Law Minister urges judiciary for separation of powers

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday urged the judiciary to ensure the separation of powers between the judiciary, legislature and executive.

Speaking on the occasion of National Law Day at Vigyan Bhawan here, the Union Minister said, "The separation of power is equally bounding upon the judiciary and is the law of the land. People of India entrust Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the obligation to secure unity and integrity of the country."

"But, if the Prime Minister and law minister cannot be trusted to have a fair judge's appointment, it is a huge question and somewhere or the other the judiciary and polity of the country will have to look upon that," he stressed.

He added that independence of judiciary cannot be invoked in a manner that undermined importance of separation of power as both were part of basic structure of the Constitution.

The law minister also voiced concern over frivolous PILs hindering governance, saying, "PILs cannot become and should not be allowed to become a substitute for governance".

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to work unitedly for "New India" and said that the country will lead the world in the 21st century.

The National Law Day is marked on November 26. On this day, the Constituent Assembly agreed on the final draft of the constitution in 1949.