New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged the judiciary to not undermine the sovereignty of Parliament as he cited the case of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which was struck down by the apex court in 2015.
Dhankhar said that he was astonished to learn that an Act on NJAC passed by both Houses of Parliament for appointment of judges was turned down by the Supreme Court.
“…Parliament in a much needed historic step passed the 99th Constitutional Amendment Bill paving the way for the National Judicial Appointment Commission. There was unprecedented support. On 13 August, 2014, the Lok Sabha unanimously voted in favour with there being no abstention.
“This House too, passed it unanimously on 14 August with one abstention. Rarely in Parliamentary democracy, there has been such massive support to a Constitutional legislation,” Dhankhar said on his first day as the Rajya Sabha chairman on the opening day of Winter session.
This historic parliamentary mandate was undone by the Supreme Court, he said.
“There is no parallel to such a development in democratic history where a duly legitimised constitutional prescription has been judicially undone. A glaring instance of severe compromise of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the mandate of the people of which this house and the Lok Sabha are custodians…”
“The sublimity of doctrine of separation of powers, is realised when legislature, judiciary and executive optimally function in tandem and togetherness, meticulously ensuring scrupulous adherence to respective jurisdictional domain. Any incursion by one, howsoever subtle, in the domain of other, has the potential to upset the governance apple cart,” he said.
Dhankhar’s statement comes at a time when the government and the judiciary have crossed swords over the appointment of judges. The Vice-President himself had criticised the judiciary for striking down the NJAC.
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Message to RS members
The Rajya Sabha chairman also requested the MPs to uphold high standards of propriety, dignity and decorum in the House and reminded them to respect “Laxman Rekha“.
“We need to bear in mind that in democratic governance Basic of any ‘Basic Structure’ is the prevalence of primacy of the mandate of the people reflected in the Parliament. Parliament is the exclusive and ultimate determinative of the architecture of the Constitution,” he said.
“It is disconcerting to note that on such momentous issue, so vital to democratic fabric, there has been no focus in the Parliament, now for over seven years,” Dhankhar asserted.
Earlier in the day, Union minister Ramdas Athwale, Janata Dal (United)’s Ram Nath Thakur and Trinamool Congress’ Subhendu Sekhar welcomed Dhankhar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Dhankhar, calling him a ‘Bhumi putra’ and ‘Sanik putra’. “You will not miss the court room. There are many in the Rajya Sabha who used to meet you in the Supreme Court. You will not get disappointed in hearing legal debate here in the House…,” he said in a lighter note.
The opposition members, meanwhile, brought to the Rajya Sabha chairman’s notice of sitting days going down in Parliament, the government’s tendency to pass bills without scrutiny and less time allocated to small parties taking part in House discussions.
Welcoming Dhankhar, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Arjun Kharge spoke about how Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru never allowed to curtail the power of Rajya Sabha to remind the Rajya Sabha chairman how the number of sittings have come down from 100 days to 60 -70 days.
TMC MP Subhendu Sekhar, too, demanded that the voice of dissent should be listened to in the House. Tiruchi Siva from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) reminded that the chair should be impartial and the number of MPs should not be the deciding factor for allocating time during discussion. A similar sentiment was expressed by Communist Party of India-Marxist’s Elamaram Kareem and Samajwadi Party’s Ramgopal Yadav.
Union Minister Ramdas Athwale welcomed Dhankhar saying he was rewarded with the post of vice-president after his “super career” as a governor.
“People ask me ‘why your party has no member in the Lok Sabha despite you being a minister’. I reply that ‘you should ask Modi why he has made me a minister’,” the Republican Party of India (RPI) leader said.
“Main hoon akela par haat main hain sanvidhan ka pela. Main toh aapka hoon saccha chela. Mujhe mat chodna akela. (I am standing alone but have the Constitution by my side. I am your true disciple; don’t leave me alone),” he said in his hilarious way to welcome Dhankhar.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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