Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Sage advice from SC” (August 29). By exhibiting remarkable judicial restraint, the Supreme Court has put to rest debates on whether the judiciary can don the role of the executive. In the past, through several trend-setting verdicts, the apex court had set right the wrongs of the Government. There were speculations that the judiciary, in its eagerness to raise the bar, was usurping the power of the executive. The latest judgement has firmly put the ball in the Government’s court.
As executive heads, the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers cannot abdicate their responsibility of ensuring a regime which is free of tainted Ministers. The verdict is a subtle reminder that there is no line of differentiation between a ‘constitutional right’ and ‘constitutional prerogative’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been a staunch advocate of trying political crimes by fast-track courts, must have heaved a sigh of relief.
At the same time, Mr Modi has the onerous task of ensuring a council which is free of Ministers with pending criminal cases. The Prime Minister has some plain-thinking to do because he has the option of amending the Representation of the People Act so that frivolous cases are sifted from genuine ones, and Ministers are not unnecessarily harassed by questionable charges.