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    Wa0055.

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    of 7

    DR.

    RAM MANOHAR LOHIA


    NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
    LUCKNOW
    [SESSION 2024-25]

    SYNOPSIS
    BASICS OF LEGISLATION
    THE BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE OF THE
    CONSTITUTION OF INDIA : EVOLUTION
    ACROSS TIME & SCOPE

    SUBMITTED TO – DR. SHASHANK SHEKHAR


    ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (LAW)
    Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University

    SUBMITTED BY– TANVI RAI

    Enrollment No.–240101162
    B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
    1stSemester, Section ‘B’
    1
    OVERVIEW
    India attained Independence in 1947 from Britain and chose to be a Democratic
    Republic. Being a democracy we chose to run our country according to certain
    rules and guiding principles which were laid down in the constitution of India.
    The founding fathers of the Constitution borrowed relevant and useful clauses
    from different parts of the world and added them in the Constitution making our
    constitution the largest written Constitution in the world. India stands on three
    basic pillars- The legislature whose job is to make laws, the executive whose
    job is to implement them and judiciary which keeps a vigil on them. The
    parliament or the supreme legislator’s job is to make laws in accordance with
    the Constitution but also under article 368 of the constitution it has the power to
    amend the constitution. So, the question that arose was whether this gives
    absolute power to the elected representatives of the people to change or delete
    any portion of the Constitution. Is the Constitution supreme or the parliament
    has absolute and uncontrolled power? Some said that article 368 gives power to
    the Constitution and so it can change anything that’s written keeping in mind
    that the parliament reflects the will of the people but some argued the
    Constitution safeguards the interests of all people and this uncontrolled power
    could be misused and would lead to disorder. Another big question was who
    will decide, interpret and give a solution to the problem. The task was taken up
    by the judiciary. The supreme court of India pronounced a series of judgement
    which became the guiding stone of this matter. After a lot of pondering, the
    court finally decided that yes, article 368 gives power to the parliament to
    amend the Constitution but the parliament cannot in any ways destroy, alter or
    dilute the Basic Structure of the Constitution. A new term Basic Structure was
    coined what comes under the scope of Basic Structure was not defined and is
    not defined till now and has been left to the judiciary to interpret. However,
    many judgements given by the court do give a brief detail of what comes under

    2
    the Basic structure doctrine or you can say give the basic structure of the Basic
    Structure doctrine.

    In this project, we will discuss in detail the above-mentioned judgements and


    try to understand the various concepts like the Basic Structure doctrine and
    analyse the plethora of meanings these judgements have.

    In doing so we will take the help of various primary and secondary resources
    like online sites like SCC Online and Manupatra Online, also take help of
    various articles available on the internet and take help of E-book platforms like
    EBC Reader.

    CONTEXT
    The fundamental structure theory lists several basic elements of the Indian
    Constitution that parliament cannot change, an influential constitutional theory.
    This idea originated in early cases such as Shankari Prasad v. Union of India
    (1951) and evolved from several landmark Supreme Court decisions, eventually
    concluding Kesavananda Bharati v. Kerala State (1973). The theory prohibits
    legislators from changing or eliminating fundamental principles of the
    Constitution, and the democratic and constitutional framework of India is
    protected..

    HYPOTHESIS
    The basic structure principle is essential to prevent parliament from adopting
    arbitrary amendments to the Indian Constitution. It assumes that changes to the
    Constitution are needed to make it flexible, but that the basic idea of the
    Constitution must be based on the protection of democratic ideals and citizens'
    rights.

    STATEMENT OF ISSUE
    3
    The concept mainly aims to investigate whether Parliament can change the
    Constitution in any way, including adding or deleting paragraphs on basic
    rights.

    SIGNIFICANCE
    It is vital to maintain the balance of power between the legislative and judicial
    branches of government because it prevents the latter from passing legislation
    that endangers fundamental rights, judicial independence, and democratic
    governance. It is thought of as a defender of the nation's morals and democratic
    values, as stated in the constitution.

    RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
    In doing this research we will take help of various primary and secondary
    resources like online sites like

    SCC Online and Manupatra Online, also take help of various articles available
    on the internet

    and take help of E-book platforms like EBC Reader.

    CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK


    The Indian Constitution grants Parliament the right to change the document,
    although this power is limited under Article 368. The "basic structure" of the
    Constitution includes ideas like the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of
    law, secularism, judicial review, and the protection of fundamental rights. The
    Supreme Court has established through several rulings, including Kesavananda
    Bharati, that Parliament cannot change these ideas. Despite not being
    specifically stated in the Constitution, the Basic Structure Doctrine has been
    consistently supported by judicial interpretation.

    4
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    1) INTRODUCTION

    2) THE CONCEPT OF BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE

    3) IMPORTANT JUDGEMENTS BEFORE COINING THE BASIC


    STRUCTUREDOCTRINE

    3.1) SHANKARI PRASAD V. UNION OF INDIA (1951)

    3.2) SAJJAN SINGH V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN (1965)

    3.3) GOLAK NATH V. STATE OF PUNJAB (1967)

    4) JUDGEMENT COINING THE BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE:


    KESAVANANDA BHARTI V. STATE OF KERALA (1971)

    5) JUDGEMENTS DECIDING THE SCOPE OF THE BASIC


    STRUCTURE DOCTRINE

    5.1) INDRA GANDHI V. RAJ NARAYAN (1975)

    5.2) MINERVA MILLS V. UNION OF INDIA (1980)

    5.3) KIHOTO HOLLOHAN V. ZACHILLHU (1992)

    5.4) INDIRA SAWHNEY V. UNION OF INDIA (1992)

    5.5) S R BOMAI V. UNION OF INDIA (1994)

    6) THE FUTURE OF BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE

    7) CONCLUSION (EVOLUTION OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE


    DOCTRINE AS THE PILLAR OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA)

    8) REFERENCES

    5
    REFERENCES
    1. ONLINE SITES:
    a. SCC Online
    b. Manupatra Online

    2. Sanjay S Jain and Sathya Narayan, Basic Constitutionalism: Revisiting


    Kesavananda Bharti ( 1st ed, Eastern Book Company 2011).

    3. Shankari Prasad Case Judgement, Legal Resolved (Jul. 24, 2017),


    https://medium.com/@legalresolved/shankari-prasad-case-judgment-
    2b09fa5afe24

    4. Sajjan Singh vs State of Rajasthan: Case Summary, E-Justice India (oct.


    31, 2020), http://www.ejusticeindia.com/sajjan-singh-vs-state-of-
    rajasthan-case-summary/.

    5. Diva Rai, Golaknath I.C v State of Punjab (1967): Overview and


    Analysis, I pleaders (Dec, 6, 2019), https://blog.ipleaders.in/golaknath-c-
    v-state-punjab-1967-overview-analysis/

    6. KesavanandaBharati Case - Important SC Judgements for UPSC, Byju’s,


    https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/landmark-cases-relating-basic-structure-
    constitution/.

    7. Basic Structure Doctrine - Landmark Cases In Indian Polity, Byju’s,


    https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/landmark-cases-relating-basic-structure-
    constitution/

    8. What was the KihotoHollohan case? How does it hold importance in the
    context of recent events?, Civilsdaily (Jul. 19, 2019),
    https://www.civilsdaily.com/mains/what-was-the-kihoto-hollohan-case-
    how-does-it-hold-importance-in-the-context-of-recent-events/.

    6
    9. V. Venkatesan, Eight Cases That Will Test Whether 'Basic Structure
    Doctrine' Can Safeguard India’s Democracy, The Wire (Oct. 20, 2020),
    https://thewire.in/law/eight-cases-that-will-test-whether-basic-structure-
    doctrine-can-safeguard-indias-democracy

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