Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice PS Narasimha on Sunday said India must protect the integrity of its constitutional institutions from external and political interference. Justice Narasimha was speaking at the Justice ES Venkataramaiah Memorial Lecture organized at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore.
Justice Venkataramaiah was the 19th Chief Justice of India. Prior to this, he served as a judge of the Karnataka High Court and as the Attorney General of Mysore. According to the Supreme Court Observer, he was one of the judges who issued 720 decisions. Of these, he authored 256 judgments during his tenure on the Supreme Court.
The need to maintain institutional integrity
Justice Narasimha, in his speech, said the integrity of institutions can only be maintained if safeguards are implemented during the appointment, decision-making and removal of the heads of institutions. He also said that the theme of the memorial lecture, “Reimagining the Integrity, Efficiency and Accountability of Constitutional Institutions” is relevant as Justice Venkataramaiah belongs to the generation that played an active role in developing and safeguarding these institutions Judicial professionals.
Justice Narasimha discussed in detail the role of fourth branches such as the Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Union and State Public Service Commissions and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Appreciate the foresight of the framers of the Constitution
Citing the example of the Electoral Commission, Justice said that today we take for granted that there is a separate body outside the executive branch to conduct elections to Parliament and state assemblies. However, it is also important to understand that elections can also be conducted through the executive branch before institutionalization. He commended the foresight of the framers of the Indian constitution who chose to institutionalize monitoring, guidance and control of elections through agencies outside the executive branch.
