Why is it in the news?

• The Supreme Court of India has unveiled a new statue of “Lady Justice,” reimagined from the traditional blindfolded figure holding scales and a sword.

More about the news

• The new six-foot-tall statue depicts a saree-clad woman, without a blindfold, holding scales and the Constitution of India.
• Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud explained that the absence of a blindfold signifies that “Law is not blind; it sees everyone equally.” This redesign aligns with recent legal reforms and efforts to “decolonise” India’s legal system.
• Lady Justice’s origins trace back to Greek and Roman mythology. Themis, a Greek Titan, was the goddess of justice and is often shown holding scales and a sword.
• Roman Emperor Augustus later introduced Justitia, the Roman counterpart to Themis, also without a blindfold. The first blindfolded image of justice appeared in a 1494 woodcut in Ship of Fools, initially as a critique of blind justice, but by the 17th century, it had become associated with impartiality.
• India’s adoption of Lady Justice imagery came with the British colonial era, as seen in courthouses across the country. The Calcutta High Court, built in 1872, features carvings of Lady Justice both with and without a blindfold.
• Similarly, the Bombay High Court has a statue of Lady Justice atop one of its buildings, but without a blindfold. In the Supreme Court of India, the new statue aligns with another artwork on the premises, a mural depicting Mahatma Gandhi and Lady Justice in a saree, holding scales and a book in place of a sword.
• In neighbouring Bangladesh, a statue of the goddess Themis, wearing a sari and blindfold, holding scales and a sword, was installed at the Supreme Court’s front plaza in December 2016.
• However, protests from the Muslim orthodoxy, who viewed the statue as idol worship, led to its relocation within the court premises in May 2017. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the statue was demolished in August 2024.