Constitutional Law
Basic Structure Doctrine
A judicially developed principle holding that certain fundamental features of the Constitution cannot be altered or destroyed, even through a constitutional amendment.
While Parliament has wide power to amend the Constitution, the Supreme Court has held that this power cannot be used to destroy the Constitution's "basic structure" — core features like democracy, judicial review, and separation of powers — meant to preserve its fundamental character.
This doctrine has been used to strike down constitutional amendments found to violate these core, foundational features.
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