Constitution, as generally called, is not an ordinary law present in any democratic country, and found itself placed above than any other law of that particular democracy. At the same time it becomes relatively important to understand the basis because of which this code has been placed at such a superior position, or at the apex position. Embodied provisions under Indian Constitution or any other constitution of a democratic nation have been incorporated by the public residing in India or any other democratic country. By public, we mean to say that the text is prepared with their consent, and this particular text is binding upon them right from the date of its enactment. Envision a society where the power is concentrated to a particular body and the laws enacted by such body binding on everyone but that body itself. Residing in such a society would led to the creation of state where public would remain alienated from their basic rights and there would be an absence of accountability of the body enacting laws and regulations for that particular society. It would not be difficulty envisage that in such a state, body which is formulating law would formulate them in accordance with their convenience. Claiming oneself supreme has always been questioned by a number of critiques at each and every point of time, contending that no one can be above god and must be accountable for his act to some authority. This can be traced from various countries which had monarchy in earlier times, which was question and led to revolutions e.g. France, Britain.
And this challenged the authority of monarch and consequently the notion “King can do no wrong”. If at all there is a presence of someone who can do no wrong, then he is certainly not present in this world. And, the formation of a constitution, modern constitution to be more specific, can be considered as a by-product of these contentions that there should be some kind of accountability of the authority governing each and every member of society, In the absence of such an authority, it would become difficult for a person find the rightful place to challenge an act or law passed by such an authority arbitrariness. Constitution is thus considered to be the fundamental law present the court which had passed it at any point of time, USA being first such country which passed its Constitution in the year 1787, though it has only Seven Articles inside it but is considered to be a permanent and fixed with approximately 17 amendments in its history of nearly 200 years. Even after coming into force, it took a long time for everyone to realize that if an act has been passed contrary to the provisions mentioned under the American Constitution, it would be rendered void. And it was only after the decision in Marbury v Madison in the year 1803 when the then Chief Justice of United States decreed that any law which is contrary to the provisions mentioned under the Constitution would stand void, that supremacy of the constitution was realized. It is fundamental law which has been enacted by all the citizens present in a country wilfully, and they have to comply with the provisions mentioned inside for the purpose of having a peaceful society. It has now become a principle that all laws enacted by the legislature must not affect the spirit of the constitution, and if they do so, they would not have any force of law. It is because of the reason that Constitution has been placed above any other codified law of the country, and the body which formulates a law in itself has been created by the Constitution and it cannot damage its spirit, in other words its creator. Now, a country having constitution as its fundamental law would not have any such authority which at one time had kept it unaccountable to anyone.
Similar situations can be seen in the India, where Constitution has been made with an aim to have a government accountable for its act, and public would be able to remove them from their position if they act contrary to what they have been elected for. And, it is quite necessary for a society to have this text called “Constitution” to make sure that rights of its citizens are respected by everyone. Fundamental Rights provided under the Indian Constitution clearly specify that a citizen or a person, as the case may be, would be able to enforce his right against the state in case it gets infringed. And any law enacted by the legislature would be void if made not in accordance with the Indian Constitution. Albeit, legislature is able to amend the constitution as and when there arises a need to do so, but there are certain provision which cannot be amended at any point of time by the legislature, to be more specific provision which form the part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. Role of Judiciary is of the utmost importance in these kinds of situation, because it is the one who decides what is in fact contrary to the Indian Constitution, and in way explains the correct meaning of the wordings provided under this text.
In other words, in the absence of the constitution as the fundamental law in a country, it would become very difficult for anyone to challenge the supremacy and authority of the power which enacts laws, even if it is an oral constitution. And, to ensure that there remains some kind of accountability of the government, there must be a presence of such kind of text.
“Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” - Abraham Lincoln
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