Modi govt continuously attacking basic structure of Constitution: Congress

The Congress on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of "continuously attacking" the basic structure of the Constitution, which the Supreme Court said could not be altered in its landmark Kesavananda Bharati verdict delivered on this day 50 years ago.

"Today marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case, which laid down the 'Basic Structure' doctrine of our Constitution. The Modi government is no doubt continuously attacking that basic structure in every way," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet in Hindi.

The historically acclaimed 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment on the "basic structure" doctrine clipped the widest power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and simultaneously gave the judiciary the authority to review any amendment.

The Supreme Court on Monday dedicated to people, including researchers, a web page containing details of the arguments, written submissions and the distinguished judgment to mark the anniversary of the verdict, which was delivered on April 24, 1973 by an unprecedented 13-judge bench of the top court by a 7:6 majority to restrict the Parliament's power to amend every bit of the Constitution.

The sharply-divided verdict, which later found many supporters in eminent jurists, had held that though Parliament had the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368, it did not have the power to "emasculate" its basic features.

The judgment said every provision of the Constitution could be amended but they would be subject to a judicial review to ascertain that the basic foundation and structure of the Constitution remained the same.