KESAVANANDA BHARATI V. STATE OF
KERALA (1973)
Full name of the case
:- “His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati
Sripadagalvaru & Ors. V. State
Of Kerala Anr.”
Citation :- AIR 1973 SUPREME COURT 1461 , 1973 4 SCC 225 .
Author- Archana Gupta, B.A.LLB(Hons), S.S. Khanna Girls Degree College, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj
Abstract
:-
The historic and landmark judgement
[Kesavananda Bharati V. State Of Kerala][1]came
into force on 24th April 1973
in which the petitioner , Kesavananda Bharati directly went to the Supreme Court under [article 32][2], filed the
civil writ petition and challenged the ‘basic
structure of the Indian constitution’ . It was the largest bench in the
Indian legal history , consisting of 13 judges in the bench and the judgement
was passed with the ratio of 7:6 .
It was the case in which the petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of the [24th amendment][3], [25th amendment ][4] ,
and [29th amendment][5] to the Indian Constitution . It was
also argued in this case that whether the power of the Parliament should be
unlimited or should be limited . Hence this was the landmark judgement in the
Indian history which protected the Basic Doctrine Of The Indian Constitution
and placed a check on the power of the
Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution .
Keywords:-
Basic
structure of the Constituion , constitutional validity of the 24th
25th and 29th amendment , the Kerala Land Reforms Act
(1968) , 44th amendment , the rule of law , supremacy of the
constitution , indenependence of the judiciary , secularism , federalism , democracy
, the term amend under article 368 , some significant articles such as articles
14 ,19(1)(f) , 25, 26, 31, 32 , 368 , 300A .
Primary Details
:-
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Jurisdiction :- |
Supreme Court of India |
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|
Case number :- |
Civil Writ Petition ,
135 0f 1970 |
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Case filed on :- |
31st October 1972 |
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Case decided on :- |
24th April 1973 |
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Judges :- |
MajorityJudgements (7 judges) Chief
justice S.M. Sikri Justice J.M.Shelat Justice A.N. Grover Justice K.S. Hegde Justice
A.K. Mukherjee Justice
P. Jagmohan Reddy Justice H.R. Khanna |
DissentingJudgements (6 Judges ) Justice A.N. Ray Justice D.G. Palekar Justice K.K. Mathew Justice M.H. Beg Justice S.N. Dwivedi Justice
Y.V. Chandrachud |
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Legal Provisions Involved :- |
Article 14 , Article 19(1)(f) ,
article 25 , Article 26 , Article 31, Article 32 . |
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Case summary prepared by:- |
Archana Gupta |
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Brief facts of the case
:-
To know about the facts of [“Kesavananda Bharati V. State of kerala][6]” case ,
we have to first trace back in the year 1968 in which [“ The Kerala Land Reforms Act” ][7] was
passed . In 1970 Kerala Government
restricted on the ownership of land which was held by religious institutions .
Since the kesavananda Bharati was the head of a Hindu religious Mutt in Kerala
, he directly went to the Supreme court of India under article 32 of the Indian
Constitution and filed the civil writ petition in which he challenged the
constitutional validity of 24th , 25th and 29th
amendments . The aimed of these amendments was to limit judicial review and
restrict fundamental rights . [The purpose of 24th amendment which
was passed in 1971, was that to sought to restore the power of Parliament to
amend the constitution including fundamental rights][8] ( Part III of
the Indian Constitution from articles 12-35) , while the 25th
amendment (1971) aimed to limit the scope of judicial review in cases of
property acquisition for public purposes and the 29th amendment
(1972) dealt with the legislative affairs of the state of Himachal Pradesh .
Kesavananda Bharati argued in the petition that Parliament
cannot amend the certain fundamental features of Indian Constitution like
democracy, secularism, federalism, and the rule of law because Parliament has
not unlimited power to amend the Indian Constitution rather it has limited
power and Parliament cannot go beyond its power to amend the Constitution.
Issue before the court :-
In
the case of Kesavananda Bharati V. State Of Kerala the issue came infront of
the court regarding the power of the Parliament , establishment of the basic
structure of the Indian Constitution and the Kerala land reforms act (1968).
In the first issue , the petitioner kesavananda Bharati
argued that the Kerala Land Reforms Act
(1968) violated his fundamental right to property under both the articles 19(1)(f) and 31 . Article
19(1)(f) and article 31 of the Constitution initially guaranteed the right to
property as a fundamental right , allowing citizens to acquire ,hold , and
dispose of property however the [44th
amendment][9] removed the right to property from
this status , making it legal right under the [article 300A][10] which states that no person shall be
deprived of their property except by the authority of law .
In the second issue it was arise that whether the power of
the Parliament should be unlimited or whether there should be limits on the
power of the Parliament .
In the third issue the question came infront of the court
that whether the parliament can amend the basic features of the Indian
Constitution like the rule of law ,
independence of the judiciary , supremacy of the constitution . Also the
question arose infront of the court that whether these doctrines are the part
of the Constitution .
Arguments :-
In
the case of Kesavnanda Bharati V. State Of Kerala , arguments raised from both
the parties in which the petitioner Kesavananda Bharati challenged the basic
structure of the constitution while on the other hand the defendant , State of
Kerala defend the constitutionality of the [Kerala Land Reforms Act] [11].
Petitioner’s Argument
:-
Kesavananda
Bharati in his arguments stated that Parliament cannot go beyond its power to
amend the the Basic Structure of the Indian Constitution because Parliament has
not unlimited power to amend the Indian Constitution . He also stated that The
Kerala Land Reforms Act violated his fundamental right to property . Due to
this act no person can hold the land because it limited on the amount of the
land which could holded by the person and also it provided the acquisition of
excess land from landowners. Hence this act has violated the fundamental right
to property under both the articles
19(1)(f) and the article 31 .
Defendant’s Argument
:-
The
State of Kerala stated in its defence that the Kerala Land Reforms Act do not
violate the fundamental rights of the petitioner rather this act has reasonable
restriction on the right to property which was necessary to promote the social
justice and reducing poverty . Also it stated that Parliament has unlimited
power to amend the Indian Constitution .
Legal Aspects Involved: -
The following legal provisions are as under: -
1. Article 14: It guaranteed the right to equality before the law and equal
protection of the laws.
2. Article 19(1)(f): It guaranteed the right to property which was
challenged in this case in the context of the Kerala Land Reforms Act.
3. Article 25: It guaranteed the right to freedom of religion including the
right to practice, profess and propagate religion.
4. Article 26: It guaranteed the right to manage religious affairs.
5. Article 31: It deals with compulsory acquisition of property.
6. Article 32: It states that aggrieved party can go directly to the Supreme
Court of India for the enforcement of fundamental rights whenever it has
violated. In the above case the petitioner Kesavananda Bharati went through
this article to Supreme Court and challenged the constitutionality of the
amendments.
7. Article 368: It deals with the procedure for amending the constitution.
Judgements: -
The
judgement was passed with the majority of 7:6
ratio . It was the largest bench consisting of 13 judges in the bench . Although the bench took the six months to
hear the case but the final judgement was passed on 24th April 1973 . It was held in the judgement that
although in the article 368 the term
‘amend’ mentioned but it doesn’t
mean that Parliament has unlimited power to amend the basic structure of
the constitution . Further it was stated
in the judgement that Parliament cannot amend the certain fundamental features
of the constitution such as democracy ,
secularism , federalism , and the rule of law . Also it was held that
Parliament cannot taken away the power of judicial review because it is an
integral part of the basic structure of the constitution .
Impact and Significance :-
Significance
of the case lies with the fact that Parliament cannot go beyond its power to
amend the basic doctrine of the constitution such as its supremacy , rule of
law and the independence of judiciary . This doctrine was used as a check on
the power of the Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution . The Kesavnanada
Bharati V. State of kerala case had impacted the whole of the Indian
society because after the judgement passed ,it also increased the faith and
belief of the Indian people in the
Indian judiciary system that no one is above the constitution of the India and
also no one can amend its basic doctrine even by the constitutional amendments . Further it also
impacted as that if whenever the fundamental rights of the victim / petitioner
/plaintiff etc. has violated or
infringed due to which he/she may suffer the damages , they can go directly to
the Supreme Court under article 32 and they may go directly to the
High Court under article 226 for the
enforcement of their fundamental rights . Hence due to these doctrines
this case was known as landmark judgement in the Indian Legal History .
Conclusion:-
The
Kesavananda Bharati V. State of Kerala
(1973 ) was the landmark judgement in the Indian history which was a check
on the power of the Parliament . The judgement was passed with the ratio of 7:6
consisting of 13 judges in the bench which was the largest bench in the Indian
legal history and it was held that Parliament has not unlimited power
under article 368 thats why it cannot
alter the basic doctrine of the Constituion . further it was also stated Indian
Constitution has basic structure which cannot be altered even by the
constitutional amendments . Also the principles of separation of power ,
independence of judiciary and the rule of law has emerged in the Indian
Constituion after this judgement . It was the landmark case which protects the
basic doctrine of the Constitution .
[1] AIR 1973 SC 1461 or 1973 4 SCC 225.
[2] Writ petition for directly go the the
Supreme Court for enforcing the victim’s fundamental rights whenever it has
violated .
[3] Enacted in 1971 , affirmed the power of
Parliament to amend any part of the constitution including fundamental rights .
[4] Enacted in 1971 , primarily focused on
limiting the power of the judiciary to review laws related to property
acquision and land reforms .
[5] Enacted in 1972 , primarily focused on
land reforms .
[6] AIR 1973 SC 1461 or 1973 4 SCC 225.
[7]Passed in
1968
[8] Given in the Part III of the Indian
Constitution from the articles (12 – 35 ).
[9] 1978 , aimed to restore constitutional
safeguards and balance powers after the Emergency period in India .
[10] states that no person shall be deprived of their property except
by the authority of law.
[11] 1968
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973): Landmark Judgment That Saved the Constitution
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- Kesavananda Bharati Case 1973
- Basic structure doctrine
- Landmark judgment Indian Constitution
- Article 368 Supreme Court interpretation
- Constitutional amendments 24th 25th 29th
- Supreme Court 13 judge bench
- Right to property Article 31
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- Separation of powers
- Independence of judiciary
- Kerala Land Reforms Act 1968
- Article 32 and fundamental rights
- Landmark constitutional cases India
- Parliament’s amending power limitations
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