Court order within constitutional bounds

Sunday’s Supreme Court order directing the government to bring top decision-makers under the purview of investigation in connection with the Lalita Niwas land-grab is well within the broader constitutional framework.

Yes, the court order came in response to a habeas corpus petition from one of the individuals arrested in connection with the scam. In response to habeas corpus writs, the courts of law in democracies like the United Kingdom examine whether the arrests are in accordance with the law.

If the arrests are in contravention of the law, the courts order the release of the arrestees. It’s true that the petitioner had not demanded that the highest government officials involved in the decision-making process vis-a-vis the land-grab be brought under investigation.

But claims from certain quarters that the apex court, the final interpreter of the Constitution, has overstepped its jurisdiction are far-fetched. The court order is well within constitutional bounds. 

The author is a Constitutional Lawyer