Authority of Parliament has eroded: Bhardwaj

With Lok Sabha members across party lines voicing their concerns over “judiciary stepping into domains of legislature and executive”, the Government on Tuesday said that the supremacy of Parliament “can be restored” if Parliament resolves to do so.

Replying to a debate on the need for harmonious functioning of legislature, judiciary and executive in the Lok Sabha, Law Minister Hansraj Bhardwaj said, “This House is supreme. If the House resolves to restore the supremacy of Parliament, it can be done within two minutes.” He quoted former Chief Justice of India Patanjali Shashtri — “Parliament has the plenary powers to amend the Constitution” — to reinforce his view. “We want to restore the pre-1993 status,” he declared.

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled in the ‘SC Advocates on Record versus the Union of India’ case in 1993 that the executive would have no role in the appointment of judges. Ever since then, the appointments have been made on the basis of recommendations of a collegium of senior judges of the apex court.

Responding to the point made by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee during the debate that “India is the only country where judges appoint judges”, Bhardwaj said unless the decision of the Supreme Court on the issue is reviewed by a larger bench, the present arrangement would continue. The current system, he pointed out, does not give primacy to even the Chief Justice.

Courtesy:indianexpress.com
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