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

Published 30 June 2026 · india

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday said judicial review should be seen not as judicial supremacy but as a constitutional responsibility to protect

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday said judicial review should be seen not as judicial supremacy but as a constitutional responsibility to protect the rule of law when constitutional institutions do not act within their prescribed limits. Speaking at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) conference in Stockholm, he said the rule of law, judicial independence and constitutional democracy are central to safeguarding individual liberties. Read Full Story He said judicial review is not merely a power but a duty entrusted to the courts. "It would be no exaggeration to claim that this expansive power of review is a cornerstone of India's constitutional democracy, affirming that legality and constitutionality are fundamental preconditions to the exercise of governmental authority," he said at the conference on the theme, "Safeguarding the Rule of Law -- Experiences from India and Sweden". Justice Kant said the rule of law may not directly create jobs or remove poverty, but it plays a more basic role in public life. "The rule of law is neither a welfare scheme nor an economic policy. It does not, by itself, bake bread, create livelihoods or remove poverty. What it does is something more fundamental, though less immediately visible: it disciplines the exercise of power," he said.

He added that it ensures public authority acts through known, stable and general rules, that citizens are treated equally before the law, and that no person is left exposed to arbitrary government. Tracing Indian legal thought to the ancient idea of Dharma, he said judicial independence and the rule of law are not merely "post-colonial imports" from the West. Referring to India's constitutional journey after Independence, he described the Constitution as a framework that guarantees rights while distributing powers among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. He said the Constitution is a "tessellation of rights guaranteed to its citizens", while assigning distinct duties, obligations and powers to the three pillars of governance. On the separation of powers, the said, "In the Indian template, the separation of powers is not a system of rigid, hermetically-sealed barriers, but a beautifully-calibrated network of checks and balances designed to prevent the concentration of absolute power. The Supreme Court has consistently intervened when this delicate equilibrium has been threatened." He said constitutional democracy survives not only through constitutional text but through institutions following constitutional norms, adding, "The greatest safeguard lies in an independent judiciary, which must remain a vigilant guardian of constitutional supremacy." He said this commitment to independence allows the judiciary to do more than settle disputes or defend constitutional limits.