New Delhi: Rajya Sabha member and former chief justice Ranjan Gogoi’s remarks, supporting the Delhi Services Act in the Upper House, found mention in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 8.
Senior advocate, Kapil Sibal, brought them up during the Constitutional Bench hearing on Article 370 case. Sibal told the five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, that “their colleague” had cast doubts on the Basic Structure of the constitution.
“As it is, now one of your esteemed colleagues (Gogoi) have said that the basic structure theory is also doubtful…” Sibal remarked, according to Bar and Bench.
CJI Chandrachud, in response, said that the opinions of retired judges “are not binding diktats”. “If you refer to a colleague, you have to refer to a sitting colleague. Once they cease to be judges, they are opinions, not binding diktats,” he said.
“I am surprised… of course, it is not binding,” Sibal said, in turn.
In his maiden Rajya Sabha speech on Monday, Gogoi had defended the Delhi Services Bill (which is now an Act), saying it is “perfectly, legitimately valid”. He had affirmed that the proposed law by the Centre does not “violate the basic feature of the Constitution and is not arbitrary”.
Gogoi’s speech on Monday was his first speech in parliament in three years and four months after he was nominated by the Narendra Modi government. Five women members of parliament walked out in protest when Gogoi stood to talk. Gogoi has been accused of sexual harassment by a staffer while she was in office.
According to Deccan Herald, the reason behind making Gogoi speak on the issue “was seen as an attempt by the government to gather more mass in the perception battle over the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill”, which has been panned for going against a precise Supreme Court judgment and impinging upon the Delhi government’s power over its own bureaucracy.
The former CJI had said that in his view the doctrine of the Basic Structure of the Indian constitution has a very “debatable jurisprudential basis”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to Sibal’s reference to Gogoi’s remarks made in the parliament. He said that parliament does not discuss what happens in the court and the court does not do the same, adding that “everyone has a freedom of speech and expression”.
On Monday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 with 131 votes in favour of it, and 102 against it. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha last week by a voice vote.