Thursday, July 11, 2013

Indian SC judgement on lawmakers: Govt likely to consult parties

SC judgement on lawmakers: Govt likely to consult parties

     Government is likely to consult
political parties before firming up its response on the
Supreme Court judgement on disqualification of lawmakers.
    Government's legal arm, the Law Ministry, is going
through the fine print of the order, parts of which have
apparently not gone down well with political parties.
    Sources said the next step of the government would depend
on the response of the political parties which are likely to
be consulted in the coming days.
    The focus of the study is the part of the verdict which
seeks to remove the discrimination between an ordinary
individual and an elected lawmaker who enjoys protection under
the Representation of the People's Act.
    The sources said political parties, who have been guarded
in their response, may suggest moving a larger bench of the
apex court or even taking a legislative route to overturn the
judgement.
    "It is a 41-page verdict. We need to study it...people
who will implement it and people who will come under its
purview also need to study it," Information and Broadcasting
Minister Manish Tewari said here.
    He said in his personal opinion, "prima facie, no one
should have objection" to the verdict.
    Commenting on the contention that cases could be filed
out of political rivalry, Tewari opined that any judgement by
a court comes after a trial process. "If the court reaches a
conclusion, it should be respected."