This comes amid a tussle between the judiciary and the government over the appointment of judges
New Delhi:
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said that the Constitution has to be evolved in the Parliament and any other “super body” or institution, including the judiciary and the executive, has no role in it.
He said that it is the primacy of the Constitution that determines the stability, harmony and productivity of democratic governance, and that Parliament, reflecting the mandate of the people, is the final and exclusive architect of the Constitution.
Vice President Dhankhar’s remarks come a day after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju imposed a “Lakshman Rekha” on the relationship between the executive and the judiciary, following the release of a memoir by former Tamil Nadu governor PS Rammohan Rao.
The Vice President said, “A constitution is developed by the people through Parliament, not by the executive. The executive has no role in developing the constitution and no other institution, including the judiciary, does.”
He further insisted, “The evolution of the constitution has to happen in the Parliament and there cannot be any super body to look into it… It has to end with the Parliament.” The Vice President said he was making the statement “without fear of contradiction (and) studying the debates of the Constituent Assembly and examining the constitutions of countries where democracy flourishes and flourishes”.
Not every system is perfect, but the current collegium system developed by the Supreme Court is the “best”, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Saturday amid the ongoing tussle between the judiciary and the government over the appointment of judges to high courts and the Supreme Court. Tantra is there. Judiciary should maintain its independence.
Justice Chandrachud strongly defended the collegium system of appointing judges to high courts while speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2023, hours after Law Minister Rijiju criticized the re-selection process at the same forum, claiming that According to the constitution, the appointment of judges is the duty of the government.
Mr Rijiju also said that the appointment of judges was not a judicial function but “purely administrative in nature”.
The minister felt that if the judges indulged in administrative work, they would have to face criticism. He said the principle of justice would be compromised if a judge hears a case of which he was a part.
“Suppose you are the Chief Justice or a judge. You are part of an administrative process that will come under question. The matter comes before your court. Can you give judgment on a matter of which you were a part? Principle of justice A compromise has to be made. That is why the Lakshman Rekha is very clear in the Constitution,” Mr. Rijiju said.
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