BASIC STRUCTURE AND AMENDABILITY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

  • Dr. D. Ananda

Abstract

A Constitution is a fundamental politico-legal document according to which the government of a country functions. The Constitution of a country defines the basic structure of the political system, and it is the fundamental law of the land. A written constitution must change with the times.  Sanctity of a constitution does not mean un-changeability, for an unchangeable constitution becomes rigid and stagnant.  Society outgrows it and ultimately overthrows it.  However, if a constitution is continuously changing with the times, it continues to reflect the urges and aspirations of the people. In the Indian constitutional history, the Supreme Court judgement in Kesavananda Bharathi is a landmark judgement. The basic structure of the constitution should not be allowed to alter as per the Supreme Court verdict in Kesavananda Bharati versus Kerala state (1973).  However, nowhere neither the Supreme Court nor Constitution defines what is meant by basic structure. The present paper intended to analyse the debates on amendability of the constitution with refrence to Basic Structure doctrine and question related to amendment power of parliament.

Published
2019-12-26
Section
Articles