“Can’t Direct President Of India”: Vice President Targets Judiciary

Days after a landmark Supreme Court judgment that effectively set a deadline for the President and Governors to clear Bills, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has used strong words for the judiciary, saying that we cannot have a situation where courts direct the President. He also said that Article 142 of the Constitution, which gives the Supreme Court special powers, “has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24×7”.

Addressing the 6th batch of Rajya Sabha interns, the Vice-President spoke about the massive cash haul from the home of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. “An event happened on the night of 14th and 15th of March in New Delhi, at the residence of a judge. For seven days, no one knew about it. We have to ask questions to ourselves. Is the delay explainable? Condonable? Does it not raise certain fundamental questions? In any ordinary situation, and ordinary situations define rule of law – things would have been different. It was only on 21st March, disclosed by a newspaper, that people of the country were shocked as never before.

“Thereafter, fortunately, in public domain, we had input from authoritative source, the Supreme Court of India. And the input indicated culpability. Input did not lead to doubt that something was amiss. Something required to be investigated. Now the nation waits with bated breath. The nation is restive because one of our institutions, to which people have looked up always with highest respect and deference, was put in the dock,” he said.

The Vice-President said no FIR has been filed against the judge after the cash haul. “An FIR in this country can be registered against anyone, any Constitutional functionary, including the one before you. One has only to activate the rule of law. No permission is required. But if it is Judges, their category, FIR cannot be straightaway registered. It has to be approved by the concerned in the Judiciary, but that is not given in the Constitution,” he said.

“The Constitution of India has accorded immunity from prosecution only to the Honourable President and the Honourable Governors. So how come a category beyond law has secured this immunity? Because the ill-effects of this are being felt in the mind of one and all. Every Indian, young and old, is deeply concerned. If the event had taken place at his house, the speed would have been an electronic rocket. Now it is not even a cattle cart,” said Mr Dhankhar, a senior lawyer who has practised in the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court.