Rule of the Constitution in India

Unfortunately, much British Indian legislation denied the enjoyment of civil and political rights to the Indian citizens. The letters of the law, therefore, went against the spirit of the law. Taking cue, therefore, from the earlier American example, the Constitution of India was made the supreme law of the land in 1950. The Constitution is based on the ideals of justice, social, economic and political, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, equality of status and of opportunity and fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. The rule of law was, therefore, placed on a footing higher than ordinary legislation.

Constituent power is, thus, superior to ordinary legislative power. Though under the Constitution, the Parliament and the state legislatures have the power to make laws within their respective jurisdiction; this power is not absolute in nature. The Constitution vests in the judiciary the power to adjudicate upon the constitutional validity of all laws. If a law made by the Parliament or the state legislatures violates any provision of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to declare such a law invalid or ultra vires. Thus, unlike the British Parliament which is a sovereign body, the powers and functions of the Indian Parliament and the state legislatures are subject to limitations laid down in the Constitution.