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The Supreme Court has held that certain fundamental rights (e.g., equality, liberty, dignity) are part of the basic structure of the Constitution, meaning Parliament cannot amend the Constitution to destroy these core rights.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Rights as basic structure: (a) Kesavananda Bharati (1973): Basic structure includes supremacy of Constitution, republican/democratic form, secularism, federalism, judicial review, rule of law, individual dignity — many derived from Fundamental Rights, (b) Subsequent cases: (i) Minerva Mills (1980): Balance between FRs and DPSP is basic structure, (ii) Puttaswamy (2017): Privacy intrinsic to liberty/dignity; core rights unamendable, (iii) Navtej Singh Johar (2018): Equality, non-discrimination part of basic structure, (c) Implications: Parliament cannot amend Constitution to: (i) Abolish FRs, (ii) Remove judicial review of rights violations, (iii) Destroy core values (secularism, equality, dignity), (d) Flexibility: Rights can be reasonably restricted (Article 19) or balanced (proportionality test), but core cannot be destroyed. Illustrates constitutional supremacy: rights protected against transient majorities through basic structure doctrine.