Role of Legislature and

UNIT 6 ROLE OF LEGISLATURE AND Judiciary

JUDICIARY*
Structure

6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Role of the Legislature
6.3 Role of the Judiciary
6.4 Conclusion
6.5 Glossary
6.6 References
6.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

6.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
 Explain the role of the legislature;
 Describe the role of the judiciary ; and
 Discuss the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
There are three wings in a democratic polity – the legislature, the executive and the
judiciary. This unit deals with the role of legislature and the judiciary with special reference
to India. The executive and judiciary are dependent on the legislature because unless it
carries out its function of making laws and legitimising policies of the political executive,
the other two branches of the polity will not be able to discharge their functions. In
India, the first Legislative Assembly came into existence in 1921 which functioned
according to the rules laid down in the Government of India Act, 1919. On the other
hand, the judiciary came into existence because of the Government of India Act, 1935
with an All-India Court called the “Federal Court of India”. The Indian judicial system
evolved into one of the best systems in the world when the Constitution of India came
into force in 1950. The judges in the courts were impartial, independent and had excellent
legal scholarship. The judiciary became indianised with a shift away from the trend of
the British judiciary system. The Federal Court of India was renamed as the Supreme
Court of India as the highest interpreter of the Constitution and the final dispute settler.In
a nutshell, the Constitution provides for the legislature to make laws, the government
(political and permanent executive) and the courts (judiciary) to interpret and enforce
these laws. While the judiciary is independent from the other two branches, the
government is formed with the support of majority members in the legislature. The
Parliament in India can hold the government accountable for its decisions and scrutinise

1
Contributed by Dr. Anupama Mahajan, Former Post-Doctoral Fellow (Public Administration),
Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. 89
Governance its functioning. These two branches -the legislature and judiciary are important safeguards
of the Indian democracy and infact in any polity. This unit orients the learners with the
role of the legislature and judiciary and analyses the relationship between the two.

6.2 ROLE OF THE LEGISLATURE

It is important to understand the meaning and the origin of legislature before delving
into its role. A legislature is a deliberative (the act of thinking carefully and the making
of a decision) assembly with the law-making authority.It is called by various names in
different countries, for exampleAssembly, Congress, Diet, Duma, Estates, or Parliament.
There is evidence of the oldest legislature in Athens, nobility assemblies in European
monarchies named the Estates. The oldest legislature that still exists is of the Iceland
called Althing which was found in 930 A.D. Most of the legislatures around the world
have some common functions that make up their role with varying degrees like
representation; deliberation; legislation; authorising expenditure; and oversight.The role
of a legislature is determined by the essential functions that it performs as a body of
elected representatives in a democratic state. The public opinion and aspirations are
integral to the legislature in translating them into laws. The Indian Parliament operates
as a bicameral legislature having two units or two houses – the Rajya Sabha (the
Upper House) and the Lok Sabha (the Lower House) – and headed by the President
who is a nominal executive. However, the office of the President of India is the creation
of the Indian Constitution. On the other hand, the Prime Minister is the political executive
and a leader of the Council of Ministers who aids and advises the President.
The legislature has law-making as its basic role. Various functions of the legislature
make up its role. They are given below:
Leadership: The legislature has a primary leadership role with their presiding officers
(speakers and deputy speakers), house leaders and the whips. The Lok Sabha Speaker
presides over the house when in session and decides upon which matters need to be
discussed, at what time, under which rule of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of
Business in Parliament and by whom. The Speaker has specified responsibilities
according to the Constitution in giving a ruling in cases of interpretation of rules or
precedents of the house. S/he has the duty to maintain discipline in the house so that its
business can be productively conducted without any disruption. Secondly, the leader
of the opposition is a member of the Council of States or the House who is opposed to
the Government-in-power. The leader of the opposition must have a party strength of
one-tenth of the total strength of the house.
Law-making: The legislature has the most important function of law-making besides
other functions. The parliament makes laws according to the subjects in the Union and
the Concurrent list. The subjects of the concurrent list in which the Union and the State
Governments both have jurisdiction, the Union law prevails over the states except for
the cases in which the states have prior assent of the President. Nonetheless, the
Legislature or the Parliament has the power to repeal any such state law or in the case of:
 an emergency;
 if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by 2/3rd of majority of its members on
the subject in the state list;
 if the state list item impacts on the implementation of international agreements/
90 treaties; and
  if two or more than two states pass a resolution for the Parliament to make a Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
law regarding a state subject.
The procedure for passing a bill into a law has been specified in the Constitution of
India in which both the houses have to vote for it with the approval of the President. A
joint sitting of both the houses can be called for by the President. Both the houses have
the same status except in matters of a financial bill which is the prerogative of the Lok
Sabha.
Accountability/Oversight of the Administrative Executive: Legislative oversight
means scrutiny or control of executive branch programmes and its
performance.Oversight involves assessing of the implementation processes. It comes
towards the end of the policy process during the implementation of laws. The
effectiveness of these methods depends upon the strength of the ruling party in the
House of the people and activeness of members of opposition. It is agreed that in the
cabinet form of a government, as in England and India, legislative control is more
effective than in presidential form.Although the Parliament in India does not maintain
an oversight over day-to-day administrative affairs of the executive but the procedures
like question/zero hour and debates and discussions help in this activity.
i. Question/Zero Hour: The instruments of parliamentary control over the executive
are through question hour and the zero hour. The opposition members get an
opportunity to question the policies of the government-in-power and for the latter
to give informative replies. The question hour strengthens the role of legislature in
several ways. It
 Confirms the policies;
 Serves as a means of interaction;
 Assesses public response;
 Points out any misuse of appropriated funds;
 Facilitates establishment of a legislative committee or passing of a legislation;
and
 Ensures transparency and accountability (because of televising of the question
hour).
Zero hour (because it starts at the zero hour) is the time from noon to 1300 hours
after the question hour. Since the issues to be asked in the question hour requires
a ten-day notice; zero hour allows discussion of matters which are of critical
significance. It is an informal practice without any mention in the Rules of Procedure
and Conduct of Business in Parliament. Debates and Discussions are another
way of maintaining oversight over the executive by the Parliament.
ii. Committees: Strong financial committees enable the legislature to enhance its
proficiency and play a greater role in budget decision-making. In India, there are
three parliamentary committees – Public Accounts Committee; Estimates
Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings and 17 Departmentally
Related Standing Committees. They help the Parliament in completing their work
efficiently and make an exhaustive examination of the diverse work done by it.
They are constituted by passing of a motion in the Parliament. There are two types
of committees – Ad hoc and Standing Committees. The Ad hoc Committees are 91
Governance made for a limited period for a specific purpose. The Standing Committees are
elected or appointed every year,but their work is continuous. These committees
can provide an on-going disciplinary oversight of the government. The legislature
can also exercise its role more effectively.
iii. Motions: Alternatively, the members of parliament may move a motion for -
(i) discussing important issues (such as inflation, disasters, corruption etc.),
(ii) adjournment of business in a House to express displeasure over a government
policy, or
(iii) expressing no confidence in the government leading to its resignation.
To improve government accountability in Parliament, the opposition in some
countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia forms a shadow cabinet. Under
such a system, opposition MPs track a certain portfolio, scrutinise its performance
and suggest alternate programmes. This allows for detailed tracking and scrutiny
of ministries and assists MPs in making constructive suggestions. Some of these
countries also provide for days when the opposition parties decide the agenda for
Parliament.
Informational:The legislature has the right to being informed over matters concerning
the country. The government is obliged to provide the information to the legislature by
way of reports and papers or by placing documents in the Parliament’s library. There
can be discussion based on such reports and documents.
Reflection of Public Opinion: The Members of Parliament (MPs) may raise issues
of public importance in Parliament, and examine the government’s response to problems
being faced by citizens through:
(i) a debate, which entails a reply by the concerned minister, or
(ii) a motion which entails a vote. The time allocated for discussing some of
these debates or Bills is determined by the Business Advisory Committee of
the House, consisting of members from both the ruling and opposition parties.
Using these methods, MPs may discuss important matters, policies, and topical issues.
The concerned minister while replying to the debate may make assurances to the House
regarding steps that will be taken to address the situation.
Judicial:The legislature has a limited but a very important judicial role in:
i. Impeachment – of the President if there is any violation of the Constitution of
India.
ii. Removal – of judges of Supreme Court and High Courts; and the Vice President;
and
iii. Reprimand – members of the legislature in case of any breach of privileges, for
example participating in the legislative proceedings before taking the oath.
Electoral:The legislature has the role of conducting and participating in the elections
of the President and the Vice President. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are
also elected for the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha are elected by the members of the
92 legislature.
Financial: This is the most important role of the legislature as it approves the Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
appropriation bill for the budgetary allocations through a constitutionally specified
procedure. It has the supreme authority over the strings of the purse of the government.
It also carries out budgetary and post-budgetary control through various measures as
mentioned above.
Legislatures should be as efficient as possible to match the demands made on it by the
system and the people from time to time. In this context, it is desirable that the procedure,
the functioning, and the infrastructure facilities available with legislatures are updated
periodically so that they may keep pace with the changing times. It was stated by the
Speaker Shivraj V. Patil in 1992 that, “It is a matter of some satisfaction that
parliamentary democracy has worked in India nearly successfully and has led us to the
path of progress and development. But it has also thrown up some problems. We have
to apply our mind as to how best these problems can be solved”. The interests of
stability needed for socioeconomic development of India with the political dynamics
inherent in governance must be factored in the improvement of the legislature’s role
and functions.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: (i) Use the space given below for your answers.
(ii) Check your answers with those give at the end of the Unit.
1. Discuss the role of legislature.
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2. What is the significance of question hour?
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6.3 ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY

Judiciary is the third branch of the government, the other two being legislature and the
executive. It is the guardian and the protector of the Indian Constitution which gives
the rights to the people. Across the globe, most countries use a formal and hierarchical
judicial process to uphold the rights and lay down the duties of the citizens. It establishes
legal principles and laws through courts, tribunals, civil codes, and the precedents in
the verdicts of the courts. All kinds of disputes and conflicts are brought before the
courts pertaining to civil, criminal, economic, political, or social matters. The disputes
can be between states and the Union governments or among the states in a federal
structure. In India, it has the constitutional authority of being independent based on
social, economic, and political equality,liberty,opportunity, and promotion of these among 93
Governance all; fraternity assuring dignity and the unity of the nation,as mentioned in our Preamble.
The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution have placed judiciary at the highest
place.The same spirit is reflected in the chapter on Fundamental Rights and the Directive
Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution.
The role of judiciary is to uphold the principle of rule of law which is one of the indicators
of good governance which had been laid down by the United Nations. Good
governance is linked to an enabling environment conducive to the enjoyment of human
rights and promoting growth and sustainable human development. The United Nations
established 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 which came into implementation
in 2016 to be achieved by 2030, which is called Agenda 2030. India pledged to work
in the direction to meet the objectives of sustainable development. SDG 16 deals
with”Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”.It states in detail as, “Promote peaceful
and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all
and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
To achieve the goals, the judiciary has to be active, equitable and effective.
Structure of Indian Judiciary
It is imperative that the structure of judiciary in India is understood before attempting
to discuss its role. After independence, the framers of the Indian Constitution wanted
to create a society based on “law, individual merit, and secular education”.
The Indian judiciary consists of an integrated system in a pyramidal form with the
Supreme Court as the apex body at the top. The second tier consists of High Courts
and the third tier of District Courts. The figure given below explains the structure of the
Indian judiciary:
Structure of Indian Judiciary

Adapted from: https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/keps206.pdf.

Role of Indian Judiciary
The Indian judiciary is independent as its functioning is not restricted by the executive
94 and the legislature. It performs its functions without any fear or pressure from external
sources. Since it is a part of the polity as the third branch, it is accountable to the Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
Constitution and adheres to the principles held by it. This has been made possible by:
 Provisions of legislature not being involved in the appointment of judges to
avoid party politics;
 There is a system of fixed tenure of the judges so that they are secure in their
work;
 Their salaries and allowances are provided for by the Constitution and is not
dependent on the executive or the legislature;
 Any criticism of their decisions is considered as contempt of court which is a
punishable offence;
The role of the judiciary is discussed below:
Justice to All: The primary function of the judiciary is to give justice to people when
approached and give verdicts based on the witnesses, evidence, and proofs. Article
311 provides for the right to hearing as a basic principle of natural justice with sub-
clauses for restrictions over the right to carry trade and business. Articles 14 and 21 of
the Indian Constitution are also based on this principle. However, the term, “natural
justice” is not found in it, but the principle is reflected throughout the Constitution. The
judiciary ensures equality before law and equal protection of law. Access to justice is
another prerequisite for fulfilling the principle of “justice to all” and to establish the rule
of law. It means having the option to an affordable, quick, satisfactory settlement of
disputes from a credible forum. Punishment and compensations are decided by the
courts while also announcing the verdict.
Interpretation of Laws: The Indian Constitution is the longest written Constitution in
the world. The judiciary has the responsibility of interpreting and applying laws to
cases to settle disputes and conflicts. This implies that the judiciary plays a legislative
role because it is the creativity of the judiciary to interpret and give meaning to the
written words in the Indian Constitution, although it cannot make the laws. The laws
are generally framed keeping the future in mind and it is the legitimate exercise of
government power. Some state that this role infers as the judiciary “legislating” rather
than interpreting laws because in many cases, it has been observed that the judges give
the verdict as an inference in the absence of any law regarding the issue at hand or the
judiciary has given administrative directions to the government departments.
Law-making: The interpretation of laws given by the judges becomes law and these
precedents are called case laws. The decisions given by the higher courts are binding
on the lower courts by way of Courts of Records. The Supreme Court shall be a court
of record and shall have the powers of such a court including the power to publish for
contempt of itself. A court of record, according to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, has records
those which are admitted are to be of evidentiary value and they are not to be questioned
when they are produced before any court. This has been given in Articles 129 and 215
although not in the exact same words but well recognised in the judicial world as a
court of record. Hence, judicial decisions constitute a source of law. It has been clarified
by the Supreme Court that there is separation of powers in the Constitution between
the three organs of the state and one organ should not ordinarily encroach on another's
jurisdiction. While lawmaking is the job of the legislature, interpretation is that of the
judiciary though in exceptional cases, they can also formulate laws. In a detailed 95
Governance judgement by a bench consisting of Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice MarkandeyKatju,
it was stated that it was only the judiciary out of the three organs which can define the
limits of all three. Hence, the judiciary must exercise this power with extreme caution
and self-restraint.
Judicial Review: The Indian Constitution provides for a wide range of powers of
judicial review in India as it is the guardian of the Constitution. According to Article 13,
the judicial review of all legislations in India, past as well as future can declare a law
unconstitutional or ultra vires(beyond legislative competence)if it is inconsistent with
any part three of the Constitution which deals with the fundamental rights of the Indian
citizens. Judicial review deals with mainly three aspects, given below:
i. legislative action;
ii. judicial decision; and
iii. administrative action.
This implies that the judges of higher court have to interpret the legislation in such a
way that the values of the Constitution are not compromised. With some
misinterpretations made in history, the importance of judicial review became even more
pertinent and led to judicial activism in the recent years (dealt later in this unit). The
doctrine of judicial review is the interposition of the judicial restraint on the legislative,
executive, and judicial actions of the government. It is the basic structure of the
Constitution of India and any attempt to destroy or damage the basic structure is
unconstitutional. This also signifies that the Supreme Court holds the power to review
the legislative enactments of both the Parliament and the State legislatures. Judicial
review is sometimes confused with judicial control, but the latter means all methods by
which a citizen can seek relief from any kind of dictatorial actions of the authority
through appeals, writs, and injunctions.
Protection of the Rights of the Citizens: The judiciary acts as the protector of the
rights of the citizens, whether they are economic, social, or political. Social welfare
rights are the second-generation rights (after new nations were formed after the Second
World War). Social justice means the availability of equal social opportunities for the
development of personality of all people in the society without any discrimination based
on caste, sex, race, or religion. In India, according to the concept of continuing
mandamus the courts identify issues which are in public interest and devise a plan with
the government officials after they have sought judicial approval. It is a relief given by
a court of law through a series of orders directing an authority to do its duty or fulfil an
obligation in publicinterest. The courts monitor the outcome and if required direct them
to change their plans. The major responsibility of the judiciary is to ensure protection
of rights of the individual and the nation.
Union-State Conflict Resolution: In a federal structure of India, the judiciary has
the role of resolving conflicts between the Union and the State Governments. In the
recent times, the judiciary has played an important role in making India an arbitration
friendly state. It encourages and accepts arbitration despite any minor errors under the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1966. Many disputes and conflicts that arise naturally
can be resolved by arbitration saving a lot of judicial time and money of the parties in
dispute.
Advisory Function: The President of India at any time can ask for advice from the
Supreme court on any law that needs clarity.
96
Judicial Inquiry: The view box of judiciary are called upon to head various Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
commissions that are constituted by the legislature to investigate any specific crime like
riots or any other complicated matters.
The above given points bring forth the role of judiciary, but this discussion is incomplete
without studying about judicial activism which is a recent addition to its role.
Judicial Activism
The Supreme Court was technocratic in nature before it began the interpretation of the
law. The court took the responsibility upon itself in judicial review. Judicial activism is
a part of judicial review because the judiciary has to take a more active role in light of
challenging times of governance.
Judicial activism refers to the intervention of judiciary in the legislative and executive
fields. It is a way through which relief is provided to the disadvantaged and aggrieved
citizens.It is increasing in recent times mainly due to failure on the part of executive and
judiciary to act, ineffective public service delivery, violation of human rights and misuse
and abuse of Constitutional provisions etc.
Judicial activism gained prominence under the lead provided by former Chief Justice
P.N. Bhagwati. In various cases in India relating to child labour, human rights violation,
environment issues, traffic regulation, care of elderly, etc., the judiciary has ensured
immediate access to justice, relief to the aggrieved, just standards of procedure and so
on. We have witnessed in recent times of covid-19 pandemic the intervention of judiciary
in facilitating the management of the situation.
Judicial activism describes judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal or
political considerations rather than on the existing law. It is sometimes used as an
antonym of judicial restraint. It deals with issues of constitutional interpretation; statutory
construction; and separation of powers.Judicial activism could also be concerning
overturning laws as unconstitutional; overturning judicial precedent or a ruling against a
preferred interpretation of the constitution. It implies that the judiciary becomes stronger
with activism as a counterbalance to the effects of transient majoritarianism. The majority
must not be allowed to oppress the minorities and exploit their rights.
Judicial activism can be positive or negative. It is positive when it engages itself to
make power relations between different sections of people more equitable. It is negative
when it is conservative and tries to maintain a status quo. In the last few decades,the
judiciary has transformed its role from being a positivist to an activist due to the problems
of complexity and pluralisation of polity.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL): The judiciary has a system of public interest litigation
(PIL) to keep a watch on the activities of the legislature and the executive, which
began in 1976 in India,to ensure justice for people who belonged to the vulnerable
sections of the society.In the 1980s, the judiciary began the transition to an independent
institution of governance.PIL is a suit filed in a court of law for the protection of public
interest such as health, education, pollution, road safety, environment etc.PIL is an
instrument devised by the Supreme Court to consider issues that are non-traditional
concerning the poor who do not have any platform of redressal of their grievances.
The PIL can be a useful tool in the hands of the people in filing a writ in the court which
helps in creating and enforcing rights. It strengthens democracy as it gives the mechanism
to the common citizens to fight for their rights. As the name suggests, it is a litigation in
97
Governance the interest of the public, for example, problems of pollution;risks/dangers arising from
construction activities; terrorism; etc. There has been an increasing demand on courts
to take up PIL cases for ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional provisions.
A pioneering role has been played by Justices P.N. Bhagawati and Krishna Iyer in
making PIL accessible as an effective legal remedy to common citizen. Though at
times,through this instrument frivolous unimportant issues are drawn to the attention of
judiciary.
Writ Petition: A writ is a formal written court order while one can file a writ petition in
the High Court under Article 226 or in the Supreme Court under Article 32 if any one
of the fundamental rights of an individual is violated.The writ petition is an order by a
higher court to lower courts directing them to act or stop them from doing an activity.
The Constitution of India lays down five types of writs which are briefly given below:
i. Habeas Corpus: A writ petition can be filed if a person is illegally detained, the
court can order for the body to be released. Habeas Corpus means – you may
have the bodyof. It can also be filed in the case of a violation of a fundamental
right of a prisoner. The court has the authority to order to produce the detained
person in the court to determine if he/she has been illegally detained and be released.
If the individual who has been detained cannot file the writ petition himself/herself,
then any relative or a friend on his/her behalf can also do so.
ii. Mandamus: Mandamus means ‘we command’ by which the higher courts can
order the lower court, tribunal, forum, or any public authority to act.
iii. Prohibition: The Supreme Court or the High Court issues a writ to prohibit the
lower courts if they act out of their jurisdiction or prevent it from usurping any
authority which is not vested with it.
iv. Certiorari: The writ of certiorari (to be certified) can be passed by the Supreme
Court to the lower courts to transfer any matter to it being the superior court for
determining the legality of proceedings.
v. Quo-Warranto: Quo-Warranto (by whose authority) can be issued to stop a
person from acting in the capacity of holding a public office in the absence of
entitlement.
The Constitution gives the judiciary the right to review the laws and declare them
invalid if it deems unfit. The Indian Constitution has been observed as being organic as
it keeps embodying the spirit of the nation. The amendments to the Constitution keep
the Parliament and the Government abreast of the needs and the changes in the
socioeconomic dynamics of the people. However, the amendments must not destroy
the basic structure of the Constitution with respect to fundamental rights. Judicial activism
has emerged since the last decade in India by which the judges deviate from precedents
and move towards new social policies.However, when the judiciary goes beyond its
boundary and interferes in the work of other two branches, it becomes judicial overreach.
Care needs to be taken that the instrument of judicial activism – PIL – does not become
a Political/Personal/Publicity Interest litigation otherwise the instrument will lose its
legitimacy.
PIL, Social Justice and Human Rights: Public interest litigation, as mentioned before
is a social litigation that provides social justice to the vulnerable. Human rights have a
universal legitimacy for all major international and national institutions. In India, the
fundamental rights are justiciable and enforceable through the judiciary. Some politicians
98 are of the view that judicial activism has upset the constitutional system of checks and
balances by making inroads into the legislative and executive domain without restraint. Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
They point out that it adversely impacts the spirit of democracy because of the fear of
loss of public faith in them and the executive. However, parliamentary accountability
seems to be affected by frequent walkouts and unproductive chaos instead of meaningful
discussions and debates. Having said this, the judiciary is also not above law. There
have been allegations and cases of corruption and favouritism by the judiciary.
To sum up, judicial activism has activated not only the judiciary but also the legislature
and executive. It has resulted in many new legislations and striking down some, while
unearthing scams and scandals. It has done a great deal of good for the common
person, for example, the Supreme Court in 2007 directed the immediate release of all
mentally ill under-trials in mental asylums for years. It ruled that if the prisoners’
confinement exceeded the maximum punishment they would have undergone if
convicted, the criminal trials against them must be closed and they must be released.
There have been numerous such positive results out of judicial activism although there
are always pros and cons to everything.
In terms of performance, there has been a certain amount of dissatisfaction in the
functioning of the judiciary. In particular, the problem areas are: -i) Undue delays in the
disposal of cases and lack of sensitivity (accountability) to the mounting arrears of
cases. ii) Injecting avoidable uncertainties in the law and thereby making the task of the
executive more difficult and sometimes unmanageable. iii) Lack of transparency in
judicial appointments and transfers. iv) Poor management of resources and ineffective
standards of judicial administration including legal aid. v) Absence of strategic action
plans for clearance of pending cases in courts.
CheckYour Progress 2
Note: (i) Use the space given below for your answers.
(ii) Check your answers with those give at the end of the Unit.
1. Discuss the role of the judiciary with special reference to India.
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2. Explain the significance of judicial activism.
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3. What is Public Interest Litigation?
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Governance
6.4 CONCLUSION
The doctrine of separation of powers is applicable in India with three pillars of
democracy – the executive, legislature, and the judiciary –which perform their separate
functions as separate entities to form a whole democratic nation. The common citizens
have benefitted from the separation of powers in getting their demands met though not
without certain lapses and weaknesses. At times the issues confronting the citizens due
to implementation problems encountered by the executive draws intervention by
judiciary. Hence judicial activism is gaining prominence. This unit examined the role of
legislature and judiciary in a comprehensive manner. It reflects on the changing
complexion of role of judiciary.

6.5 GLOSSARY
Althing : It is the oldest National Parliament of Iceland
which was founded in 930 A.D.
Bicameral Legislature : The Indian Parliament operates as a
bicameral legislature having two units or two
houses – the Rajya Sabha (the Upper
House) and the Lok Sabha (the Lower
House) – and headed by the President who
is a nominal executive.
Nominal Executive : A nominal executive is who constitutionally
enjoys all powers and execution of laws but
practically exercises no authority in
administration.
Rules of Procedure and Conduct : Article 118(1) of the Constitution empowers
of Business in Parliament each House of Parliament to make rules for
regulating its Procedure and the Conduct of
its business. Under this provision of the
Constitution, Rajya Sabha adopted rules for
regulating its procedure and the conduct of
its business on June 2, 1964.

6.6 REFERENCES
Anirudh. (20th April, 2011). Does the judiciary “make laws”? Retrieved from https://
www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/does-judiciary-%E2%80%9Cmake-
laws%E2%80%9D
Bhat, F.A. (01st Feb, 2020). Power of Judicial Review in India. Retrieved from https:
//www.latestlaws.com/articles.
Bhatia, R.P. (2003). Judicial Activism in India. Journal of the Indian Law Institute.
45(2), 262-274.
Bhatkoti, R. (2011). Human Rights and Judicial Activism in India. The Indian Journal
of Political Science. 72(2), 437-443.
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Khullar, V. (2017). Role of Parliament in holding the government accountable. Retrieved Role of Legislature and
Judiciary
from https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/role-parliament-holding-government-
accountable
Mishra, S.(2005).Role of the Legislature and the Judiciary (Unit 13). MPA-013: Public
Systems Management. New Delhi, India: IGNOU.
Rajya Sabha Secretariat. (2013). Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the
Council of States (8th Ed.). Retrieved from https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rs_rule/
rules8th.pdf
Rao, K.V. (1965).Parliamentary Democracy of India. Calcutta, India: World Press.
Rao, P.P. (2003). Access to Justice and delay in disposal of cases. Indian Bar
Review.30, 208.

6.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Your answer should include the following points:
 Leadership
 Law-making
 Accountability/oversight of the political executive
 Informational
 Reflection of public opinion
 Judicial
 Financial
2) Your answer should include the following points:
Question hour strengthens the role of legislature in several ways. It
 Confirms the policies.
 Serves as a means of interaction amongst members of parliament.
 Points out any misuse of allocated funds.
 Facilitates establishment of a legislative committee or passing of legislation.
 Ensures transparency and accountability.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Your answer should include the following points:
 The role of Indian Judiciary is determined by its performance of following
functions:
 Justice to all
 Interpretation of laws 101
Governance  Law making
 Judicial review
 Protection of citizens’ rights
 Union-state conflict resolution
 Advisory functions
2) Your answer should include the following points:
 Judicial activism refers to the intervention of the judiciary in legislative and
executive fields.
 It is a way through which relief is provided to the disadvantaged and aggrieved
citizens.
 It’s importance is increasing due to failure on the part of executive and legislature
to act, ineffective public service delivery, violation of human rights,misuse,
and abuse of constitutional provisions and so on.
 Judiciary over time has transformed its role from being a positivist to an activist.
3) Your answer should include the following points:
 The judiciary has a system of public interest litigation (PIL) to keep a check
on the activities of the legislature and the executive, which began in 1976 in
India, for people who belonged to the vulnerable sections of the society looking
for justice. It ensures social justice to the vulnerable.
 It is a suit filed in a court of law for the protection of public interest such as
health, education, pollution, road safety, environment etc.
 PIL is an instrument devised by the Supreme Court to consider issues that are
non-traditional and unpopular concerning the poor who do not have any
platform for redressal of their grievances.
 The PIL can be a useful tool in the hands of the people for creating and
enforcing rights. It strengthens democracy as it gives the mechanism to the
common citizens to fight for their rights.
 As the name suggests, it is litigation in the interest of the public, for example,
problems of pollution; hazards/dangers arising due to construction activities;
terrorism; etc.

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