{"id":41618,"date":"2025-04-19T20:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T14:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=41618"},"modified":"2025-04-19T20:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T14:33:20","slug":"article-142-supreme-power-or-judicial-overreach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-04-2025\/article-142-supreme-power-or-judicial-overreach","title":{"rendered":"Article 142: The Supreme Power or Judicial Overreach?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Indian Polity &amp; Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar\u2019s recent remarks on the <strong>Supreme Court\u2019s powers under Article 142<\/strong> of the Constitution, along with his accusation that the judiciary is acting like a <strong>\u2018Super Parliament,\u2019<\/strong> sparked sharp criticism from opposition parties and legal experts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Article 142 of Indian Constitution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It empowers the Supreme Court to &#8216;pass any decree or make any order as is necessary <strong>for doing complete justice<\/strong> in any cause or matter pending before it\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The intent was to allow judicial intervention in extraordinary cases where strict adherence to statute might result in injustice.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, <strong>\u2018complete justice\u2019 is not defined,<\/strong> making the clause inherently discretionary and potent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Originally envisioned as an extraordinary remedy, it was meant to fill gaps where laws were silent, or justice would otherwise be denied.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Landmark Uses and Emerging Controversies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/10-04-2025\/sc-verdict-tn-governor-federalism\"><strong>Tamil Nadu Governor vs. State Gove<\/strong><strong>rnment (2025):<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>The Tamil Nadu Government passed 10 bills that were either withheld or not assented to by the Governor under <strong>Article 200.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court, invoking<strong> Article 142,<\/strong> <strong>\u2018deemed the bills passed\u2019 <\/strong>\u2014 effectively bypassing the constitutional process that involves the Governor\/President.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/02-01-2024\/collegium-system-of-india\"><strong>Collegium Conflict<\/strong><\/a><strong> and <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-04-2025\/justice-br-gavai-next-cji\"><strong>Judicial Appointments<\/strong><\/a><strong> (2015):<\/strong> Supreme Court of India struck down the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/27-03-2025\/justice-varma-case-revisiting-njac\"><strong>National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)<\/strong><\/a>, reinstating the collegium system.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When the Centre delayed collegium-recommended appointments, the Court threatened to use Article 142 to enforce compliance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It undermines the <strong>President\u2019s role<\/strong> as the constitutional <strong>appointer of judges<\/strong> under <strong>Article 124.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earlier, the Supreme Court has invoked Article 142 in cases like the <strong>Bhopal Gas Tragedy settlement<\/strong>,<strong> <\/strong>and <strong>Ayodhya verdict<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Concerns: Federalism at Risk?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s democracy rests on a balance \u2014 Centre, States, Judiciary, and the President all play defined roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But if Article 142 becomes the norm, the judiciary starts to dominate:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interpreting laws;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enforcing its own judgments;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bypassing executive and legislative will<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It transforms the Supreme Court from an interpreter of the Constitution<strong> into a de facto super-government.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-02-2025\/judicial-overreach\"><strong><u>Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Overreach<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>While there\u2019s no denying the judiciary\u2019s role as the guardian of the Constitution, its expanded use of Article 142 could amount to institutional overreach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Balancing Judicial Authority and Governance<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Need for Clear Guidelines:<\/strong> Establishing defined limits on Article 142\u2019s application can prevent excessive judicial intervention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthening Executive Accountability:<\/strong> While judicial oversight is necessary, governance decisions should remain within the constitutional framework.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Judicial Review vs. Judicial Enforcement: <\/strong>Courts must ensure justice without legislating from the bench or bypassing executive authority.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Article 142 remains a powerful tool for delivering justice, but its increasing use in governance matters raises concerns about judicial overreach.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Striking a balance between judicial independence and executive authority is essential to uphold democratic principles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/article-142-the-supreme-power-or-judicial-overreach\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: DD News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar\u2019s recent remarks on the Supreme Court\u2019s powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, along with his accusation that the judiciary is acting like a \u2018Super Parliament,\u2019 sparked sharp criticism from opposition parties and legal experts.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About the Article 142 of Indian Constitution<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It empowers the Supreme Court to &#8216;pass any decree or make any order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it\u2019.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The intent was to allow judicial intervention in extraordinary cases where strict adherence to statute might result in injustice.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-04-2025\/article-142-supreme-power-or-judicial-overreach\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41618"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41632,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41618\/revisions\/41632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}