Parliamentary sovereignty
Also called: Parliamentary supremacy · Topic: Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"; Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"; Class 11, Ch 9 "Constitution as a Living Document"
Meaning
Parliamentary sovereignty is the British idea that Parliament can make or unmake any law, and no court can strike its laws down. India's Parliament does not have this power. A written Constitution, federalism (power divided between the Union and the states), Fundamental Rights and judicial review (the power of courts to cancel laws that break the Constitution) all limit it. The basic structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) adds a further limit. Under it, Parliament cannot change the Constitution's core features, even through an amendment.
Example
In the Constituent Assembly on 18 November 1949, N.V. Gadgil argued that Parliament's only limits were procedural. The Constitution did not follow him. Indian courts can strike down laws, and since 1973 they can strike down amendments that damage the basic structure.
Don't confuse with
- Constitutional supremacy: the Constitution, not Parliament, is the highest law. This is the Indian position.
- Parliamentary democracy: a system in which the government answers to the legislature. India has this, but its Parliament is still not sovereign.