Supreme Court can direct President to act, says Justice Chelameswar
Chennai: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar asserted that the apex court has the constitutional authority to issue directions to the President of India, similar to its power to review laws enacted by Parliament.
Delivering the Rakesh Endowment Lecture on the theme ‘The 75th Year of the Constitution’ on Saturday, Justice Chelameswar defended the Supreme Court’s recent directive requiring the President and governors to grant assent to state legislation within a stipulated time frame. He emphasised that the judiciary’s role in reviewing laws extends to issuing binding instructions to constitutional authorities.
“We have accepted that the judiciary can determine whether a law is constitutional. To say that it cannot direct a constitutional office-holder like the President to act would be constitutionally doubtful,” he remarked, in response to a question from former Madras High Court judge Justice C.T. Selvam. The question had referenced recent comments by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who questioned the Court’s authority to issue such directives.
Justice Chelameswar noted that much of the controversy could have been avoided had the Supreme Court directed the Union Government to offer appropriate advice to the President regarding assent to bills. “The President acts on the aid and advice of the Union Cabinet. Had the Court directed the Union Government to advise the President within three months, there would have been no objection,” he said.
On the issue of conflicting Central and State laws, the former judge elaborated on Article 254 of the Constitution, noting that a state law can prevail if it receives presidential assent. “If the President refuses assent, what recourse does one have?” he questioned, highlighting the critical role of the President’s discretion in maintaining federal balance.
Responding to another query by Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court regarding the current direction of India’s constitutional journey, Justice Chelameswar observed, “It is a long march. There is no overnight solution.”
The lecture was held in Chennai and was organised by the Rakesh Endowment Foundation in association with the Roja Muthiah Research Library, marking the birth anniversary of Rakesh Ranganathan, late son of senior advocate and DMK Rajya Sabha MP, N.R. Elango.
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ICICI Bank trims hike, lowers min balance requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): In a U-turn, ICICI Bank has slashed the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000, citing "valuable feedback" from customers.
The minimum balance requirement for its new savings bank accounts opened on or after August 1 was recently raised five times to Rs 50,000.
"Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences. We thank our customers for their continued trust and feedback, which help us serve them better," ICICI Bank posted on its website.
Similarly, the MAB for semi-urban and rural locations has been revised downwards to Rs 7,500 and Rs 2,500 respectively, it said.
Before August 1, the MAB for semi-urban and rural was Rs 5,000.
However, the bank said the revised MAB requirements are not applicable to salary accounts, senior citizens/pensioners (above 60 years), basic savings bank deposit account/PM Jandhan Yojana, and accounts for people with special needs.
They are also not applicable to savings accounts opened before July 31, 2025.
MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in a bank account. If the balance falls below the required amount, the bank levies a penalty.
In case account holders fail to meet the MAB, customers will be liable to pay penal charges of 6 per cent of the shortfall in required MAB, or Rs 500, whichever is lower.
The balance in the savings bank account of ICICI Bank earns an interest of 2.5 per cent per annum, it said.
The hike in MAB comes at a time when public sector banks have rationalised their penalties or completely waived them.
