What is Article 142? Why VP Jagdeep Dhankhar called it a 'nuclear missile'

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed serious concerns on Thursday regarding the judiciary's increasing reliance on Article 142 of the Constitution.

The Vice President described Article 142 as a "nuclear missile against democratic forces" that remains "available to the judiciary 24 x 7," and called for a comprehensive review of constitutional interpretation practices in India.

His comments came in the backdrop of recent judicial decisions directing presidential actions on bills. This came in response to the Supreme Court's recent ruling that set a three-month deadline for the President to decide on bills forwarded by state governors.

What is Article 142?

Article 142 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court wide discretionary powers to pass any order necessary to ensure “complete justice” in a case before it.

This provision allows the apex court to override existing laws or fill legal gaps in order to comprehensively resolve a dispute. It can be used to issue directions, enforce decrees, compel production of documents, or even punish for contempt.

While often seen as a powerful tool to deliver justice, Article 142 has increasingly drawn criticism from some political quarters for enabling judicial overreach.

VP Dhankhar's concern

Speaking at the Valedictory Function of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme, Dhankhar cautioned against a situation where the judiciary appears to direct the President, questioning the constitutional basis for such authority.

"We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India, and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3),” he said, adding that such interpretation should come only from Constitution benches of five or more judges.

He suggested amending Article 145(3), which governs the size of benches for deciding substantial constitutional matters, arguing that the current practice dilutes the strength originally intended when the Supreme Court had just eight judges.

Referring specifically to the use of Article 142, Dhankhar said, "Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24x7."

Tamil Nadu case

The Vice President's comments came in response to the Supreme Court’s April 8 ruling in a case involving the Tamil Nadu government and governor RN Ravi.

The top court held that once a bill is re-passed by the assembly, the governor must assent to it and cannot reserve it for the President unless substantial changes are made.

The ruling, made by a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, invoked Article 142 to provide “complete justice” by deeming all 10 bills cleared from the date they were re-presented to the governor.