A petition on being heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeks President’s rule in West Bengal on the ground of communal violence in Murshidabad district. West Bengal residents Devdutta Maji and Mani Munjal have filed the plea accusing protesters against a law guiding the management and regulation of Waqf properties, or Islamic charitable endowments, in the state of being attacked.
Justices Bhushan R Gavai and AG Masih perked earlier this month on the urgent application that mentioned Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain. In addition, Jain sought the pleas to be heard along with the other petitions that had been filed seeking President’s Rule in West Bengal after post-poll violence that followed the Assembly elections there in 2021.
But the bench could not resist questioning the scope of judicial interference in such things with cautious remarks. ‘Since you’re asking us to issue a writ of mandamus to impose President’s rule, I would say that isn’t illegal.’ Justice Gavai said that as things stand, we are being accused of stepping into the legislative and executive domains.
It is in this light that Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s criticism of the judiciary recently takes on significance. Referring to the Supreme Court’s April 8 judgment that ordered that Presidential assent should be given on state legislation within a period of three months, Dhankar alleged that the judiciary was acting like ‘super Parliament.’ Article 142 was a nuclear missile against democratic processes; he also added to the powers of the court.
The case has again sparked debate about where the line is in our sense of judicial authority and what role that should play in governance. The court, however, is conscious of the judicious balance to be maintained between the three pillars of democracy, viz., the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and hence has given this urgent and grave situation the priority it deserves.
This politically sensitive matter is expected to create a sensation both legally and publicly.
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