Immense Potential of Democratising SC Judges' Library

I think yesterday was a good day. For the first time, I visited the Judges Library of the Supreme Court, nestled in Administrative Block Number One, bang opposite the Court itself. 

The library was built in 2019, but due to the pandemic, it became operational only two years ago.  

At the entrance stood Lady Justice, bejewelled, her long hair tied back, her eyes wide open. Clasping the scales of justice in one hand, her other hand held the Constitution of India.

Strolling through it, I couldn’t help but notice that it was  an amazingly beautiful structure. Built in a circular form enabling movement through the semi circle, the books are arranged at the outer edge of the semicircle. It has four floors and ample space to move around each floor. 

I noticed that the journals were not available in digitised form, and barring two, all were available in hard copy only.

I have spent enough decades in this city to know that the feeling of space and light  is not something you can take for granted in  Delhi - a demure space for the finer things in life like simply reading in peace.  

The ground floor houses text books, the first  floor the Statutes, rules and regulations and the other two floors archive several legal periodicals from all over the world. In February, when I requested permission for lawyers to use the library, my eyes were really on those periodicals.. 

Today, the library permits twenty five lawyers to use the facility at a time, to sit in a quiet corner and read anytime between 10:30 AM and 4 PM. My opinion is that the time duration is a bit unfair - lawyers are generally (hopefully) in the Supreme Court during this time, rushing through corridors, preparing for appearances, filing, or catching a bite or a coffee amidst the quick, snappy pace of life in this profession. 

In the library, a world seemingly away from that rush, I noticed that the journals were not available in digitised form, and barring two, all were available in hard copy only. Apparently the publications themselves have not gone online and continue to publish exclusively in print .

A digital catalogue at the entrance makes your search easy and painless. One look at the catalogue can tell you what the judges are reading since the stock position shows what has been issued!

I went straight to the Ambedkar shelf . Given that he was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, I expected, rather reasonably, a lot from that shelf. How up to date was the highest Constitutional court of the country on Ambedkarite literature, of which we have had so much brilliant and defiant work come out in the past decade?

Fortunately, I did find the Government of Maharashtra’s collected writings and speeches of Dr Ambedkar, edited by Hari Narake, the only available such publication at an affordable price. I also found a three volume collection of the cases Dr Ambedkar had argued - from the trial courts and Magistrates Courts to the Supreme Court, published by Mrs Gayatri B. Gaikwad, an invaluable addition to that shelf. 

But much to my disappointment, I did not see any of the recent biographies of Dr Ambedkar which should have been there. When I asked why this was so, I was told that books are only bought when requisitioned by Judges. In the last five years, there has been an undeniable increase in the publication of anti-caste literature and much about Dr Ambedkar himself. Anand Teltumbde’s ‘Inococlast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’, and Anurag Bhaskar’s ‘The Foresighted Ambedkar: Ideas That Shaped Indian Constitutional Discourse’ were among the works I was expecting to see, but it appears they they would have to await a requisition. I did make a suggestion in the register, that the library should keep a close watch on all new publications and acquire them at their own discretion. The staff, after all, seemed to be very well informed, qualified in library sciences with LLM and PhD degrees , and up to date with the latest book reviews.

In fact, the staff may just have been the highlight of our visit. Paras Nath Singh, my colleague and I were given a guided tour by them, all topped with the serving of a hot cup of tea at the end! 

Vishaka, Mazhar and Dr Jyotsna Reuben helped us understand the protocols and content of the library and assured us that we would be welcome anytime to come sit and read in peace. “What is the use of a book if it is not read?” Mazhar remarked at one point, “Every book must be read" 

‘I do wish she was not there and if she had to be there, why could she not have looked more modern, more multi-cultural, more multi-faith or more transgender for that matter? Why did she look so Hindu?’.

Perhaps that is a tall order to expect that every book will be read. But I am fairly confident I will return to read the cases Dr Ambedkar argued.

While leaving the library, I took one last look at Lady Justice and thought to myself, ‘I do wish she was not there and if she had to be there, why could she not have looked more modern, more multi-cultural, more multi-faith or more transgender for that matter? Why did she look so Hindu?’. 

Then I was told that the person who created her was Vinod Goswami, a renowned artist from Nandagao in Mathura, renowned for this Brij art form. The outcome of his work was foretold. His artwork can be found at several metro stations in Delhi, depicting Brij culture. He said, in an interview , that in making the statue he was inspired by Shani Dev who is considered the God of Justice.

On my way back, I also watched as a group of students prepared to visit the library. It would be a brief visit for them. Most were probably visiting the Supreme Court for the first time. There was something heartwarming, personally, to witness the democratising of this beautiful institution, in practice.  

There are very few happy spaces in the Supreme Court of India, two are located close to each other, the library and the creche. There is a certain belongingness, a certain intimacy these spaces make you feel. At a political level, they represent to me the possibility of making the institution more fundamentally accessible and inclusive.

In the hurried, restless conflict zone that is the Supreme Court of India, I am happy that we have a place of refuge.

Indira Jaising is a noted human rights lawyer and a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She is also a co-founder of The Leaflet.

Courtesy: The leaflet