Judiciary

Answer: (a) the power of the Judiciary to pronounce upon the constitutionality of laws and executive orders.

Judicial review in India is the power of the Supreme Court and High Courts to test whether a law is consistent with the Constitution and to declare it void if it is not. The Constitution's own definition of "law" in Article 13 includes ordinances, orders, rules and notifications, so executive orders are covered too.

• ✓ (a) This is the standard meaning of judicial review: the courts decide whether a law or an order having the force of law violates the Constitution. Article 13(3)(a) counts an ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation or notification as "law".
• ✗ (b) Courts test the constitutionality (legal validity) of a law, not whether it is a wise or good policy. Policy choices belong to Parliament and the State Legislatures.
• ✗ (c) Review happens after a law is made, when someone challenges it. Courts do not vet Bills before the President gives assent.
• ✗ (d) Looking again at its own earlier judgments is a separate power, the review jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 137. It is not what "judicial review" means.

Remember · Judicial review: courts strike down a law or order that violates the Constitution. It checks constitutionality, not the wisdom of policy.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error