Changed the course of politics: Jairam Ramesh on Palkhivala’s letter to Indira Gandhi rubbishing 1975 verdict

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday drew attention to a little-known letter written by eminent jurist Nani Palkhivala to then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, in which he described the Allahabad High Court verdict against her election as “erroneous on facts and in law.”

Ramesh referred to the document in a post on X while noting that former chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi retired as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

According to Ramesh, Gogoi in what he described as “his only speech in the Rajya Sabha” on August 7, 2023, had referred to a book by senior advocate T R Andhyarujina titled Kesavananda Bharati Case . The book provides rare archival insights into how the Supreme Court evolved the “basic structure doctrine of the Constitution” in its landmark 1973 judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case.

Ramesh said the book is particularly significant because it contains the full text of “a letter dated November 9, 1975” written by Palkhivala to Gandhi. He noted that the document has rarely been discussed and finds no mention in most biographies of the celebrated constitutional lawyer.

The letter referred to the political upheaval triggered months earlier when Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court set aside Gandhi’s 1971 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli on June 12, 1975. The court found her guilty of electoral malpractice, including the misuse of government machinery for campaign purposes. The ruling triggered “a political crisis that changed the course of Indian politics” and was followed by the proclamation of the The Emergency in India on June 25, 1975.

Sharing screenshots of the letter, Ramesh said Palkhivala had strongly criticised the judgment and maintained that Gandhi deserved to succeed in the case regardless of subsequent amendments to the Constitution or changes to the Representation of the People Act.

In the letter, Palkhivala congratulated the prime minister after the litigation concerning her election concluded and reiterated that the high court ruling was flawed.

He also cautioned Gandhi about the broader implications of attempting to have the Supreme Court reconsider the Kesavananda Bharati judgment, which had placed limits on Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution.

Palkhivala urged her to consider “withdrawing the government’s plea to reopen the Kesavananda verdict” , suggesting that such a move would be “a great gesture to preserve constitutional balance.”

Ramesh said the letter reveals an important but little-discussed episode in India’s legal and political history, highlighting debates within the establishment during a turbulent period that reshaped the country’s constitutional trajectory.