Updated: December 19, 2020 8:18:54 am
On Friday, the High Court suspended an order from the Andhra Pradesh High Court to examine whether there has been a constitutional collapse in the state under the rule of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (Archive)
Calling it “disturbing,” the Supreme Court on Friday suspended an order from the Andhra Pradesh High Court to examine whether there has been a constitutional break in the state under the rule of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Upon hearing an appeal from the Andhra Pradesh government, a court headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde suspended the October 1 High Court order, stating that “as a higher court, we find it disturbing.”
The court, which also includes Judges AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, issued a plea notice and ordered the matter to be included after the Christmas / New Year holidays.
On October 1, the Superior Court, while listening to a series of habeas corpus petitions, said that “on the next hearing date, the senior lawyer who appears on behalf of the State may come prepared to assist the Court as to whether in the circumstances that prevail in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the Court can register a conclusion that there is or not a constitutional break in the state.
The state government, in its appeal, said that the Superior Court “in an unprecedented way and without grounds or allegations by any of the parties in this regard, has framed the … issue.”
The state said that “under the scheme of the Constitution, it is Article 356 that deals with the failure of the constitutional machinery in a State. Under this article, if the President, upon receiving a report from the Governor of a State or otherwise, is convinced that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the The honorable president can impose the rule of the president ”.
“This is an exclusive power of the Executive. Power in this sense, such as sending a report to the Honorable President or the Honorable Governor or recording a finding in this regard, cannot be exercised by the Judiciary ”, he said.
The appeal held that the Superior Court order is “unjustified; violation of the basic structure of the Constitution; and, it is presented with the greatest respect, it is tremendously wrong ”.
The State indicated that “in the constitutional framework, it is not for the Courts to decide whether there is a constitutional breach in a State” and “said power has been specifically conferred on a different Constitutional Authority, and with good reason.” .
“The constitutional courts,” the state said on its appeal, “do not have any legally recognizable and manageable standard for determining whether there has been a constitutional break in the state. This fact is essentially an executive function and must necessarily be based on a detailed factual analysis. The courts simply have no means to decide such a question. “
According to the state, the Superior Court order “constitutes a serious usurpation of the powers of the executive enumerated in the Constitution and, therefore, violates the doctrine of the separation of powers.”
The High Court, he said, “has completely ignored the warning” of the Supreme Court to “advise the Honorable Courts to respect the other co-equal organs of the State and to refrain from assuming executive powers for themselves.”
The state said that although it had filed a “request” in Superior Court to “withdraw” the October 1 order, “it is not being taken.”
The state government has been on a collision course with the High Court and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy sent a letter to the CJI on October 6, alleging judicial irregularity by some High Court judges and the Superior Court judge. Supreme NV Ramana. .
Reddy’s letter to the CJI came at a time when the court headed by Judge Ramana was hearing a PIL for fast-track cases against MPs and current MPs and former MPs. Following an order from the Supreme Court, the trial in one of them, a disproportionate asset case against Reddy, was resumed at a CBI Special Court in Hyderabad.
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