Question: The invention of a “basic structure” doctrine has saved India’s democracy. Comment

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Answer: Basic structure is a set of fundamental rights and nature of the constitution which cannot be abridged through amendment by the parliament. The concept of the basic structure was first introduced by the supreme court in the Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973. After that the basic structure evolved and well established through the Indira Gandhi case, Minerva Mills case, and Waman Rao case among others.

Elements of the basic structure:

There is no proper definition of what constitutes the basic structure of the constitution given either by the parliament or the judiciary. But the judiciary in number of cases had listed some basic structures which are as follows:

• Supremacy of the Constitution
• Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity
• Secular character of the Constitution
• Federal character of the Constitution
• Unity and integrity of the nation
• Welfare state
• Judicial review

Basic structure and constitutional amendment:

The parliament can amend the constitution through power given to it under the article. 368 of the Indian constitution. The parliament can amend any part of the constitution by required majority provisions but those changes should not affect the basic structure. 

On the other hand the  constitution vests in judiciary, the power to adjudicate upon the constitutional validity of all the laws. If a law made by parliament or state legislature violates any provision of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to declare such a law invalid or ultra virus. So the process of judicial scrutiny of legislative acts is called Judicial Review.

The recent example for this action is the 99th constitutional amendment act which proposed the national judicial appointments committee. As the act violated the judicial independence and separation of powers declared as void by the Supreme court.

Significance of the basic structure:

Basic structure acts as a bulwark on the power of the parliament to change the constitutional provisions. Thus the fundamental rights of the citizens are not put at the mercy of the Parliament as the judiciary measures the constitutionality of the changes made by the parliament.

Conclusion:  

Thus the basic structure of the constitution is sacrosanct in nature. By this concept the supreme Court of India guarantees the fundamental rights to Indian citizens. In a democracy it is the duty of the state to protect and promote the welfare of its people. On violation of this duty there should be a mechanism to check and restore the welfare nature of the state. Hence the basic structure upholds the rights and welfare of the common people of the country.