Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said courts must intervene when constitutional rights are violated, while human rights commissions must investigate complaints and identify systemic failures that might otherwise remain invisible. Speaking at the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) 33rd Foundation Day celebrations in New Delhi on Monday, the CJI described courts and commissions as carrying "separate, complementary duties" in enforcing constitutional rights.

The CJI said the Constitution makes far-reaching promises to every citizen — dignity, equality, liberty and justice — and that human rights are closely linked to human dignity, extending to healthcare, food, shelter, livelihood and a clean environment.

"Courts must intervene when constitutional rights are violated. Human Rights Commissions must investigate complaints, identify systemic failures , and ensure that concerns which may otherwise remain invisible receive institutional attention," he said.

The event also marked the launch of the NHRC India mobile application, designed to let citizens file complaints, track progress and access information digitally.

Why a non-judicial watchdog is needed

The CJI explained why the Constitution, which entrusts enforcement of rights to courts, also needed a body like the NHRC. While constitutional courts exercise writ jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226, human rights commissions possess vital fact-finding machinery, he said.

He observed that a person in a remote district may find it difficult even to reach a courtroom, and that if the Constitution is the promise, the Commission is one of its keepers. Unlike courts, he said, the Commission listens to those who cannot easily speak and can act on its own without waiting to be asked. State commissions, he added, are often closer to the ground where violations occur and can hear complaints in the language in which they are made.

Responding to the criticism that the NHRC can only recommend and cannot command, the CJI offered "another perspective." He said the influence of a human rights institution comes not from the coercive force of its orders but from the credibility it earns over time, comparing its moral authority to a bank balance built slowly, deposit by deposit, and spent very quickly.

He pointed to the commission's interventions in cases involving custodial torture and deaths, bonded labour, silicosis from industrial exposure and the rights of marginalised communities. Protection, he said, must go beyond identifying a violation to seek accountability, meaningful relief and changes that prevent recurrence.

A tap is not access to water

The foundation day was combined with a conference on water — "Water-the Elixir of Life: Advancing Human Dignity through the Right to Water ." The CJI acknowledged India's "astronomical efforts" to expand drinking water access, including rural household tap connections, but posed a more demanding question: is the water safe, reliable and available when the family needs it?

"A mere tap is not the same as access to water. A pipe that runs dry cannot fulfil the promise that the pipe represents. And water contaminated with arsenic, fluoride or other harmful substances is not a service; it is a threat to life and health," he said.

Noting that Article 21 has evolved "into a guarantee of a life lived with dignity," the CJI said the Supreme Court 's environmental jurisprudence recognises the right to life as including the right to enjoy pollution-free water and air . He also referred to the United Nations General Assembly 's 2010 recognition of safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right.

The constitutional question, he said, is no longer only what the State must refrain from doing, but also what it must ensure so that people can live with dignity. The government must build and maintain the systems through which water reaches people, while international institutions can contribute scientific knowledge and cooperation.

The CJI also stressed obligations to future generations, warning that every aquifer depleted, every river polluted and every drinking water source compromised transfers a burden to a generation that had no part in creating it. He urged leaving posterity not merely a Constitution that promises rights, but a country in which those rights remain possible to enjoy.

Beyond case numbers

The CJI noted that the NHRC has registered more than 24 lakh cases and disposed of over 23 lakh in 33 years, a disposal rate above 98 per cent. But he cautioned against treating numbers as the test, saying the true measure of a human rights institution is not only the number of cases it decides but whether it can be heard by those least able to make themselves heard.

He welcomed the digitalisation of records and the new app, saying it would make the Commission more accessible to those who have traditionally found it difficult to approach formal institutions by bringing justice to every citizen's fingertips.

'Agni Pariksha' every minute

NHRC Chairperson Justice V. Ramasubramanian said the office of the Chief Justice of India had become the most important, most powerful, most vibrant and most vulnerable office in the country, put to the test of fire every day, nay, every minute.

He added that human rights were earlier approached as "two-dimensional," presuming a citizen-versus-state framework, but non-state actors now play a huge role, especially after the digital revolution, with opinions manipulated, thought processes influenced and activities monitored.

The water conference continues as part of the foundation day proceedings, with the NHRC India mobile application now available for citizens to file and track complaints.