What is the Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji case that saved democracy?

Swami Kesavanand Bharati and the Basic Structure of the Constitution  |  Photo Credit: Twitter

The recent passing away of Swami Kesavanand Bharati was condoled by people from all walks of life. Right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Twitter saw many people in power pay their respects. 

Some people recall Swami Kesavanand Bharti for a legal case tha is a landmark in the history of India's constitutional jurisprudence. Swamiji had filed a seminal case over a land issue and was possibly himself largely unaware of its importance. 

None could possibly have anticipated that the case would revolve around the much larger issue of the extent of Parliament's power to amend the Constitution. The court's verdict, in this case, gave birth to a judicial innovation that has come to be known as the ‘basic structure doctrine' that placed a limitation on Parliament's power to amend the Constitution.

What is the Swami Kesavanand Bharti case?

Swami Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalavaru, the head of a Kerala math, challenged the state government's attempt to impose restrictions on the management of the religious property.

In an earlier case called Golak Nath vs. the State of Punjab, the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament could not curtail any fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution. 

For the judgment in the Swami Kesavananda Bharati case, being heard by a 13-member constitutional bench, it is alleged that battle lines were drawn before the case got underway and the divisions reflected in the very composition of the bench. 

One the one hand, there were the judges including Chief Justice SM Sikri — who had heard the Golak Nath case and had predetermined views about Parliament's amending power. It is reported that at the same time the Indira Gandhi government packed the Supreme Court with judges “expected to decide in its favour.”

The seer was being represented by senior advocate Nani Palkhiwala who extended the ambit of the case and harvested an opportunity to challenge a series of constitutional amendments introduced by the Indira Gandhi government granting unlimited power to Parliament to alter the Constitution.

It is said that the amendments in the Kerala land reforms law which Swamiji had challenged were upheld by the Supreme Court in 1973. Swamiji did not win the case. Though the judgment is a landmark, it was a day when the petitioner's loss was democracy's victory. Law regarding safeguarding the Basic Structure of the Constitution was concretised through this verdict.

The seer and his courtroom genius advocate made news every day as the case had stretched for long. They had only challenged certain land reforms in Kerala, but the inclusion of the constitutional part was causing the arguments to go on for so long. It was heard from October 1972 to March 1973 and the judgment stretched into 703 long pages.

The Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala case judgment introduced the Basic Structure doctrine which limited Parliament’s power to make drastic amendments that may affect the core values enshrined in the Constitution like secularism and federalism. It upheld the SC's authority to judicially review laws of Parliament. It evolved the concept of division of authority between 3 branches of governance — the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.

A Tie that was broken by a single vote:

It is famously said that democracy won that day by a razor's margin of a 7:6 verdict. When 12 of the 13 judges gave a 6:6 score, it was the 13th judge, Justice HR Khanna, who supported the view that constitutional amendments should not alter the “basic structure” of the Constitution.

That proved a crucial event as it sealed and secured democracy. The infamous blotch on the democratic history of India - the Emergency - was proclaimed just two years after the judgment was delivered on 24 April 24 1973. But since the law safeguarding the Basic Structure of the Constitution was in place, many individuals were spared the harassment and the nation's democracy survived the Emergency.

The Kesavananda Bharati judgment can thus be credited with securing the Fundamental Rights of individuals and for helping prevent the nation from slipping into a totalitarian regime. Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji, the sole petitioner in the historic Fundamental Rights case whose steps along with courtroom genius Nani Palkhivala prevented the nation from slipping into a totalitarian regime, died on Sunday. Swamiji was 80.