NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said a free society could be created only when individual identity, including sexual preference, was protected, and citizens were allowed to express themselves freely without fearing social exclusion A five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra said, “The overarching ideals of individual autonomy and liberty, equality for all sans discrimination of any kind, recognition of identity with dignity and privacy of human beings, constitute the cardinal four corners of our monumental Constitution, forming the concrete substratum of our fundamental rights that have eluded certain sections of our society who are still living in the bondage of dogmatic social norms, prejudiced notions, rigid stereotypes, parochial mindset and bigoted perceptions.“Social exclusion, identity seclusion and isolation from the social mainstream are still the stark realities faced by individuals today and it is only when each and every individual is liberated from the shackles of such bondage and is able to work towards full development of his/her personality that we can call ourselves a truly free society.”The CJI said the first step “on the long path to acceptance of the diversity and variegated hues that nature has created has to be taken now by vanquishing the enemies of prejudice and injustice and undoing the wrongs done so as to make way for a progressive and inclusive realisation of social and economic rights embracing all and to begin a dialogue for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for the ‘less than equal’ sections of society”.The case illustrated the “transformative power” of the Constitution, the judges said. Justices Misra and Khanwilkar observed, “In dealing with these issues we confront much that polarises our society. Our ability to survive as a free society will depend upon whether constitutional values can prevail over the impulses of the time.”Justice Chandrachud said that in matters of personal intimacy and sexual orientation, the state had no role to play. “The choice of a partner, the desire for personal intimacy, and the yearning to find love and fulfillment in human relationships have universal appeal, straddling age and time. In protecting consensual intimacies, the Constitution adopts a simple principle: the state has no business to intrude into these personal matters. Nor can societal notions of heteronormativity regulate constitutional liberties based on sexual orientation,” he said.