The Kesavananda Bharati case was the culmination of a serious conflict between the judiciary and the government, then headed by Mrs Indira Gandhi. In 1967, the Supreme Court took an extreme view, in the Golak Nath case, that Parliament could not amend or alter any fundamental right. Two years later, Indira Gandhi nationalised 14 major banks and the paltry compensation was made payable in bonds that matured after 10 years! This was struck down by the Supreme Court, although it upheld the right of Parliament to nationalise banks and other industries. A year later, in 1970, Mrs Gandhi abolished the Privy Purses. This was a constitutional betrayal of the solemn assurance given by Sardar Patel to all the erstwhile rulers. This was also struck down by the Supreme Court. Ironically, the abolition of the Privy Purses was challenged by the late Madhavrao Scindia, who later joined the Congress Party.Smarting under three successive adverse rulings, which had all been argued by N.A. Palkhivala, Indira Gandhi was determined to cut the Supreme Court and the High Courts to size and she introduced a series of constitutional amendments that nullified the Golak Nath, Bank Nationalisation and Privy Purses judgments. In a nutshell, these amendments gave Parliament uncontrolled power to alter or even abolish any fundamental right.
The judgement in the Kesavananda Bharati case put the brakes on the amendment spree that parliament had embarked on . The Court ruled, by a narrow 7-5 verdict, that parliament's amending power was limited by the "basic structure" the constitution. Different judges articulated what they meant by the "basic structure". However, in the very nature of things, this cannot be exhaustively defined. It is left to the Supreme Court to judge whether, in a given instance, the "basic structure" is disturbed.
As several legal experts have noted, there is, in the Constitution, no explicit bar on parliament's amending power: Article 368, which deals with parliaments' powers on this subject, does not impose any limitation. What, then, is the rationale for imposing a limitation? As I recall, the essence of the argument is that parliament itself is a creature of the Constitution and hence subordinate to it. Parliament cannot, therefore, act in ways that erode or undermine the "basic structure" of the Constitution.
Despite this judgement, the Supreme Court, during the emergency, did not strike down the suspension of the right to habeas corpus, which many would regard as fundamental to basic liberties of the citizen. It required a Constitutional amendment by parliament later to ensure that this right is not taken away during an emergency. One shudders to think of what might have been had the "basic structure" doctrine not been propounded by the Supreme Court. The author of the Hindu article is right in saying that this judgement saved Indian democracy.
1 comment:
While many of the points made in newspaper op eds etc. in respect of this landmark judgement are well taken, almost no one seemed to think it was worthwhile focusing some attention on why this issue became as big as it did i.e. the early 1950s judgements by the Supreme Court striking down the Nehru government's measures to re-distribute zamindari land and so on. I believe the Supreme Court used the "Property is a fundamental right." line to strike down such legislation. I can sort of empathize with Nehru's frustration which resulted in the first amendment to the constitution.
Of course, the later-Nehru and perhaps more so Indira Gandhi may have gone further and further down the slippery slope of eminent domain, but I feel that there is need for a more balanced look at Kesavananda Bharati; it doesn't seem like an open-and-shut "This is a good thing for India." thing.
Something is missing somewhere IMO, in the commentary at least, if not the judgement. A nebulous stab at the reasons why parliament's power to amend some "fundamental" rights may be OK is here.
Post a Comment