Opinion November 11, Forty Years Ago: Constitution Debate

A look at the front page of The Indian Express, published on November 11, Forty Years Ago.

A full bench of the Supreme Court commenced the hearing on the question of whether Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution was limited by the theory of basic features and whether the bank nationalisation case was correctly decided. N.A. Palkhiwala, appearing for Balakrishnan, a detenu, submitted that there was no need for the SC to sit in its full strength to reconsider a case that had already been decided. Referring to the decision in Kesavananda Bharati (where the principle of basic features was invoked by the SC), Palkhiwala said that at that time, there were six cases pending, and the judges sitting on the division bench had said there was some doubt about the law decided earlier. It was because of this that a larger bench was constituted. But in the present case, no such doubt had been expressed by any of the judges on the decision in Kesavananda Bharati. There was, therefore, no need to reconsider the case.

Panchen Lama Alive

The Panchen Lama, the second-ranking leader in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, is alive, well and studying politics in Peking, author Han Syin disclosed in Hong Kong. She met the media after returning from a two-week stay in Tibet. Han was the first Chinese living abroad to be allowed to visit Tibet after China took over the region 25 years ago.

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An announcement was made that all stations of All India Radio and television centres would broadcast a special programme in Hindi, “Prime minister speaks to the people”.

Angola Is Free

Portugal proclaimed Angola’s independence, five centuries after it first occupied the African country. “Portugal is departing without a feeling of guilt or shame… It is leaving a country it is proud of, and that the Angolan people can be proud of,” Lisbon’s envoy in Angola said.