He underlined the importance of the principle of separation of power in constitutional scheme. Releasing the book “The Legislature and the Judiciary: Judicial Pronouncements on Parliament and State Legislatures” at a function organized in Parliament House Annexe Mr. Ansari said: “All systems go through stresses and strains. But a mature system responds to it maturely. A democratic system must respond through debate and discussion”. He also emphasized that there should be enough time at the disposal of legislative institutions for proper deliberations.
He also commended the efforts of Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Indian Law Institute for bringing out this publication which would be a valuable contribution to an otherwise neglected area of research. However, he felt that much needs to be done to strengthen research on legislative institutions. He recalled the recent initiatives of the Rajya Sabha to institute Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Chair and Rajya Sabha Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies and felt that it would go some distance in bridging the gap.
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman Khan, who presided over the function, emphasized the need for upholding the principle of harmonious functioning of the Legislature and the Judiciary. Highlighting the importance of this publication in enriching understanding of complex issues between Judiciary and Legislature, he commended the initiative of bringing out this important publication.
Prof. Upendra Baxi, a legal luminary, who has written an illuminating Foreword to this publication, while speaking on the occasion, expressed concern over lack of research on Indian Parliament and legislative institutions vis-à-vis Indian Judiciary. He underscored the importance of this publication and said that it would
contribute enormously towards promoting constitutional literacy. He also expressed his concern about lack of time for legislative deliberations and felt that the Constitution when amended should have a fundamental right to matured legislative deliberations. Calling for transparency in parliamentary governance, he advocated for social audit or citizen audit of the legislative work, not to denigrate the efforts of the legislators but to strengthen and further their role.
Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Member of Parliament also spoke at length about the book as a panelist. He presented the structure and the content of the publication and hoped that it would provide valuable insight into the judicial approach to the functioning of the legislature.
Another panelist, Dr. Raghbir Singh, former Union Law Secretary and present Chairman of Copyright Board, provided a detailed perspective of the publication. Recalling the past instances of conflicts between legislature and judiciary, he pointed out that the issues have been well settled. Buttressing this point, he drew the attention to the recent remarks of the Chief Justice of India who said, “Judges cannot judge the wisdom of the legislature”.
At the beginning, Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha, Dr. V.K. Agnihotri, while presenting the welcome address complimented the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha for his inspiration behind this project to compile significant judicial pronouncements in a single compendium. Orient BlackSwan was complimented for bringing out this publication both in Hindi and English. Several Members of Parliament were present on the occasion.