Hailing the Constitution as the supreme legal document, Supreme Court Justice N Kotiswar Singh said India’s constitutional framework does not recognise the country as a religious state. India has never declared itself as a Hindu state, he added.
He further that the term 'Hindu' itself was historically an umbrella term used to describe people who lived beyond the Indus river. “There are very, very few countries which subscribe to all the religions like India. India never declares itself to be a Hindu state. In fact, the word Hindu itself is a word ascribed to this country by other foreigners (for) people who stay beyond Indus... So this question what is Hindus does not mean anything, as far as my understanding is concerned. There may be people who may not agree with me, but the term Hindu doesn't denote anything. 'Hindu' simply is those who have been staying beyond Indus river," he said.
Justice Singh described the Constitution as the document that laid down the vision, and ideals that shaped India’s independence and continue to guide its future."We have the Constitution before us, the most creative legal document. It's not merely a legal document. It's a historic document. It's a social document. It is a constructive document," noted Justice Singh.
He was speaking at the National Law Institute University Student Bar Association Law (NLIU-SBA) Conclave 2026 on the theme 'Reimagining Law and Justice in the 21st Century: Challenges, Accountability and Reform'. During his address, Justice Singh called for a re-evaluation of Western influence on India’s legal system, while acknowledging its role in shaping modern institutions.
"I have nothing against Western education. I am myself a product of that. But time has come to see beyond that, because the Western legal education system cannot perhaps deal with all the situations, contemporary situations in India," he said. He underscored that India’s legal system must respond to its own social realities. In this regard, he highlighted that a vast majority of litigation arises from rural India, with most cases being handled at the district court level.
At the same time, he flagged a growing disconnect between legal institutions and the people they serve, particularly due to language barriers and complex legal terminology. “The litigant wants the answer in the language he knows, understands,” he said. He criticised the continued reliance on Latin phrases and technical jargon that alienate ordinary citizens. He emphasised that increasing the use of regional languages in courts could significantly improve access to justice and public trust in the system.
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