AHMEDABAD, Feb. 15 -- CALLING dissent a "safety valve" of democracy, Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud on Saturday said "blanket labelling" of dissent as antinational or anti-democratic strikes at the "heart" of the country's commitment to protect Constitutional values and promote deliberative democracy.
Delivering a lecture here in Gujarat, Justice Chandrachud also said that use of state machinery to curb dissent instillsfear, which violates the rule of law.
"The blanket labelling of dissent as anti-national or anti-democratic strikes at the heart of our commitment to protect constitutional values and the promotion of deliberative democracy," he said.
Protecting dissent is but a reminder that while a democratic elected governme...