SC junks plea seeking to disqualify vice-president, law minister for collegium remarks

India,current affairs,SC,Supreme Court,Ganga,Yamuna

The Supreme Court on May 15 dismissed a plea by Bombay Lawyers Association to declare Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar as disqualified candidates to hold any constitutional post for their comments against the collegium.

A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul dismissed the plea after observing that the appeal cannot be entertained as the Bombay High Court's observations in the case are accurate.

The lawyers' association appealed against a Bombay High Court dismissal of a public interest litigation (PIL). It was mounted on the contention that the collegium is the law of the land and persons occupying constitutional posts cannot speak out against the law and the Supreme Court. According to the plea, Rijiju and Dhakar must be disqualified as they made public statements that showed a lack of faith in the Constitution by attacking its institutions such as the Supreme Court of India and showed scant regard for the law.

The plea alleged that their conduct appeared to have shaken public faith in the Supreme Court and the Constitution. According to the plea, the law minister and the VP have affirmed the oath that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution. However, their conduct has shown a lack of faith in the Constitution.

According to the plea, the VP and the law minister violated their constitutional oath, which is legally binding as per Article 164(3) of the Constitution. “Oath of office is not an empty formality with no constitutional significance. In the debates in the Constituent Assembly on Art. 56, Dr Ambedkar is reported to have said that the phrase 'violation of the Constitution' is a large one and may well include treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, because treason is certainly violation of the Constitution and bribery will be violation of the Constitution because it will be violation of the oath by the President,” it said.