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Supreme Court of India 2017-02-08 allowed

State of Himachal Pradesh and Others vs Satpal Saini

Bench: 2 — D.Y. Chandrachud

In Brief

The State of Himachal Pradesh challenged a High Court direction ordering it to amend Section 118 of the H.P. Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 within 90 days. The Supreme Court held that courts cannot direct the legislature to enact or amend laws, as this violates the doctrine of separation of powers and encroaches on the exclusive constitutional function of the legislature. Judicial review under Article 226 is limited to testing law validity against the Constitution, not mandating legislative amendments. The Court set aside the High Court's direction, holding it manifestly unsustainable and reiterating that courts do not frame policy—this is exclusively the legislature's constitutional domain.

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Constitutional Law Separation of Powers Judicial Review Legislative Power Administrative Law

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