Consider the following and arrange these in chronological order : I. Golak Nath Case II. Keshawanand Bharti Case III. 24th Constitution Amendment Act IV. 42nd Constitution Amendment Act Select the correct answer from the codes given below. Codes :
- (a)I, III, II, IV
- (b)I, II, III, IV
- (c)III, I, II, IV
- (d)III, I, IV, II
Correct — A, I, III, II, IV. Order the four by year: I. Golak Nath case — 1967, in which the Supreme Court held that Parliament could NOT amend or abridge Fundamental Rights; III. 24th Constitution Amendment Act — 1971, Parliament's response, which explicitly empowered it to amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, under Article 368; II. Kesavananda Bharati case — 1973, in which the Court upheld Parliament's amending power but propounded the 'Basic Structure' doctrine, overruling Golak Nath; IV. 42nd Constitution Amendment Act — 1976, the so-called 'Mini-Constitution', which among other things tried to bar judicial review of amendments. So the sequence is 1967 → 1971 → 1973 → 1976 = I, III, II, IV.
- (b)I, II, III, IV — Wrong — it places the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) before the 24th Amendment (1971). The 24th Amendment actually came first, as Parliament's direct reply to the Golak Nath verdict.
- (c)III, I, II, IV — Wrong — it begins with the 24th Amendment (1971) before the Golak Nath case (1967), reversing the true cause-and-effect order (the case provoked the amendment, not the other way round).
- (d)III, I, IV, II — Wrong — besides wrongly starting with the 24th Amendment, it ends with Kesavananda (1973) placed after the 42nd Amendment (1976), which is chronologically impossible.
These four items are the spine of the 'Basic Structure' story. Golak Nath (1967) barred amendment of Fundamental Rights; the 24th Amendment (1971) overturned that by asserting Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution; Kesavananda Bharati (1973) accepted that power but limited it with the Basic Structure doctrine; and the 42nd Amendment (1976) tried to place amendments beyond judicial review — a move later checked by Minerva Mills (1980).
Anchor each item to its year and remember that the logic runs case → counter-amendment → case → amendment. The common error is to keep the two cases together (Golak Nath then Kesavananda) and the two amendments together. In reality the 24th Amendment (1971) is sandwiched BETWEEN the two cases.
- Golak Nath v. State of Punjab — 1967: Parliament cannot amend or abridge Fundamental Rights.
- 24th Constitution Amendment Act — 1971: affirmed Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution (Art. 368), reversing Golak Nath.
- Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala — 1973: upheld the amending power but laid down the Basic Structure doctrine, overruling Golak Nath.
- 42nd Constitution Amendment Act — 1976: the 'Mini-Constitution'; sought to bar judicial review of amendments (curtailed later by Minerva Mills, 1980).
- Golak Nath case — 1967 (Fundamental Rights unamendable)
- 24th Amendment — 1971 (Parliament can amend any part)
- Kesavananda Bharati — 1973 (Basic Structure doctrine)
- 42nd Amendment — 1976 ('Mini-Constitution')
I → III → II → IV: 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976 — answer (a).
- Placing Kesavananda (1973) before the 24th Amendment (1971)
- Assuming both amendments came after both cases — the 24th Amendment sits between them
UPPSC and UPSC ask this as 'arrange in chronological order' or by testing which case propounded the Basic Structure doctrine — fix the four years 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1976.
With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: 1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any Central law to be constitutionally invalid. 2. An amendment to the Constitution of India cannot be called in question by the Supreme Court of India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Same concept — the judicial review of constitutional amendments. Statement 2 is false precisely because of the Basic Structure doctrine of Kesavananda Bharati (1973), the pivotal event in this UPPSC chronology.
The Supreme Court of India enunciated the doctrine of "Basic Structure of the Constitution" in
- (a) The Golaknath Case in 1967
- (b) The Keshavanand Bharati Case in 1973
- (c) The Shankari Prasad Case in 1951
- (d) The Sajjan Singh Case in 1965
Answer(b) The Keshavanand Bharati Case in 1973
Directly the same concept — it pins the Basic Structure doctrine to the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) that anchors this chronology, and even lists the Golak Nath case (1967) among its options.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The doctrine of the 'Basic Structure of the Constitution' was propounded by the Supreme Court in which case?
- (a)Golak Nath case
- (b)Kesavananda Bharati case
- (c)Minerva Mills case
- (d)Shankari Prasad case
Answer(b) Kesavananda Bharati case — the 1973 judgment first laid down the Basic Structure doctrine.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Constitutional Amendment Act is often called the 'Mini-Constitution' because of the wide-ranging changes it made?
- (a)24th Amendment
- (b)42nd Amendment
- (c)44th Amendment
- (d)1st Amendment
Answer(b) 42nd Amendment — the 1976 Act made such sweeping changes that it is nicknamed the 'Mini-Constitution'.