NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that for running a good democratic government, it’s the duty of the Parliamentarians to decide whether members with criminal records should become ministers or not and judiciary cannot step in there.
“Just for the sake of judicial activism, should we be stepping into the arena marked for legislatures? Since the line is marked, can we be stepping into it? There is a separation of powers,” the Bench observed. “It is for the representatives of people to take a call. Now they have the recommendation of the Law Commission on the issue. They know how to govern the country. They know what type of people should be there. We should not be stepping into their arena,” the Bench said.
“To save democracy, Parliamentarians can say what sort of people should be there,” the Bench said.
The SC was hearing a PIL seeking to debar elected members, against whom grave criminal charges have been framed, to be included in the Council of Ministers.
“Should people facing charges be allowed to participate in elections? At first brush, it appeals to us. But statutory provisions and Constitution say we can’t do that. You have to go by the criminal jurisprudence that unless a person is convicted, he is innocent.”