Who is considered the final interpreter of the Indian Constitution?

The Indian Constitution vests the power of judicial review in the judiciary: under Articles 13, 32, and 226, the Supreme Court and the High Courts can test any law or executive action against the Constitution and strike down whatever conflicts with it, and a High Court's ruling remains subject to appeal before the Supreme Court. Under Article 141, the Supreme Court's rulings on constitutional questions bind every other court and settle the matter nationwide, and the legislature and executive must act within the limits those rulings set, though Parliament retains the power to amend ordinary law or the Constitution itself, subject to constitutional limits such as the basic structure doctrine. This authority makes the judiciary, with the Supreme Court at its apex, the final word on what the Constitution's provisions mean.

Applying this to the current item, among the four bodies listed only the judiciary holds this constitutionally vested power of interpretation and review. Landmark rulings such as Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), where the Supreme Court laid down the basic structure doctrine, illustrate how the courts' interpretation of the Constitution becomes the settled, binding position.

Checking this against the roles of the other three bodies confirms none of them performs this function:

• President of India: the constitutional head of the Union executive who gives assent to bills and performs formal duties, without an independent power to rule on constitutional meaning.

• Parliament: the law-making body that enacts and amends legislation within the Constitution's framework, but its enactments remain subject to judicial review rather than being the final word on constitutionality.

• Attorney General: the Union Government's chief law officer under Article 76, who advises the government and appears in court, but does not issue binding constitutional rulings.

Because this ultimate, binding say over what the Constitution means rests with the Supreme Court at the apex of the judiciary, Judiciary is the correct answer.