New Delhi:
A series of pointed remarks by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar concerning the judiciary has prompted an equally sharp response from senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP, Kapil Sibal.
Last week, for the first time, the Supreme Court ordered that the President should decide on the bills reserved for her consideration by the governor within a period of three months from the date on which such reference is received.
Mr Dhankhar claimed that the judiciary was overstepping its bounds by invoking Article 142 – a provision that empowers the Supreme Court to issue orders necessary to do “complete justice” in any matter before it. The Vice President described Article 142 as a “nuclear missile against democratic forces available to the judiciary 24×7”.
“We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3). There, it has to be five judges or more… Article 142, Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against Democratic forces, available to judiciary 24 x 7,” Mr Dhankhar said.
Mr Sibal recalled the 1975 Supreme Court judgment that invalidated then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election. “People would remember that when the Supreme Court’s decision came regarding the election of Indira Gandhi, only one judge – Justice Krishna Iyer – gave the decision, and she was unseated,” he said. “That was acceptable to Dhankhar ji, but now a two-judge bench ruling against the government is being questioned?”
Mr Sibal also expressed his disappointment over the Vice President’s public criticism of the Supreme Court’s authority. “I was saddened and surprised to see Jagdeep Dhankhar’s statement,” he said. “If there is any institution that continues to command the trust of the public across the country, it is the judiciary. The President is only a titular head. The President acts on the authority and advice of the Cabinet. The President has no personal right of their own. Jagdeep Dhankhar should know this.”
Mr Dhankhar criticised the judiciary for allegedly assuming the roles of legislature and executive, claiming that certain judges were acting as a “super Parliament”. Specifically referencing a recent Supreme Court verdict concerning the Tamil Nadu Governor’s withholding of assent to ten bills, Mr Dhankhar objected to the court imposing a time-bound directive on the President.
“The President being called upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, it becomes law. So we have judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as super Parliament, and absolutely have no accountability because law of the land does not apply to them,” he said.
Kapil Sibal, in response, accused the Vice President of undermining both judicial independence and constitutional literacy.
“This should be known to Dhankar ji (Vice President), he asks how the powers of the president can be curtailed, but who is curtailing the powers? I say that a minister should go to the Governor and be there for two years, so they can raise issues which are of public importance, will the Governor be able to ignore them?” Mr Sibal said.
