H.R. Khanna

Justice H.R. Khanna was the lone dissenting judge in the *Additional District Magistrate, Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla* (ADM Jabalpur) case during the 1975-1977 Indian Emergency. He ruled that the right to life and liberty could not be suspended even during a national emergency, directly opposing the government's stance. His dissent famously cost him the position of Chief Justice of India.

Despite being the senior-most judge on the Supreme Court of India in 1977, H.R. Khanna was bypassed for the position of Chief Justice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In direct retaliation for his dissenting judgment in the ADM Jabalpur case, Justice M.H. Beg was appointed instead. Khanna immediately resigned from the bench following this unprecedented supersession.

In the landmark *Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala* case in 1973, Justice H.R. Khanna articulated the "basic structure doctrine" of the Indian Constitution. He ruled that while Parliament had wide powers to amend the Constitution, it could not alter its fundamental framework or essential features. This doctrine continues to be the bedrock of Indian constitutional law today.

Justice H.R. Khanna is widely celebrated as a martyr for judicial independence and the rule of law in India. He famously wrote in his autobiography, *Neither Roses Nor Thorns*, that his dissent in the ADM Jabalpur case was a matter of his conscience. The New York Times editorialized that his stance demonstrated that a single judge could stand against the power of the state.