Arthashastra Defined Equality Centuries Before Magna Carta, Says Chief Justice Surya Kant

Magna Carta is believed to have birthed the foundations of modern democracy. Sealed by King John in 1215, it established the revolutionary principle that everyone - including the sovereign monarch - is subject to the law. Its core principle of 'equality' has been revered for centuries, but in an interesting twist, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant said that Kautilya's 'Arthashastra' conceptualised equality centuries before Magna Carta and gave it the foundational value for civilisation. The CJI made the remarks at an event in New Delhi late on Wednesday.

Speaking at the XIV St Petersburg International Legal Forum, Justice Surya Kant explained that equal access to law must fructify in the conferment of actual rights rather than hollow statutory declarations.

"Such access cannot merely be a procedural nicety and must fructify in the conferment of actual rights rather than hollow statutory declarations," the CJI said.

He said the birthplace of equality was not necessarily the Magna Carta in 1215.

"My own personal belief is that its roots are traceable to Kautilya's Arthashastra, which belongs to the Indian subcontinent and propounded the theory of equality in the fourth century," the CJI said. Arthashatra is a treatise on statecraft written in the fourth century in Sanskrit. It is credited to Kautilya, the chief advisor to Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya.

Justice Surya Kant also said that the Indian Constitution, upon its inception, promised a new dawn and conferred upon the people a series of Fundamental Rights, including equality before the law, life with dignity and equal justice.

"The true challenge was never to solely recite these guarantees but to deliver them across geographical distances, irrespective of any economic and social disadvantages, language barriers and cultural diversity," he said.

Speaking about the international legal framework, the CJI said numerous nations in the global east and south are still constructing their institutions, addressing the repercussions of colonialism and tackling poverty.