The power of the courts to examine laws, executive actions and constitutional amendments, and to declare them void if they violate the Constitution.
- Flows mainly from Articles 13, 32, 131 to 136, 226 and 227; Article 13 makes laws inconsistent with Fundamental Rights void.
- The Supreme Court (Art 32) and High Courts (Art 226) enforce it through concept writs.
- Three broad grounds: violation of Fundamental Rights, exceeding legislative competence, and breach of constitutional provisions.
- A facet of the concept basic structure; it cannot be taken away by amendment (held in Kesavananda Bharati, 1973, and reaffirmed in the NJAC case, 2015).
- The Indian model is "procedure established by law" (Art 21), narrower than the American "due process", though widened by later judgments.
It links Fundamental Rights, the concept basic structure and the judiciary; the relevant Articles and the idea that review is itself a basic feature are recurring items.
Judicial review (testing validity) is not judicial activism or concept public interest litigation; "procedure established by law" is not the same as "due process of law".
Courts' power (Art 13, 32, 226) to void laws and actions that breach the Constitution; itself part of the basic structure.