Parliament’s image as the highest lawmaking body is in question after the Supreme Court’s order of keeping the farm laws on hold. There is a need for introspection in parliament as the constitutionality of the laws like Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the Farm Laws have been challenged before the SC. All these instances point towards the lack of rigorous scrutiny in the legislative institution.
Not sending the bills automatically to the committees for examination has emerged as one of the biggest flaws of our Parliamentary Committee Process. The constitutionality of the three farm bills was not examined in the right manner as the bills were not referred to the departmentally related committee. We should learn from the countries like Finland and Sweden where the bills are passed through two committees to examine the technical aspects and constitutional validity of the bills.
The parliament needs to ask itself whether it is meticulously scrutinizing the constitutionality of the bills and satisfied with the legislation. Judicial encroachment in the legislature can hinder the growth of a nation to a great extent. Stamping the proposal made by the government is not the mere responsibility of the lawmaking body instead it should deliberately examine all the aspects of it before establishing them as laws.