Courts must remain vigilant guardians of constitutional supremacy: CJI Surya Kant

📌 Summary:

• Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said courts "cannot be mere spectators in the constitutional order" and must remain "vigilant guardians of constitutional supremacy", ensuring no exercise of public power escapes the discipline of law
• He was speaking on "Safeguarding the Rule of Law — Experiences from India and Sweden" at an International IDEA event in Sweden
• Rule of law disciplines the exercise of power, ensures public authority acts through known, stable and general rules, treats citizens as equals before the law, and shields them from arbitrary government
• The endurance of constitutional democracy rests on the Executive and Legislature's fidelity to constitutional norms, with an independent Judiciary as the greatest safeguard
• He described judicial review not as a mere power but a duty/responsibility entrusted by the Constitution, and a cornerstone of India's constitutional democracy; the Constitution also casts responsibility on other organs to safeguard federalism, democracy and separation of powers

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — rule of law, judicial review, independence of judiciary, separation of powers, constitutionalism

📝 Prelims Facts:

• CJI: Surya Kant
• Event hosted by International IDEA (Stockholm-based) in Sweden
• Judicial review derives from Articles 13, 32 and 226 of the Constitution

🔑 Key Term: Judicial Review — the power and duty of courts to examine the constitutional validity of legislative enactments and executive actions.