The case was heard in the Supreme Court for 63 consecutive days and the verdict was pronounced on March 24, 1973. Famous advocate Nana Palkiwala was appearing on behalf of Kesavanand in the case. Know what was the verdict given by the court.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar is being criticized for his statement.
vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar Legal experts are condemning the remark in which he has raised questions on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Kesavananda Bharti case. in that decision Supreme Court had declared the constitution as supreme. Based on this decision, the Vice President Jaipur Condemned the Judiciary and said that ‘it is okay to declare oneself superior from judicial forums’
Kesavananda Bharati was the main petitioner in this case of Kesavananda Bharti vs. Government of Kerala. It was on his appeal that the Supreme Court accepted the principle that the basic structure of the constitution cannot be changed. In the decision, the Supreme Court had considered the Constitution higher than the Parliament. Let us understand what was the whole matter.
How did the matter reach the Supreme Court
There is Idnir Math in Kasargod, Kerala, Kesavananda Swami was the head of this Math. In the petition, he had said that in the 1960s, the Math had hundreds of acres of land in its name, out of which 400 acres was occupied by the Kerala government. When this question was raised on behalf of the Math, the land reform law was mentioned by the government which was made in 1969. Kesavanand Swami appealed to the Supreme Court and appealed to protect the rights under Articles 14, 19, 25, 26 and 31 of the Constitution.
The court gave this decision
The case was heard in the Supreme Court for 63 consecutive days and the verdict was pronounced on March 24, 1973. Famous advocate Nana Palkiwala was appearing on behalf of Kesavanand in the case. In the judgment, the top court had said that the Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, but limited. That is, amendment can happen as long as it does not change the basic structure. The court had also said that the amendment should not be against the spirit of the Preamble of the Constitution.
The largest bench of independent India was formed
This was the period when the Prime Minister of the country was Indira Gandhi, this decision was going to directly affect the powers of the Parliament. In such a situation, a bench of 13 judges was formed to hear the matter. All the 13 judges were not unanimous on the decision, in such a situation, the Supreme Court gave the decision with a majority of 7:6. The bench had said that the basic structure of the Supreme Court is inviolable, the Parliament cannot change it. At that time the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was SM Sikri.
What did the Vice President say?
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had recently questioned the Supreme Court by referring to the Kesavanand Bharti case. He had said that ‘judiciary cannot compromise with the sovereignty of the Parliament’. The Vice President had said that if the court invalidates the law made by the Parliament, then it is not good for democracy. He also condemned the repeal of the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in 2015 by the Supreme Court. Also said that parliamentary sovereignty is paramount for the existence of democracy.
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