There are well-advised justifications for judicial restraint. There is no way the judiciary can put behind bars an entire cabinet for non-compliance and contempt without raking up a huge political controversy and inviting ridicule for an intervention that falls outside its domain. Second, if judicial activism begins to invite public protests, politicisation of the judiciary could follow. Finally, democratic politics is a messy collage of various shades of opinion. Attempts by the judiciary to sort out the mess in black and white could leave it in a difficult position and compromise its own credibility and independence, which are in fact its greatest strengths.

The writer is director, Centre for Public Affairs, Noida