Important Judgments on Judicial Review
- The Supreme Court gave a key judgment in the I R Coelho case (2007), ruled that there is no immunity from judicial review for laws included in the 9th Schedule and it also held that Judicial Review is a ‘basic feature ’ of the constitution.
- Supreme Court ruled that which of the laws placed in the Ninth Schedule on or after April 24, 1973, could be challenged in court if they violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
- In the case of Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narayan in 1975, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment that judicial review should be considered a fundamental structure of the Constitution.
- In 2015, the Supreme Court announced both the 99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014, and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 as unlawful, invalid, and unconstitutional.
- The Supreme Court struck down Section 66(A) of the amended Information Technology Act, 2000 as this section was outside Article 19(2) of the Constitution which deals with freedom of speech.
- The Supreme Court has exercised the power of judicial review in various cases, for example, Golaknath Case (1967), Bank Nationalization Case (1970), Privy Purse Abolition Case (1971), Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), Minerva Mills Case (1980), and so on.
Judicial Review in India
Judicial Review is the power of the judiciary to review any act or order of the legislative and executive branches and to pronounce its constitutional validity. The Indian Constitution recognizes judicial review under the reference of the American Constitution and it does checks and balances in the separation of powers. The power of the judiciary is to oversee the legislative and executives when it exceeds their authority, and it helps to preserve the supremacy of constitutional principles.