Everything goes to Supreme Court; Anna will too

By Raghul Sudheesh The Prime Minister made a staunch defence today about the role of Parliament in making laws and governance. But the question remains: who runs the country? Now civil society members are considering moving the Supreme Court against Anna Hazare’s arrest. There are suggestions that the court might take a suo moto action on their own as they did after the Baba Ramdev raid. Either way it raises the question: Is the Supreme Court of this country the only saviour of the people? Have they lost all faith in the Executive and Legislature? Is that the big take-home message from the mass support for Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption? It’s not just Anna Hazare and his fast; bringing home black money, protecting tribals, protecting workers, appointing the right person as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), impeaching corrupt judges – isn’t all that the job and responsibility of the government? Why did the Supreme Court have to intervene? Is this beyond judicial activism? Is this over activism now? [caption id=“attachment_62957” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“AFP Photo”]  [/caption] The Anna Hazare case is just the latest. Post the Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan era, with all its scandals, the Supreme Court has been in the middle of decisions that have caused the current UPA government much heartburn. The Supreme Court, based on a petition filed by Ram Jethmalani and others, constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former Apex Court Judge BP Jeevan Reddy to monitor the investigation and the steps being taken to bring back black money stashed away in foreign banks. The judgement of the Supreme Court in Salwa Judum came down hard on the government saying it was giving guns to poor youngsters and tax breaks to the rich. The Court blasted the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre for appointing tribals as Special Police Officers (SPOs) and training them to counter Maoists and held the action to be “unconstitutional”. It quashed the appointment of PJ Thomas as CVC who was recommended by a high power committee headed by the Prime Minister, though the leader of the Opposition had opposed it. An Apex Court Bench set aside Thomas’ appointment pursuant to writ petitions filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation; the former Chief Election Commissioner, JM Lyngdoh; and others. With the Apex court’s recent decision in the case of Delhi Jal Board, the fight about the relevance of Public Interest Litigation in India has taken a new turn. The decision comes at a time when the Government is considering a bill to regulate PIL. The Court said if the system can devote hours, days and months to hear the elitist class of eminent advocates engaged by those who are accused of evading taxes and duties, it can surely devote some time to hear the grievances of the vast majority of silent sufferers. When Justice KG Balakrishnan — known for his links to Congress leaders and Karunanidhi — was the CJI, nothing much had moved on the 2G scam case. Another blow for the UPA came when Justice GS Singhvi in his order in the 2G case said:

“The CBI shall conduct the investigation without being influenced by any functionary, agency or instrumentality of the State and irrespective of the position, rank or status of the person to be investigated/probed.”

That might sound boilerplate but it was a clear warning to the UPA government to not impede the investigation. All these judgments have come at a time when the Government has failed at performing its duty or erred in doing it properly. That is the context in which we need to see Anna Hazare and his so called “fight against corruption". When the government fails, another group tries to emerge as a power and fill that vacuum. And now the Anna matter might again end up in the lap of the Supreme Court, to be decided at its mercy. So it turns out that for every major issue plaguing the country, the Supreme Court is being sought out as the ultimate saviour. In this situation, criticisms against judicial activism as being manifestations of judicial overreach should be shunned forthwith. If judicial ‘activism’ is doing good for the people of India, then why should it be considered an evil? And if it is considered an evil, let it be a “necessary evil” at this juncture. The current situation is so disastrous that we need a Supreme Court intervention for everything, be it black money or awarding compensation to sewage workers and ensuring their safety. Now lawyers in the Delhi as well as the Punjab & Haryana High Courts are joining the protest against arrest of Anna Hazare. It indicates clearly that the Bar is being vigilant against undemocratic practices, showing their social responsibility through the protests. This will certainly boost the moral stature of the courts and we can expect more “judicial activism” in the coming days. The question that arises at this crucial point is not where Anna Hazare will fast and for how long. The real question is who is running the country? Is it the government or the Supreme Court? Raghul Sudheesh is Associate Editor at Bar and Bench_. You can follow him on Twitter_  or on Facebook.