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