The power of a legislature is not absolute. In a constitutional democracy, laws are tested against fundamental parameters of justice and reasonableness.
1. The Philosophical Debate on Legislative Limits
- Positivist View: Austin and Kelsen argued that there are no inherent legal limits on legislative authority. Whatever the sovereign enacts is binding law.
- Natural Law & Rationalist View: Aquinas, Kant, and Rawls argued that legislative authority is inherently restricted by basic principles of morality, human rights, and social justice.
2. Indian Application: The Basic Structure Doctrine
📜 Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973):
The Supreme Court of India established that while Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, this power does not extend to altering, destroying, or damaging the "Basic Structure" of the Constitution (such as democracy, judicial review, secularism, and rule of law).
3. The Test of Reasonableness
Indian courts actively apply the standard of "Reasonableness" under Articles 14, 19, and 21 to strike down arbitrary legislation:
- State of Madras v. V.G. Row (1952): The Supreme Court established that the test of reasonableness must evaluate the nature of the right infringed, the purpose of restriction, and the proportionality of the measure.
- Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978): Shifted Article 21 interpretation from literal "procedure established by law" to due process—ruling that the procedure must be "just, fair, and reasonable," not arbitrary.
- Air India v. Nargesh Meerza (1981): The Supreme Court struck down arbitrary pregnancy and retirement regulations for air hostesses, declaring them unreasonable and violating Article 14.