The Kesavananda Bharati case is a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, officially titled His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr.. Delivered on April 24, 1973, by the largest-ever bench of 13 judges, the judgment established the Basic Structure Doctrine.
The case originated from a challenge by Kesavananda Bharati, the head of the Edneer Matha, against the Kerala government's land reform acts, which restricted the management of his religious property, initially filed under Article 26. The petition expanded to challenge the constitutional validity of the 24th, 25th, and 29th Constitutional Amendments, which Parliament had passed to assert its power to amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights. This was a direct response to the earlier Golaknath v. State of Punjab case (1967), which had restricted Parliament's amending power.
The ratio decidendi of the judgment, decided by a narrow 7:6 majority, is that while Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, it cannot alter or destroy its "basic structure" or "essential features". This doctrine acts as a safeguard against legislative overreach, ensuring that the core identity of the Constitution remains intact.
The doctrine connects to subsequent constitutional jurisprudence, notably in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975), where the Supreme Court used it to strike down the 39th Amendment. The principle remains a cornerstone of Indian law, applying to all constitutional amendments enacted after April 24, 1973, and has been reinforced in cases like I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), which subjected laws in the Ninth Schedule to the basic structure test.