"Hundreds Die Every Year For Loving...": Chief Justice On Law And Morality

The Indian Constitution was designed not for people as they were, but how they ought to be, he said, adding that, "It is the flag bearer of our fundamental rights. It guides us in our daily life."

Hundreds of young people die in India due to dishonour killings merely because they love someone or marry outside their caste or against their family's wishes, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Saturday, in a speech on "Law and Morality", according to legal news website Bar and Bench. Referring to several cases linked to morality, like the 'breast tax', section 377 that criminalised homosexuality, ban on bar dances in Mumbai, and striking down adultery, he said the dominant groups decide the code of conduct and morality, overpowering the weaker groups.

"Members of weaker and marginalised have little choice but to submit to the dominant culture for their own survival. Vulnerable sections of society are unable to generate a counter culture because of humiliation and separation at the hands of the oppressor groups. The counter culture, if any, that the vulnerable groups develop, is overpowered by the government groups to further alienate them," the CJI said, adding that the vulnerable groups are placed at the bottom of the social structure, and that their consent, even if attained, is a myth.

"Is it necessary that what is moral for me has to be moral for you?" he asked.

He cited an article which spoke about how a 15-year-old girl was killed by her parents in Uttar Pradesh in 1991.