New Delhi, April 18 A day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar publicly criticised the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that set a three-month deadline for the President and governors to decide on Bills reserved for assent, political and legal circles have erupted in a heated debate.
Senior Rajya Sabha member and former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal condemned the Vice President’s remarks, calling them “unconstitutional” and expressing deep concern over what he described as an unprecedented move.
“I have never seen any Rajya Sabha chairman make political statements of this nature,” Sibal said.
Defending Jagdeep Dhankhar’s position, Supreme Court senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani took to social media platform X to clarify the legal basis for the Vice President’s remarks.
“While some may question the constitutional propriety of a symbolic second head of the State entering the arena of conflict between 2 limbs of govt, the pointing out of a patent constitutional flaw (the VP is an accomplished jurist besides) that Article 145(3) of the Constitution mandated that a question pertaining to the interpretation of a Constitutional provision be dealt with by a 5 judge Bench only and that the 2 judge Bench decision was a nullity would surely be in discharge of the Vice President's sworn obligation to uphold the Constitution,” Jethmalani wrote.
He further broadened his critique by raising concerns about the judiciary's conduct in recent times.
“In very recent times a series of issues have conspired to create public perception that the Indian judiciary lacks transparency and accountability in dealing with sensitive issues pertaining to itself, the chief among them being judicial corruption,” he stated.
Jethmalani referenced the ongoing #JusticeYashwantVarma controversy, noting that it has triggered calls for judicial asset declarations and a more robust mechanism for addressing alleged corruption within the judiciary.
“The declaration of assets by judicial officers including those of the #SupremeCourt, the abandonment of the practice of simple transfer of errant judges to other courts, [and] the subjection of allegedly corrupt judges to criminal investigations and perhaps even to inquiries by ombudsmen such as the #Lokayukt & the #Lokpal,” he elaborated.
He also pointed to concerns over judicial overreach, particularly in private law matters, where the courts have, in his view, encroached upon executive prerogatives. “There is an equally growing public perception that there is a tendency towards judicial overreach inasmuch as the higher judiciary is encroaching in areas which are the executive’s preserve,” he added.
“In matters pertaining to private law (e.g. where the courts invoked Articles 14 & 21 to strike down unilateral govt arbitration clauses ignoring freedom of contract) the executive could avoid a showdown by prohibiting arbitration where govt was a party except in contracts of low stakes,” Jethmalani said.
Specifically referencing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on gubernatorial delays in granting assent to Bills, he warned of an inevitable clash.
“The recent 2 judge decision of a Bench of the Supreme Court prescribing a time limit of 3 months for the #PresidentofIndia to dispose of Bills reserved for her assent by the #GovernorofTamilNadu was bound to stir a hornet's nest,” Jethmalani noted.
He also praised Vice President Dhankhar for “taking a bold stand”.
“It took the irrepressible & Hon’ble #VP of India #JagdeepDhankharji to take up cudgels.”
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