It is widely accepted that for a political system to be stable, the holders of power need to be balanced off against each other. The principle of separation of powers deals with the mutual relations among the three organs of the government, namely legislature, executive and judiciary.

This doctrine tries to bring exclusiveness in the functioning of the three organs and hence a strict demarcation of power is the aim sought to be achieved by this principle. This doctrine signifies the fact that one person or body of persons should not exercise all the three powers of the government.

The theory of Doctrine of Separation of Power was first propounded by Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, a French Enlightenment political philosopher and scholar, and in 1747, he published in his book ‘Espirit des Louis’ (The spirit of the laws).

Montesquieu found that if the power is concentrated in a single person’s hand or a group of people then it results in a tyrannical form of government.

To avoid this situation with a view to checking the arbitrariness of the government he suggested that there should be clear-cut division of power between the three organs of the state i.e. Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary.

Credit: Academike: Articles on Legal Issues

the theory of separation of power was propounded by "Baron de montesquieu"