'You can't direct the President': Vice President's scathing attack over top court's key order
PTC News Desk: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has launched a scathing attack on the apex court following its verdict setting a timeframe for the President to assent bills sent by the governors.
Calling it a worrying development, he said India was never meant to have a democracy where judges function as lawmakers, the executive, and even as a "super Parliament".
“There is a directive to the President by a recent judgement. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country?” he asked while addressing a group of Rajya Sabha interns.
"Thereafter, fortunately, in public domain, we had input from authoritative source, the Supreme Court of India. And the input indicated culpability. Input did not lead to doubt that something was amiss. Something required to be investigated. Now the nation waits with bated breath. The nation is restive because one of our institutions, to which people have looked up always with highest respect and deference, was put in the dock," he said.
“We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis?” he asked. Referring to constitutional provisions, he said the only authority the judiciary has in such matters is “to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3)” and even that must be done by a bench of five or more judges.
What Supreme Court said ?
The Supreme Court while hearing Tamil Nadu government's plea challenging the Governor's delay, said that the constitutional functionaries mus act within a reasonable timeframe.
“The position of law is settled that even where no time-limit is prescribed for the exercise of any power under a statute, it should be exercised within a reasonable time,” the court noted.
- With inputs from agencies
