Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, also known as the Fundamental Rights Case, was a landmark 1973 decision of the Supreme Court of India that outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution. A thirteen-judge bench decided by a 7-6 majority that Parliament, while possessing wide powers to amend the Constitution, did not have the power to destroy or emasculate its basic elements or fundamental features, with Justice Hans Raj Khanna arguing the Constitution possesses a basic structure of constitutional principles and values. The doctrine forms the basis of the Indian judiciary's power to review and override constitutional amendments enacted by Parliament, and the case also defined the extent to which Parliament could restrict property rights in pursuit of land reform.