New Delhi: The Goddess of Justice has recently been installed at the Supreme Court of India and this is the new look of justice. This statue stands six feet tall and is located in the judges’ library; the goddess holds a set of scales in one hand and the Indian Constitution in the other; the goddess does not hold a sword and wear a blindfold like usual. However, the features that are reflected on the statue are a white traditional outfit of women from Tanna and a crown on her head.
The change in the depiction has therefore brought about controversy among lawyers and the general society. Principal Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi had a few words to say about the new symbolism, and while he pointed out that you can take the blindfold off the statue’s eyes and it doesn’t change the fact that justice is what it is. Speaking to PTI, Dwivedi said, “The blindfold from the Goddess of Justice was never an indication that justice is to be blind while delivering justice. It was synonymous with fairness, non favouritism or partiality in any way. Now, removing the blindfold, it still retains that message that judges need to see the world and the nation but remain unmoved by its vices.
Its Indianised depiction has also been appreciated by people where the statue has been relocated. Senior Advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan lauded the design saying that it has the tones of Indian culture. He pointed that it will be more engaging to discuss why the blindfold was removed in the first place. It may be recalled that the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud had also once said that the absence of the blindfold does not mean that justice is blind. Instead, it means that justice has to be done with knowledge, but not becoming prejudiced.
New Justice Statue – Symbolism and Modern Interpretation of the Statue
The common representation of the Goddess of Justice which is often used in the court houses all over the world has usually been described as naked figure with the blindfold, the balance and the sword. The blindfold means impartiality: justice to be done to any individual without favour, and the sword speaks of power or enforcement. This lack of the elements that used to be present in the statue of the Supreme Court has led to questions on what people associate justice with as well as the place of judges in a contemporary democracy.
Dwivedi then expanded that the new statue is not a move towards how justice is dispensed but adds a dimension to it. He stressed that judges must be sensitive to the world, to its problematic, but should not let the world influence their decision.
Such a representation was made of an active judiciary where the world is clearly seen and appreciated but where the principles of justice are not compromised. Maybe replacing the sword with Constitution in her hands gives an additional sign for change in perception that justice is not merely retributive, but embedded in law and constitution.
It is thereby a puzzling and significant gesture that this new statue has no blindfolds or weapons, a symbol, which not only wards off the conversions metaphorically but also comments on the changing perception of justice in India. While the balances of neutrality are preserved, the transformation of the figure into the more Indian the Constitution in hand emphasises the function of law as the defender of the principles of equality and justice.
The statue forms a constant repost of the fact that even as India grows as a judicial power, the dispensation of justice requires a certain discernment as well as sincerity, grounded only in the Constitution and to temper large prejudice and partisanship.