Truth is a casualty in the age of fake news, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Friday, lamenting the lack of tolerance that has emerged as one of the biggest challenges of modern times.
Speaking at a conference organized by the American Bar Association, CJI Chandrachud said that while humanity has expanded with the global advent of travel and technology, it has also retreated inward by not being willing to accept anything we believe in as individuals.
Considering the lack of patience and tolerance among the masses as the greatest challenge of our time, the CJI said that part of this condition is due to the advent of technology itself.
The CJI said during the inaugural address of the two-day meet event “Truth has become a casualty in the age of fake news. With the proliferation of social media, what is referred to as a seed on social media can virtually sprout into an entire theory that can never be tested on the anvil of rational arguments”.
Even judges are not spared from trolling, the CJI said, “For every little thing we do, and believe me we as judges are no exception, for everything we do, there is a threat of being trolled. someone who doesn’t share your opinion. Today we live in an age where people lack patience… They don’t get tolerance because they are not willing to accept perspectives that differ from ours.”
A high court judge said the danger society faces is that technology and its implications are “spinning out of control”.
The US judge says “The serious danger we face is the danger that we will not be able to fight what we have now presented, the change that humanity has brought about in connection with the advent of technology, but which may be out of control”.
The CJI highlighted the benefits of globalization and also said that it has its own grievances and listed four reasons for the same which include terrorism, climate change, Covid-19 and inequality.
Referring to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, the chief justice said, “There has been a rise in anti-globalization sentiment. The first of these beginnings was the terrorist attacks of 2001. India was rocked by the terrorist attacks, but 2001 was a watershed moment that brought to global society the harsh reality that India had been dealing with for years before.”
Talking about the second reason, CJI Chandrachud said that climate change has affected people all over the world and added that it is not an elitist concept but directly affects the marginalized section of the society.
“Climate change is not an elitist concept. It recognizes the impact of something that is starkly facing our society, particularly communities in coastal countries and coastal states that would be affected by the impact of the pandemic,” he said.
Elaborating on the fourth rationale, the CJI stated that “the share of the increased pie due to globalization consumed by the bottom half was far less than that consumed by a quarter of the community”.
He further added that due to the advent of globalization, the Indian Penal Code, though drafted in 1860, has changed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that India has now become a destination as an economic power in the world. He said that there has been a remarkable leap in the Indian industrial sector in the last 5-7 years. “In the ease of doing business index, India has taken a sudden leap and now crosses the 79th position where it started,” he said.
While welcoming India’s initiative in vaccine production, the SG said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, barring one or two countries, no country had its own indigenous vaccines.
“India could produce two local vaccines. India has given 2.2 million doses to its citizens and administered a total of vaccines to 2.5 times the total population of the US and EU combined,” the SG said.
Other dignitaries included Lubna Shuja, President, Law Society of England and Wales, Marcos Rios, Chairman, International Law Section, ABA, Prathiba Jain, Chairman, India Committee, ABA, Head of Strategy and Group General Counsel, Everstone group and Miachel D Williams.
Read Now :<strong>Now robots can helps students with learning disabilities concentrate</strong>
