New Delhi: There is a need to maintain a
"delicate balance" between legislature and the judiciary in
the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday.
"Our system works on the principle of separation of
powers. The principle is nuanced and the nuances need to be
understood. There is a need for exercising discretion in
public pronouncements and caution in policy enaction to ensure
that the delicate balance is maintained at all times," Ansari,
who is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said here.
He said while all systems go through "stresses and
strains" but a democratic system responds to it by holding
discussion and deliberation.
"I think the need for that discussion and deliberation
and the need to provide enough time for it, is critical more
so in our times when we tend to abridge some of these things
for variety of reasons, some of them undoubtedly valid,"
Ansari said.
Ansari's observations came at the launch of a book
'The Legislature and the Judiciary: judicial pronouncements on
Parliament and state legislatures'.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman
K Rahman Khan said while Parliament is the supreme law making
body, judiciary is the final authority for interpreting the
Constitution and the law passed by the legislative
institutions.
He said while both the legislature and the judiciary
have autonomy and independence for their functioning, there
have been occasions when the "delicate balance between
Parliament and judiciary comes under strain due to differing
opinion regarding their autonomy and independence in the
exercise of their powers."
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 15:55