Law Minister Rijiju’s Tweets Add To The Constitution or Parliament Supreme Debate

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju backed the views of a retired high court judge who said the Supreme Court "hijacked" the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself.

New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday tweeted the views of a retired high court judge who said the Supreme Court “hijacked” the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself. Rijiju shared the video of an interview of Justice RS Sodhi (retd), a former judge of the Delhi High Court, saying it is the “voice of a judge” and that the majority of people have similar “sane views”. Rijiju’s tweet comes a day after Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud’s reiterated his views on the “basic structure doctrine” of the Indian Constitution. “…When the path ahead is convoluted, the judge relies on the basic structure which is based on the supremacy of the Constitution..” CJI Chandrachud said delivering the 18th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture which was organised by the Bombay Bar Association.

The development comes as the difference between the government and the judiciary over the Collegium system appeared to intensify. To add a background, retired judge Justice Sodhi had said the right to frame laws lies with Parliament and the apex court cannot frame laws as it does not have the right to do so. “… Whether you can amend the Constitution? Only Parliament will amend Constitution. But here I feel the Supreme Court for the first time ‘hijacked’ the Constitution. After ‘hijacking’ they (SC) said that we will appoint (judges) ourselves and the government will have no role in it,” Justice Sodhi said in Hindi.

What Kiren Rijiju Tweeted

In a series of tweets, Kiren Rijiju concurred with Justice Sodhi’s views and said, “actually majority of the people have similar sane views. It’s only those people who disregard the provisions of the Constitution and mandate of the people think that they are above the Constitution of India.”

“Real beauty of Indian Democracy is its success. People rule themselves through their representatives. Elected representatives represent the interests of the People and make laws. Our Judiciary is independent and our Constitution is Supreme,” the minister tweeted.

Hours later, Rijiju tweeted again to say that all the three organs of the State – the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary – must work together in the larger interest of the nation.

Voice of a Judge…
Real beauty of Indian Democracy is- it’s success. People rule themselves through their representatives.
Elected representatives represent the interests of the People & make laws. Our Judiciary is independent and our Constitution is Supreme. pic.twitter.com/PgSaqfZdDX

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) January 21, 2023

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts has become a major flashpoint between the Executive and the Judiciary. While Rijiju has described the collegium system to appoint judges as something “alien” to the Indian Constitution, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has questioned the Supreme Court for striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act (NJAC) and a related Constitutional amendment.

Earlier, Vice President Dhankar had said a law passed by Parliament, which reflects the will of the people, was “undone” by the Supreme Court and “the world does not know of any such instance”.

By bringing the NJAC law, the government had sought to overturn the collegium system which came into being in 1992. The apex court has questioned the government for delay in clearing the appointments of Supreme Court and high court judges.

Last week, the Supreme Court collegium had for the second time reiterated the names of two advocates for appointment as judges of the Calcutta High Court “expeditiously”, saying it was not open for the government to repeatedly send back the same proposal.

What CJI Chandrachud Said Delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture

“Nani’s life has been a witness to the historic traditions and transitions in fields of both law and economics. When I was thinking as to what I should speak on today’s occasion, two personas of Nani stood before me – lawyer and economic thinker. In a way, this lecture is my way of paying personal tribute to the lawyer and economist Nani. Nani was a true constitutionalist and dedicated his entire life to preserving the integrity of the Indian Constitution. If not for Nani, we would not have had the basic structure doctrine in India.,” the CJI said. (As quoted by Bar & Bench).

Bombay Bar Association has organised the 18th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, to be delivered by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud pic.twitter.com/TAY2ejBoH3

— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) January 21, 2023

“In the end, the hearing lasted for 66 days in the span of five months, and Palkhivala argued for the petitioners for a total of 31 days. By a thin majority of 7-6 judges, the Supreme Court held that while the Parliament had the power to amend any part of the Constitution (including the chapter on Fundamental Rights), the power cannot be so exercised as to alter or destroy the basic structure or framework of the Constitution“, the CJI said.