Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

In the first years of the Republic of India, the Indian Supreme Court campaigned to protect just compensation for private property seized during land reform approved by the Indian Parliament. The Indian Parliament often overruled the supreme court by passing new constitutional amendments. In 1967, the supreme court heard a case concerning land reform, Golak Nath v. State of Punjab. The supreme court held in Golak Nath that constitutional amendments were laws subject to full judicial review under Article 13(2) of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court also held in Golak Nath that laws were unconstitutional to the extent that the laws infringed on fundamental rights. In response to the holding of Golak Nath, the Indian Parliament passed the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment amended Article 13 to provide that constitutional amendments are not reviewable as laws. In 1969, the government of Indira Gandhi nationalized 14 Indian banks. The supreme court curtailed this nationalization in Rustom Cavasjee Cooper v. Union of India (The Banking Nationalization Case), holding seizing the bank assets without compensation was unconstitutional. The government of Indira Gandhi then overturned the Banking Nationalization Case by passing the Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Amendments through the Indian Parliament. A 13-member panel of the supreme court heard Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, a case challenging the amendments overturning the holding of Golak Nath and the Banking Nationalization Case.