5.2.4. Other cases

The doctrine of separation of powers was further expressly recognized to be a part of the Constitution in the case of Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, 1955 where the Court held that though the doctrine of separation of powers is not expressly mentioned in the Constitution it stands to be violated when the functions of one organ of the government are performed by another. This means the Indian constitution had not indeed recognized the absolute separation of powers but the functions of different organs of the government have been sufficiently differentiated.

In I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, 1967 Supreme Court took the help of doctrine of basic structure as propounded in Kesvananda Bharati case and said that Ninth Schedule is violative of this doctrine and hence the Ninth Schedule was made amenable to judicial review which also forms part of the basic structure theory. It was observed: “The Constitution brings into existence different constitutional entities, namely, the Union, the States and the Union Territories. It creates three major instruments of power, namely, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. It demarcates their jurisdiction minutely and expects them to exercise their respective powers without overstepping their limits. They should function within the spheres allotted to them.”