The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Bombay High Court order that dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for their alleged anti-judiciary statements.
Rijiju had previously stated that the collegium procedure for appointing judges was “opaque and not transparent.”
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had questioned the historic 1973 Kesavananda Bharati decision, which established the basic structure doctrine.
Dhankhar claimed that the ruling established a bad precedent and that if any authority questions Parliament’s power to modify the Constitution, it will be difficult to claim that “we are a democratic nation.”
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah today in its order stated, “We believe that the view of the High Court is correct. Whether any authority has made any inappropriate statement, observations already made that the Supreme Court is broad enough to deal with it.”
During the hearing, Justice Kaul asked the appellants’ counsel, “What is this?” What brings you here now? Just to finish the circle?”
The Court dismissed an appeal filed in February this year against a Bombay High Court order in connection with public remarks made by the Vice-President and Union Law Minister against the Collegium, the judiciary, and the Supreme Court.
Individual statements cannot undermine the Supreme Court’s credibility, according to the High Court’s order.
The Association argued in its petition that the remarks in question amounted to a “frontal attack” on the judiciary in “most insulting and derogatory language” and without using any recourse available under the Constitution.
