Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
Parliament’s amending power; basic structure doctrine; Golak Nath overruled.
IRAC Analysis
Whether Parliament’s power under Article 368 is unlimited, or subject to implied limitations protecting the Constitution’s basic structure.
A 13-judge bench held that while Parliament may amend the Constitution under Article 368, it cannot destroy or abrogate its “basic structure.” The court did not exhaustively list every basic feature but affirmed democracy, secularism, federalism, and judicial review as core examples. The judgment remains the foundation for constitutional challenges to major amendments.