Citing basic structure doctrine, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar asks ‘are we a democratic nation’

On December 7, presiding over Rajya Sabha for the first time on the opening day of the winter session of Parliament, Dhankhar had called the striking down of the NJAC Act a “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the people”. He had also said that Parliament, being the custodian of the “ordainment of the people”, was duty-bound to “address the issue” and expressed confidence that “it will do so”.

At the Jaipur conference, Dhankhar, referring to the topic of the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature, one of the topics of discussion, said, “We cannot have an ostrich-like stance”.

“Parliamentary sovereignty and autonomy cannot be permitted to be qualified or compromised as it is quintessential to survival of democracy,” he said.

“The more subtle the incursion, the more dangerous it is,” he said.

The legislature, he said, did not have the power to write judicial orders, and the executive and judiciary did not have the authority to legislate.

He cautioned against “one-upmanship” and “public posturing from judicial platforms” which, he said, was prevalent today. “This is not right.”

In an apparent reference to the Supreme Court asking the Attorney General to advise government functionaries to exercise control in their comments on the Collegium, Dhankhar said he did not entertain the A-G on the issue.

“I cannot be party to emasculating the power of the legislature,” he said, noting that he had been a “soldier of the judiciary”, referring to his career as a lawyer.

The Vice-President stressed on the importance of those occupying constitutional posts remaining politically neutral.

“People in the executive, legislature and holding senior political positions must take care that high constitutional offices are kept away from their political stance. We have noticed recently some serious observations that are transgressions,” he said without elaborating.

Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla spoke on the importance of the executive, legislature and judiciary respecting each other. He said legislatures had always respected the powers and authority of the judiciary, and the judiciary was expected to follow the separation of powers mandated by the Constitution. He said the three branches should work with mutual trust and harmony.

Speaking to reporters after the inaugural, the Speaker said the issue was being discussed by the conference and would be reflected in the resolution to be passed Thursday.