New Delhi,: In a significant verdict in the context of the debate over perceived face-off between Judiciary and Legislature, the Supreme Court yesterday (Jan10, 2007) held that acts of Parliament are amenable to judicial scrutiny and that the apex court was the final arbiter to interpret the Constitution.

In a much-awaited judgement, a five-member Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal ruled that the court was the final judge of constitutionality of all acts purported to be done under the authority of the Constitution without transgressing into the doamin of Parliament.

"In a 357-page majority judgement of 4 to 1, the Bench upheld the expulsion of 12 MPs for their involvement in the cash-for-query scam in December 2005, saying that the action was to protect the dignity of Parliament before the people of the country. It was not a capricious exercise," the court said.

The verdict upholding the expulsion was immediately hailed by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who said in Kolkata, 'it is a milestone judgement', but he maintained that judicial review on powers of Parliament was debatable, save in exceptional cases.