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Basic Features Of The Constitution

It is necessary to identify the basic features of the Constitution which are non-amendable under Art. 368. The question has been considered by the Court from time to time, and several such features have been identified, but the matter still remains an open one; no exhaustive list of such features has yet emerged and the Court has to decide from case to case whether a constitutional feature can be characterised as basic or not. In the seminal Kesavananda case, Sikri Chief Justice mentioned the following as  the "basic foundation and structure" of the Constitution: Supremacy of the Constitution; Separation of Powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary; Republican and democratic form of Government; Secular character of the Constitution, Federal Character of the Constitution, The dignity of the individual secured by the various Fundamental Rights and the mandate to build a welfare state contained in the directive principles; The unity and integ...