Skip to main content



 BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION 

1. The "basic features" principle was first expounded in 1953, by Justice J.R. Mudholkar in his dissent, in the case of Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan.
2. The basic structure doctrine is an Indian judicial principle that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the parliament. 
3. The basic features of the Constitution have not been explicitly defined by the Judiciary, and the claim of any particular feature of the Constitution to be a "basic" feature is determined by the Court in each case that comes before it. 
4. Key among these "basic features", are the fundamental rights granted to individuals by the constitution. 
5. The basic structure doctrine does not apply to ordinary Acts of Parliament, which must itself be in conformity with the Constitution.
6. The present position is that the Parliament under Article 368 can amend any part of the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights but without affecting the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution.

From the various judgements, the following have emerged as ‘basic features’ of the Constitution:

1. Supremacy of the Constitution
2. Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity
3. Secular character of the Constitution
4. Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary
5. Federal character of the Constitution
6. Unity and integrity of the nation
7. Welfare state (socio-economic justice)
8. Judicial review
9. Freedom and dignity of the individual
10. Parliamentary system

11. Rule of law
12. Harmony and balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
13. Principle of equality

14. Free and fair elections

15. Independence of Judiciary

16. Limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution
17. Effective access to justice
18. Principles (or essence) underlying fundamental rights.
19. Powers of the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136, 141 and 142
20. Powers of the High Courts under Articles 226 and 227

Landmark cases related to the basic structure of the Constitution:

1. Shankari Prasad Case V. Union of India, 1951
2. Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan, 1965
3. Golak Nath vs. the State of Punjab (1967)
4. The Kesavananda case (1973)
5. Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain, (1975)
6. Minerva Mill v. Union of India (1980)
7. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Most interesting facts about SKIN

MOST INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SKIN   What is skin? Skin is the largest organ of  the body,with total area coverage of 20 square feet. It is very interesting to know that skin is made of total 7 layers, these are:  1.Stratum corneum 2. Epidermis 3.Epidermal-epidermal junction 4.Dermis 5.Hypodermis 6.Muscles 7.Bones( bone cell) Skin plays  a vital role in detecting hot and cold, regulating your body temperature and protecting your muscles, bones and internal organs from outside infection and disease. But that’s just for starters. There is so much more to your skin than you might think.  Here are some of the most interesting facts about your skin: Skin accounts for about 15% of your body weight. The average adult has approximately 21 square feet of skin, which weighs 9 lbs and contains more than 11 miles of blood vessels. The average person has about 300 million skin cells. A single square inch of skin has about 1...

Most interesting facts about HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Most interesting facts about human behaviour Human behaviour refers to the way human acts on any situation from internal and external stimuli. Some of the common but interesting facts about human behaviour are: Poor people tend to be more loyal. People who care about others are very sad psychologically. People who watch dangerous dreams are often going through a very difficult time. Self-confident people are generally daring and often take risks. Shy people have less chance to be cheated because they do not trust everyone. Introverted people are more trustworthy compared to extroverted ones. The more attracted we are to a person, the easier it is for them to make you laugh. People who believe in showing off are generally fools. Sarcasm make you mentally stronger. People are more likely to cry at night as lack of sleep makes it harder to control. If someone can't cry, he/she is weak. Our brains wander for about 30 % of the day. We prefer sh...

INTRESTING FACT ABOUT EARTH

    BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT EARTH Total surface area of the Earth is 510,100,500 sq. km, out of which − The total land area is 148,950,800 sq. km (29.08% of total area) and The total water area is 361,149,700 sq. km (70.92%). Diameter of the Earth at Equator is 12,755 km, at the poles 12,712 km, and mean diameter is 12,734 km. Circumference of the Earth at Equator is 40,075 km and at the poles 40,024 km. Equatorial radius of the Earth is 6,377 km. The total mass of the Earth is 5.98 x 1024 kg. Approximate age of the Earth is 4,500 million years. The mean velocity of the Earth in its orbit (around the Sun) is 107,218 km/h. The most abundant  elements  of the Earth are Iron (about 32.5%), Oxygen (29.8%), Silicon (15.6%), and Magnesium (13.9%) Structure of Earth credits-googleimages The Earth is structured in  three layers  namely − Crust, Mantle, and Core – Further classified as outer core (fluid layer) and ...