“The credibility of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India is sky-high. It cannot be eroded or impinged by the statements of individuals. The Constitution of India is supreme and sacrosanct,” said the Bombay HC while dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the removal of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for their remarks against the judiciary and the Collegium.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne, on February 9, had dismissed the PIL filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) against Rijiju and Dhankhar over their comments against the judiciary and collegium system related to appointment of Supreme Court and HC judges. A detailed order of the bench was made available on Tuesday.
The HC noted that every citizen, including constitutional authorities and persons holding constitutional posts, must respect and abide by the Constitution.
“Every citizen of India is bound by the Constitution and is expected to abide by the constitutional values. The constitutional institutions are to be respected by all, including constitutional authorities and persons holding constitutional posts,” said the bench.
The Justices said that a PIL is filed for protection of public interest and ought to be used for redressal of a genuine wrong or injury caused to citizens and it cannot be publicity-oriented.
'Public faith shaken'
The PIL, filed through advocate Ahmad Abdi, had sought disqualification of the VP and the law minister saying that their “utterances have shaken the public faith in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and the Constitution”.
The court took note of the statements made by Dhankhar and Rijiju, through Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, that the government has “never undermined the authority of the judiciary and its independence will always remain untouched, and that they respect the ideals of the Constitution”.
“The constitutional authorities cannot be removed in the manner as suggested by the petitioner. Fair criticism of the judgment is permissible. It is no doubt, fundamental duty of every citizen to abide by the Constitution. Majesty of law has to be respected,” averred the bench.
Centre vs Collegium
Rijiju recently said the collegium system of appointing judges was "opaque and not transparent". Whereas, VP Jagdeep Dhankhar had questioned the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case verdict that gave the basic structure doctrine.
Dhankhar had said 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".
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