"Biggest Challenge From Within": Jagdeep Dhankhar Attacks Judiciary Again

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has called for understanding and maturity among constitutional institutions to be mindful of their defined limits in order to foster mutual respect among them.

He pointed out that conflicts between constitutional institutions do not help in maintaining a thriving democracy.

"Every institution has its own defined role, and no institution should encroach on another's responsibility. We must honour the Constitution in its true spirit," Mr Dhankhar said at the launch of Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel's memoir 'Chunautiyan Mujhe Pasand Hain'.

While the Vice President did not name any constitutional institution, he was critical of the Supreme Court over its landmark judgment that set deadlines for the President and Governors to clear bills passed by state assemblies.

"The most dangerous challenges are the ones that come from within... which we cannot openly discuss. These have no logical basis, no connection to national development, and are rooted in governance. I have personally endured such challenges," he said.

"It is our binding duty that all constitutional institutions respect each other - and such respect is only possible when institutions function within their respective domains. When there is confrontation, democracy does not flourish," Mr Dhankhar said.

"To comment on a post as dignified as the President's is, in my opinion, a matter of deep reflection," he added, this time clearly alluding to the Supreme Court.

सबसे खतरनाक चुनौती वह होती है, जो अपनों से मिलती है - जिसकी हम चर्चा भी नहीं कर सकते। जिसका कोई तार्किक आधार नहीं होता, जिसका राष्ट्र के विकास से कोई संबंध नहीं होता, जो केवल राज्य-कार्य से जुड़ी होती है।

आप ही नहीं, महामहिम राज्यपाल, मैं भी इन चुनौतियों का शिकार रहा हूँ -... pic.twitter.com/bPXCIHWHRY

— Vice-President of India (@VPIndia) May 1, 2025

"Just as the legislature cannot deliver legal judgments - which is the judiciary's domain - similarly, the judiciary must refrain... I have the highest regard for the judiciary. Having practised law for over four decades, I can say we have some of the finest judges. But I appeal for a collaborative and cooperative approach," he said.

On April 22, the Vice President's public attacks on the Supreme Court included criticism for contradictory statements, in two separate landmark verdicts, about the Preamble of the Constitution - the 1967 IC Golaknath case and the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case. Mr Dhankhar also questioned the court's role during the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

"In one case, the Supreme Court says the Preamble is not part of the Constitution... in another it says it is... but let there be no doubt about the Constitution. Elected representatives will be ultimate masters of what the Constitution will be. There cannot be any authority above them..."

The Supreme Court, he said, had overturned verdicts by nine high courts on the imposition of Emergency, which he called "the darkest phase in democratic history", and the suspension of fundamental rights. "I say 'darkest' because the highest court in the land ignored the verdict of nine high courts... that democracy's fundamental rights could never be put on hold..."

In the judgment that set deadlines for the President to decide on bills, the Supreme Court used the power vested in Article 142 of the Constitution, which gives it special powers to pass orders that are enforceable across the country and are "necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it".