Suchna Ray, Andaman Law College
Citation:
Appeal (civil) 481 of 1980; AIR 1990 SC 2263
Bench:
A.M. Ahmadi CJI & M.M. Punchhi & K. Ramaswamy & S.P. Bharucha & S. Saghir Ahmad & K. Venkataswami & K.T. Thomas
Introduction:
Unlike the US Constitution, the Indian Constitution does not expressly vest the judicial power in the Supreme Court and other courts. Division of the three main functions of government is recognized in the Constitution. Judicial power in the sense of the judicial power of the State vests in the courts or judiciary. There were enormous controversies regarding the constitutionality of Article 323A and 323B as it was felt that the exclusion of the jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to service matters was against the spirit of the Constitution. In numerous cases right from Keshavnanda Bharati’s case to Sampat Kumar’s case and beyond the Courts have tried to set this controversy to rest but in the process further creating more controversies. However the matter finally rested in the landmark judgment of L. Chandra Kumar’s case. A thorough discussion of this case goes a long way in clarifying the positions of the Administrative Tribunals vis-a-vis the power of judicial review and the basic structure of the Constitution.
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