"Constitution Is Supreme": Kapil Sibal Counters Vice President Dhankhar

Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP, has countered Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's "Parliament is supreme" remark, saying neither Parliament nor the Executive is supreme. Mr Sibal, also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has said on X, "The law: Neither Parliament nor the Executive is supreme. The Constitution is supreme. The provisions of the Constitution are interpreted by the Supreme Court. That's how this country has understood the law so far." Mr Sibal did not name the Vice President in his post. 

The senior jurist added that the top court's recent judgments, which some BJP leaders and the Vice-President have criticised, are consistent with our constitutional values and guided by national interest.

Supreme Court :

Parliament has the plenary power to pass laws

Supreme Court has the obligation to interpret the Constitution and do complete justice (Article 142)

Everything the Court said is :

1) Consistent with our constitutional values

2) Guided by national interest

— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) April 22, 2025

"Supreme Court: Parliament has the plenary power to pass laws. Supreme Court has the obligation to interpret the Constitution and do complete justice (Article 142). Everything the Court said is : 1) Consistent with our constitutional values 2) Guided by national interest," Mr Sibal said in another post. 

The law :

Neither Parliament
Nor the Executive is supreme

The Constitution is supreme

The provisions of the Constitution are interpreted by the Supreme Court

That's how this country has understood the law so far !

— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) April 22, 2025

The remarks come hours after Vice President Dhankhar, also the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, doubled down on his offensive on the judiciary. Mr Dhankhar, who has worked as a senior lawyer in the past, said that if a citizen is the soul of democracy, elected representatives are the ultimate masters of what constitutional content should be. "There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above the Parliament. Parliament is supreme," he said.

The remarks come amid a massive debate in the aftermath of the Supreme Court judgment in the Tamil Nadu case that effectively set a deadline for the President and Governors to clear Bills passed by the legislature for the second time. To add to this, the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan said only courts have the prerogative to provide recommendations regarding the constitutionality of a Bill and the Executive is supposed to exercise restraint in such matters and underlined that it would be prudent for the President to refer Bills with constitutional questions to the top court.

Vice President Dhankhar criticised the judgment. In remarks made earlier, he said, "We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis... Article 142 (has become a nuclear missile against Democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24 x 7." Article 142 gives special powers to the Supreme Court. He said the President of India is a very elevated position and takes the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. "There is a directive to the President by a recent judgment. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country? We never bargained for democracy for this day. President being called upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, becomes law. So we have judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as super-parliament, and absolutely have no accountability because law of the land does not apply to them," he said.

A section of BJP leaders also slammed the Supreme Court. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said Parliament must be shut down if the Supreme Court makes all decisions. "The Supreme Court is crossing its limits...when the Ram Mandir, Krishna Janmabhoomi, or Gyanvapi issue arises, you (Supreme Court) say, 'Show us the paper'. But for mosques built after the Mughals came, you are saying how will you show papers? The Supreme Court is responsible for inciting religious wars in this country," he said. Mr Dubey asked how the Supreme Court can set a deadline for the President and Governors to clear Bills. BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said no one can "challenge" the President, as the President is "supreme".

The BJP leadership distanced itself from the remarks by the two MPs. BJP president JP Nadda said the party had nothing to do with the statements. "These are their personal statements, but the BJP neither agrees with nor supports such statements. The BJP completely rejects these statements." The Opposition, however, accused the ruling party of threatening the judiciary and trying to weaken it.

Senior Supreme Court judges have made it clear that they have taken note of the critical remarks. Justice BR Gavai, who takes over as Chief Justice of India next month, mentioned twice yesterday that the top court was being accused of encroaching on the Executive's domain. And today, Justice Surya Kant, the third most senior judge in the Supreme Court, said the institution of the judiciary comes under attack every day and that they are "not worried".

Top government sources have, meanwhile, said the respect for the judiciary is paramount and all pillars of democracy are working in tandem for a Viksit Bharat. The statement appears to be a balancing act amid the spiralling row.