‘Cannot have situation where you direct President’: VP Dhankhar questions SC ruling giving deadline to decide on Bills

NEW DELHI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday criticised the Supreme Court’s current judgment that set a timeline for the President to decide on payments forwarded by governors, saying such a directive undermines the constitutional position of the nation’s highest workplace.
Speaking to the sixth batch of Rajya Sabha interns on the Vice-President’s Enclave, Dhankhar questioned, “We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis?”
“There is a directive to the President by a recent judgement. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country? We have to be extremely sensitive. It is not a question of someone filing a review or not. We never bargained for democracy for this day. President being called upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, becomes law,” Dhankhar added.
Also learn: In a primary, SC units 3-month deadline for President to decide on payments referred by governors
He added that the Constitution offers the judiciary the facility to interpret the regulation below Article 145(3), but it surely doesn’t authorise courts to challenge directives to the President.
“The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3). There it has to be five judges or more,” the VP mentioned.
His feedback are available in response to an April 8 judgment by the Supreme Court, which for the primary time imposed a three-month deadline for the President to act on payments reserved by state governors. The apex courtroom held that any delay past this era have to be justified, and urged state governments to cooperate with the Centre on such issues. The ruling adopted a constitutional standoff in Tamil Nadu, where Governor RN Ravi had withheld assent to a number of payments for prolonged intervals, prompting the state to search judicial intervention.
Speaking on the alleged discovery of money at Delhi excessive courtroom decide Yashwant Verma’s home, Dhankhar mentioned the President and Governors get pleasure from constitutional immunity from prosecution, a privilege not prolonged to different public figures, together with judges.
Dhankhar mentioned it has been over a month because the challenge got here to mild and “let the worms and skeletons be in public domain”.
“It is now over a month, let the worms and skeletons be in public domain. Independence of judiciary is not some kind of impregnable cover against enquiry, investigation or probe,” VP Jagdeep Dhankhar mentioned.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, had put aside the Tamil Nadu Governor’s second spherical of referring ten payments to the President, calling it legally flawed. The justices clarified that if the President withholds assent, the state authorities has the correct to problem the choice in courtroom.