The Type of Indian Constitution- Whether ‘Rigid’ or ‘Flexible’
The Constitution is not an indigenous product. Those who framed it were, as recognised by this Court in The Automobile Transport (Rajasthan) Ltd. v. The State of Rajasthan and Ors.…
Does ‘law’ under Article 13 include Amendment law? – Justice Hegde and Mukherjea in Kesavananda Bharthi Case
Edited excerpt from the judgment A great deal of reliance was placed by the learned Counsel for the petitioners on the expression ‘law’ found in Article 13(1) and (2). The…
Does Power of Amending the Constitution reside in Article 368? – Justice Hegde and Mukherjea in Kesavananda Bharthi Case
Edited excerpt from the judgment In order to find out whether Parliament has the power to take away or abridge any of the Fundamental Rights in exercise of its power…
Importance of Preamble in Interpretation of Constitution- Justice Grover and Shelat in Kesavananda Bharthi Case
Edited Excerpt from Kesavananda Bharthi Case Preamble as guiding light in interpretation of Constitution The preamble serves several important purposes. Firstly, it indicates the source from which the Constitution comes…
Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles- History of Drafting
Parts III and IV essentially form a basic element of the Constitution without which its identity will completely change. Historical Background and Influences on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles The…
Implied Limitations on Parliament’s Power to Amend the Constitution- Justice Sikri in Kesavananda Bharthi Case
Edited Excerpt from the Judgment of Justice Sikri (Headings have been added) It seems to me that reading the Preamble, the fundamental importance of the freedom of the individual, indeed…
The Drafting of Preamble of Indian Constitution- History and Process of Interpretation
Initial Draft of the Preamble In the earliest draft the Preamble was something formal and read: “We, the people of India, seeking to promote the common good, do hereby, through…
What is meant by ‘Taking Cognizance’? – Explaining with Court Rulings
In ordinary language, word “cognizance” means detailed knowledge about or understating of something, whereas in legal parlance, it means taking of judicial notice of an offence. It is a pre-requisite…
Be you ever so high, the law is above you- Justice VK Krishna Iyer on ‘Human Liberty’
Edited Excerpt from the judgment (Headings have been added) It is a mark of interpretative respect for the higher norms our founding fathers held dear in affecting the dearest rights…
Maneka Gandhi Case- Justice VK Krishna Iyer’s interpretation of ‘Procedure established by law’
An Edited Excerpt from the judgment (Headings have been added) The Meaning of ‘Procedure’, ‘Established’, and ‘Law’ What is ‘procedure’? What do we mean by ‘established’? And what is law?…