Separation of Powers and Judicial Review

No single branch of government in India holds unchecked power. This article covers the separation of powers doctrine, and how India’s judiciary enforces it.

mcqquestion.com

Polity · Polity0021

Separation of Powers and Judicial Review

Collapse all

India’s Three Organs

Legislature, Executive, Judiciary — distinct roles.

Article 50: separate judiciary from executive in public services.

Executive drawn from legislature — unlike the USA.

Judicial Review & Activism

Courts check laws and actions against the Constitution.

PIL lets courts act without a directly affected party filing.

Expanded standing rules: a judicially created innovation.

Comparative Models

Montesquieu’s “Spirit of Laws”: concentrated power risks tyranny.

UK blends legislature/executive closely; USA keeps them separate.

mcqquestion.com · Polity ⬇ Download as image

Must Know

• Article 50 of the Constitution directs the state to separate the judiciary from the executive in public services.
• India’s three organs are the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. They have distinct roles, though the separation is not as rigid as in some other countries.
• Judicial independence and judicial review let courts check whether laws and government actions comply with the Constitution.
• Judicial activism lets courts address matters even without a directly affected party filing the case. It is often exercised through Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

Good to Know

• The theory of separation of powers was formalized by Montesquieu in “The Spirit of Laws.” He argued that concentrating power in one body risks tyranny.
• India’s version blends separation with overlap. The executive is drawn from the legislature, unlike in the USA. The judiciary, though, remains constitutionally independent of both.
• PIL expanded access to justice significantly, letting public-spirited citizens or organizations approach courts on behalf of those who cannot easily do so themselves.
• Comparing India’s organs of state with other countries shows real variation. The UK blends legislature and executive closely. The USA keeps them far more separate.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which Article of the Indian Constitution embodies the doctrine of Separation of Powers?

Article 32

Article 50

Article 368

Article 356

 Loading…

 

Great to Know

• India’s blended approach to separation of powers reflects a practical choice, not a departure from principle. A parliamentary system requires the executive to be drawn from, and accountable to, the legislature. Judicial independence still needs to be protected separately, to check both.
• Judicial activism is debated. Supporters argue courts must step in, when the legislature or executive fails to act on pressing issues. Critics counter that unelected judges making policy-like decisions can blur the very separation of powers the doctrine is meant to protect.
• PIL expanded standing rules, allowing cases to be filed by parties not directly affected. This was itself a judicially created innovation. It shows how India’s judiciary has actively shaped its own role within the separation of powers framework.
• Judicial Review, precisely defined, is the power of the judiciary to pronounce upon the constitutionality of laws and executive orders. It is not the power to question the wisdom of laws passed by the Legislature, and not the power to review the judiciary’s own past judgments — that is a separate concept, curative/review jurisdiction.