New Delhi: Dismissing offhand Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s recent comments against judiciary, as well as his statement that Parliament is 'supreme', the Chief Justice designate Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai asserted that the Constitution alone is supreme and judiciary will step in whenever thelegistlature or executive fails to discharge their respective duties, The Telegraph reported.
Dhankar had alleged that the Supreme Court is making laws by bypassing Parliament and is creating a super parliament. He had claimed that Article 142 of the Constitution is a nuclear missile against democratic forces available to the judiciary 24/7. Dhankar was angered by the apex court's ruling, setting time limits for the governors to make a decision on bills passed by state assemblies and for the President to give a decision when they are submitted for scrutiny.
CJI designate Justice Gavai told The Telegraph that the three wings of democracy, the judiciary, the legislature and the executive, must work within the four corners of the Constitution. He said that Dhankar’s statement that Parliament is ‘supreme’ is not sound, since the Constitution is what is supreme.
“All three wings of democracy are supposed to act within the four corners of the Constitution without overstepping,” The Telegraph quoted Jus Gavai.
He added that the judiciary oversteps only when either the legislature does not act or the executive does not perform its duties.
However, he said that attacks on the judiciary by Dhankar as well as BJP MP Nishikant Dubey cannot be construed as a systemic or systematic way to undermine the judiciary by the ruling BJP party. He said that the BJP has said that the duo’s comments were not the party’s view.