PGLAW 2016 Panjab University Entrance Exam With Answers

D: Kesavananda Bharathi v. State of Kerala

The "Basic Feature" theory of the Constitution of India was propounded by the Supreme Court of India in the landmark case of Kesavananda Bharathi v. State of Kerala (1973). The case was about the constitutional validity of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, which placed a limit on the amount of land that a person could hold.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be amended by the Parliament of India, even by a constitutional amendment. The Court held that the basic features of the Constitution include the supremacy of the Constitution, the democratic and republican form of government, the separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary, the federal character of the Constitution, and the protection of fundamental rights.

The Court ruled that any constitutional amendment that violates these basic features would be unconstitutional and void. This principle has been a cornerstone of Indian constitutional law ever since and has been used by the judiciary to strike down several constitutional amendments that were seen as violating the basic structure of the Constitution.