New Delhi, December 2
Amid stand-off between the Government and the Collegium over judicial appointments, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar on Friday raised questions over undoing of the NJAC Act and wondered if a constitutional amendment unanimously passed by Parliament reflecting the will of the people can be undone by the Supreme Court.
“In the year 2015-16, the Parliament was dealing with a constitutional amendment act and as a matter of record the entire Lok Sabha voted unanimously. There was no abstention and no dissention. And the amendment was passed. In Rajya Sabha it was unanimous, there was one abstention. We the people… their ordainment was converted into a constitutional provision,” the Vice-President said.
Delivering the 8th Dr LM Singhvi Memorial Lecture on ‘Universal Adult Franchise: Translating India’s Political Transformation into a Social Transformation’, Dhankar said, “Power of the people, which was expressed through a legitimate platform, that power was undone. The world does not know of any such instance.
“I appeal to the people here, they constitute a judicial elite class, thinking minds, intellectuals – please find out a parallel in the world where a constitutional provision can be undone,” he said in the presence of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, several Supreme Court judges, Union Ministers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and several lawyers.
“Our Indian constitution provides in explicit terms in Art 145 (3)… Interpretation of the Constitution when a substantial question of law is involved can be done by the court. Nowhere, it says that a provision can be run down. If a constitutional provision that carries the ordainment of people at large in such a vibrant democracy is undone, what will happen?” the Vice-President wondered.
The Vice-President’s assertion came close on the heels of Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s reported statement that the Collegium could issue notification for judges’ appointment if it thought the government was sitting over its recommendations.
A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had on November 28 taken exception to Rijiju’s statement. “Names are not being cleared. How can the system work? … We have expressed our anguish. It appears that the government is unhappy that the NJAC did not pass constitutional muster… Can that be the reason not to clear the names for so long… if today, the government says it will not adhere to the law of the land, then tomorrow someone will not adhere to another part. You must think of the larger picture Mr. Attorney,” the Bench had asked the Attorney-General R Venkataramani.
