THREADBrowse · 6 entries, read in order

The amending power

Whether Parliament can change anything in the Constitution, and how the Court came to say no.

01
Encyclopedia · Doctrine
Basic Structure
The limit on Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution: where it comes from, what it protects, and how a court applies it.
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02
Review · Lineage
The Amending Power, from Shankari Prasad to Kesavananda
Twenty-two years of contest over whether Parliament can amend fundamental rights, ending in the basic structure limit.
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03
Review · Dissent
Hidayatullah and Mudholkar JJ. in Sajjan Singh
Two separate opinions doubting that fundamental rights could be "the plaything of a special majority", and the first mention of basic features.
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04
Review · Dissent
The Six in Kesavananda
The case for an unlimited amending power, as argued by the judges who would have upheld it.
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05
Review · Dissent
Bhagwati J. in Minerva Mills
A partial dissent upholding the amended Article 31C, and a different view of the balance between Parts III and IV.
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06
Encyclopedia · Test
The Rights Test for the Ninth Schedule
The two-step inquiry for laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973: the impact on rights that form part of the basic structure.
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