Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Judicial activism

This refers to the article “Judicial activism: a perspective” (April 30). As the custodian of the Constitution, the judiciary is vested with the power to declare a law, provision, order, or decree null and void if it is found to be against the provisions of the Constitution. It can issue directions for proper implementation of schemes or policies to uphold the welfare of the people.

Unfortunately, the executive and the legislature see the exercise of such powers by the judiciary as an encroachment into their domain, especially when it upsets the calculations of political leaders. Today, myriad victims have access to justice, however slow and cumbersome, thanks to public interest litigation petitions — a situation unimaginable a few decades ago. Judicial activism, apart from redressing the grievances of the aggrieved, has contributed enormously to the maturity of the Indian polity.

B. Jayanna Krupakar,

Surathkal

Indeed, many PILs have helped laymen whose knowledge of judicial functioning is next to nothing. The common man is helpless in the face of executive indifference in matters concerning his rights, which are at times overridden to accommodate vested interests.

Prasad Malladi,

Nidadavole

When the legislature and the executive fail to meet their constitutional obligations, the higher judiciary has to perform their functions. Though the judiciary has its own drawbacks, including delays in pronouncing verdicts, the common man has no option but to approach it when his rights are infringed. It is not judicial activism but constitutional mandate that has forced the judiciary to interfere in the affairs of the legislature and the executive.

Jetling Yellosa,

Nizamabad

The judiciary’s interference in legislative and executive matters has only led to positive developments. In cases involving issues of health, environment, corruption, and violation of human rights, the judiciary has delivered laudable verdicts. Most of them have been in the form of directives to the authorities to perform their duties, which they did not.

Thus the judiciary has never really encroached upon the legislative or executive domain. Judicial activism is indispensable in our country where government functioning is marked by apathy and ineffectiveness.

Anupama Yadav,

Ghaziabad

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