Kesavananda Bharati case profound affirmation of India's commitment to constitutionalism: CJI Surya Kant

New Delhi, Nov 29 The Kesavananda Bharati case was not a mere legal precedent; it stood out as one of the most profound affirmations of India's commitment to constitutionalism and the rule of law, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Saturday.

The historic Kesavananda Bharati verdict of 1973, which laid down the "basic structure doctrine" of the Constitution, clipped Parliament's widest power to amend the Constitution and simultaneously gave the judiciary the authority to review any amendment on grounds of its violation.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the International Convention on Independence of Judiciary at the OP Jindal Global University, CJI Kant said the true brilliance of the Kesavananda majority lay in recognising that what could not be amended was what made the Constitution meaningful – “its just soul, painstakingly designed by our framers under the visionary guidance of Dr B. R. Ambedkar”.

“I do not regard Kesavananda Bharati as a mere legal precedent. It stands, instead, as one of the most profound affirmations of India's commitment to constitutionalism and the rule of law.

“It was, in truth, an act of constitutional archaeology: the judges unearthed, from within the four corners of the Constitution, those foundational principles that had always lain embedded in its design, waiting to be revealed by interpretation rather than invention,” CJI Kant said.

Justice Surya Kant, who took oath as the 53rd CJI on November 24, said the truly "basic" doctrine continues to remind us that our Constitution is not a transient political document; it is a covenant between the state and the citizen.

"As the battery of lawyers told the Bench about 50 years ago, it limits power not to weaken it, but to civilise it. This is also precisely why every generation that revisits Kesavananda Bharati rediscovers that the Constitution's strength does not lie in ink or parchment, but in the probity of those who interpret and defend it.

“Its survival has always depended on a community of custodians who read it not as a frozen command, but as a living charge," he said.

CJI Kant also said the "basic" doctrine has allowed our Constitution to grow without losing its centre - to stretch toward new realities, and yet remain tethered to its founding spirit.

“As this momentous conference reminds us: the basic structure doctrine is not to be a relic of the past, but a map for charting our future. It is the conscience that keeps our democracy from drifting into absolutism, as we modernise our institutions and confront new frontiers,” the CJI said.