Collegium, a fraud on the Constitution.

Mathews J Nedumpara President, NLC
24.11.2022.

Collegium, a fraud on the Constitution.

The judges of the SCI are appointed by the collegium of judges. The Collegium is unknown to our Constitution. The judges created it in 1993 by rewriting the Constitution. They had no authority to do so at all. It was a fraud played by a few powerful lawyers in Delhi on the Constitution. They did so to subserve their narrow, vested interests. Because an all powerful Supreme Court is extremely profitable for them. They could do so easily, taking advantage of the ignorance of the common man.They could effortlessly make the Parliament and the Executive subordinate to the Courts.

2. The AGs and SGs of yester years facilitated it. Abusing the much hallowed concept of judicial review they made the Supreme Court “quash and set aside” even constitutional amendments like they quash an order of a subordinate court/Tribunal. The SC forgot that it has no power to “quash and set aside” an act of Parliament. An Act of Parliament remains in the statute book until it is repealed. The Court can at best grant a declaration that it is void, which is theoretically binding only between the parties. A mere res judicata, binding the parties before the Court. Such a judgment is no ‘law of the land’. That is the undeniable legal position.

3.When the Parliament enacts a law, it is with the consent of we all citizens for we are symbolically present in the Parliament. The laws which we thus make cannot be”quashed and set aside”. But is done so day in and day out, behind our back, in gross violation of the principles of natural justice.

4.The SC failed to realize that they have no power to set aside an act of Parliament behind the back of the 130 crores citizens of this country, we have enacted it.

5. We, the citizens, are not bound by a judgment of the SCI of which we are not parties. It will not bind us. That is the elementary principles of natural justice. The judges are duty bound to act according to the basic tenets of law, in observance of the principles of natural justice. Namely, the principles of “res judicata” and “res inter alios”. The doctrine of ‘res inter alios’ means that no one is bound by a judgment of which he is not a party.

6.The judgments of the Supreme Court in the Judges-2 case and the NJAC case are all null void, rendered behind the back of the citizens of the country. The court only heard a few “elite” lawyers in Delhi, and none else.

7.Nobody is against Pro bono litigation. Because that is for the enforcement of the private rights of the poor and under privileged who are unable to access the courts because of their poverty, illiteracy and like reasons. It is for the enforcement of the public law remedies available to them, but denied.

8.Today’s PIL business is entirely different. It is not for the enforcement of the fundamental or legal rights of a poor man. It is not for the enforcement of the fundamental rights at all. But it is used only to compel the courts to substitute the Parliament and Executive. That is unconstitutional.

10. PIL can no longer be allowed to be conducted as if it is a private litigation. The principle applicable for representative suits/class actions shall be made mandatory.

11.Kindly join NLCs Campaign against subjugation of the Parliament and annihilation of democracy by a few powerful vested interests using PILs as a ploy.

Jai Hind.

Mathews J Nedumpara.