Supreme Court: Rule of Law Binds Parliament of India

The Supreme Court of India held that rule of law is an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution and cannot be abrogated by Parliament of India which is bound by it. 
The bench opined that any law which deprives a person of his private property for private interest, will be unlawful and unfair and undermines the rule of law and can be subjected to judicial review.
In Kesavananda Bharati’s case, this Court enunciated rule of law as one of the most important aspects of the doctrine of basic structure. Rule of law affirms Parliament’s supremacy while at the same time denying it sovereignty over the Constitution. 

A five-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia gave the judgment. In its judgment it stated that Rule of Law has been characterized as a basic feature of our constitution which cannot be abrogated or destroyed even by parliament in fact. It further added that Rule of law affirms Parliament’s supremacy while at the same time denying it sovereignty over the constitution of India.
The bench, which also included Justices Mukundakam Sharma, K S Radhakrishnan, Swatanter Kumar and Anil R Dave passed the judgment while upholding the Roerich and Devika Rani Roerich Estate Acquisition Act, 1996, enacted by the Karnataka legislature to protect the 465-acre estate of the famous Russian painter Svetoslav and his wife, in Bangalore.

Svetoslav had sold a part of the estate to K T Plantation before his death. However, the state government took over the estate in 1996, through the act, to preserve the valuable trees, paintings and arts gallery of the artist couple.

The Supreme Court dismissed the plea of KT Plantation on the basis that private land of individuals can be acquired for public purpose only and with due compensation. The court also added that land acquisition becomes a matter of concern in the area of foreign investment and it should be kept in mind that rule of law exists in the country. Article 300 A of Constitution of India clearly states that persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law. The same is applicable even for the foreign investors investing in the host country.

These are the following cases which upheld the basic structure of the constitution of India:

i) Keshavananda Bharati Sripadgalvaru V. State of Kerala

ii) Indira Nehru gandhi V. Raj Narain

iii) Minerva Mills Ltd. v, Union of India

iv) Additional district Magistrate, jabalpur V. Shivkant Shukla

The features of Basic structure are given below:

1. Supremacy of Constitution

2. Secular Character of Constitution

3. Republican and Democratic form of Government

4. Separation of Powers between the Legislature, the executive and the judiciary

5. Federal Character of Constitution; Keshavnanda Bharati Sripadgalvaru v. State of Kerala

The Supreme Court of India states that there are certain basic features of the Constitution which are immune from the power of amendment conferred by article 368.