Rule of Law in India: An OverviewI. IntroductionThe term 'rule of law' is not used in the Indian Constitution anywhere. The term is though used frequently y the Indian courts in their !udgments. "or instance# an online search of the $u%reme Court's re%ortale !udgments delivered etween & 'anuary &()* and & 'anuary +*&* resulted in +(( hits of the term 'rule of law'. ,see htt%:--!udis.nic.in-su%remecourt-che!udis.as%.. There is no dout that the rule of law %ervades the Constitution as an underlying %rinci%le. In fact# the $u%reme Court has declared the rule of law to e one of the 'asic features' of the Constitution ,Indira /ehru 0andhi v Ra!/arain# AIR &(1) $C ++()2 $3 0u%ta v 4nion of India# AIR &(5+ $C &6(.# so this %rinci%le cannot e ta7en away even y a constitutional amendment. As this Country Re%ort will outline# the Indian conce%tion of the rule of law is oth formal and sustantive. It is also seen as an integral %art of good governance. 8uestions are though raised as to the e9tent to which the constitutional %romise of the rule of law matches with actual situation in India.In this Re%ort# I focus on three road as%ects of the rule of law. "irst# the rule of law as a chec7 on governmental %owers# including y requiring that laws are clear# %redictale# and %ros%ective. $econd# the rule of law as an emodiment of %rotecting %eo%le's human rights. Among others# this will entail a guarantee for equal treatment. Third# !udicial review of legislative ande9ecutive actions y an inde%endent !udiciary. In a way# the last two as%ects com%lement the :rst as%ect in that they limit the %ower of governmental agencies. II. Chec7s on 0overnmental 3owersThe Indian Constitution estalishes a limited government. ;ring a federal country# oth the central and state legislatures have the %ower to ma7e laws#ut only su!ect to e9%ress and im%licit constitutional limitations. "irst of all# the constitution s%eci:es and demarcates the matters on which the central legislature and state legislatures could ma7e law ,Constitution of India# &()*# arts +6.. Any law that reaches these limitations ,e.g.# a state law made on a matter within the e9clusive com%etence of the central legislature. could e declared unconstitutional y courts ,?edical and @ducational Charitale Trust v $tate of Tamil /adu ,&((