The ‘Basic Structure Doctrine’ was enunciated by the Supreme Court dur

The ‘Basic Structure Doctrine’ was enunciated by the Supreme Court during the:

Golak Nath case
Maneka Gandhi case
Kesavananda Bharati case
S R Bommai case
This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-2 – 2015
The correct option is C) Kesavananda Bharati case.
The doctrine of ‘Basic Structure’ of the Constitution of India was enunciated by the Supreme Court in the landmark judgement of the Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case in 1973. The Court held that while the Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, it cannot alter or destroy the basic structure or framework of the Constitution.
– Option A (Golak Nath case, 1967): In this case, the Supreme Court held that Parliament could not abridge or take away the Fundamental Rights, which were considered transcendent and immutable. However, the concept of ‘basic structure’ was not explicitly formulated here, though the judgement laid some groundwork for limiting Parliament’s amending power.
– Option B (Maneka Gandhi case, 1978): This case significantly interpreted the scope of Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty), establishing that the procedure established by law must be fair, just, and reasonable (incorporating aspects of ‘due process’). It is not where the Basic Structure Doctrine was enunciated.
– Option D (S R Bommai case, 1994): This judgement related to the misuse of Article 356 (President’s Rule) and held that the power under Article 356 is not absolute and is subject to judicial review. The judgement applied the basic structure doctrine by stating that federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution. However, the doctrine itself was not *enunciated* in this case but applied.