November 26, 2020 4:13:21 am
Kevadia – Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at the museum during his visit to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 (PTI).
Stopping Diwali fireworks, denying the executive a role in appointing judges and overseeing investigations are court pronouncements that give a “clear impression of overreach,” Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said Wednesday, underscoring that the legislature, the The executive and the judiciary must respect the “sanctity jurisdictions enshrined in the Constitution instead of assuming a sense of supremacy.”
Addressing the two-day 80th All India Board Conference held at Kevadia in Gujarat, where President Ram Nath Kovind was present, Naidu said: “Our Constitution has demarcated very clear domains of each of these three organs in the lines of separation of powers, although not in a very formalistic way … The harmony is that each organ does its job without interfering in the dominance of the others … Unfortunately, there have been several cases of crossing the limits “.
“Since Independence, the Supreme Court and High Courts have issued several far-reaching verdicts in promoting socio-economic goals, in addition to conducting correctional interventions,” said Naidu, who is also President of Rajya Sabha.
“But occasionally, concerns have been raised about whether they are entering the domain of the legislative and executive branches. There have been debates about whether some issues should have more legitimately been left to other organs of government. For example, Diwali fireworks, steps in the registration and movement of vehicles from the National Capital Region through Delhi, prohibiting the use of vehicles of a certain brand after 10 or 15 years, monitoring police investigations, denying the executive any role in appointing judges when instituting the college, which is said to be an extra constitutional body, ”Naidu said.
In saying that such actions by the judiciary “have resulted in avoidable confusion of the contours demarcated by the Constitution,” Naidu said, “they have led to the question of how these three organs of the state should respect the jurisdictional sanctity enshrined in Constitution rather than bestowing upon themselves a sense of supremacy, ”he said.
Reiterating that the Constitution of India was “supreme”, he later said, “Judicial review, declared as one of the basic features of our Constitution, imposes certain restrictions on the legislature.” Legislators have the freedom to defend their territory even by annulling judicial decisions, if justified ”.
Naidu also referred to the excesses of the executive and legislative power. “We know the excesses of the executive by ignoring its accountability to the legislature on certain occasions … The violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens by the executive is sometimes too visible. At times, the legislature has crossed the line as well. The 39th constitutional amendment that places the election of president, vice president and prime minister out of reach of judicial scrutiny in 1975 is one of those cases, ”he said.
Naidu also questioned the legislators’ conduct, saying that their conduct on and off the cameras, and the increase in the number of people with criminal records, has caused a “negative perception” among citizens.
Instead of “character, caliber and conduct”, he said, issues like “caste, community and cash” have dominated legislatures, adding that it was of great concern that in the last 30 years, the use of question time declining.
Earlier in opening the conference, President Kovind also referred to the need for “harmony”, the theme of the conference, and said that in a parliamentary democracy, the opposition also plays an important role alongside the ruling party and therefore hence, harmony, cooperation. and meaningful deliberation between the two is necessary. It is the responsibility of the presidents to provide a pleasant atmosphere for a healthy debate in the House, he said.
“In recent decades, the expectations, aspirations and awareness of the general public have been increasing. Therefore, the role and responsibilities of Parliament and legislatures have become even more focused. The representatives of the people are expected to remain faithful to the principles of democracy. The greatest challenge facing democratic institutions and representatives of the people is to live up to the expectations of the people, ”he said.
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