'Not as fragile as flowers': SC raps BJP Nishikant Dubey for 'scandalous' remarks on judiciary, CJI
New Delhi, May 8 (PTI): The Supreme Court has rapped BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his remarks against it and Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, saying they tend to “scandalise” and lower the authority of apex court.
The top court, in a way, put an end to recent political debates as to who is supreme whether Parliament or the judiciary.
“It is the Constitution that is higher than all of us. It is the Constitution which imposes limits and restrictions on the powers vested in the three organs. The power of judicial review is conferred by the Constitution on the judiciary. Statutes are subject to judicial review to test their constitutionality as well as for judicial interpretation. Therefore, when the constitutional courts exercise their power of judicial review, they act within the framework of the Constitution,” a bench of CJI and Justice Sanjay Kumar said.
The top court, which spared the lawmaker from the contempt proceedings by dismissing a PIL, made scathing observations against Dubey for his remarks against it and the CJI following the hearings on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of 2025 Waqf law.
Dubey sparked a row when he said, “(the) Supreme Court is taking the country towards anarchy” and that “Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is responsible for the civil wars taking place in the country”.
“We have examined the contents of the assertions made by respondent 4 (Dubey), which no doubt tend to scandalise and lower the authority of the Supreme Court, if not interfere or tend to interfere with the judicial proceedings pending before this Court, and have the tendency to interfere and obstruct the administration of justice,” the CJI said in the order.
The bench further said, “We are of the firm opinion that courts are not as fragile as flowers to wither and wilt under such ludicrous statements.”
The comments were stated to be "highly irresponsible", reflecting a penchant to attract attention by casting aspersions on the Supreme Court of India and its judges.
The bench on May 5 heard a plea for contempt action against Dubey over his remarks and said they were the ones who heard the petitions against the amended Waqf law.
The court found a clear intent to impute motives to the bench by naming the CJI as responsible for "all the civil wars happening in India in order to incite religious wars in this country, it is only and only the Supreme Court that is responsible".
Judicial pronouncements result in a decision which may aggrieve a party or sometimes a section of the public, it clarified.
The top court, however, acknowledged critical analysis and objective criticism of an order's reasoning or even its outcome was protected under the fundamental right to free speech and expression under Article 19(1) of the Constitution.
The bench said Dubey's utterances showed his ignorance about the role of the constitutional courts and the duties and obligations bestowed on them under the Constitution.
“We do not believe that the confidence in and credibility of the courts in the eyes of the public can be shaken by such absurd statements, though it can be said without the shadow of doubt that there is a desire and deliberate attempt to do so,” it said.
Justifying its decision to dismiss the PIL filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari against the lawmaker, the bench said, “judges are judicious”.
The bench went on, “Courts believe in values like free press, fair trial, judicial fearlessness and community confidence. Thus, courts need not protect their verdicts and decisions by taking recourse to the power of contempt. Surely, courts and judges have shoulders broad enough and an implicit trust that the people would perceive and recognise when criticism or critique is biased, scandalous and ill-intentioned."
Each branch of the state in a democracy, be it the legislature, executive or the judiciary, especially in a constitutional democracy, acts within the framework of the Constitution, it added.
“The judiciary, as an institution, is accountable to the people through various mechanisms....Judgments are put to scrutiny and critique. Decisions are debated and if required, corrected by exercise of right of appeal, review, in curative jurisdiction and by reference to a larger bench,” the top court said.
To deny the power of judicial review to the courts would be to rewrite and negate the Constitution, it added.
“While we are not entertaining the present writ petition, we make it clear that any attempt to spread communal hatred or indulge in hate speech must be dealt with an iron hand,” it noted.
The bench said hate speech couldn't be tolerated as it led to loss of dignity and self-worth of the targeted group members, contributed to disharmony among groups and eroded tolerance and open-mindedness -- must for a multi-cultural society committed to the idea of equality.
Any attempt to cause alienation and humiliation of the targeted group is a criminal offence and must be dealt with accordingly, it added.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
