The term 'judicial activism' was coined in 1947 by:

The American historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. introduced the term "judicial activism" in an article titled "The Supreme Court: 1947", published in Fortune magazine in January 1947.

What Schlesinger wrote:

• He described the judges of the US Supreme Court and classified them into groups.
• He called some judges "judicial activists", who believed that the courts should actively promote social welfare.
• He called others "champions of self-restraint", who believed that courts should defer to the elected branches.

Meaning of judicial activism:

• Judicial activism refers to an active role played by the judiciary in protecting the rights of citizens and promoting justice, especially when the legislature and executive fail to act.
• It is often seen in cases where courts interpret laws broadly, issue directions to the government or create new remedies.

Judicial restraint:

It is the opposite approach, in which courts avoid interfering with the decisions of the legislature and executive unless they clearly violate the Constitution.

Judicial activism in India:

• It developed mainly from the late 1970s, after the emergency.
• Public Interest Litigation (PIL) became an important tool of judicial activism.

Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer are regarded as pioneers.

Examples in India:

• Expanding the meaning of the right to life under Article 21 to include the right to livelihood, shelter, health, a clean environment and privacy.
• Laying down the Vishaka guidelines on sexual harassment at the workplace (1997), before Parliament passed a law.

Directions on environmental protection in the M.C. Mehta cases.

The basic structure doctrine, which limits Parliament's power to amend the Constitution.

Criticism:

• Critics say that judicial activism can lead to "judicial overreach", where courts take over the functions of the legislature and executive.
• They argue that it violates the separation of powers.

Judicial review:

Judicial activism is linked to the power of judicial review, which allows courts to examine the constitutionality of laws and executive actions.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Oliver Wendell Holmes and Roscoe Pound were famous American jurists.

P.N. Bhagwati was a pioneer of judicial activism in India, but he did not coin the term.