PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Organs of Government
Do you agree that over the years the Supreme Court has become a forum for policy evolution? Justify your answer.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
Rr! Court moved from dispute-settler to policy-shaper → “Supreme Court of India” to “Supreme Court for India” R2 PIL + an expanded Article 21 turned adjudication into governance → a policy forum emerges
Body flow
PIL opens governance + Maneka Gandhi expands Art 21 (dignity, fair procedure) → M.C. Mehta (environment / regulatory standards) → Vishaka (— 2013 workplace harassment law) → Unnikrishnan / Mohini Jain (— RTE) → Puttaswamy (— privacy / data governance) → criminal-justice directions (police, prisons, remission) into the executive domain → S.P. Sathe: courts shaped environmental + social policy
Counter-view
Democratic deficit → policy needs deliberation + expertise → unelected judges strain the separation of powers
Conclusion routes
R1 Qualified yes: a policy forum, legitimate where rights were at stake routes R2 Agree, but the Court must not replace elected policy-making
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
