Sanya Kapoor, Bennett University
INTRODUCTION
Devananda Bharati, which is perhaps has always occupied a hallowed place in the constitutional history of our country. The case was popularly known as the Fundamental Rights case, and it is the most well-known constitutional decision of the Supreme Court. The landmark case involved a conflict between the Government and the Judiciary. The Supreme Court under this particular case had outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution. The basic structure which forms and gives the powers to the Judiciary to amend or review those provisions of the Constitution enacted by the Parliament of India, which are in conflict, or which seek to alter the basic structure of the Constitution. The judgement given in this case was of 700 pages and it included a solution for both the citizen’s rights to protect their fundamental rights as well as the Parliament’s right to amend the laws. This had to be done in order to protect the interests of both the citizens of India and of the Parliament. This case had solved all those questions which had been left unanswered in Golaknath v. State of Punjab1. The Doctrine of Basic Structure had been introduced by the bench to ensure that the amendments being made by the Parliament do not take away the fundamental rights of the citizens which were guaranteed to them by the Constitution of India.
