“Intellectuals Have A Duty To Expose Lies Of State”: Supreme Court Judge

Public intellectuals have “a duty to expose the lies of the State”, Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud said Saturday morning, stressing that in a democratic country it is important to hold governments responsible and guard against falsehoods, false narratives and fake news.

Delivering the Justice MC Chagla Memorial Lecture, Justice Chandrachud also cautioned against an over-reliance on the government to provide social, political, economic, cultural and, in the current context, medical truths; he highlighted manipulation of COVID-19 data as an example.

“One cannot rely only on the State for truth. Totalitarian governments are known for their constant reliance on falsehoods to consolidate power… we see there is an increasing trend among countries to manipulate COVID-19 data,” Justice Chandrachud said.