Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973)

Constitutional Law I · Salient Features & Basic Structure

Facts.

Swami Kesavananda Bharati, head of a religious mutt in Kerala, challenged Kerala land-reform laws that restricted the management of his mutt’s property. While the case was pending, Parliament had passed the 24th, 25th and 29th Amendments enlarging its power to amend the Constitution, and their validity became the real battleground.

Issue.

Is Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 unlimited — can it amend or take away any part, including the Fundamental Rights?

Held.

A 13-judge Bench (the largest ever), by a wafer-thin 7:6 majority, held that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, but cannot alter or destroy its “basic structure.” It overruled Golak Nath (which had held Fundamental Rights wholly unamendable) and struck a balance between Parliament’s amending power and the permanence of the Constitution’s core.

Why it matters.

This is the most important case in Indian constitutional law. It created the Basic Structure Doctrine — features such as the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, judicial review, separation of powers, federalism, secularism and democracy cannot be destroyed by any amendment. Every later challenge to a constitutional amendment is decided on this test.

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