Golaknath Vs State of Punjab (1967): Case Summary

Fact: The family of Henry & Golaknath had 500 acres of farmland in Punjab. According to Punjab Security and Land Tenures Act, the state government held that every brother can only keep 30 acres. Golaknath's family was challenging this in the courts. The family filed a petition under Article 32, challenging The Punjab Act on the ground that it denied their constitutional rights to acquire and hold property and practice any profession and to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. They also mentioned the Seventeenth Amendment, held by the Punjab Act in the Ninth Schedule, declared ultra vires.

Judgment: The court held that fundamental rights mentioned in Part III of the Constitution are given a "transcendental position" and are beyond the reach of the Parliament. It also declared any amendment that takes away fundamental rights conferred by Part III unconstitutional.