Last week, Vice President Dhankhar expressed concern over the judiciary’s role in setting deadlines for the President’s decisions. He said that the judiciary was acting like a “super Parliament” and added that the Supreme Court should not be allowed to “fire a nuclear missile at democratic forces.”
New Delhi, April 20 – Several top legal experts have strongly criticised Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for making negative remarks against the judiciary. They described the statements as irresponsible and stressed that the dignity and decorum of the Supreme Court must always be maintained.
Last week, Vice President Dhankhar expressed concern over the judiciary’s role in setting deadlines for the President’s decisions. He said that the judiciary was acting like a “super Parliament” and added that the Supreme Court should not be allowed to “fire a nuclear missile at democratic forces.”
Soon after Dhankhar’s comments, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also criticised the Supreme Court. He questioned whether Parliament and state assemblies should continue to exist “if the apex court had to make laws.”
Dubey even went on to blame the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna for the “religious wars” happening in the country.
His statement came after the Union government assured the Supreme Court that it would not implement some controversial parts of the new Waqf law until the next hearing. The Court had earlier raised concerns over these provisions.
Reacting to these comments, Manan Kumar Mishra, senior advocate and chairman of the Bar Council of India, said:
“The judiciary is supreme and the dignity and decorum of the Supreme Court should be maintained.”
He added that:
“The controversy has been given a full stop by the BJP president. The judiciary is supreme. Whatever order has been passed by the Supreme Court is final and under Article 142 empowers the top court to do complete justice in any matter. If anybody is aggrieved, there is a scope for review. Such issues should not be discussed on roads and dignity and decorum of the Supreme Court should be maintained.”
Soon after Dubey’s harsh criticism, the BJP tried to control the damage. Party president J P Nadda distanced the BJP from Dubey’s statement and clarified that those were his personal views. Nadda also assured that the party respects the judiciary and sees it as a vital part of democracy.
Vikas Singh, senior advocate and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, also opposed the Vice President’s comments. He said:
“The Vice-President, as a high constitutional functionary, should not make such a comment and every institution has to be respected.”
Talking about BJP MP Dubey’s comments, Vikas Singh said:
“If he wants a remedy then he can file a review plea. Whatever the Supreme Court has said is final and you must respect it. That is the rule of law. There is no basis for him to say the Chief Justice of India is responsible for riots. The riots started before the hearing commenced.”
Violence had broken out in areas like Samsherganj, Suti, Dhulian, and Jangipur in Murshidabad district on April 11 and 12. These protests against the Waqf Amendment Act led to the deaths of three people and displaced hundreds as their homes were set on fire and vandalised.
Vikas Singh added:
“Riots did not happen after the hearing (in the Waqf Amendment Act) case began. It is only the feeling of getting justice from the Supreme Court dawned that the riots stopped.”
Supreme Court advocate Ashwani Dubey also appealed to leaders to show restraint in their public remarks.
He said:
“Since Dhankhar held the constitutional post of Vice-President, he should refrain from making comments targeting the judiciary.”
He further added:
“In a democracy, each wing has a clear and demarcated role and must respect the other wings. Being the Vice-President, a constitutional post, he should refrain from making such comments.”
About the remarks made by Nishikant Dubey, he said:
“It would be totally wrong to implicate the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India for violence. People of the country have faith in the judiciary. The BJP leadership has rightly distanced itself from the statement.”
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