New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Friday said the Supreme Court judgement putting constitutional fetters on the powers of governors and the president is timely, accurate and courageous as no one is above the country’s law or the Constitution.

In a post on X, he disagreed with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s remarks on the judiciary and said the President of India must come forward and salute the supremacy of the Constitution above all else.

“I hold the Hon’ble Vice President of India in great esteem, both for his wisdom and eloquence, but I respectfully disagree with his formulation.

“The Supreme Court judgement putting Constitutional fetters on the power of governors and the President of India is timely, accurate, courageous and corrects the notion that ‘those holding high offices are above any fetters or imposition of checks and balances’ in exercise of their powers,” he said in his post.

Surjewala, who is a Congress general secretary and in-charge for Karnataka, said as a citizen, a student of law and a parliamentarian, his view is that in our democracy, only the Constitution is supreme and most elevated.

“No office, be it of the president or the prime minister or governor, is so elevated as to be above the fetters of Constitutional propriety.

“Our democracy is founded upon the fundamental principle of ‘will of people’ expressed through elected Parliament and Legislatures. Hence, the highest bodies are Parliament and Legislatures. Even their decisions and law-making powers are subject to ‘judicial review’ by courts on the touchstone of Constitutionality,” he noted.

The Congress leader asked why the actions of governors and the president should not be subjected to the same review, more so when the governors are mere nominees of the central government and the president is elected by the same Parliament and legislatures.

“Can the president be said to have unilateral or unchecked power to hold on to giving assent to the laws passed by Parliament or legislatures (vested by the Constitution to enact laws by majority mandate) for indefinite periods? “If the president or governors were to have such power, it will go against the very tenets of democracy, for the elected Parliament and legislatures will be rendered powerless and helpless,” he said.

Surjewala said the Constitution would never confer such unbridled powers on anyone, including the president.

“The office one holds, however high or elevated it may be, doesn’t make the office immune to Constitutional control and adherence. In fact, the higher the office, the higher the responsibility to be fair, transparent and accountable,” he asserted.

Judicial independence, he said, is indeed a “nuclear missile” to strike at injustice, arbitrariness, inequity, usurpation and assumption of power to subvert the Constitution and to defend the rights of people against arbitrary actions and decisions of those in power.

“If the last door of justice was to close for ordinary people and justice becomes subservient to or gets dictated by the powers that are, democracy will die and dictatorship will prevail,” he said.

Surjewala said no one is above the law or the Constitution, be it the president or any other authority.

“The era of rulers and kings, who couldn’t be questioned, ended on 15th August, 1947 and once and for all on 26th January, 1950, when the Constitution came into force. The president of India, in many ways, symbolises the end of monarchy and rule by the Constitution.

“This being so, the president of India must come forward and salute the supremacy of the Constitution above all else,” he demanded.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday questioned the judiciary setting a timeline for the president to take decisions and act as a “super Parliament”, saying the Supreme Court cannot fire a “nuclear missile” at democratic forces.

Dhankhar’s strong words to the judiciary came during his speech to Rajya Sabha interns, days after the Supreme Court sought to fix a timeline for the president to grant assent to the bills reserved for her consideration by the governor.

“So, we have judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as super Parliament and absolutely have no accountability because the law of the land does not apply to them,” Dhankhar said.

The vice president also described Article 142, which grants plenary powers to the Supreme Court, as a “nuclear missile against democratic forces available to the judiciary 24×7”.

“Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces (and) available to (the) judiciary 24×7,” he said.

Article 142 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to issue orders that ensure “complete justice” in any matter before it.

“There is a directive to the president by a recent judgment. Where are we heading? “What is happening in the country? We have to be extremely sensitive. It is not a question of someone filing a review or not. We never bargained for democracy for this day. President being called upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, it becomes law,” Dhankhar said. PTI SKC RHL