Access to judiciary weaponised, Institutions not working within domain: V-P

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said access to judiciary has been "weaponised" and it poses a great challenge to India's governance and democratic values. He also said institutions are not working within their domain.

In an apparent attack on the judiciary, he said every day one finds advisories being issued and executive functions being performed by bodies that have no jurisdiction or jurisprudential authority or competence to perform those actions.

"To put it in a layman's language, a tehsildar can never record an FIR. How so very strongly he may feel because our Constitution ordains institutions have to work within their own domain. Are they working? I'll answer for you, no," he said.

He said "day in and day out you will find advisories emanating (and) executive functions being performed by bodies that have no jurisdictional or jurisprudential authority or competence to perform those actions".

The vice president made these remarks while addressing students of the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership here.

"We have a fundamental right in the country, and the right is we can access judiciary. It's a fundamental right but in the last few decades access to judiciary has been weaponised... it is posing a great challenge to our governance, our democratic values," he said.

Dhankhar was of the view that institutions are yielding ground to other institutions, "and that is being done out of expediency".

"These placatory mechanisms may result in short-term gain, but they cause incalculable spinal damage in the long run," he said.

Questioning the provision of 'whip' in Parliament, the vice president said, "Why should there be whip? Whip means you are curtailing expression, you are curtailing freedom, you are subjecting your representative to servility.

"You don't allow such a person to use his or her mind... Political parties are supposed to promote democracy, but do the elected representatives have the freedom of expression? Whip comes in the way," he said.

Reflecting on the disruptions in Parliament, Dhankhar said once a temple of democracy, it has now become a wrestling ground.

"People have forgotten the word 'decorum' and there is no concept of dignity anymore," he said.