Chennai: Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji, the sole unwitting petitioner in the historic Fundamental Rights case which prevented the nation from slipping into a totalitarian regime, died on Sunday. He was 80.
Kesavananda Bharati, the seer of Edneer Mutt in Kasargod district of Kerala, whose petition challenging the Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Act 1969 led to the landmark ‘basic structure’ doctrine judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in 1973, passed away Sunday morning.
Bharati had moved the top court on 21 March 1970 against the land reforms law passed by the Kerala government with an objective to distribute land among landless farmers.
Thirty-year-old Kesavananda Bharati had approached the Supreme Court in 1970 with a writ petition challenging the contours of Parliamentās power to amend the Constitution which was argued by livewire and legendary lawyer Nani Palkhivala, who was then a youthful 53 years old.
The ruling is considered among the most consequential decisions by the Supreme Court as it set out the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution that Parliament cannot amend.
A 13-judge Bench was set up by the Supreme Court, the biggest so far, and the case was heard over 68 working days spread over six months. The Bench gave 11 separate judgments that agreed and disagreed on many issues but a majority judgment of seven judges was stitched together by then Chief Justice of India S M Sikri on the eve of his retirement.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, among others, condoled the death of the pontiff.