Is it time to stop using our current Judicial system for granting us justice in cases related to community, family or religion and set up a parallel justice system to handle such cases? In a fairly recent case, a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has likened the relationship between the High Court and the District Judiciary to a caste system, observing that judges in the lower judiciary are treated like “shudras”, while High Court judges function with the entitlement of “savarnas”. It is so unfortunate that people in high positions who should be trouncing upon false narratives, choose to strengthen these narratives which show our Hinduism in bad light. The reason why this is happening is because people in such high places themselves haven’t been educated in Dharma and have no clue about what is written in our Vedas and Shastras. It takes years to learn our Vedas, Vedantas, Smritis and other scriptures. To be trained in Sankya, Yoga, Nyay-darshan, Mimamsa and other Darshans take years. Without this expertise, one cannot be expected to pass knowledgeable decisions and judgements on cases which deal with Hindu societal issues. The recent decisions on same-sex relationships, fatherhood of children born due to an extra-marital affair, etc. smacks of Westernised education which has scant respect for the religious sentiments of the Hindu society.

The most recent case which drew ire from the Hindus in the country is of course the case where CJI Gavai remarked in the most casual manner that if the plaintiff wanted the head of Bhagwan Vishnu attached to a partially destroyed Vigraha, he should pray to Bhagwan and ask for it to happen. This coarse remark from a person who takes 22 vows (some against Hindu Gods) to become a neo-Buddhist was not just uncalled for, but also proves the fact that unless one understands Dharma, one cannot give justice to any cases which involve Hinduism. We have seen this repeatedly in the past in cases like the Sabarimala case, the Mahakaleshwar Temple case and more. The fact is that our Judiciary is already groaning under the burden of 1000s of cases. To top it, Judges with almost no knowledge of our ancient practices and scriptures are forced to pass judgements on Temples, Temple management regarding funds, religious practices and administration, family issues, etc. which can easily be solved by parallel courts which are based on Dharma and our culture and lifestyle. There is no need for Judges who have no connect with Dharma and who sometimes do not even belong to Hinduism, to pass judgements on such cases. The time for change has come and Dharmic courts are the need of the hour.

The Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath once narrated a short story to put forward the case for Justice based on Dharma. Once, in a King’s court, it was asked as to which was the most important aspect in order to run a Kingdom successfully. Some said that it was finance, some said security, some said satisfying all sections of society … none of these answers seemed to be sufficient to ensure a good rule. Finally, one minister stood up and said, “The most important aspect for a good rule, is Nyaay (Justice).” According to Shankaracharya ji, it is Justice which ensures that no powerful person tramples upon the rights of the poor or powerless. It is Dharma itself which stops one from being unjust, in society and even in one’s personal life. And it is Justice which enforces this; without Justice (Nyaay) one cannot enforce Dharma easily. Our ancient kingdoms were based on the foundation of Justice.

Referring to the case of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, He said, “Recently a High Court made a comment that a particular Judge was tortured just like how Savarnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya community people) tortured the Shudras in the past. This is completely unacceptable and it is clearly a mischievous narrative being spread. For hundreds of years Muslim invaders tortured Hindus, Christian invaders (British, French & Portuguese) tortured our people, but instead of quoting them, the honourable Court quoted a narrative of Savarnas torturing Shudras. If one were to ask for proof of such a torture, one wouldn’t be able to offer any proof. It has become a case of a lie repeated a 1000 times being accepted as the truth. Hence it is necessary for Sanatan Dharmis to speak out against the false narratives the moment one encounters it.”

“It is also time to break the fake narratives on Varnas. Hindus have to argue and find solutions based on our own Dharma now. The ancient system of Justice in our country was above all because it was based on Dharma. A shining example of this would be the justice meted out by Raja Prahlad in the case of his son Virochan versus a Brahmin Sudhanva. Prahlad did not hesitate to pass a ruling against his own son. But in today’s modern system of secular courts, the Judge has to recuse himself/herself if he/she is even remotely connected to the plaintiff or the appellant. This is because in today’s time one has stopped believing that one could be truthful”, He said.

After Independence our Political class chose to stay subservient to the British-based Laws instead of using Dharma and our ancient Nyaya to be the guidelines for Justice. It is time we changed this and stood up and asked for Dharmic courts to decide on issues faced by our religious practices, culture, Temples, families and more.