Separation of powers is architecture of democracy, judicial review its heartbeat: Justice Surya Kant

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Seniormost Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant on Thursday said that while separation of powers is the architecture of India's constitutional democracy, judicial review is its heartbeat.

Justice Surya Kant, who was delivering a lecture on 'The Living Constitution: How the Indian Judiciary Shapes and Safeguards Constitutionalism' at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, said that the country has robustly adhered to the doctrine of separation of powers.

He said, "India presents a compelling illustration of the substantive application of the doctrine of separation of powers. A prominent example lies in the judiciary's dominance over appointments to the Supreme Court and high courts." Justice Surya Kant said the mechanism preserved the judiciary's autonomy regarding its administrative functionality, both inside the courtroom as well as outside.

The apex court judge said that the independence of the judiciary allowed it to shape the democratic imagination of a society and to function as the architects of democratic life.

"If the separation of powers is the architecture of India's constitutional democracy, judicial review is its heartbeat," he said.

Explaining it, Justice Surya Kant said that under the aegis of judicial review, the Indian judiciary was entrusted with the profound power of examining the constitutionality of actions undertaken by every organ of the state, including the decisions made by constitutional functionaries.

He said that judicial review ensured that no act of governance was beyond the purview of judicial oversight.

"This expansive power of review is a cornerstone of India's constitutional democracy and a part of our basic structure, affirming that legality and constitutionality are fundamental preconditions to the exercise of public power," Justice Surya Kant said.

"Judicial review, therefore, is not merely a procedural safeguard; it is a structural commitment to accountability, legality and the supremacy of constitutional norms," he added.

Regarding the country's three-tiered structure of the judiciary, comprising the district courts, high courts and the Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant said that it reflected a remarkable constitutional commitment that justice should not be a privilege reserved for the powerful but a right accessible to every citizen.

The Supreme Court judge said that the Indian Constitution had an inherent flexibility allowing it to grow with the times.

"A whole host of rights have emerged as a result of expansive judicial interpretation, including the right to speedy trial, the right to free legal aid in a criminal trial and even the right to die with dignity," Justice Surya Kant said.

He said the judgments of the apex court spanned virtually every facet of human life, ensuring that constitutionally guaranteed rights and even the Directive Principles of State Policy were meaningfully realised.

"These pronouncements have affirmed, among others, the right to equal pay for equal work, the right to live in a pollution-free environment, the right to shelter, the protection of marine ecosystems and the right to health." "Together, these experiences reaffirm the judiciary's enduring responsibility to ensure that justice reaches even those who are too often left unheard," Justice Surya Kant said.

He then posed a few questions: "How far can courts go in shaping policy? Is judicial creativity a virtue or a vice?" Justice Surya Kant said that intent and integrity were of paramount importance in answering the questions and that when courts acted to empower the powerless, while being grounded in constitutional text and moral clarity, they did not usurp democracy. They deepened it instead, he added.

"Through these decades of interpretation, the Indian judiciary has emerged as the Constitution's fiercest protector. Yet, its power is not coercive — it is moral and intellectual.

"It derives not from the force of arms but from the force of reason; not from command, but from conscience," the Supreme Court judge said.

He underlined that the judiciary's legitimacy rested on the trust of the people and that it was a trust earned through fairness, restraint and courage in moments of crisis.

Justice Surya Kant said that courts in the country had consistently striven not to merely protect the rights of individuals but also to uphold the deeper principle of fairness that underpinned justice itself.

He said, "This commitment extends even to those accused of the gravest offences, ensuring that every person, regardless of circumstances or means, has access to effective legal representation." Concluding his speech, the apex court judge said that both countries shared a deep constitutional kinship.

"Both our nations have wrestled with the same questions -- how to reconcile democracy with stability, rights with duties, and law with justice? "The judiciary's answer, in both contexts, has been to act not as a rival to the legislature or the executive but as their conscience-keeper," he said. PTI MNR SJK MNR KSS KSS