50 Years Of Kesavananda Bharati Judgment| Supreme Court Releases Video Dedicated To The Historic Judgment

The video provides the viewers with the details of the case background, key legal issues involved, the judges who presided over the bench, the advocates who appeared in the case, arguments made and the conclusions reached.

As per the video, “(Kesavananda Bharati) case reinforced the supremacy of the Constitution and strengthened the democratic setup of the country for the times to come…The Judgment was a milestone that led to the judicial innovation, the BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE. It changed the constitutional landscape in India and paved the way to be followed and discussed in foreign jurisdictions.”

The video has been released a day after the Supreme Court formed a webpage dedicated to the judgement. The formation of the webpage was announced on Monday by CJI DY Chandrachud who stated that the said webpage could now help researchers across the world to learn more about the landmark judgement which was pronounced on 24th April 1973.

It may be noted that the Kesavananda Bharati case is also known as the Fundamental Rights and Basic Structure case wherein the Apex Court, in a 7-6 decision, asserted its right to strike down amendments to the Constitution that were in violation of the fundamental architecture of the Constitution.

The case propounded that any part of the Constitution may be amended by the following prescribed in Article 368, but no part may be so amended as to alter the Basic structure of the Constitution.

In this case, the 13-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court deliberated on the limitations of the powers of the elected representatives of the people and the nature of the fundamental rights of an individual. In a verdict divided 7–6, the court held that while the Parliament has 'wide' powers, it did not have the power to destroy or emasculate the basic elements or fundamental features of the Constitution.