With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:
1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to be constitutionally invalid.
2. An amendment to the Constitution of India cannot be called into question by the Supreme Court of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: High Courts are constitutional courts vested with the power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution. A High Court has full jurisdiction to declare any Central law or parliamentary enactment constitutionally invalid if it infringes Fundamental Rights or violates the Constitution.
Statement 2 is incorrect: In the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court established the Basic Structure doctrine. The Supreme Court has the power to call into question and strike down any constitutional amendment if it violates the basic structure of the Constitution (as demonstrated when the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, NJAC, was declared unconstitutional in 2015).
Therefore, neither statement is correct — Option D.