The novel was set in the backdrop of the French Revolution where the working class and common citizens rose against the ruling class to fight against social and political inequalities.

NEW DELHI, January 11:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

These famous opening lines from the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens were quoted in the 130-page judgment, authored by Justice NV  Ramana, that said the communication restrictions imposed by the central government in Jammu and Kashmir need to be reviewed immediately.

The novel was set in the backdrop of the French Revolution where the working class and common citizens, or the proletariat, rose against the ruling class — the clergy and aristocratic class or the bourgeoisie — to fight against social and political inequalities.

This is not the first time the SC has quoted authors in its judgment. In its ruling that decriminalised homosexuality in 2018, the bench headed by then CJI Dipak Misra quoted German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem: “I am what I am, so take me as I am.”

Courtesy: Indian Express