Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Defeats purpose

The very purpose of IX Schedule is to remove the hurdles in government functioning and make it more effective and less time-consuming. It is to delegate direct authority to the implementing agencies to instantly start and complete their task without any interference from any quarter. It is meant to achieve the larger goal of meeting targets. Parliament's wisdom should be trusted when it determines which Acts are to be given protection. As for the criticism that the Ninth Schedule today contains 284 laws, without the Schedule the Constitution would have been amended an additional 284 times to accommodate the objectives of these Acts.

Sheriff Ashik Mohideen,
Chennai

Let all of us be convinced that neither Parliament nor the Supreme Court has the monopoly over the correct understanding of fundamental rights. What both the institutions should bear in mind before passing a law or verdict is the talisman Gandhiji gave — how the decision will affect the poorest and the most backward.

W. Macwan,
Ahmedabad

A slightly disturbing aspect of the otherwise sound decision of the Supreme Court is the danger of intrusion on the pre-eminence of the legislature in matters of its actions in the correction of social inequalities. As the judgment of individuals cannot be entirely unaffected by social bias, the will of the people as reflected in the considered decisions of their elected representatives in such matters should not be curbed in the name of judicial review.

Kasim Sait,
Chennai

Inserting a law in the Ninth Schedule is the absolute prerogative of Parliament. A bill goes through many phases before it is tabled in Parliament. After a detailed debate, it is passed by a majority. If the majority feels it should be outside judicial purview and brings it under the Ninth Schedule, the judiciary should have no role to play. It can at best give its views. The ruling that the laws passed since 1973 — which have been effectively implemented for so many years — are subject to judicial scrutiny is unfortunate.

E. Muralidharan,
Chennai

Much more of Parliament's time will now be taken up in passing amendments to the Constitution as the shortcut called the Ninth Schedule no longer exists. But such shortcuts are necessary for better governance.

Shiv Nadar Karthik,
Chennai

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Iajuddin Ahmed's epiphany
Wing it like Beckham
China asserting its place on world stage
Duty and restraint: the hard choice
Liberalisation will not remove caste prejudice
Trek of the wildebeest under threat
There is only a political solution to Iraq
Welcome judgment
Defeats purpose
Assam violence

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu