SC judge flags paradox in global human rights | Latest News India

In a pointed remark during his address in Stockholm earlier this week, Justice Kant, who is set to assume the office of the Chief Justice of India later this year, said: “To be candid, it is somewhat paradoxical when countries with some of the most rigid immigration policies, and a documented tendency to resort to excessive use of force, even in response to minor infractions, position themselves as the foremost champions of human rights.”

Delivering a speech on India’s human rights framework and refugee response, Justice Kant warned that such critiques, “when unaccompanied by self-reflection or contextual understanding, undermine the very values they claim to uphold.”

His comments come amid growing global tensions over refugee policies, migration control, and the balance between state sovereignty and humanitarian obligations. Justice Kant said India’s approach to these challenges is shaped by both its constitutional morality and ancient traditions that value dignity and compassion.

He emphasised that India remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening its human rights framework and crafting a more humane response to the refugee crisis, drawing from its civilisational ethos of compassion, dignity and shelter.

“India remains resolutely committed to strengthening its human rights framework and evolving a more effective, humane response to the refugee crisis that continues to challenge the global conscience,” the judge maintained.

The judge urged the global community to acknowledge and respect the plurality of approaches in dealing with human rights. “Much like the diverse ways in which cultures savour their coffee, each shaped by unique histories, climates, and customs, every nation crafts its human rights framework and crisis responses in accordance with its legal traditions, socio-political realities, and cultural ethos.”

“Meaningful progress lies not in uniformity, but in mutual understanding, where each nation is afforded the dignity of its own path, shaped by both heritage and contemporary responsibility,” he added.

India, Justice Kant reminded, is no stranger to the concept of human rights, having nurtured its philosophical foundations centuries before modern frameworks took shape. “India has historically demonstrated a strong commitment to human rights, rooted in its constitutional framework and heritage, long before these conversations gained widespread global traction,” he said.

Justice Kant highlighted how ancient Indian scholars evolved the concept of Dharma, a dynamic moral code that integrated body, intellect, mind, and soul, as the foundation of human rights. This, he said, created a jurisprudence where rulers were subject to higher principles and an independent judiciary existed in spirit.

Contrasting this with the colonial period, Justice Kant called it a time when India’s human rights traditions were decimated by “systematic economic exploitation, cultural marginalization, and political repression.”

According to him, post-independence, the Indian Constitution restored and reimagined these ideals in modern form. “The framers were acutely aware of the evolving nature of law, society, and governance, and thus sought to craft a living document — one that would not only endure the test of time but also respond to the shifting contours of justice and social transformation.”

Lauding the Indian judiciary’s role in dynamically interpreting fundamental rights and adopting globally-aligned principles through domestic jurisprudence, Justice Kant particularly highlighted innovations like Public Interest Litigation and suo motu interventions that have helped advance rights-based justice for vulnerable groups.

India’s approach to human rights and refugee policy, he stressed, is based on balancing historical ethos with contemporary imperatives. “India’s endeavour is to harmonize its historical wisdom with contemporary, rights-based governance, ensuring that its human rights commitments are not only preserved but progressively realized, even amid the shifting global landscape,” he said.