NEW DELHI: Faced with open criticism of judicial overreach by some BJP leaders and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Supreme Court on Monday asked a lawyer if he wanted the court to issue a mandamus directing the Union to impose President's rule.
"You want us to issue writ of mandamus to the President to impose this? As it is, we are facing allegations of encroaching into executive (domain)," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih told advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who mentioned the matter.
The lawyer sought a direction to the Centre to consider issuing necessary directions to the state government under Article 355 of the Constitution, given violence in Murshidabad, during the protests against the Waqf Amendment Act.
BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Kumar Sharma had made controversial remarks against the April 8, 2025 judgment that effectively set a deadline for the President and governors to clear bills passed by the legislature for the second time.
Jain said he was seeking the implementation of Article 355 of the Constitution. He also said there is a need for immediate deployment of paramilitary forces, and his pending plea, filed after post-poll violence in Bengal in 2022, is listed for hearing on Tuesday.
Article 355 of the Constitution outlines the duty of the Union (Central Government) to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbances, and to ensure that each state's government operates according to the Constitution. This includes ensuring that the state government functions in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Jain appeared for a plea filed by Ranjana Agnihotri and others.
In an additional application filed in the matter, the petitioners sought setting up of a three-member committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to inquire into the violence that transpired in Murshidabad in connection with the Waqf Amendment Act.
The application also sought directions from the central government to deploy paramilitary forces in the disturbed areas of West Bengal. “Direct the central government to consider issuing necessary directions to the state government under Article 355 of the Constitution”, the application stated.
