Institutions should stick to constitutional mandate: Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there was a clear separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature provided in the Constitution, adding that an impression should not go out that one institution can take better decisions than the other.

"The court is entitled to tell the executive to act as per the law. The court is not entitled to tell the executive that now I will discharge your function," he said at a workshop organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Referring to the high-profile controversy surrounding the appointment of judges of the superior judiciary, he said the suggestion in some quarters that the names recommended by the Chief Justice of India and the collegium will be binding on the government is perhaps not correct.

"You cannot interpret the basic structure of the Constitution just the opposite," he said.

"The appointments made today are happening differently than originally envisaged," said Jaitley, a former Law Minister and an eminent lawyer.

He was delivering a lecture on 'Separation of powers among organs of state' at a workshop attended, among others, by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, noted jurist Fali S. Nariman, and members of Parliament from various parties.

He also raised concerns over the levy of tax by the courts, indirectly referring to the one per cent levy imposed on new diesel-run vehicles by the Supreme Court a few months ago.

"The Constitution squarely says that only Parliament can impose a tax, the government cannot. And in Parliament, tax imposition is money bill; only the Lok Sabha can do it. The court says if you use a vehicle consuming diesel, (then) there will be so much tax. How does an order of this kind comply with the Constitution?" Jaitley asked.

If such trends continue, the minister said: "It creates an impression that one institution is superior to another institutions. And superior institution can take better decision."

"An elected Parliament is also a part of the basic structure; an elected government is also a part of the basic structure and a minister and the Leader of Opposition are also part of the basic structure (of the Constitution)," he said and admitted he has been a critic of the apex court judgment on the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC).

He said framers of the Constitution were clear that in order to protect and defend the primacy of one basic structure, one cannot allowed to steamroll the other parts.

Attacking the judicial activism, he said: "In terms of laying down judicial guidelines, you are actually having a judicial legislation."

Jaitley said while a judge's view is final, "it is not necessary that it is infallible".

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the two-day lecture session has been organised to help members of Parliament update their knowledge on the Constitution.

In tomorrow's session, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will deliver a talk on 'Fundamental Duties and Rights' while Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd) will speak on the federal structure of polity.

--IANS

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