It is an accepted principle of Constitutional law that when a Legislature, be it the Parliament at the Centre or a Provincial Legislature, is invested with the power to pass a law in regard to a particular subject matter under the provisions of the Constitution, it is not for the Court to sit in judgment over the Act of the Legislature. The court is not to regard itself as a super-Legislature and sit in judgment over the act of the Legislature as a Court of Appeal or a review. The, Legislature may act wisely or unwisely. The principles formulated by the Legislature may commend themselves to a Court or they may not. The province of the Court is normally to administer the law as enacted by the Legislature within the limits of its power. Of course, if the legislation is a colourable device, a contrivance to out step the limits of the legislative power or, to use the language of private law, is a fraudulent exercise of the power, the Court may pronounce the legislation to be invalid or ultra vires. The Court will have to proceed on the footing that the legislation is intra vires. A constitutional statute cannot be considered as if it were a municipal enactment and the Legislature is entitled to enact any legislation in the plenitude of the power confided to it. As I have already pointed out, there is no item corresponding to Item 35 as already passed by this House in the Government of India Act 1935, which in terms confers upon the Legislature the power to formulate the principles of compensation and in any construction of article 24, this win be an important factor to be considered. I might mention I have formally indicated my view to the Honourable Prime Minister even before the article was tabled for consideration by the House. In the view which I have indicated as to the main part of article 24, it may be possibly urged that clauses (2) and (3) apparently intended to deal with the U. P. legislation now pending in the U. P. Assembly are unnecessary. It was felt, however, that, having regard to the fact that a most well-considered opinion by its very nature can be no guarantee against a different view being taken by the highest court in the land and the magnitude of the problem, it was thought desirable in the best interests of all concerned to give a quietus to litigation and that is the reason for the insertion of clauses (2) and (3) in the article.
