Under the Constitution of India, consider the following statements in the context of constitutional amendments:
I. Judicial review extends to constitutional amendments.
II. Laws inserted into the Ninth Schedule after 24th April, 1973 remain open to scrutiny for violation of the basic structure.
III. Parliament's amending power under Article 368 is unlimited.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- AI only
- BI and II
- CII and III
- DI, II and III
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
Statement I is correct because constitutional amendments are subject to judicial review to ensure they do not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. Statement II is correct as per the landmark judgment in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu, which held that laws added to the Ninth Schedule after the Kesavananda Bharati judgment date (24th April, 1973) can be challenged if they infringe fundamental rights or violate the basic structure. Statement III is incorrect because Parliament's amending power under Article 368 is limited by the Basic Structure doctrine, as laid down in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. Thus, only statements I and II are correct.