In Vice-President Dhankhar's Fresh Strike, Mention Of Chief Justice's Uncle

In his fresh attack targeting the judiciary and stressing that Parliament is "supreme", Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar mentioned Justice Hans Raj Khanna, a former top court judge who stood up to the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency in 1975, and the uncle of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

The Vice-President spoke at Delhi University's Campus Law Centre at the launch of Kartavyam, a lecture series to mark 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution.

At the beginning of his address, Mr Dhankhar referred to Delhi University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh's mention of Justice HR Khanna as an alumnus of the Campus Law Centre. The Vice-President then went on to refer to the Emergency as the "darkest period of democracy".

The Vice-President said there is a need to remind the country why the Constitution Day and the Samvidhan Hatya Divas are celebrated. "On November 29, 1949, the Constitution was adopted. And it was ravaged on June 25, 1975. That was the darkest period of democracy," he said, referring to the Emergency.

During the Emergency, Mr Dhankhar said, the Supreme Court ignored the advice of nine high courts that fundamental rights cannot be put on hold. "There was one dissent voice, and that was from an alumnus of this place," he said, referring to Justice HR Khanna.

Who Was Justice HR Khanna

Justice Hans Raj Khanna became a Supreme Court judge in 1971 and was in line for the Chief Justice of India post in 1977. But that was not to be. The Indira Gandhi government imposed the Emergency in 1975. In 1976, a five-judge Constitution bench heard a case on the suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency - known as the ADM Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla case - and ruled that the right to personal liberty can be suspended in the interest of the State. Justice HR Khanna was the sole dissenting judge in that 4:1 verdict. Nine months after the judgment, the Indira Gandhi government appointed Justice MH Beg the Chief Justice, superseding Justice Khanna. Justice Khanna resigned soon after. Nine years after he died in 2008, the landmark verdict was overruled by a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the Puttuswamy vs Union of India judgment.

Justice Khanna has since emerged as a symbol of resistance to State power. The BJP has often raked up the Indira Gandhi government's treatment of the judge to attack the Congress.

A Deserving Nephew

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is known to idolise his uncle. According to sources close to the family, the Chief Justice's father, Justice Dev Raj Khanna, a judge of the Delhi High Court, and his mother, Saroj Khanna, a professor, wanted their son to become a chartered accountant because a career in law was more challenging. But he was inspired by his uncle, who took on the State. "He always considered his uncle an idol and keenly followed his work," a source told NDTV. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has preserved all the copies of Justice HR Khanna's judgments, his notes and registers, the source said. In 2019, Justice Sanjiv Khanna's first day as a Supreme Court judge was in the courtroom his uncle once sat in. The room has a portrait of Justice HR Khanna.

The Chief Justice is set to retire next month, after which Justice BR Gavai will take over the top post.

The Vice-President's Fresh Attack

Doubling down on his offensive against the judiciary, Vice President Dhankhar has 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 makers of the Constitution, he said, avoided confrontation and went for consensus. "I find it inconceivably intriguing that some have recently reflected that Constitutional offices can be ceremonial and ornamental. Nothing can be far distant from a wrong understanding of the role of everybody in this country," he said.

"Public order thrives when every individual acts as the guardian of law and justice. How can our democracy tolerate disruption, constitutional challenges and assaults on civilisation ethos," the Vice President said.

The Vice President's fresh jabs at the top court follow his all-out attack on the judiciary 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. "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," he said.

BJP MPs' Attack On Judiciary

The Vice-President's remarks also play out amid the criticism of the judiciary by a section of BJP leaders. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey sparked a row when he 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 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 has distanced itself from its leaders' remarks. BJP president JP Nadda took to X to clear the party's stand. "The Bharatiya Janata Party has nothing to do with the statements made by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma on the judiciary and the Chief Justice of the country. These are their personal statements, but the BJP neither agrees with nor supports such statements. The BJP completely rejects these statements." The Opposition has, however, accused the ruling party of threatening the judiciary and trying to weaken it.