Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts

Article 117, Draft Constitution of India 1948

The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.

Article 141, Constitution of India 1950

The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.

Draft Article 117 (Article 141) was debated on 27th May 1949. It stated that the Supreme Court’s decisions were binding on all courts in India.

One member proposed to amend the language of the Draft Article so that the Supreme Court’s decisions were binding on ‘all other courts’. He argued that it was unwise to bind the Supreme Court by its own decisions, as it prevented the court from rectifying mistakes in previous judgments. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee stated that the amendment was unnecessary because the phrase ‘all courts’ meant ‘all other courts.’ He clarified that the Draft Article did not bind the Supreme Court by its own decisions, and that the court was free to change its interpretation of the law as it saw fit.

The proposed amendment was negatived. The Draft Article was adopted by the Assembly on 27th May 1949.