Two days after his government decided to seek vacation of the Supreme Court stay on implementation of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher education institutions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today advised the judiciary to exercise caution because “the dividing line between judicial activism and judicial over-reach is a thin one”.

“Each one of the organs (the judiciary, executive and legislature) have their constitutionally assigned roles and responsibilities, and these must be discharged in all honesty. Each organ must respect the roles and functions of the other. Powers accorded to each organ must be exercised cautiously,” Singh told a conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts at Vigyan Bhavan.

“Compelling action by authorities of the states through the power of mandamus is an inherent power vested in the judiciary. However, substituting mandamus with a takeover of the functions of another organ may, at times, become a case of over-reach... these are all delicate issues which need to be addressed cautiously.”

“All organs, including the judiciary, must ensure that the dividing lines between them are not breached. This makes for harmonious functioning,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s comments on judicial over-reach virtually echoed what ex-CJI Justice J S Verma, considered the face of judicial activism, had cautioned courts against in his lecture at the Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya in Jabalpur on March 24 (for full text, visit www.expressindia.com). Justice Verma had urged courts to discriminate between what is “legitimate” and what is “illegitimate” judicial intervention.

And Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, arguing for an acknowledgement of the crucial role of the legislature, also didn’t mince words last week when he said: “I will be failing in my duty if I do not point out that there has been an encroachment in the legislative arena, which Constitution specifically and unambiguously provides.”

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