Article 31, Constitution

57 Landmark Constitutional Cases: Complete Notes

About this topic ▶ Watch this part of the lecture (0:00) These notes cover the 57 most important cases of Indian Constitutional Law . They are the cases that keep coming up in LL.B. examinations, in judiciary examinations and in every serious discussion of constitutional law. Every case is studied…

411 min read 16 Oct 2026

Constitution II One Shot

A child born in India before July 1, 1987, automatically acquired Indian citizenship regardless of their parents' nationality.

57 min read 9 Sep 2026

Constitutional Law II: Complete Notes

Constitutional Law II deals with civil liberties. It is studied in eight units, from the question of who is a citizen of India to how the Constitution enforces the rights it gives. These rights are at work in ordinary life: when a person speaks his mind online, prays in his own way, or is stopped b…

130 min read 16 Oct 2026

First, let us understand the basic meaning. The Basic Structure Doctrine is a rule created by the Supreme Court of India which says: Parliament can amend (change) almost any part of the Constitution, but it cannot change the parts that form the Constitution's core identity — its "basic structure."…

Minerva Mills (1980) struck down Sections 4 and 55 of the Forty-second Amendment. The Court held that a limited amending power, judicial review, and the balance between Fundamental Rights (Part III) and Directive Principles (Part IV) are all part of the basic structure of the Constitution. It is the most important basic structure case after Kesavananda Bharati, and it is the source of the famous 'golden triangle' of Articles 14, 19 and 21.

The Supreme Court held that the Karnataka Contract Carriages Acquisition Act, 1976 was not repugnant to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, so the State Act remained valid. Applying the doctrine of pith and substance, the Court found that the State Act was a law of acquisition under Entry 42 of List III, while the Central Act was a general regulatory law under Entry 35 of List III. The case is a leading example of how Article 254 and repugnancy should be approached: identify each law's real purpose first, and do not assume a conflict in a hurry.

In Waman Rao v. Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld Articles 31A and 31B and the unamended Article 31C. It held that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule before 24 April 1973 (the date of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment) are safe from the basic structure test, but laws added after that date can be challenged if they damage the basic structure. This cut-off line later shaped I. R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007) and is central to the law on Parliament's amending power.

First, let us understand the basic meaning. Article 13(2) of the Constitution says: the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges Fundamental Rights, and any law that does so is void. Shankari Prasad Singh Deo vs. Union of India (1951) asked one sharp question: does the word "law" i…