'Exclusively in legislative domain', SC refuses to consider plea to make Law Commission statutory body [Read Order]

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has on Friday refused to consider a plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to make the Law Commission of India a statutory body, saying the issue fell in legislative domain and no direction can be issued to Parliament to enact a law.

"Such a direction would necessarily implicate a writ of mandamus being issued to Parliament in its legislative capacity. It is a settled position of law that a writ cannot be issued to Parliament to enact a law. This pertains exclusively to the legislative domain," a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said.

The court also declined to entertain the petition for the other relief including that the Law Commission should be asked prepare a report in the matter of confiscating black money, benami properties and disproportionate assets.

Upadhyay sought permission to independently pursue the relief before the Law Commission.

The court finally disposed of the matter.

During the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted, the petitioner has primarily sought a direction to the Union government to take steps to constitute the Twenty Second Law Commission of India, which has already been constituted by two notifications issued on November 9 and 10, 2022.

Former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi was appointed as chairperson of the Law Commission. The post was lying vacant since September 1, 2018 on retirement of then chairman Justice B S Chauhan.

The Centre has also appointed former Kerala High Court judge Justice K T Sankaran, Prof Anand Paliwal, Prof D P Verma, Prof (Dr) Raka Arya and M Karunanithi as members of the Commission.

[Read Order]