Sovereignty of Parliament in India

Sovereignty of Parliament in India

There is debate regarding question that what is the level of sovereignty enjoyed by the Parliament of India?

Unlike British Parliament , Indian Parliament is not supreme (sovereignty lies with people) . It has following limits on its sovereignty.

1 . Written Constitution

  • Parliament had to operate within the limits prescribed by the Constitution
  • In Britain – Constitution is not written  & there is nothing like fundamental law of the land

2. Federal System of Government

  • Division of sovereignty between  Center and States
  • In Britain – Unitary government & all powers with the center

3. System of Judicial Review

  • Adoption of Independent judiciary  with power of the Judicial Review restricts the supremacy of the parliament

4. Fundamental Rights

  • Article 13 prohibits State from making a law that either takes away totally or abrogates in part a Fundamental Right
  • Britain – no codification of justiciable Fundamental Rights in constitution

In this regard , Indian Parliament is similar to the American legislature . But Indian Constitution is more sovereign than US Constitution because in India there is Procedure Established by Law unlike US where there is Due Process of Law 

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