“Gotham dreams of Batman. India must continue to believe in its Constitution.”

Wars are no longer fought only with missiles and armies. In the age of artificial intelligence, social media, misinformation and algorithmic influence, the human mind has become a new battlefield. If beliefs, opinions and public perception can be subtly manipulated beyond the effective reach of the State, what remains the role of the judiciary?

Can courts preserve constitutional values when the greatest threat is not to territory but to the independence of thought itself?

Courts cannot determine what citizens should believe. They cannot become arbiters of political ideology nor can they police every misleading statement circulating online. The judiciary’s function is different. It preserves the constitutional architecture within which competing ideas may exist. Its task is to ensure that liberty, due process, equality before law and freedom of expression survive even when public opinion becomes polarised or manipulated.

The recent film Citizen Vigilante reflects a growing public frustration with the justice system. Every society dreams of a Batman when institutions appear to fail. Yet even Batman never sought to replace the law forever. Bruce Wayne was never a champion of permanent vigilantism; he was a reluctant guardian who hoped that one day Gotham’s institutions would become strong enough that people would no longer need Batman.

The Constitution of India begins with that very faith. It entrusts justice not to extraordinary individuals, but to enduring institutions. Citizen Vigilante captures the temptation to replace the courtroom with conscience. The Constitution gently resists that temptation. It insists that justice must never wear a mask—it must stand in open court, be tested through evidence, speak through due process, and remain accountable to the Rule of Law. The judiciary cannot decide what we should believe, nor can it silence every whisper of manipulation. Its constitutional duty is quieter, yet far greater—to preserve the Rule of Law when truth itself becomes contested. In an age of invisible wars, judicial prudence is no longer merely a judicial virtue; it is the Constitution’s enduring promise that justice will remain accountable to law rather than to influence.

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