Constitution must evolve through parliament, not executive or judiciary: Jagdeep Dhankhar

The evolution of the Constitution must take place in Parliament and no other “super body” or institution, including the judiciary and the executive, plays a role in it, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday.

It is the primacy of the Constitution that determines the stability, harmony and productivity of democratic governance and Parliament reflecting the mandate of the people is the ultimate and exclusive architect of the Constitution, he said.

Dhankhar’s remarks, made during the release of a memoir by former Tamil Nadu PS Governor Ramamohan Rao, came a day after Justice Minister Kiren Rejiju invoked ‘Lakhsman Rekha’ over relations between the executive and the judiciary.

The vice president said: “A constitution must evolve from the people to parliament, not from the executive. The executive has no role in the evolution of the constitution and any other institution, including the judiciary.” He further stressed that “the evolution of the Constitution must take place in Parliament and there can be no super body to review this…it must end with Parliament”. The vice president said he was making the statement “without fear of being contradicted (and) after having studied the debates of constituent assemblies and examined the constitutions of countries where democracy flourishes and flourishes”.

Amid a struggle between the judiciary and the government over the appointment of high court and Supreme Court judges, India’s Chief Justice DY Chandracud said on Saturday that not all systems were perfect, but that the current collegiate system was the “best” mechanism developed by the judiciary to preserve its independence.

Justice Chandrachud vigorously defended the collegiate system of judges appointing judges to superior courts during his speech at the India Today Conclave, 2023, just hours after Justice Minister Rijiju at the same forum again criticized the selection process , affirming that according to the Constitution the appointment of judges is the duty of the government.

Rijiju also said the appointment of judges was not judicial work but “purely administrative in nature”.

The minister felt that if judges involved themselves in administrative work, they would face criticism. He said the principle of justice will be compromised if a judge ends up hearing a case he was a part of.

“Suppose you are the chief justice or a judge. You are part of an administrative process that will be challenged. The case is before your court. Can you make a judgment on a case you have been part of The principle of justice itself will be This is why the Lakshman Rekha is very clear in the Constitution,” Rijiju said.