New Delhi: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar launched a scathing criticism of the Supreme Court on Thursday, calling it a ‘super Parliament’.
Referring to a recent order of the country’s top court, directing the President to act within a specific timeframe on bills sent by Governors for consideration, Dhankhar said it was a worrying development.
“There is a directive to the President by a recent judgement. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country?” he wondered while addressing a group of Rajya Sabha interns.
The Vice-President said India was never meant to have a democracy where judges function as a ‘super Parliament”.
In a verdict criticising Tamil Nadu Governor TN Ravi’s withholding of assent to state assembly bills for a long period, the Supreme Court ruled last week that when a Governor reserves a bill for the President under Article 201 of the Constitution, a decision must be taken within three months.
The court said that the President does not have a “pocket veto”, and must grant or deny assent within a certain time.
Dhankhar pulled up this unprecedented ruling, saying, “We never bargained for democracy for this day. President being called upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, becomes law.”
In a warning against judicial overreach, Dhankhar said: “So we have judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as super Parliament, and absolutely have no accountability because law of the land does not apply to them.”
Reminding his audience of the President’s oath — “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” – Dhankhar said that the President holds a unique and elevated position.
“We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis?” he asked, adding that that the only authority the judiciary has in such matters is “to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3)”.
Even that must be done by a bench of five or more judges, the Vice-President pointed out.
VIDEO | Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar (@VPIndia) says, “We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3). There it has to be five… pic.twitter.com/b6mA4XPfC0
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 17, 2025
