Kesavananda Bharati, seer behind ‘basic structure of Constitution’ case, dies aged 79 at his Kerala ashram
NEW DELHI: Kesavananda Bharati, who filed the famous constitutional case leading to birth of the legal doctrine of “Basic Structure”, passed away on Sunday morning at his ashram, Sri Edneer Mutt, in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. Bharati, who had been suffering breathing and heart ailments, was 79.
Over the years, the name of Bharati had become synonymous with constitutional law after a 13-judge bench of the Supreme Court on April 24, 1973 delivered its historic verdict in the case known as Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Keralam in which it was held that the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution of India is circumscribed by what is known as Basic Structure of the Constitution.
In other words, the court ruled that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, but such amendment cannot in any manner deface or distort the basic features of the charter such as democracy, federalism, supremacy of the Constitution, secularism, and separation of powers between legislature, executive and judiciary.
Bharati took over as the pontiff of Sri Edneer Mutt, a Hindu monastic institution, when he was 19. Bharati was in his late 20s or early 30s when the mutt’s properties were sought to be acquired by the Kerala government, triggering the landmark case.
“He spent his entire life as a religious leader but he has left back for the country a legal doctrine which has endured to keep the country together in the face of a lot of autocratic governments with a huge majority,” senior counsel Sanjay Hegde told HT.
“Very rarely does a litigant attain immortality for the cause he or she espoused and the redefining moment brought by the judgment. His Holiness Kesavananda will be to India, what (Oilver) Brown is to the US (judgment against racial segregation in public schools) and (May) Donoghue to the United Kingdom (judgment on negligence which empowered consumers). Swamiji may have departed, but the doctrine of Basic Structure will remain forever (hopefully),” senior advocate KV Viswanathan told HT.
“Bharati was revered as a God-like figure. He treated everyone with much affection and care. My stay at the Mutt afforded me the opportunity to experience his hospitality and affection,” said advocate Raghul Sudheesh, a Kerala high court lawyer who had visited the mutt in 2011 to interview Bharati.
Bharati, who had been suffering breathing and heart ailments, died at 79 on Sunday morning
WHO WAS KESAVANANDA BHARATI?
He was the pontiff of the Sri Edneer Mutt, a Hindu monastic institution situated in Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala and following the Advaita tradition propounded by Sri Adi Sankaracharya.
WHAT WAS THE CASE?
The case was filed by Bharati after the Kerala government proposed to acquire the properties of the Mutt under the amended Kerala Land Reforms Act.
WHAT DID BHARATI CHALLENGE?
The petition might have ended up as a routine right to property case but Bharati’s lawyers including Nani Palkhivala and MK Nambiar, realized that it presented an opportunity to challenge the government’s powers to amend the Constitution at will without any fetters. The Supreme Court had in 1967 ruled against such powers of the government holding that parliament cannot amend or tinker with the fundamental rights laid down in Part III of the Constitution. But the government in 1971 amended the
Constitution (the 24th amendment) to get over the apex court’s ruling. Therefore, Bharati, besides challenging the Kerala government’s land reform law, also targeted the 24th amendment as well as the 25th and 29th amendments.
The 25th amendment had curtailed the right to property under Article 31 which was a fundamental right back then. The 29th amendment protected the Kerala land reforms law by placing it beyond the purview of judicial review.