Judiciary No Third House Of Correction: Speaker

New Delhi, Aug 25: With India's Supreme Court weighing a challenge to the constitutional validity of yet another law-- Office of Profit-- passed by Parliament, the nation was reminded last night of a limitation-- that ''no system of Judiciary can function... as a kind of Third House of correction.'' The reminder came from Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee as he delivered the 9th G V Mavalankar Memorial Lecture at Parliament Annexe.

Chatterjee recited words of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru: ''No Supreme Court and no Judiciary can stand in judgment over the sovereign will of Parliament representing the will of the entire community.

''If we go wrong here and there, it can point it out, but in the ultimate analysis, where the future of the community is concerned, no Judiciary can come in the way.

''And if it comes in the way, ultimately the whole Constitution is the creation of Parliament.

''It is obvious that no court, no system of Judiciary can function in the nature of a Third House, as a kind of Third House of correction. So, it is important that with this limitation the Judiciary should function... ultimately the fact remains that the Legislature must be supreme and must not be interfered with by the court of law in such measures of social reforms.'' ''At the same time, '' the Lok Sabha Speaker said, ''the makers of the Constitution also recognised that excessive power, if vested with any of the three organs of State, could possibly undermine the foundations of democracy.'' That was why, he said, they adopted a constitutional mechanism ''that combined a judicious blend of checks and balances determining the functioning of our democratic organs in such manner that each one of them functioned within its assigned limits, complementing and supplementing each other's efforts towards good governance and nation-building.

Chatterjee said the idea of separation of powers and checks and balances ''are the two important pillars identified by our visionary Founding Fathers, in the Constituent Assembly, for the specific objective of securing a reasonable degree of equilibrium in the polity.

''They visualised the need of harmonious co-existence and mutual respect amongst them so that they could work in a smooth and coordinated manner.

''In this constitutional scheme, it is the Parliament that enacts laws; the Executive implements them; and the Judiciary is the independent arbitrator interpreting them.

''Placing Parliament at the centre of the political system also implied laying greater degree of responsibility on this popular institution being the only body elected by the people for guiding the destiny of the nation,'' Chatterjee said.

''No one can dispute that over the years, our Parliament has come to be identified, both in theory and in practice, to be the pivot of our political system.

''It has been instrumental, while respecting the sanctity of the Constitution, for ensuring that the fundamental law of the land kept pace with the changing needs of a growing society by taking recourse to the constituent power bestowed on it as and when the situation so demanded and for taking the initiative for several progressive legislations in the larger interest of the country.

''As a collective body time and again our Parliament has conveyed to the world at large that it's voice will have to be reckoned with on matters concerning India's interests as also on all major issues of our time.''

UNI