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Showing contexts for: basic structure doctrine in Gopal Singh vs State Of Rajastahn & Anr on 6 February, 2013Matching Fragments
In I.R. Coelho (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court considered the reference essentially on the question as to whether on or after 24.04.1973, the date of delivery of decision in Kesavananda Bharati's case: AIR 1973 SC 1471 when the basic structure doctrine was pronounced, it was permissible for the Parliament under Article 31B to immunise the legislation from fundamental rights by inserting them into the Ninth Schedule and if so, what was the effect on the power of judicial review of the Court? The Hon'ble Supreme Court ultimately concluded as under:-
"151. In conclusion, we hold that:
(i) A law that abrogates or abridges rights guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution may violate the basic structure doctrine or it may not. If former is the consequence of law, whether by amendment of any article of Part III or by an insertion in the Ninth Schedule, such law will have to be invalidated in exercise of judicial review power of the Court.
The validity or invalidity would be tested on the principles laid down in this judgment.
(iv) Justification for conferring protection, not blanket protection, on the laws included in the Ninth Schedule by constitutional amendments shall be a matter of constitutional adjudication by examining the nature and extent of infraction of a fundamental right by a statute, sought to be constitutionally protected, and on the touchstone of the basic structure doctrine as reflected in Article21 read with Article 14 and Article 19 by application of the "rights test" and the "essence of the right" test taking the synoptic view of the articles in Part III as held in Indira Gandhi case. Applying the above tests to the Ninth Schedule laws, if the infraction affects the basic structure then such a law(s) will not get the protection of the Ninth Schedule.
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For the questions involved in this matter, we need not expand much on the different facets of basic structure doctrine but, in the context of the law aforesaid, we may examine the scheme of the Act of 1973 itself before entering into the questions relating to one of its provisions i.e., Sub-section (6) of Section 19. The intent of the legislature behind enacting the Act of 1973 can be gathered by a plain reading of its preamble as under:-