democracy into a dictatorship.

 democracy into a dictatorship.

7. Nani drew the pointed attention of the bench to what happened in Germany in the 1930s, when Hitler was empowered to amend the German Constitution and the consequences that followed .8. If the Parliament wants to take for itself the power to abridge the right to liberty or freedom of speech and start in the country one-party rule without freedom, it cannot do so for the simple reason that a creature of the Constitution has an inherent and implied limitation on its power. It cannot impair the essential elements of the Constitution. 9. Under the Constitution the entire Parliament could not, even by a unanimous vote, legislate to take away a single fundamental right, a mere two-thirds majority could not abrogate the rights by simply calling it a ‘constitutional amendment’. 10. He forcefully argued that a ‘five-year Parliament’ cannot assume ‘omnicompetent’ powers to change the essential features of the Constitution from which it derived its derived its statutory powers, without the consent of the people. 11. Under the new amendments, the executive had clothed itself to take away any or all fundamental rights. It was for the first time in the history of the world that the highest court in any country was considering detailed arguments on the question as to whether the parliament which is the creature of the Constitution, is entitled to claim amending powers which would make it the master of the Constitution. The 67-day-old hearing of the case before the Supreme Court was declared closed on 23rd March, 1973. On 24th April, almost a month later, the Supreme Court held by a majority that though Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, in the exercise of its amending power, it cannot alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution. One of the judges observed, ‘Never before in the history of the court has there been a performance like that.’ Justice H.R. Khanna said: ‘It was not Nani who spoke. It was divinity speaking through him. Such arguments will not be heard in this court for centuries to come.’ Judgment is Valid till Today: It is pertinent to mention that the decision of The Kesavananda Bharati Case (Fundamental Rights case) is still valid. Recently when the Constitutional Amendment Act - National Judicial Appointment Commission Act (NJAC) was struck down by the Supreme Court, the Law Minister and many BJP and other political leaders said that it was against the will of the people. But nothing legally could be done against it as it was held in the Kesavananda Bharati that the parliament does not represent the will of the people of India as the people of India are not involved in the process of the amendment of the Constitution. Such was Nani A. Palkhivala because of him we breathe freely today. #Palkhivala