India, Oct. 29 -- The Indian Constitution was never meant to be a static document. Its framers wrote it to transform a society marked by hierarchy and exclusion into one founded on liberty, equality and dignity. That transformative purpose has been carried forward by our courts. Kesavananda Bharati held that Parliament's power to amend has limits, and that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be destroyed.

Maneka Gandhi held that any procedure depriving a person of liberty must be just, fair and reasonable. Puttaswamy recognised privacy as a fundamental right. Each of these judgments widened the reach of constitutional protection without changing a single word of the text. This growth depends on strong in empowerment stitutions...