Two faces of Ranjan Gogoi: As RS MP questions the Constitution, as CJI defended it

Amid a walkout by the women MPs belonging to the INDIA bloc, the BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha MP Ranjan Gogoi who served as the chief justice of India from 2018 to 2019, has contradicted himself on whether the basic structure of the Indian Constitution is debatable or not.

Invoking the basic structure doctrine, Opposition parties have attacked the Modi government over the Delhi Services Bill that was passed by Rajya Sabha Monday.

Defending the Bill, Gogoi who was alleged by his staffer of sexual harassment, said that the basic structure of the Constitution has "a very debatable jurisprudential basis".

“The law may not be to be my liking but that does not make it arbitrary. Does it violate the basic feature of the Constitution? I have to say something about the basic structure. A book by [former Solicitor-General of India] Andhyarujina on the Kesavananda Bharati case exists. Having read the book, my view is that the doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution has a debatable, very debatable jurisprudential basis. I would not say anything more than this,” he said.

Interestingly, when Gogoi was serving as the CJI, had defended the basic structure of the Constitution, contradicting his stand as an MP at least on four occasions.

Recalling previous instances when Gogoi had invoked the basic structure doctrine on key cases, reported the Indian Express.In 2019, delivering the judgement on the Ayodhya dispute, Gogoi said that the basic structure is inviolable.

“In November 2019 Gogoi led a five-judge bench in Roger Mathew versus Union of India which struck down the law restricting tribunals for violating basic structure,” stated the report published by the Indian Express.

Reporting that Gogoi himself allowed the opening of the office of the CJI to scrutiny under the RTI act, invoking the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Express quoted a part of the judgement delivered by Gogoi.

“…That the independence of the judiciary forms part of our basic structure is now well established,” Gogoi led bench had said in 2019.