Previous Year Question
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The Supreme Court of India has exclusive jurisdiction regarding Constitutional validity of Central laws.
Reason (R): The Supreme Court is the Guardian of the Indian Constitution.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(A) is true, but (R) is false
(A) is false, but (R) is true
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
In this question, the available Commission answer key differs from the constitutional position. The key gives option (a). However, the claim that the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the constitutional validity of Central laws is incorrect.
Assertion (A) is false. “Exclusive jurisdiction” means that only that court has the authority to decide a particular matter. Under Article 226, High Courts can also examine the constitutional validity of Central laws. Therefore, this power is not confined to the Supreme Court.
The historical background is the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. It inserted Article 131A, which gave the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction over the constitutional validity of Central laws. Article 226A barred High Courts from examining such validity.
Subsequently, the Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977 omitted both articles. This change took effect on 13 April 1978. Thus, the arrangement providing such exclusive jurisdiction was no longer in force when the examination was held in 2019.
Reason (R) is true. The Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and protects Fundamental Rights; it is therefore described as the Guardian of the Constitution. Article 32 guarantees the right to approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. However, its role as guardian does not remove the High Courts’ power of judicial review.
Therefore, constitutionally, (A) is false and (R) is true—option (d).