Questioning the boundaries of the judiciary’s powers, both Houses of the Maharashtra State Legislature have passed proposals stating that they will not take cognizance of or reply to any notice sent by the High Court or the Supreme Court in the Breach of Privilege motion against Republic TV editor and anchor Arnab Goswami.

=> This has added a new twist to the debate over the separation of powers between the judiciary and legislature.

What is the doctrine of separation of power?

=> The doctrine of separation of power is a part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution, even though it is not specifically mentioned in its text.

=> It implies that the three pillars of democracy, namely the executive, judiciary and legislature, perform separate functions and act as separate entities.

=> One of the features of the doctrine is that one arm of the state should not interfere in the functioning of the other organs or exercise a function of another organ.

What legal provisions has the state assembly invoked while passing the proposal?

The proposal cites two articles of the constitution as the basis of its argument. They are:

=> Article 194 of the Constitution, which lays down the powers and privileges of the Houses of Legislatures.

=> Article 212 states that the validity of any proceedings in the Legislature of a State shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.