Did 140 Crore Indians Vote for Judges to Make Policy? SG Tushar Mehta on Judicial Overreach

Where does judicial intervention end and judicial overreach begin? Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questions whether judges can impose their preferred policies on 140 crore Indians who have not elected them to make those decisions. Speaking in his personal capacity, he argues that judicial independence should not be measured by how often a judge confronts the government. “NGO activism is not permissible in judiciary,” Mehta says, while stressing that courts should intervene when government action violates fundamental rights or crosses constitutional limits. He also argues that some past environmental judgments pushed India back by 15–20 years. In this speech, Mehta discusses the boundaries between courts and elected governments, the need to revisit the Indian Contract Act, the thinking behind changes to criminal laws, and the risks of artificial intelligence in legal decision-making. He also defends judicial vacations, saying judges need that time to write judgments. Watch his full remarks on judicial independence, policymaking and India’s development ambitions. Event: Discussion on Viksit Bharat organised by the General Counsels’ Association of India. Date: November 5, 2026. Speaker: Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India. Follow LawBeat for legal news, courtroom updates and conversations:    / @lawbeatind   #TusharMehta #JudicialOverreach #Judiciary #ViksitBharat #LawBeat Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3qzXkKc Visit Our Website: www.lawbeat.in Facebook: https://bit.ly/35Wjq1J Instagram:   / lawbeatind   Twitter:   / lawbeatind   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/39NQ1rp Download Our App: https://apple.co/35XEqFn LawBeat is a comprehensive legal news and updates gateway for making law accessible to the general public in India. LawBeat strives to provide the latest in news, information, interviews and reports covering various aspects of the legal industry such as updates on judgements delivered by the apex to the district courts, laws enacted and amendments to the laws in force in India, significant deals and transactions, comprehensive analysis of reportable and other relevant judgments and other updates and events concerning the legal fraternity of national and international significance. LawBeat reports news and information relevant to law firms, the legal professionals, law students, and international law firms and lawyers doing business in India. Team of legal experts, engineers and writers at LawBeat aim to cover the Indian legal tidings in a consistent, impartial and timely manner, and its mission is to ultimately become a market leader in the field by creating and disseminating the most comprehensive and impactful content based on facts and legal analysis.