India, Jan. 7 -- There is no dispute that judicial review forms an inseparably part of the Constitution's basic structure, as settled since the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case. High Courts under Article 226 and the Supreme Court under Article 32 unquestionably possess the authority to examine the legality, procedural fairness and constitutional compliance of all statutory bodies, including the Jan Lokpal. This power acts as a vital safeguard against arbitrariness and illegality. However, judicial review was never intended to evolve into judicial substitution, nor was it meant to neutralise institutions created specifically to address systemic governance failures.

In practice, constitutional courts have frequently stayed Lokpal proceedi...