Supreme Court Judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said courageous and independent judges have always existed and will continue to uphold justice. He added this is what keeps the Constitution, jurisprudence, and democracy alive throughout India’s history.
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan addressed criticisms on Sunday regarding the role of unelected judges in law-making.
He emphasized that such criticisms lack legal or constitutional grounding, as the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to review and potentially invalidate laws passed by Parliament if they do not meet constitutional standards.
He stated,
“According to me, the criticism that unelected judges of constitutional courts should not interfere in the law making by the elected representatives of the people has no legal or constitutional basis. This is because the Constitution has mandated the Supreme Court the power to examine whether law made by the parliament conforms to the constitutional requirement and if not, to strike down such law by exercising the power of judicial review,”
Justice Bhuyan made these remarks during a farewell event organized by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa for former Supreme Court Justice Abhay S Oka.
He referenced former Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley’s objections to the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which aimed to replace the Collegium system for appointing judges.
Jaitley argued that, unlike judges, Members of Parliament are elected and accountable to the public, suggesting the Supreme Court should not have overturned the people’s will.
In response, Justice Bhuyan reiterated that the Supreme Court acted within its constitutional authority in the NJAC case.
He also highlighted the importance of having bold and courageous judges to maintain judicial independence.
He remarked,
“Throughout history, we have had courageous and independent judges, and we will continue to have them. That’s how our Constitution survives, that’s how our jurisprudence survives, and that’s how democracy survives,”