Introduction continues…

Traditional duties such as protecting the unity and integrity of the country, safe keeping of public property, protection of the environment, etc., which require basic norms of democratic conduct from all citizens, have thus been vested with a constitutional character.

BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE

In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala: The Supreme Court formulated the ‘Basic Structure’ doctrine, prescribing limits on the extent and scope of constitutional amendments under Article 368. The Apex court held ‘that the amending power cannot be exercised in a manner as to destroy or emasculate the basic or Fundamental Features of the Constitution’. As the concept of Basic Structure is not found within the Constitution itself, having been introduced by the Supreme Court, there is no enumerated list of those features, and as such it falls to the Supreme Court to judge on a case-by-case basics, whether it is possible to amend a particular Article.

In Kesavananda Bharati case a preliminary list of features forming part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution was propounded. Later in 1993, the Bommai case judgment, also carried further the list the elements of Basic Structure.

Any amendment to the Constitution must be tested by the doctrine of Basic Structure. Any law seeking to amend any fundamental right is subject to the Basic Structure Test. The power of Judicial Review has been construed to form part of the Basic Structure, thus insulating Judicial Review from curtailment by the legislature. Democracy, Secularism, and Federalism
In Kiboto Hollohon case it was held that democracy was a Basic Feature, of which regular, free and fair elections, as well as procedures to resolve disputes over elections were vital components. This was reaffirmed in Bommai case of 1993.

Since the introduction of the doctrine of Basic Structure in Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973, the Basic Features of the Constitution have been propounded, affirmed, and added to by the Supreme Court in a subsequent series of decisions.

To be continued…