Centre’s list of legal setbacks just got longer

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court judgment restoring Nabam Tuki’s government in Arunachal Pradesh is not the only indictment of the 26-month-old BJP-led government at the Centre. The SC has pulled up the Centre in many cases recently.

Wednesday’s verdict is the latest round of the judiciary-executive face off, with the executive having to retreat once again. Only two days ago, the Congress had blamed the Centre for hitting back at the judiciary by delaying judicial appointments. “Never before in recent history has the executive-judiciary relationship been in tatters as now. Modi government has unleashed several... innuendos, sarcasm, open criticism of court judgements,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said on Monday.

Here are some of the the major instances that reflect the increasing strain between the executive and the judiciary:

REVOCATION OF PREZ RULE IN UTTARAKHAND

On May 11, the SC declared Congress leader Harish Rawat the winner in the assembly trust vote, setting the stage for lifting President’s rule in the state and facilitating his return as CM.

“...the high court has ascribed many a reason to arrive at the conclusion that the said proclamation was not tenable in law,” the SC said, modifying its April 22 order that stayed the HC verdict after the Centre appealed against it.

QUASHING OF NJAC

The SC on October 16, 2015,

THE ORDER RESTORING TUKI’S GOVT IS NOT THE ONLY INDICTMENT OF THE 26-MONTH-OLD BJP-LED CENTRAL GOVT

struck down as “unconstitutional” the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act that was passed by Parliament to replace the collegium system of senior SC judges appointing judges in the higher judiciary.

REJECTION OF GOVT’S HC APPOINTMENTS

The SC collegium rejected 38 names for appointments as judges in various HCs in

April. The names were recommended by different HC collegiums but cleared by the Centre.

REJECTION OF MOP

Earlier this month, the SC collegium again rejected the Memorandum of Procedure — the guiding document for appointing judges — prepared by the government saying the Centre was trying to have the final word on appointing judges.

PULLING UP CENTRE FOR DROUGHT CRISIS

The Supreme Court rapped the Centre for not doing enough to tackle drought in India. It asked the Centre to set up a national disaster response force within six months.