NEW DELHI, 28 Mar: The Bombay Lawyers Association on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against a high court decision dismissing its PIL against union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over their remarks on the judiciary and the collegium system for appointment of judges.
The lawyers’ body has challenged the Bombay High Court’s 9 February order of dismissing its plea on the ground that it was not a fit case to invoke the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) had claimed that Rijiju and Dhankhar showed lack of faith in the Constitution with their remarks and conduct. It had sought orders to restrain Dhankhar from discharging duty as the vice president, and Rijiju from discharging his duty as the cabinet minister for the central government.
Lawyer Ahmed Abdi told PTI that the petition was filed with the apex court registry on Tuesday.
In an appeal, the lawyers’ body said that the “frontal attack not just on the judiciary but the Constitution” by the two executive officials has lowered the prestige of the Supreme Court in public.
Rijiju had said that the collegium system of appointing judges was “opaque and not transparent.”
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had questioned the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment that gave the basic structure doctrine.
Dhankhar had said that the verdict set a bad precedent and if any authority questions Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution, it would be difficult to say “we are
a democratic nation.”
“It is submitted that the petitioner herein filed the PIL before the high court of judicature at Bombay, praying therein to declare Respondents Numbers 1 and 2 as disqualified candidates to hold any constitutional posts of vice president and minister of the union cabinet, respectively, based on their behaviour, conduct and utterances made in public,” it said.
It said that “the two constitutional functionaries showed lack of faith in the Constitution by their conduct and utterances made in public and by attacking its institutions, including the Supreme Court, and showing scant regard for the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
“The conduct of Respondent Nos 1 and 2 appeared to have shaken public faith in the Supreme Court and the Constitution,” it added.
The plea said that the vice president and the union minister have affirmed oaths that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution. “However, their conduct has shown lack of faith in the Constitution of India,” it said, assailing the high court’s order dismissing its PIL.
“They have launched a frontal attack on the institution of judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, in most derogatory language, without any recourse, which is available under the constitutional scheme to change the status quo as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court,” it said.
The BLA quoted the statements of the dignitaries made in certain functions.
The high court had on 9 February dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL).
“We are not inclined to grant any relief. The petition is dismissed. Reasons would be recorded later,” the high court had said. (PTI)
