JOIN USSC decision to hear key cases welcome
The Supreme Court made a welcome announcement last week that it would take up for hearing 25 cases involving constitutional issues, which have been pending with it for a long time. Starting this week, five-member Constitution benches of the court will start hearing them. The Supreme Court is both an appellate court and a constitutional court and it has been overwhelmed by the large number of cases that pertain to both its functions. There are over 71,411 cases pending before the court now, and 53 of them are cases to be settled by a Constitution bench. At least five judges have to sit on a bench to hear matters that involve an interpretation of the Constitution. The court was not able to set apart five judges perhaps because of the paucity of judges. But it has near full-strength now and is in a position to take up the cases.
Cases that involve constitutional issues are usually considered more important than other cases because they deal with fundamental principles of our democracy and republic and have a wider scope and appeal than others. Many have implications in several areas and often have a bearing on the fundamental rights of citizens, the functioning of political parties, or the working of democratic institutions. Some of the cases that are now being taken up concern the appointment of Election Commissioners, reservation for economically weaker sections of the population, the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision on a quota for Muslims, the validity of the demonetisation decision of 2016, the legality of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and the constitutionality of Muslim marriage laws. The court’s decision in some cases may not have practical implications or direct and immediate consequences because of the irreversibility of the events or decisions that are examined. But the court’s decisions will be useful as they will clarify the legal and constitutional issues involved and may act as guides for the future.
But some cases that involve very controversial issues and need to be tested for their constitutional validity are not among those to be heard now. They include petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019, the electoral bonds scheme, and a review of the Sabarimala verdict of 2018. It is hoped that these cases will also receive expeditious attention as the others. The average number of Constitution bench judgements have declined over the years. While there were 134 Constitution bench judgements in the 1960s, there were only two in 2021. The newly sworn-in Chief Justice of India U U Lalit has said that he would try to make listing of cases simple, clear and transparent. He has got only a 74-day tenure, but hopefully, the initiative to clear the pending cases will continue.