Name: Sanjeev Ranjan
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-16, Issue-2, (July-December)
Page Number: 155-171
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21699005

ABSTRACT
The evolution of law-making institutions in India illustrates a fundamental transition from a decentralised and pluralistic normative order to a constitutionally organised legislative framework. This paper comparatively examines the institutions and processes of law-making in the Ancient and Modern Indian Legal Systems from historical, jurisprudential and constitutional perspectives. It argues that the ancient legal order was characterised by strong legal pluralism, where legislative authority was dispersed among multiple normative sources rather than concentrated in a single sovereign, contrary to the Austinian conception of law. Legal norms evolved through the interaction of Dharma, sacred texts, juristic interpretation, recognised customs, local assemblies, guilds, and royal edicts, while their legitimacy rested upon moral authority, social acceptance, institutional practice and the normative supremacy of Dharma. The study further demonstrates that ideas analogous to conte