NEW DELHI: Enactment of law is a sovereign function to be performed by the Parliament or the State Legislature and a court cannot issue direction to pass a law, the Delhi High Court said while dismissing a plea seeking to direct the Centre to implement the Whistle Blower Protection Act, 2014 by issuing a notification.
The high court said the State Legislature represents the desire of people and it is in the wisdom of the Parliament or the State Legislature to enact a law and bring it in force.
"Law is nothing but a desire of people and they (State Legislature) are bringing desire of people into force. We cannot issue a notice for sovereign function of the Parliament," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Dr Mohammad Ajazur Rahman, a frontline COVID-19 health professional currently posted as a senior Chief Medical Officer at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital here, seeking to direct the Centre to bring into force the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 by the issuance of notification or rules or regulations.
The petitioner, represented through advocate Payal Bahl, referred to Section 1 (3) of the Whistle Blowers Protection Act that empowers the Union Government to bring the Act in force by issuance of notification to that effect.
It is submitted with great grief that the Union of India has not implemented the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 which is an Act by the Parliament of India. It is submitted with great grief that the said Act has not been notified by the Government of India till date, the plea said.
The bench said there are several other laws enacted by the Parliament which are yet to be brought into force and added that it saw no reason to direct the authorities to bring the Act into force as it is in the wisdom of the Parliament to do so. It said there was no substance in the petition and dismissed it.
The bench said as functions like printing of currency notes, manufacturing of currency coins and declaring wars are purely sovereign functions, similarly, enactment of law by the Parliament and bring it into force is purely sovereign function and hence no writ or order or direction can be passed.