Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday asserted that Parliament is the ultimate architect of the Constitution and changes made by it are final and do not allow intervention from any agency, be it executive or judiciary.
During the discussion on The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, to repeal 76 redundant and obsolete laws, Dhankhar exhorted the members of the Upper House to be "quite serious" about lawmaking and asked them to repel any intervention in this area.
"Lawmaking is a very serious business. We alone are entrusted with law making and there are two different categories. If Parliament, which is the ultimate architect of the constitution, makes some change in the constitution, that is final," the Chairman asserted.
"There can be no intervention from any agency, be it executive, or judiciary. But if there is legislation, the judiciary has a method of intervention by way of judicial review because every legislation has to be in accordance with Constitutional prescriptions," said Dhankhar, as he termed as "categorical" any Constitutional provision emanating from Parliament.
Stressing that Parliament is the only reflector of the opinion of the people, he said, "This is by way of a structured platform, people of this country indicate their mindset through the ballot and send their representatives here. We must be quite serious about it."
He asked the members to act diligently, vigilantly, and make appropriate inputs during lawmaking to carry out their responsibilities of being the "ultimate custodians" of the rights of the people and their sovereignty.
"... and do not permit any incursion whatsoever, what is our mandate, and that is (the) ultimate authority to ensure Constitutional compliance and be the architect of Constitution. Any intervention in this area should be repelled," Dhankhar said.
Without specifying the details, he said, "There was an occasion where we discussed an important Bill, I was looking right, left and centre, that someone would reflect, can the highest court of the land make an interim legal arrangement that is 100 per cent mandate of this house? I am sure we will engage more seriously when it comes to lawmaking."
In 2015, Supreme Court had struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act that sought to reduce the judiciary's role while contemplating a significant role for the executive in appointments of judges.
The Chairman, however, acknowledged that India's judiciary has a robust infrastructure and is known for its independence globally.
"Many things have happened. There will always be issues between organisations because we are in a dynamic world. Those issues have to be settled. Some issues may arise from this side and some issues from the executive and judiciary.
"Therefore, this house is committed to giving highest respect to all the organs because only in togetherness, in tandem, we can achieve the success of our democracy to a higher level and 2047 as a developed nation of world," Dhankhar said.
-With PTI Input
