Dhankhar’s tirade

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has struck a discordant note with his all-out attack on the judiciary. He has claimed that judges have no accountability and are usurping the roles of the legislature and the executive. The immediate trigger for his sharp reaction is the SC order on fixing a timeline for the President to grant assent to state Bills reserved for her consideration by the Governor concerned. The order was apparently issued in the interests of good governance, considering the inordinate delay in approving key Bills, but the Vice-President is unimpressed: according to him, the judiciary cannot give directions to the President or act as a ‘super Parliament’.

The constitutional principle of separation of powers among the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the government leaves no room for turf wars. It is aimed at ensuring adequate checks and balances so that no branch overwhelms the others. The judiciary is increasingly stepping in to redress grievances and rectify wrongs because of the underwhelming performance of the executive and the legislature. The laws enacted by the government remain subject to judicial scrutiny – the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act is a case in point. No constitutional functionary should forget that the independence of the judiciary is a prerequisite for safeguarding the inalienable rights of citizens.

The recovery of a cash stash from the residence of a High Court judge has undoubtedly dented the judiciary’s image. Dhankhar has promptly turned the spotlight on the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, which was struck down as “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court a decade ago. The importance of judicial accountability and transparency cannot be overemphasised, but pitting one organ of the State against the other two is fraught with dangerous consequences. Collaboration and consensus, not confrontation, should be the way forward. The executive, the legislature and the judiciary must improve their self-correcting mechanism to prevent themselves from crossing the lakshman rekha.