Raj Khanna

Hans Raj Khanna (3 July 1912 – 25 February 2008) was a judge of the Supreme Court of India from 1971 to 1977. Two of his judgements form the basis of modern constitutional law in India, even decades after they were delivered. He is noted for his judgement in the highly publicized Habeas Corpus case during the Indian Emergency, in which four other judges, barring him, agreed with the governmental view that even fundamental rights like the right to life stood abrogated during the period of National Emergency. Khannas dissenting opinion, claiming that the Constitution did not intend to permit right to life and liberty to be subject to executive decree, is widely regarded as a landmark in Indian democracy and has been lauded by scholars.Khanna had previously authored the Basic structure doctrine of the Constitution of India in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, which curtailed Parliaments amending power, restricting its scope of amendment in areas which were part of the Constitutions basic structure.On 3 January 1977, after delivering the Habeas Corpus judgement, he was superseded for the post of Chief Justice by Indira Gandhi, despite being the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court and as a result of this, he resigned from the court. His honest actions as the supreme court judge during emergency were admired in India as well as abroad.He later served as Law Minister of India, and was a combined opposition-sponsored candidate for election as President in 1982 though he lost the election to Zail Singh.In 1999, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour given by the Government of India.

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