In India, the Constitution is supreme, not the Parliament: Former CJI Gavai in Sri Lanka – everyone is bound by its limits
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai on Saturday said constitutional democracy is not centered around a single center of power and the Constitution, not Parliament, is supreme in the country. Speaking at the 19th Sujatha Jayawardena Memorial Lecture organised by the University of Colombo, Justice Gavai said the conflict between Parliament and the judiciary has led to the development of constitutional safeguards and principles to manage such conflicts.
The former judge said that the Constitution, not Parliament (legislature), the executive (government), or the judiciary, is supreme. He stressed that all three derive their authority from the Constitution and are bound by it.
exercise of unlimited authority
He said that constitutional democracy is not based around a single center of power. It is not a system in which a single institution exercises unlimited authority. Rather, it is a well-planned system in which power is distributed and limited.
Parliament is not supreme in any sense.
Justice Gavai said, "Parliament is not supreme in any sense of the word in the Indian constitutional system. Nor is any other institution supreme. The Constitution recognizes only its supremacy. All institutions derive their authority from it and are bound by its limitations."
Each organization has its own field of work
Citing Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's speech in the Constituent Assembly, Gavai said that every institution has its own jurisdiction. He clarified that each institution is supreme in its jurisdiction, but only to the extent permitted by the Constitution. The former Chief Justice said that the relationship between Parliament and the judiciary is not always confrontational. He said that sometimes it is collaborative, where judicial innovation exposes constitutional shortcomings and Parliament responds by institutionalizing those principles within a democratic framework.
