Judicial Review in Electoral Matters
Indian Polity & Governance
- PYQs8
- Articles1
Background
Judicial review is a fundamental feature of the Indian Constitution, crucial for maintaining the balance of power and protecting fundamental rights. Its application in electoral matters highlights the judiciary's role in safeguarding democratic processes and ensuring constitutionalism.
Judicial review is the power of the judiciary to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive orders. In India, the Supreme Court acts as the guardian of the Constitution, ensuring that all state actions, including those by constitutional bodies like the ECI, adhere to constitutional principles, statutory limits, and uphold democratic values.
Facts & tables
- Scope
- Allows courts to strike down actions or laws violating the Constitution or exceeding statutory powers.
- Role in Democracy
- Ensures accountability, transparency, and fairness in democratic processes, including elections.
- Specific Intervention
- Supreme Court directed ECI to include Aadhaar as proof and publish detailed voter deletion lists for transparency.
- Constitutional Basis
- Inferred from Articles 13, 32, 136, 141, 142, 226, and 227, though not explicitly mentioned as 'judicial review'.
| Type | Reference |
|---|---|
| Conceptual area | Indian Polity & Governance |
| Body | Role |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of India | Exercises judicial review, interprets constitution |
Prelims angle
Prelims angle: Statement-based questions
Prelims angle: Conceptual understanding
- Judiciary's power to scrutinize executive/legislative actions.
- Ensures constitutional validity and adherence to law.
- Supreme Court intervened in SIR for transparency and inclusivity.
- Safeguards democratic principles in electoral processes.
- Highlights checks and balances on constitutional bodies like ECI.
| Year | Framing tags |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding |
| 2023 | Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall |
| 2021 | Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding |
| 2021 | Conceptual understanding, Multi-statement analysis |
| 2019 | Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding |
| 2018 | Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding |
| 2014 | Factual recall, Conceptual understanding |
| 2014 | Factual recall, Institutional roles and functions |
Timeline
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Indian Polity & Governance
Conceptual area
-
Prelims 2014
Factual recall, Conceptual understanding
-
Prelims 2014
Factual recall, Institutional roles and functions
-
Prelims 2018
Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding
-
Prelims 2019
Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding
-
Prelims 2021
Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding
-
Prelims 2021
Conceptual understanding, Multi-statement analysis
-
Prelims 2023
Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
-
Prelims 2025
Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding
-
Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on Bihar SIR on May 27
The Supreme Court exercises judicial review over electoral processes, ensuring constitutional adherence, transparency, and fairness, as seen in its intervention in the Bihar SIR exercise.
See also
No related topics linked yet.
Past papers
2014–2025 · 8 questions
In the news
Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on Bihar SIR on May 27
The Supreme Court exercises judicial review over electoral processes, ensuring constitutional adherence, transparency, and fairness, as seen in its intervention in the Bihar SIR exercise.
Try these PYQs
With reference to Indian Judiciary, consider the following statements:
1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement 1 is correct: Under Article 128, the Chief Justice of India may, at any time, with the previous consent of the President, request a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Judge of a High Court (who is duly qualified) to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Statement 2 is not correct: Although there is no explicit Article in the Constitution equivalent to Article 137 (which grants review power to the SC) for High Courts, the High Courts are "Courts of Record" under Article 215. As a Court of Record, a High Court has the inherent power to review its own orders and judgments to correct any patent error or prevent a miscarriage of justice. This has been affirmed by the Supreme Court in various rulings.
We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model?
1. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited.
2. In India, matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Statement 1 is Correct: The key difference lies in Parliamentary Supremacy. In the British model, Parliament is considered sovereign. This means its legislative powers are supreme, and its laws cannot be challenged by any other body. In India, the Constitution is supreme. Parliament's power to legislate is limited by the Constitution. The judiciary can review laws passed by Parliament and strike them down if they violate the Constitution. Statement 2 is also Correct: This is a specific example of the limitation on Parliament's power in India. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has the authority to review amendments made to existing laws (Acts) and determine if they are constitutional. This power of judicial review ensures the Constitution remains the supreme law.
With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:
1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to be constitutionally invalid.
2. An amendment to the Constitution of India cannot be called into question by the Supreme Court of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement 1 is incorrect. High Courts have the power to declare central laws unconstitutional. This power is derived from their inherent jurisdiction to uphold the Constitution. Statement 2 is incorrect. While the Supreme Court cannot question the amending power of the Parliament, it can review the constitutional validity of an amendment. The landmark case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala established the doctrine of the 'basic structure' of the Constitution. Any amendment that violates this basic structure can be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in
According to article 124(1), There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than thirty-three other Judges.
Thus, the Constitution vests the authority to increase the number of Judges in the Parliament.
Consider the following statements :
1. The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
2. The validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be examined by any court and no judgement can be made on it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement 1 is correct: The Ninth Schedule was introduced through the First Constitutional Amendment (1951) to protect certain laws from judicial review, even if they violated Fundamental Rights (Part III of the Constitution). Statement 2 is incorrect: The protection under the Ninth Schedule is not absolute. As per the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) and reaffirmed in the I.R. Coelho case (2007), laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after April 24, 1973, can still be challenged if they violate the "Basic Structure" of the Constitution. Thus, while the Ninth Schedule provides a degree of protection, the Supreme Court retains the power to review laws that undermine the Constitution’s core principles. Hence, the correct answer is option (a) 1 only.
Show 3 more PYQs
The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its
Article 131 of the Constitution of India provides for the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to settle the disputes between the different units of the Indian Federation such as between the Centre and one or more states and, between the states.
Consider the following statements:
1. If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid.
2. Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place.
3. When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent.
How many of the above statements are correct?
* Statement 1 is incorrect: If the election of a person as President is declared void by the Supreme Court, acts done by him before the date of such declaration of the Supreme Court are not invalidated and continue to remain in force. * Statement 2 is incorrect: The Supreme Court in 1974 held that the dissolution of the state legislative assembly would not be a ground for preventing the holding of the election on the expiry of the term of the President. Nor can it be grounds to suggest that the election to the office of the President could be held only after the election to the state is held, where the Legislative Assembly of a State is dissolved. * Statement 3 is incorrect: The Constitution of India does not prescribe any time limit within which the President has to decide concerning a bill presented to him/her for his/her assent. Thus the President of India can simply keep the bills pending for an indefinite period.
Consider the following statements with regard to pardoning power of the President of India:
I. The exercise of this power by the President can be subjected to limited judicial review.
II. The President can exercise this power without the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement I is correct: President’s pardoning power can be subjected to limited judicial review, especially on grounds like mala fides, irrelevant considerations, or arbitrariness (as held in Kehar Singh, Epuru Sudhakar cases). Statement II is incorrect: President cannot act independently; the power must be exercised on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 74.