indian polity book series 7(2)

6. Justice:

Articles - 17, 23, 24, 38, 39d, 326

The framers of the Constitution adopted the concept of social, economic, and political justice inspired by the 'Russian Revolution' (1917). These are -

1. Social Justice: Social justice means not showing any discrimination among people socially.

   Example: Article 17 prohibits untouchability.

2. Economic Justice: Economic justice means providing equal opportunities to all without discrimination in the economic sphere.

   Example: Article 39(d) provides for equal pay for equal work.

3. Political Justice: Political justice means providing equal opportunities to all in the political sphere.

   Example: Right to vote (Article 326), right to contest elections, right to get government jobs.

7. Liberty:

Articles - "19 - 22"

Liberty means the absence of any restrictions on a citizen's participation in various fields.

Liberty is present in 5 aspects in the Preamble. They are -

1. Liberty of Thought
2. Liberty of Expression
3. Liberty of Belief
4. Liberty of Faith
5. Liberty of Worship

8. Equality:

Article 39 in the Directive Principles explains about this.

Equality means providing equal opportunities to all in various fields.

The preamble provides for two types of equality: equality of status and opportunity.

The first of the Fundamental Rights, the Right to Equality (Articles 14 to 18), enshrines this.

9. Integrity:

This word was added to the Preamble in 1976 through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment.

The aspect of protecting national integrity is included in the Fundamental Duties.

Integrity promotes national feeling among people.

10. Fraternity:

Fraternity means brotherhood. It signifies equality among people within the country and equality among countries externally.

11. National Unity:

Note: According to Ambedkar's idea, this word was included in the Preamble.

* In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court of India rule that Parliament does not have the power to amend the basic features of the Indian Constitution?

1. Golaknath Case, 1967
2. Kesavananda Bharati Case 1973
3. A.K. Gopalan Case 1950
4. Champakam Dorai Rajan Case, 1951

(Answer: 1) Golaknath Case, 1967) (AP Constable-2019)

Basic Structure Doctrine of the Constitution:

In the Golaknath Case (1967), the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament does not have the power to amend Fundamental Rights under Article 368, and that only the Constituent Assembly has this power.

To overcome this, Parliament, through the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act (1971) through 13(2), abolished the power of the Supreme Court to declare constitutional amendment laws invalid.

In the Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act was challenged. In this case, the Supreme Court opined that Parliament has the power to amend any part, including Fundamental Rights.

However, it declared that Parliament does not have the power to change the basic structure of the constitution, thus imposing a limit on Parliament.

Basic elements of the Constitution declared by the Supreme Court in this case:

1. Supremacy of the Constitution
2. Democratic, Republican polity
3. Secularism
4. Separation of Powers
5. Federalism
6. Sovereignty

In the Indira Gandhi VS Rajnarayan case (1975), Justice Chandrachud of the Supreme Court declared the basic structure features as:

1. Equal status and opportunities
2. Freedom of Conscience
3. Rule of law

In the Minerva Mills Case (1980), Justice Chandrachud declared the basic structure elements of the Constitution based on the preamble as:

1. Limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution
2. Judicial Review
3. Balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

The basic structure doctrine of the Constitution was first introduced in the Sajjan Singh vs. State of Rajasthan case, by Justice Janardhan Raghunath Madholkar.

The preamble of the Constitution is not the source of the basic structure of the Constitution - Justice Chandrachud.

Based on the preamble, it can be examined whether constitutional amendments are valid or not; the preamble is a yardstick for constitutional amendments - Justice Beg.

Justice Y. V. Chandrachud (Example image, replace with local if needed)

Justice Y.V. Chandrachud served as the longest-serving Chief Justice of India.

- Justice Y.V.