The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No conflict between judiciary, legislature: ex-Chief Justice

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 03, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No conflict between judiciary, legislature: ex-Chief Justice

Staff Reporter

Reaction to Supreme Court verdict on admissions `is only media hype'

CONFLICT RESOLUTION: The former Chief Justice of India S. Rajendra Babu addressing a seminar on `Relations between the legislature and the judiciary,' in Bangalore on Friday. On the dais with him (from left) are National Administrative Reforms Commis sion Chairman M. Veerappa Moily, Legislative Council Chairman V.R. Sudarshan and the former Bihar Governor M. Rama Jois. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: There is no confrontation between the judiciary and the legislature, according to the former Chief Justice of India S. Rajendra Babu and National Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman M. Veerappa Moily.

Mr. Babu said that whatever is being said about the Supreme Court judgment on admissions to unaided private professional college seats "is only media hype."

They were speaking at a colloquium on "Relations between the legislature and the judiciary" organised by the Karnataka legislature. Legislative Council Chairman V.R. Sudarshan presided over the programme. Mr. Babu said criticism of the judgment out of anguish, both within and outside Parliament, need not be taken so seriously.

Agreeing with his view, Mr. Moily said the Supreme Court had more than once asked the Centre and the States concerned to come out with legislation to govern admissions to professional colleges. It had made it clear in the T.M.A. Pai case of 2002 that its judgment was only temporary in the absence of any law on the issue, he said.

Mr. Moily, who introduced the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admissions to professional colleges when he was the Chief Minister, was, however, of the view that the Supreme Court has not taken note of the plight of poor students denied seats in professional colleges, in its judgments. He feared that the verdict of the seven-judge Bench of the court would lead to total privatisation of education, which was not the intention of the framers of the Constitution. It might lead to the same problems the students faced when capitation fee was being collected from them, prior to the introduction of the CET.

He felt that both courts and governments have to be proactive when issues such as social justice are involved. He urged the Centre to act according to the Supreme Court directive and introduce legislation to end the impasse.

The former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court M. Rama Jois called for harmonious functioning of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The former Governor of Jharkhand and Bihar advised the legislature and the executive to accept gracefully the interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court and its orders even if they were not to their liking. That is constitutional discipline.

Mr. Jois said courts have only constitutional and not political compulsions. It is open to the legislature to amend the law on the basis of a judgment. The new law should, however, be within the framework of the Constitution.

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