New Delhi, Jan. 28 -- Supreme Court judge justice N Kotiswar Singh has sought to reassure the public that the judiciary would "rise to the occasion" when required, amid concerns flagged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal over judicial silence in the face of legislative overreach and laws that impinge upon fundamental rights. Speaking at a panel discussion titled "Filling constitutional silences without judicial overreach" at the International Legal Conference organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) in Goa on January 25, Justice Singh said people in the country "need not be worried" so long as faith in the judiciary and democracy endures. "Please, be not worried...we will rise to the occasion," he said. His remarks came in response to a statement by Sibal, who argued that courts had been "far too silent" at critical moments when legislations such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) trammelled upon individual liberties and the federal structure. "The court doesn't speak when it should and the court is silent when it must speak," said Sibal, contending that judicial silence in cases of legislative and executive excess violated the spirit of the Constitution. Responding, Justice Singh acknowledged that judicial silence had been part of the court's own history, recalling the Supreme Court's controversial decision in ADM Jabalpur during the Emergency. "There was a stunning silence," he said, but added that the judiciary had repeatedly corrected itself over time....