‘Law is not blind’: Supreme Court’s new justice statue sheds colonial symbol of blindfold, sword

The archaic Lady Justice statue in the Supreme Court of India has been replaced with a new one without a blindfold. The new statue has shed its blindfold, symbolising that law in India is not blind. The sword in one hand of the statue has also been replaced with the Constitution of India, as per Indian media reports. 

The statue was commissioned at the orders of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud to represent equality before the law.

For decades, the Lady Justice statue has been depicted as a woman wearing a white saree, her eyes blindfolded, holding a scale and a sword. The blindfold was meant to represent equality before the law, implying that justice should be delivered without regard to wealth, power, or status. 

The scales represented balance and fairness, while the sword was meant to represent the power of the law. 

With the new statue, however, an attempt is being made to shed the colonial legacy behind emphasising the message that law is not blind in new India. It now stands tall at the judges’ library in the Supreme Court. 

Take a look at the new statue below:

As per top sources associated with the Chief Justice’s office, quoted by NDTV, Justice Chandrachud believes that the law is not blind and sees everyone equally.

“Therefore, the Chief Justice said that the form of the Lady of Justice should be changed. He said the statue should have the Constitution in one hand and not a sword so that a message goes out to the country that she dispenses justice according to the Constitution. The sword symbolises violence, but courts deliver justice according to constitutional laws,” a source told the publication.

The only symbol retained in the new statute is that of the scales, to emphasise that the courts weigh both sides of an argument before delivering a judgement.

The Lady Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Its origin can be found in the Roman art known as Justitia, which is the personification of Justice in ancient Rome, equivalent to the Greek goddess Dike/Astraea. 

(With inputs from agencies)