Judiciary, executive must not cross limits, says Vice President Dhankar

Underlining the significance of the doctrine of separation of powers between Judiciary and Executive, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Friday said "any incursion" by either of the institutions into each other's domain has the "capacity and potential to unsettle the applecart of democracy".

Dhankar said there is no country where a "constitutional provision has been undone" by the judiciary. Adding that the basic structure of democracy is the primacy of the will of the people, Dhankar said the "world does not know of any such instance" where a constitutional provision was undone.

Dhankar did not specifically name the said constitutional provision undone by the judiciary. It might be mentioned here that in October 2015, the Supreme Court had struck down the constitutional amendment vide which the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was mooted by the Centre in a bid to give the government a greater say in the selection of judges.


Dhankar was speaking on the occasion of 8th Dr L M Singhvi Memorial Lecture on the theme "Universal Adult Franchise: Translating India's political transformation into a social transformation". Dhankar said that he is proud of the Indian judiciary.

He further said CJI D Y Chandrachud, who was the guest of honour, will take the institution to greater heights. Speaking on the occasion, the CJI said Universal Adult Franchise is the equalling force in shaping the future of India. The CJI added that those who were denied the right to vote now have become a force in selecting the composition of the Parliament.

He added that the Universal Adult Franchise provided confidence to the marginalised section of the society. Chandrachud said that the idea of universal adult franchise is not just political but is a social idea and has vision at its core.