Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant has played down vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s criticism of the role and remit of India's top judicial forum. "We are not worried... the institution comes under attack every day," the senior judge said on Tuesday.
Justice Surya Kant's dismissal of the barbs came as he heard a contempt of court case from Karnataka.
Rajya Sabha MP and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Kapil Sibal also hit back at vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday.
Neither Parliament nor the executive but the Constitution is supreme, Sibal said.
In a post on X, Sibal wrote, "Supreme Court: Parliament has the plenary power to pass laws. The Supreme Court has the obligation to interpret the Constitution and do complete justice (Article 142)." "Everything the Court said is: Consistent with our constitutional values; guided by national interest," the Independent Rajya Sabha MP and former Congress leader said.
"The law: Neither Parliament nor the Executive is supreme, the Constitution is supreme. The provisions of the Constitution are interpreted by the Supreme Court. That's how this country has understood the law so far!" the advocate added.
Sibal also asserted that the Lok Sabha speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman remain equidistant between the opposition and the ruling party, and cannot be the "spokesperson of one party".
Earlier Tuesday, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted that every word spoken by a constitutional authority is guided by supreme national interest, as he hit out at his critics for questioning his remarks on a recent Supreme Court order.
Reacting to a Supreme Court verdict about a deadline for the President and Governors to clear bills, Dhankhar said at a Delhi University event: “There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above Parliament. Parliament is supreme... Let me tell you, it is as supreme as every individual in the country.”
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Tuesday staged a protest in the national capital against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna.
Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress president Akshay Lakra said: "The remark by a BJP MP shows that there is a conspiracy to weaken democratic institutions. The BJP has tried to distance itself from Dubey’s comments by calling them personal, but the fact remains that an MP blamed the CJI for the government’s failures.”
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee accused the Vice President of repeatedly making derogatory remarks about the judiciary. “This is not expected from someone holding a constitutional position,” he said.
Banerjee demanded Dhankhar’s resignation, stating, “He does not deserve to remain in the post of Vice President of India. He cannot attack one of the pillars of our democracy.” His remarks came in response to Dhankhar calling Article 142 a “nuclear missile against democratic forces,” while questioning the Supreme Court’s power to direct the President.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha urged for a more balanced and sensitive approach among all institutions of democracy. "Whether it is the executive, legislature, judiciary, or media, there has to be a fine balance," he said.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva termed the remarks “unethical” and reiterated that the rule of law must prevail over institutional arrogance. “No individual, under the guise of being a constitutional authority, can indefinitely sit on bills passed by a legislature. The Vice President’s observations are unethical,” he said.
The controversy started a few days ago when Dhankhar, while addressing the sixth batch of Rajya Sabha interns, described the Supreme Court as a “super Parliament”, referring to a recent directive from the apex court to the President of India’s assent to state bills in a time-bound manner.
After Dhankhar, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey spiked the debate on the issue and said: “How can you give direction to the appointing authority? The President appoints the Chief Justice of India. The Parliament makes the law of this country. You will dictate that Parliament?... How did you make a new law? In which law is it written that the President has to take a decision within three months? This means that you want to take this country towards anarchy.”
