Lady Justice sheds blindfold, Sanjay Raut fails to see

In a bid to shed the colonial legacy and embrace a more contemporary and Indianised representation of justice, the Supreme Court of India unveiled a redesigned statue of Lady Justice for its library. In the statue, Lady Justice’s sword has been substituted with the Constitution, her blindfold removed, and she’s in a saree. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, however, went ballistic over the new statue.
Slamming the transition, which the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud hailed as symbolising ‘impartial and neutral’, Raut has termed it “BJP-RSS propaganda”.
The statue was unveiled by CJI Chandrachud in 2023, and for reasons unknown, went viral on Wednesday.
The Justice Lady imagery, traditionally portrayed with a blindfold, a western robe and a sword, has its origin in ancient Greek and Roman iconography. It was during the British Colonial rule of India that the Lady Justice made an entry to the Indian Judicial system.
In line with doing away with Colonial imprints and a more appropriate representation of the Indian legal system, the Lady Justice statue with open eyes, holding the Constitution of India instead of a sword, and donning Indian saree and ornamentation, was chosen.
The judiciary’s dedication to upholding constitutional values and ensuring justice that ‘sees all equally’, was the reason, CJI Chandrachud underlined.
“The law is not blind; it sees everyone equally,” Business Standard quoted CJI Chandrachud as saying while unveiling the statute he had commissioned.

A statue of Lady Justice in Hamburg, Germany, (L) donning a western robe and a sword in hand. The newly unveiled Lady Justice in the library of the Supreme Court of India (R). (Images: Unsplash/ PTI)

The scales of justice, however, remain an integral part of the new statue, symbolising a fine balance and careful consideration of facts and arguments from both sides before arriving at a verdict.
Union law and justice minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, on Thursday, praised the structure’s updated features, and expressed gratitude to the Chief Justice, saying that the new design was a commendable tribute to the constitution, reported news agency ANI.
“The blindfold on the statue of justice has been removed and the handheld sword is replaced with the Constitution. The new design is a great way to pay respect to the country’s constitution. My greetings to the CJI for this,” said Meghwal.
However, the progressive step has been met with criticism from Sanjay Raut, who seems to have misinterpreted the symbolism and intent behind this change.
Despite the clear and progressive intent behind the new statue, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut reacted harshly to this change.
He said that the transition was “a propaganda and a campaign of the BJP and RSS”.
Then he lashed out at the Supreme Court, asking, “What are they trying to prove by replacing the sword in the hand of the justice statue with the Constitution?”
“They are already killing the Constitution and by removing the blindfold from the statue, they want everyone to openly see corruption and the murder of the Constitution,” added Raut, the Rajya Sabha MP.

He suggested that while Lady Justice, symbolising fairness and impartiality, is meant to deliver equal justice for all, that “hasn’t been the case over the past 10 years”.
“And we are the biggest victim of it,” he added.
Raut, for one, was most likely unaware that the statue was a year old.
Secondly, he was crossing a line when he called a statue commissioned and unveiled by the Chief Justice of India a “BJP-RSS propaganda”.
Sanjay Raut’s unwarranted reaction, however, is not isolated.
In September, he had also been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice DY Chandrachud celebrating Ganesh Puja at the later’s home.
He had attacked CJI Chandrachud by questioning his impartiality and asked if he would be able to deliver justice.

PM Modi celebrated Ganesh Puja at CJI DY Chandrachud’s residence in September. (PTI Photo)

“The PM went to CJI’s house, and they together performed ‘aarti’… if a custodian of the Constitution meets politicians, it can create doubt in the minds of people,” Sanjay Raut said, reacting to the meeting.
“Our case of Maharashtra… the hearing is going on before CJI Chandrachud, so we have doubts if we will get justice because the PM is the other party in the case,” Raut said.
While Raut’s concerns over judicial independence and a clear separation of power are worth appreciation, but he could also appreciate the transition to an ‘Indian Lady Justice’ as it’s not a rejection of the principles of equality, rather a modern Indian interpretation that aligns with her democratic and constitutional values.