In his celebrated judgment in the St. Xavier’s College case in April 1974, Justice Khanna placed a generous interpretation on Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution which guarantee fundamental rights to minority educational institutions. By his judgment he rekindled the faith of the minorities in the independence of our judiciary to implement the constitutional pledges and assurances made to the minorities whilst drafting the Constitution. In the course of his judgment Justice Khanna declared: “These provisions enshrined a befitting pledge to the minorities in the Constitution of the country whose greatest son had laid down his life for the protection of the minorities. As long as the Constitution stands as it is today, no tampering with those rights can be countenanced. Any attempt to do so would be not only an act of breach of faith, it would be constitutionally impermissible.” Justice Khanna further observed that “secularism is neither anti-God, nor pro-God; it treats alike the devout, the agnostic and the atheist. It eliminates God from the matters of the state and ensures that no one shall be discriminated against on the ground of religion.”

A suit was filed in the Delhi High Court which involved the legality of certain acts pertaining to the Indian National Congress. A contempt application was filed against counsel A.K. Sen for making statements in the Hindustan Times about matters in the pending suit. The contempt application was dismissed. As Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court he ruled that public discussion of a matter of national importance cannot be stifled by an individual filing a suit in court because “the right to discuss is inalienable and the very essence of free and democratic society.”

... contd.