This book traces the history of judicial activism and its relevance in India since 1773, when the Supreme Court was set up under the Regulating Act. Over the years, the judiciary in India has often been criticised for being too intrusive with respect to the functioning of other complementary organs of the State — the executive and the legislature. Nevertheless, by interfering in parliamentary affairs it has surfaced, in many instances, as a decision-maker on critical matters of governance and policy. With a fascinating range of sources including legal cases, books, articles in newspapers and periodicals, published lectures, historical texts and records, the author pre-sents the complex sides of the arguments persuasively, and contributes to new ways of understanding the func-tioning of the judiciary in India.