Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Dushyant Dave urged the need for a robust mechanism to check the “abuse of power” of the Executive.

Mr. Dave, speaking at a webinar organised by Manthan Foundation on ‘Constitution, Rule of Law and Governance during COVID-19’ on Wednesday, said a great responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Supreme Court.

The senior advocate, who defended civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan in a contempt action initiated by the apex court, said “respectful criticism of the judiciary is vital to improving the system”.

“We can only hold judiciary accountable by criticising it as respectfully and as strongly as we can,” he said.

Mr. Dave referred to the handling of certain important cases by the court recently, including the habeas corpus petitions filed in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the government’s COVID-19 management and the Rafale fighters’ purchase.

“If a habeas corpus petition is brought before a court, the court will put aside other matters and hear the habeas corpus petition first… because liberty of a citizen is extremely important and the court cannot defer that to the Executive judgment or the Executive discretion,” he noted.

He said Parliament has not been able to debate much or challenge the government’s pandemic management. The judiciary has not intervened enough, calling it a policy matter. The result is that the Executive can decide without any limitation.

“I love my judiciary, I love my judges. But that does not stop me from criticising them time and again because I want my system to improve. And it can be much better,” Mr. Dave said.