The Hindu : Front Page : Do not cross Lakshman rekhas: Somnath

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Do not cross Lakshman rekhas: Somnath

Staff Reporter

“Judicial activism is a choice of the judiciary, a choice that is not permissible”

Kolkata: Judicial activism was a choice by the judiciary itself, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said here on Friday.

Pointing out that the Constitution had clearly delineated the powers and functions of the executive, the judiciary and the legislature, Mr. Chatterjee said these were “Lakshman rekhas.”

“Do not cross it,” he added. He was speaking at an interactive session organised by the Calcutta Citizens’ Initiative. “The judiciary has the right to review decisions…but judicial activism is a choice of the judiciary itself, a choice that is not permissible,” Mr. Chatterjee said.

Earlier, while delivering a lecture on “Expectations from our Representatives”, Mr. Chatterjee said elected representatives ought to be role models and their lives should be like open books. “That is why I am not against sting operations per se… I believe that aberrations and misdemeanours should be reported,” he said.

However, Mr. Chatterjee said the media’s role was not always pro-democratic as many good discussions or questions raised in Parliament often went unreported.

Mr. Chatterjee said that well-intentioned, capable people should not stay aloof from politics and public affairs, otherwise they will be making space for those who should not be there.

“Politics cannot be for scoundrels to operate in,” he said. He also said there were no constitutional provisions to end the tenure or ‘recall’ the elected representatives of Parliament or state legislatures, although the President could be impeached and the Prime Minister removed through a no-confidence vote.

While the democratic system of the country was based on people’s participation, that duty should not end with a minute’s participation when one cast the vote, Mr. Chatterjee said.

Pointing out that people must take greater interest in the proceedings of Parliament, Mr. Chatterjee said, “It is not the shouting inside the House but the thinking of the voters’ mind that indicates a living democracy.”

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

Front Page