Date:07/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/07/stories/2006020702821003.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Parliament supreme?

The argument in favour of denying the judiciary the power to sit in judgment on the legislature is that Parliament reflects the will of the people and that their will is supreme in a democracy. The problem with this argument is Parliament decides matters by a majority vote.

Its decisions, therefore, do not necessarily represent the will of the people as a whole. There is need for a constitutional mechanism to prevent the majority riding roughshod over the minority. The judiciary provides just that mechanism.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore