Telangana HC in 2021, where he also took charge as the chief justice in 2022. Set to retire in August 2029, he is not in line to become the chief justice of India.
In his latest speech—delivered on 25 July at the 4th Memorial Lecture of Justice G.P. Singh at the National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal—the sitting Supreme Court judge raised critical structural concerns about civil liberties, the criminalisation of protests, and the functioning of the judiciary.
“The right to express one’s views and to demonstrate peacefully are fundamental freedoms of the citizens. Debate and dissent are the essence of democracy. Unfortunately, even normal activities are being criminalised”, he said, making a reference to the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest, and agitation by other student groups.
He noted how dissent and protests are very central to India’s democracy.
“These issues raise serious questions…though the courts are responsive and do grant bail, many a time it is belated. But it is the restrictive conditions which are imposed while granting bail that are causing the greatest concern. By such restrictive orders, are the courts indirectly telling the citizens or discouraging the citizens not to express their dissent?” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also spoke on the ‘Ganga-Iftar boat’ case. In March 2026, 14 Muslim weavers were arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments after they organised an Iftar party on a boat in the middle of the Ganga in Varanasi. They allegedly ate non-vegetarian food and threw leftovers into the river. They were granted bail in May by the Allahabad High Court.
“I am sure consuming chicken biryani is not an offence. It can’t be an offence…they were arrested for that very reason, and they had to remain in jail for three months,” he said on Saturday, criticising their arrest.
On 18 July , speaking on ‘Arbitration in India: Reform, Relevance and the Road Ahead’, organised by The Law Forum, Justice Bhuyan opined it is pointless to celebrate arbitration weeks if court verdicts and policies undermine arbitration.
It was at this event that Justice Bhuyan described the April 2024 Supreme Court curative judgment—which overturned an SC ruling upholding an arbitral award directing the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to pay nearly Rs 8,000 crore to DAMEPL over the Airport Express Metro Line concession agreement—as one that had caused “the most extensive damage to arbitration in India.”
The Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited was a Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium that operated the Airport Express Metro Line under a concession agreement, before handing over the operations to the DMRC in 2012….
Source: The Print
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