Synthesis of parliamentary sovereignty and judicial supremacy
Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
This is a key feature of the Indian Constitution. It takes a middle path between Britain and the USA. In Britain, Parliament is sovereign, meaning no court can strike down its laws. In the USA, courts are supreme through judicial review, meaning the power of courts to cancel laws that break the Constitution. In India, Parliament can amend most of the Constitution under Art. 368. But courts can strike down laws, and even amendments, that violate it, using Arts. 13, 32 and 226 and the basic structure, meaning the core features no amendment may destroy.
Example
Parliament can pass a constitutional amendment, as it did with the First Amendment in 1951. Yet the Supreme Court can still review whether an amendment damages the basic structure. Neither Parliament nor the courts has the final word in every case.
Don't confuse with
- Parliamentary sovereignty (UK): there, no court can cancel an Act of Parliament. India's Parliament is not sovereign in this sense, because the Constitution stands above it.