Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has voiced strong criticism of the Supreme Court of India, particularly in light of its recent judgement that set a timeline for the President to grant assent to state bills. Dhankhar questioned the judiciary's authority to direct the President and described Article 142 of the Constitution as a 'nuclear missile against democratic forces' available to the judiciary at all times. Article 142 grants the Supreme Court broad discretionary powers to pass any order necessary to ensure complete justice in cases before it, including overriding existing laws or filling legal gaps. Dhankhar expressed concern that such powers allow the judiciary to act as a 'super Parliament' without accountability, which he argued was not intended in India's democratic framework. He referenced Article 145(3), which governs the size of benches for constitutional matters, and suggested it should be amended. Addressing Rajya Sabha interns, Dhankhar reiterated that India was not meant to have a democracy where judges function as lawmakers. Criticism of the collegium system was also echoed by some legal experts. Meanwhile, controversy arose over comments made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey about the Supreme Court, with calls from opposition leaders for action against Dubey. The Vice President's comments come in the context of the Supreme Court's April 8 ruling in the Tamil Nadu case, where the court used Article 142 to set deadlines for presidential assent to state legislation.