It is often said that the laws fail to cater to the real interests of the people. “This is a shocking reality of the law-making process in the country today,” said Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde  at a seminar organised by the Karnataka Institute for Law and Parliamentary Reforms.

Speaking at a national seminar on ‘Strengthening democratisation of law-making process’, in Bangalore on Wednesday, Justice Hegde said, “Bills are being passed without discussion and the opinions of the people are not considered. In a democracy people elect their representatives to the legislature, where laws are made for the benefit of the governed. Sadly the reality is exactly the opposite” he rued. “In India, 99 per cent of the elected representatives are voted to power with just 50 per cent of the votes. Laws are made as per the views of the governing party and not the body of elected representatives. There are enough instances of the  judiciary being called upon to interpret the law,” said Justice Hegde.

However, a possible solution lies in exploring a system of direct elections based on the US model, where in a presidential system of government exists at the Centre and the states. Comparing the legislature and judiciary to Lord Brahma Shiva respectively the Lokayukta said judges too are responsible in strengthening the democratic process. “Judges should not be associated with any ‘ism’. Individual philosophy has no place in judicial interpretation and should abide only by the Constitution,” he added.

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, H K Patil, said strengthening democratisation of the law-making process is the need of the hour and it should involve people in the most disciplined manner. “In Karnataka Legislature, 12 Bills were passed this year within two hours on the last day of legislative session. The process of law-making needs to be reversed  We need to initiate bottom-up approach by circulating Bills to villages and zilla panchayats and other local bodies for discussion.” he said.