Articles by Vijay Kumar

The issues of constitutional jurisprudence that have cropped up as a result of the Supreme Court interim order on the Jharkhand vote of confidence deserve close scrutiny and a dispassionate debate. The events that led to a writ petition being heard in the Court were a subversion of constitutional conventions with fateful implications for democracy. But the solution did not lie in the Supreme Court directing the assembly to conduct its affairs in a manner mandated by the Court in breach of the principle of the constitutional separation of powers. The questionable and partisan action of the governor or speaker must be allowed to suffer a scrutiny by the general public and through the media rather than the Court embarking upon the misadventure of taking over the function of the house itself. This is nothing but usurpation of authority in breach of the principle of separation of powers.