The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a petition seeking to declare that citizens have a fundamental right to directly petition Parliament under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Constitution. The Centre and others are respondents in the case which states that there is a complete absence of any formal mechanism by which citizens can engage with the lawmakers.
“The absence of this mechanism creates a void between elected representatives and the citizens. The people are disconnected from the law-making process. This distancing of the citizens to their inherent rights to fully participate in Indian democracy is a matter of grave concern and is an issue which needs to be immediately addressed,” the petitioner Karan Garg states in his plea.
While the court refrained from issuing notice in the petition, it added that it wanted to hear what the Centre had to say on the practical aspects and the existing system.
The plea has sought a system with a regulatory framework that would empower citizens to petition Parliament to have debates, discussions, and deliberations on issues and concerns raised by citizens.
The framework if implemented will ensure that the grievances of citizens can be addressed in a proper manner by Parliament, the plea submits.
“The present writ petition prays that it is imperative for the respondents to take substantive steps in order to ensure that citizens can have their voices heard in Parliament without facing undue barriers and difficulties,” the plea states.
It has been further submitted that the current system does not fully allow citizens to initiate discussions in Parliament by moving appropriate petitions.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna was told on Friday that after a citizen casts a vote, they don’t have any mode to engage with the lawmakers.
To this, the bench said that given the massive difference in the population in India and other countries where such a system works, it may not be practical.
The court had further questioned Garg that when under the present process a citizen could directly petition the Lok Sabha, was it the petitioner’s case that such a system was ineffective?
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