{"id":256951,"date":"2023-08-22T19:42:12","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=256951"},"modified":"2023-08-29T12:22:56","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T06:52:56","slug":"times-come-to-draw-new-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/times-come-to-draw-new-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Time\u2019s Come To Draw New Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cTime\u2019s Come To Draw New Lines\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Times of India\u201d <\/strong>on 22nd August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- Judiciary<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Issues related to functioning of judiciary<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– Ranjan Gogoi, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, put forth the notion that the concept of the basic structure is subject to debate.<\/p>\n

What are some facts about basic structure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Kesavananda Bharati judgment<\/strong> was delivered by a 13-member constitutional bench<\/strong> in 1973. It introduced the concept of \u201cbasic structure\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bench said that there are some things in the Constitution that even Parliament cannot change.<\/p>\n

What are issues with the basic structure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lack of clarity<\/strong>– There is a question regarding the extent to which SC can interpret the concept <\/strong>of the “basic structure.” The judiciary has not yet provided clear guidance<\/strong> on this matter.<\/p>\n

Varying perspectives among judges<\/strong>– As per Ranjan Gogoi, the concept of the basic structure is subject to debate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The current Chief Justice had expressed that the basic structure serves as the “North Star” guiding jurisprudence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Historical perspective<\/strong>– When the Kesavananda verdict was delivered in April 1973, it carried a narrow majority of 7-6. <\/strong>The panel of 13 judges produced a total of 11 separate opinions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The consensus was shaped by the then Chief Justice, SM Sikri. He presented a six-point “majority view”<\/strong> in open court. However, four of the judges declined to do so.<\/p>\n

The second proposition stated that “Article 368 does not empower Parliament <\/strong>to modify the fundamental structure or framework of the Constitution.” <\/strong><\/p>\n

The concept of the basic structure did not organically aris<\/strong>e from this judgment. Its frequent use to justify judicial interventions is questionable unless the entire idea is thoroughly examined<\/strong> by another constitutional bench.<\/p>\n

Political backdrop<\/strong>– Indira Gandhi held considerable power<\/strong>. She wants amendments that would enhance the authority of the executive<\/strong> in pursuing its social agenda. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The judiciary was divided between progressive and conservative factions,<\/strong> and some believed that curbing executive power was imperative.<\/p>\n

Extraordinary circumstances<\/strong> can lead to flawed laws. The notion of the basic structure was a product of its era. It warrants a reevaluation and clarification<\/strong> in the context of our times.<\/p>\n

Other issues<\/strong>– Certain common-sense “basic” features<\/strong> have been disregarded by the judiciary. A fundamental aspect of the Constitution should involve checks and balances. <\/strong><\/p>\n

There are questions regarding the Supreme Court having authority to exclusively appoint<\/strong> all judges to the higher judiciary.<\/p>\n

A dissenting judge in the NJAC case, Justice J Chelameswar, argued that the independence of the judiciary isn’t compromised simply because the Chief Justice isn’t the primary influencer<\/strong> in judicial appointments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is assumption that the concept of the basic structure was derived from the thoughts of the constituent assembly<\/strong> that drafted the Constitution.<\/p>\n

However, the chapter on fundamental duties was not part of the original Constitution.<\/strong> This was added in 1976 as Article 51A.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A provision introduced a quarter century after the initial Constitution was classified as an element of the basic structure.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cTime\u2019s Come To Draw New Lines\u201d published in \u201cThe Times of India\u201d on 22nd August 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Judiciary Relevance: Issues related to functioning of judiciary News– Ranjan Gogoi, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, put forth the notion that the concept of the basic… Continue reading Time\u2019s Come To Draw New Lines<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,225],"class_list":["post-256951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-polity","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}