Making of India's Constitution

This legal classic, originally a compilation of three lectures delivered by Justice H.R. Khanna on the making of India's Constitution has been thoroughly revamped with the objective of presenting a more holistic understanding of Justice Khanna's contribution to the making of the constitution himself. A must have for all those who strive towards a better understanding of the constitution of India.

We have added extracts from Justice Khanna's three seminal opinions in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225; Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, 1975 Supp SCC 1 and ADM, Jabalpur v. Union of India, (1976) 2 SCC 521, which have truly been instrumental in the making of India and its Constitution.

There are few men that make history. Justice H.R. Khanna, former Justice of the Supreme Court, is one of those great men, who stood up for dharma, the rule of law, and the individual, at great personal cost, in perilous times when the primacy of the rule of law and the strident independence of the judiciary that is taken for granted today, had been put in jeopardy. He did so by dissenting in ADM, Jabalpur v. Union of India, (1976) 2 SCC 521 (Habeas Corpus case), against the then overmighty executive, during a time when the Constitution itself was in great peril. The New York Times observed in an editorial dated April 30, 1976 - "If India ever finds its way back to freedom and democracy, that proud hallmark of its first 18 years, someone will surely erect a monument to Justice H.R. Khanna of the Supreme Court."

His great dissenting opinion in the Habeas Corpus case and his pivotal opinion in Kesavananda Bharati, (1973) 4 SCC 225 read with the opinion in Indira Nehru Gandhi case, 1975 Supp SCC 1 laying down the Basic Structure doctrine, are as constitutive of India's Constitution as is the text of the Constitution of India.

1. Making of India's Constitution 1-178
2. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (Extracts)
3. Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (Extracts) 349-444
4. ADM, Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla (Extracts) 445-539