Not Supreme Court’s duty to advise Parliament, says CJI
The court rejects PIL
seeking guidelines to ensure parliamentary proceedings take place without
interruptions
Political analysts say the apex
court was correct in refusing to intervene in Parliament’s functioning, a
problem that needed a political solution. Photo: Mint
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to
intervene on the issue of key reform legislation stuck due to parliamentary
disruptions, saying that doing so would be overstepping its boundary.
The apex court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) by a
non-profit group, whose advisers include industrialist Ratan Tata, seeking
guidelines to ensure parliamentary proceedings take place without interruptions
or disruptions.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu said it was not the court’s
duty to advise or make suggestions to Parliament, whose members had the wisdom
and experience to conduct themselves appropriately. “It is not for this court
to start advising or making suggestions (to members of Parliament) about what
to do, what not to do. They are all experienced people, they have wisdom. They
know their responsibilities. They know how to conduct themselves. We are not
here to advise them and we are not expected to either,” Dattu said.
Political acrimony between the ruling alliance led by the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress party marked by sharp exchanges
between leaders both inside and outside Parliament washed out the monsoon
session last month.
Delhi-based PRS Legislative Research, a non-profit organization that
tracks India’s legislative processes. The Lok Sabha saw only 48% productivity
in the monsoon session, whereas the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a
minority, saw only 8% productivity, according to data collated by New
Two of the key reform bills that have been stuck over parliamentary
disruptions include the constitutional amendment bill for a goods and services
tax (GST) and the controversial land acquisition bill, which has now been left
to be formulated by individual state governments.
The petitioner, Foundation for Restoration of National Values (FRNV),
claims there is a loophole in the law because there are no guidelines that
would stop disruptions.
In response, the apex court said, “If the Parliament thinks there’s a
lacuna in the Constitution, they’ll make appropriate amendments. You make a
representation before them, they will take it very seriously.”
The advisory board of FRNV includes chairman emeritus of Tata Sons Ltd Ratan
Tata, former managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corp. E. Sreedharan, and
former chief justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah.
In its petition, the foundation focused on the monsoon session of
Parliament—21 July to 13 August—which saw sustained and continuous disruptions
by opposition parties. The petition said these disruptions have resulted in
“severe loss” of parliamentary time and public money. It said that since 1991,
in the past six Parliaments, nearly 2,162 hours have been lost.
“There is, accordingly, the urgent and pressing need to improve the
overall structures, systems, skills, styles, policies and procedures needed for
good governance, with a robust, wholesome and socially responsible
administration, while simultaneously imbuing in those responsible for public
administration, a deeper understanding of their responsibility to further the
welfare of the people of our country,” the petition said.
Political analysts say the apex court was correct in refusing to
intervene in Parliament’s functioning, a problem that needed a political
solution.
“The stated structure we have is that sphere of judiciary and Parliament
are two spheres and there has to be a balance between them. The legality of
what the Parliament does can be brought to the Supreme Court but to advice the
Parliament on how it should function is not within its purview,” said Manisha
Priyam, a New Delhi-based political analyst and a fellow at the Indian Council
of Social Science Research.
“This has to be
guided politically. There are rules of business, conduct and procedures which
should be followed. The issue is very serious right now. The Congress party has
lost its base and so it no longer has the incentive to cooperate with the
government. On the other hand, the BJP too has not made enough efforts to reach
out to the opposition parties,” she said.
PIL in Supreme Court against Parliament disruptions
The petition refers to the ongoing
monsoon session which has witnessed ‘sustained disruptions, unruly protests’
Over the last six sessions, according to the
petition, nearly 2,162 hours had been lost. Photo: PTI
New Delhi: A non-profit
organisation on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking guidelines to ensure
that proceedings in Parliament do not get stalled or disrupted.
Filed in public
interest by the Foundation for Restoration of National Values (FRNV), the
23-page petition refers to the current monsoon session (21 July to 13 August)
of Parliament which has witnessed “sustained disruptions, unruly protests” and
abstentions by elected members. Mint has reviewed a copy of
the petition.
The petition alleges
that through disruptions like these, a substantial amount of Parliamentary time
required to be devoted to legislative business was being wasted, resulting in
losses to the public exchequer.
Over the last six
sessions, according to the petition, nearly 2,162 hours had been lost.
According to
think-tank PRS Legislative Research, of the 328 bills that were to be passed by
the 15th Lok Sabha, only 179 were passed. This was the least number of bills
passed by a House in its full five-year session.
The petition claims that such
disruptions affect public and national interest and refers to Parliamentary
proceedings in the US where stalling proceedings is a federal offence.
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