Jodhpur: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said that India has a strong independent judiciary that protects democracy but also pointed out that during Emergency, the highest levels of the judiciary had yielded to the "brazen dictatorial regime".
Speaking on the role of judiciary in 'Amazing India' organised on the occasion of completion of 75 years of Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur, Dhankhar said if the Supreme Court had not bowed down, then Emergency would not have been imposed. Our country would have progressed long ago, he added.
"India has a strong independent judiciary, which protects democracy. We are proud of this, but along with this there is also a painful exception, which we should not forget," he said.
According to Dhankhar, in 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had imposed Emergency in the country. Describing the era of Emergency as "the draconian darkest period since independence", he said, "We are part of a very high institution of judiciary, but at that time the judiciary, the formidable citadel of basic rights bowed down to the shameless dictatorship of the then Prime Minister. Let us imagine that if the Supreme Court had not bowed down, the emergency would not have been imposed. Our country would have progressed long ago."
He said that due to the bowing down of the judiciary, lakhs of people were put behind bars and had to suffer humiliation. "Today many of them are Prime Ministers, Ministers and Governors. They are contributing in taking the country forward, but it would not be appropriate to forget that dark period," he said.
He said that the Supreme Court had then ruled that as long as the Emergency continues, no person can go to the court for enforcement of his rights while saying that the government can continue the Emergency as long as it wants. At that time, nine High Courts of the country had taken cognizance of the rights of the people, he said.
Applauding the courage of these nine courts, Dhankhar said that the High Court of Rajasthan was among them, but the Supreme Court had overturned their decisions. "Today I am proud to be a part of it. Rajasthan High Court had proved that the arrest of people after the imposition of Emergency was not in accordance with the law and rules. Youths of today do not know this, they should know," he said.
Earlier, Dhankhar said that India is an emerging power in the world today. "The whole world is accepting our innovations. The goal of everyone should be that the nation should come first before anything," he said.
The programme was also addressed by Supreme Court judge AG Masih, judge Sandeep Mehta, Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice MM Shrivastava, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta and Rajasthan Law Minister Jogaram Patel.
Without naming former foreign minister Salman Khurshid, Dhankhar said that regarding what happened in our neighbouring country, a person told in Parliament that what is happening in the neighbourhood can happen in India too. "How can a citizen say this? He may have been a minister or a foreign service officer. We have to be cautious of such people," he said.
Khurshid on Tuesday had said that whatever is happening in Bangladesh can also happen in this country though "everything looks normal on the surface".
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