On What Basis Do You Direct President Of India?: Vice President Says Judges Act As Super Parliament With Absolutely No Accountability

Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar said today, in the context of the recent Judgment of the Supreme Court fixing a time limit for the President of India to give assent to bills, that the Judges are acting as super-parliament while they have no accountability.

The Vice President was addressing the 6th batch of Rajya Sabha interns.

"We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India, and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3)", the Vice President said.

He said that when Article 145(3) was enacted, the number of Judges of the Supreme Court was only eight, and the Article required five out of eight judges to decide the issue. He said that now five out of more than 30 judges decide constitutional cases.

"The judges who issued a mandamus, virtually, to the President and presented a scenario where it will be the law of the land have forgotten the power of the Constitution. How can that combination of judges deal with something under Article 145(3)? ", Jagdeep Dhankhar said, referring to the Judgment by a two-judge bench.

Five out of eight would mean a majority, the VP said, adding that we need to make amendments to that extent now.

"Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to the Judiciary 24 X 7", the VP added.

He started his reaction to the recent Judgment by saying that he never thought he would see such an occasion in his life. "President takes oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. This oath is taken only by the President and her appointees, the Governors. Everyone, the Prime Minister, the Vice President, the Ministers, the Parliamentarians, the Judges, they take oaths to abide by the Constitution", he said.

"There is a directive to the President by a recent judgment. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country? We have to be extremely sensitive. It is not a question of someone filing a review or not. We never bargained for democracy, for this day when the President is being called upon to decide in a time bound manner", the Vice President said.

He said that Judges are acting like a super-parliament. "So we have Judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as a super parliament and absolutely have no accountability, because the law of the land does not apply to them", he said. He had also spoken about the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash at the residence of a High Court Judge and the fact that no FIR has been registered till now.

In his same speech, Vice President Dhankhar came down heavily on retired Justice Rohinton Nariman for his recent remark that Jallianwala Bagh like massacre will become a distinct possibility if the Basic Structure Doctrine is done away with. (read report)