BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s recent attack on the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna is no mere outburst — it is part of a concerted attempt by the ruling party to tame a judiciary that is not quite pliant enough for its liking. There is a discernible pattern in the behaviour of the judiciary as well over the past ten or so years — it has made some scathing observations about the Union government while hearing important cases, but the judgements it has delivered have by and large favoured the government.

See this hypothesis in light of the Supreme Court’s Ram Janmabhoomi verdict, or on the appointment of election commissioners, the Rafale deal, the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir or the demonetisation of 2016. So, if the ruling party still wants to target the judiciary, it simply means it doesn’t have patience with even a pretence of judicial review. Having effectively tamed both the bureaucracy and the media, the judiciary remains its last frontier.

Which has been successfully manipulated in the past — for instance, former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, who presided over the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict was nominated to the Rajya Sabha immediately after his tenure ended — but there are honourable exceptions. Curtailing judicial review is the best way to ensure that contentious policies sail through. With a parliamentary majority, the BJP seeks to further diminish checks on executive power in keeping with its governance model of exercising power without restraint.

The Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2015,........

© National Herald