The Basic Structure Doctrine
Key cases, amendments and principles behind the limits on Parliament's power to amend the Indian Constitution.
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Questions Covered in This Set
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What is the Basic Structure Doctrine?
Parliament may amend any Article of the Constitution under Article 368, but it cannot damage or destroy the Constitution's essential features or identity.
Which case established the Basic Structure Doctrine, and when?
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, decided 24 April 1973 by a 13-judge bench, by a 7–6 majority.
What did Shankari Prasad (1951) and Sajjan Singh (1965) hold?
That a constitutional amendment is not 'law' under Article 13(2), so it cannot be struck down for violating Fundamental Rights — making the amending power effectively unlimited.
What did Golaknath (1967) decide?
By 6–5 the Court reversed itself, calling Fundamental Rights 'transcendental and immutable' so Parliament could not abridge them at all.
What did the 24th Amendment (1971) do?
It declared that Article 368 includes the power to amend Fundamental Rights and that Article 13 does not apply to constitutional amendments.
What did the 25th Amendment do?
It curtailed the right to property and inserted Article 31C, shielding laws implementing certain Directive Principles from challenge under Articles 14, 19 and 31.
Which part of Article 31C was struck down in Kesavananda, and why?
The clause barring courts from inquiring whether a law genuinely gave effect to the Directive Principles — because judicial review is part of the basic structure.
Name features in CJ Sikri's illustrative list of basic structure.
Supremacy of the Constitution; republican and democratic form of government; secular character; separation of powers; federal character.
Which features were added to the basic structure by later cases?
Free and fair elections, judicial review, rule of law, judicial independence, the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles, and review under Articles 32 and 226.
What is the 'house' analogy for the doctrine?
Parliament can repaint walls, add a floor or replace the plumbing, but cannot dynamite the foundations and call the rubble a Constitution.
