Previous Year Question
The Supreme Court of India enunciated the doctrine of “Basic Structure of the Constitution” in
The Golaknath Case in 1967
The Keshavanand Bharti Case in 1973
The Shankari Prasad Case in 1951
The Sajjan Singh Case in 1965
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court propounded the Basic Structure Doctrine. The judgment was delivered on 24 April 1973, and the case was heard by a 13-Judge Constitution Bench.
Under this doctrine, Parliament has wide power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, but it cannot exercise that power so as to destroy or alter the basic structure or basic framework of the Constitution. Article 368 presently provides for Parliament's constituent power and the procedure for constitutional amendment.
The decision was reached by a 7:6 majority. Its significance lies in recognising Parliament's amending power while imposing the substantive limitation of the Basic Structure.
The distinction among the other cases is also important—Shankari Prasad (1951) and Sajjan Singh (1965) belonged to the earlier phase of cases concerning Parliament's amending power, while Golaknath (1967) adopted a different position concerning amendment of Fundamental Rights. The Basic Structure Doctrine was decisively propounded in Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
Thus, the key examination sequence is—Kesavananda Bharati → 1973 → 13-Judge Bench → 7:6 → Basic Structure Doctrine.