Minerva Mills v. Union of India

Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union Of India
Court	Supreme Court of India
Full case name	Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. vs Union Of India and Ors.
Decided	31 July 1980
Citation	AIR 1980 SC 1789
Court membership
Judges sitting	Y. V. Chandrachud (Chief Justice), P. N. Bhagwati, A. C. Gupta, N. L. Untwalia, P. S. Kailasam.
Case opinions
Clause 5 of Article 368 transgresses the limitation on the amending power of Parliament and is hence unconstitutional.
Decision by	Y. V. Chandrachud (Chief Justice)
Concur/dissent	P. N. Bhagwati

Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. v. Union Of India and Ors. (case number: Writ Petition (Civil) 356 of 1977; case citation: AIR 1980 SC 1789)^[1] is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India^[2] that applied and evolved the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution of India.^[3]

In the Minerva Mills case, the Supreme Court provided key clarifications on the interpretation of the basic structure doctrine. The court ruled that the power of the parliament to amend the constitution is limited by the constitution. Hence the parliament cannot exercise this limited power to grant itself an unlimited power. In addition to that , a majority of the court also held that the parliament's power to amend is not a power to destroy. Hence the parliament cannot emasculate the fundamental rights of individuals, and also includes the right to liberty and equality (which is not a fundamental right but considered a basic structure of the Constitution) .^[4]

The ruling struck down clause 4 and 5 of the Constitution (Forty second Amendment) Act, 1976 enacted during the Emergency provision imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.^[5]