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Satya Prakash
New Delhi, January 27
As the Centre repeatedly questioned the Collegium system of appointing judges, former Supreme Court decide Rohinton Nariman on Friday stated it was the bounden responsibility of the Government to simply accept and observe the Supreme Court’s verdicts on judicial appointments and the doctrine of fundamental construction.
Delivering the seventh MC Chagla Memorial lecture on ‘A tale of two Constitutions-India and the United States: the long and short of it all’ in Mumbai, the previous SC decide recommended that the Supreme Court ought to arrange a five-judge Constitution Bench to tie all unfastened ends of the Memorandum of Procedure on appointment of Judges.
He stated the highest court docket ought to lay down a strict deadline for the federal government to reply to the Collegium’s suggestions, failing which it needs to be taken that the federal government has no feedback to supply and the Collegium ought to go forward with the appointments.
Justice Nariman stated, “Whether on the finish of 30 days or on the finish of reiteration, the appointment additionally ought to happen inside a hard and fast interval… Ultimately, it’s how a Constitution is labored, and in the event you don’t have impartial and fearless judges, say goodbye. There is nothing left.
“As a matter of fact, according to me, if finally, this last bastion (judiciary) falls, or were to fall, we will enter the abyss of a new dark age, in which Laxman’s (late cartoonist) common man will ask himself only one question – if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?”
He additionally criticised the latest statements of Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in opposition to the Collegium system.
“We have heard a diatribe by the Law Minister of the day in opposition to this course of. Let me guarantee the Law Minister that there are two fundamental Constitutional fundamentals that he should know. One if the salt has misplaced its savour, the place with shall it’s salted elementary is, in contrast to the USA, a minimal of 5 unelected judges are trusted with the interpretation of the Constitution Article 145(3). There isn’t any equal within the USA. So minimal 5, what we name Constitution Bench, are trusted to interpret the Constitution.
“Once those five or more (judges) have interpreted the Constitution, it is your bounden duty as an authority under Article 144 to follow that judgment. Now, you may criticise it. As a citizen, I may criticise it, no problem. But never forget, unlike me … I am a citizen today, you are an authority and as an authority you are bound by that judgment, right or wrong,” Nariman stated.
Regarding Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankahr’s criticism of the essential construction doctrine, Justice Nariman stated, “Since 1980 till date, this extremely important weapon in the hands of the judiciary has been used a number of times as one of the extremely important checks and balances to check the executive when it acts beyond the Constitution. And the last time it was used was probably to strike down the 99th amendment (of the Constitution) which was the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act.”
“Let us remember when we speak of the basic structure doctrine that it is a doctrine which has been used by minority judges. It is a doctrine that was sought to be undone twice and that over 40 years ago. Since then nobody has said a word about it, except very recently. So let us be very clear that this is something that has come to say and speaking for myself, thank god it has come to stay”.
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