| Examine the following statements connected with the 'basic structure' doctrine. |
| 1. Fundamental Rights have a transcendental status in the Constitution and they cannot be amended by the Parliament as they are part of the basic structure of the Constitution. |
| 2. Judicial review cannot be excluded from anything done by Parliament or the Executive. |
| 3. Constitutional Amendment Acts are not considered as laws within the understanding of Article 13. |
| Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? |
A) Only 1
B) 1 and 2
C) Only 3
D) None of these
Correct Answer: C
Solution :
[c] The transcendental status and non-amendability of Fundamental Rights was part of a Supreme Court ruling in the Golak Nath case. Later however, the Supreme Court in the Keshavananda Bharati Case reversed its earlier ruling and held that Fundamental Rights can be amended by Parliament as long as the amendments do not affect the basic structure of the Constitution. Fundamental Rights, however were not considered as part of the basic structure Statement 1 is thus incorrect. Statement 2 is incorrect. Judicial review is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and the Supreme Court has time and again used the power of judicial review to check parliamentary and executive excess (but there is certain exception in this case). Statement 3 is correct, in the Golak Nath Case, the Supreme Court ruled that Constitutional Amendment Acts under Article 368 are laws under Article 13 and so cannot abridge Fundamental Rights. However, the current position after the Keshavananda Bharati Case is that constitutional amendments under Article 368 are not considered as laws under Article 13 and are in fact part of the constituent power of Parliament. Thus, the correct answer is [c].
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