SC verdict on 9th schedule to affect India: CPI

The CPI on Thursday called the Supreme Court decision to bring all post-1973 legislations under judicial purview as "very unfortunate" and that it would influence the functioning of the Indian democratic system.

The Party said the 9th schedule was a safeguard for pushing forward economic reforms aimed at improving the conditions of the marginalised and the under-privileged. "It also benefited the nation as a whole," CPI leader Gurudas Das Gupta told HT on Thursday.

Das Gupta said that 9th schedule was brought in as an amendment by India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1951 to push forward land reforms. "Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had taken recourse to the Schedule when the courts had ruled against the nationalisation of banks in the 1960s," Das Gupta said.

The CPI leader said that the decision would affect the supremacy of the Parliament. "Several reforms would be affected because the propertied class can now approach the court on the plea of Right to Property. In fact, the deliberations in Parliament can also be put under judicial scrutiny," he said.

Das Gupta added that with the decision elected representatives would become subsidiary to those who are not elected by the people.

The CPI(M), however, was more guarded in its reaction. The Party’s politburo member Brinda Karat said that the Supreme Court decision could have "serious implications". She, however, added that the party would give a thought-out reaction after a detail internal discussion on the Apex Court verdict.

Email Sutirtho Patronobis: sutirthopatranobis@hindustantimes.com