Court can neither pass law nor ask govt to frame it: SC

The judiciary can neither make laws nor can it direct the government and the legislative body to enact a legislation, the Supreme Court said.

The apex court's remarks came while dismissing a plea to frame rules to stop misusing of national flags which was allegedly witnessed in Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev-led agitation.

"It is crystal clear that the court has a very limited role and in exercise of that, it is not open to have judicial legislation. Neither the court can legislate nor it has any competence to issue directions to the legislature to enact a law in a particular manner," a Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar said.

The bench also refused to entertain the plea seeking its direction to yoga guru Ramdev to pay 10 crore rupees for “misusing” the national flag for gaining undue mileage as a similar plea is pending in the trial court.

"The petitioner-in-person has emphasised that he has approached this court to issue directions to the Centre to amend the law in this regard and in the alternative, this court itself may issue appropriate directions in this regard. "It is a settled legal proposition that the court can neither legislate nor issue a direction to the legislature to enact in a particular manner," the Bench said.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by one V K Naswa seeking its direction to pass an order against Ramdev and frame rules to stop misusing of flag. Holding that the right to fly national flag is a fundamental right, the Bench refused to frame rules saying it comes in the domain of legislative and executive bodies.

"Court cannot direct the legislature to enact a particular law for the reason that under the constitutional scheme Parliament exercises sovereign power to enact law and no outside power or authority can issue a particular piece of legislation," the bench said while referring to its earlier judgements.