Are courts encroaching on the powers of the executive?

On January 12, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of three controversial farm laws passed recently, and ordered the constitution of a committee of experts to negotiate between the farmers’ bodies and the Government of India.

Rather than deliberating on the constitutionality of the three laws, the court appears to be trying to move both the parties towards a political settlement, thereby wading into the domain of the government.

Here we discuss whether the court has abdicated its constitutional duty mandate in this case, and is this in a growing trend?

Guests: Anuj Bhuwania, Professor at the Jindal Global Law School, is the author of Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India; Arun Thiruvengadam, a Professor of Law at the School of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Host: Jayant Sriram, Assistant Editor, The Hindu