Revisiting the Kesavananda Bharati Judgement

The judgement of the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati is, arguably, the most important in the history of independent India. By a wafer-thin margin of 7-6, the Supreme Court laid down the ‘basic structure doctrine’ which places restrictions on the power of the Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution. In effect, this affirmed that the Constitution, not Parliament, was supreme in India.

In this discussion, Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy and Shruti Viswanathan unpack the enduring impact of this doctrine on India’s socio-political and judicial landscape. The discussion will explore the context in which this case came before the Supreme Court, the broad principles of the basic structure doctrine, and the evolution of the doctrine since 1973. The discussion will focus not just on the legal interpretation of the doctrine but also its impact on India’s political history.