Basic Structure Case (Specified) Parliamentary Power

Parliament can amend the Constitution. Can it then use that same power to amend away the Constitution's own guarantee of a fair election, or of judicial review, or of fundamental rights themselves? For over two decades the Supreme Court and Parliament argued this out across a series of cases, and the answer they settled on is one of the most important rulings in Indian constitutional history.

In two minutes

In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court held that Parliament's power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 is wide, but does not extend to altering the Constitution's basic structure — certain core features that no amendment, however procedurally valid, can destroy.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Political Science – I: Political Theory and Political Organisation on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.