Citing fundamental structure doctrine, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar asks ‘are we a democratic country’?
January 11, 2023
He said as the legislature did now not have the power to write judicial orders, the executive and judiciary did no longer have the authority to legislate. (File)
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Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar Wednesday said it might be difficult to reply the question “are we a democratic state”, mentioning the Supreme Court’s choice inside the Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973, while it said the Parliament had the authority to amend the Constitution, but not its primary structure.
In his inaugural cope with at the 83rd All-India Presiding Officers Conference in Jaipur, Dhankhar all over again raised the problem of the powers of the judiciary vis-a-vis the legislature, highlighting the 2015 choice of the apex courtroom to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014. He stated he had raised the difficulty in his maiden deal with as the Rajya Sabha chairman in 2022.
“Parliamentary sovereignty and autonomy can't be permitted to be qualified or compromised as it's miles integral to the survival of democracy,” he stated.
He said because the legislature did not have the strength to jot down judicial orders, the government and judiciary did no longer have the authority to legislate.
Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla spoke of the importance of the government, the legislature and the judiciary respecting each other. He said the legislatures had constantly reputable the powers and authority of the judiciary, and the judiciary was predicted to comply with the separation of powers mandated by means of the Constitution. He said the 3 branches should work with mutual trust and harmony.
Later within the day, the conference will deliberate on India’s management of the G-20 and its position as the “mom of democracy”, and maintaining a harmonious courting among the judiciary and legislature.
