Overview

• In the Sir Maurice Rault Memorial Lecture, he said India is governed by the rule of law, not the rule of the bulldozer.
• He invoked the November 2024 ruling that condemned punitive demolitions as bypassing due process, violating Article 21’s right to shelter, and barring the executive from acting as judge, jury and executioner.
• He argued legality does not equal justice, citing slavery, sedition provisions and the Criminal Tribes Act to highlight the need for substantive fairness.
• He traced a constitutional arc through Kesavananda Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, Shayara Bano, Joseph Shine and the Electoral Bonds verdict to show the Court’s stance against arbitrariness.
• The address, part of a three‑day official visit, drew Mauritius’s president, prime minister and chief justice, and it conveyed principles rather than announcing new court orders.