Sarv Mittra Sikri (English: Sarv Mittra Sikri, born- 26 April, 1908; died- 24 September, 1992) was the former 13th Chief Justice of India. He was the Chief Justice of India from 22 January, 1971 to 25 April, 1973. Justice Sarv Mittra Sikri was very much in the news when a bench of 13 judges was formed under his chairmanship and the ‘Keshavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala’ case was heard.
Sarva Mitra Sikri was the first judge of the Supreme Court to be appointed directly from the bar. He started practising in Lahore High Court in 1930 and later served as Assistant Advocate General, Punjab (1949) and Advocate General, Punjab, (1951-1964). Sarva Mitra Sikri was appointed to the Supreme Court in February, 1964. Later became the Chief Justice of India in January 1971. He retired on 25 April, 1973, a day after delivering the judgment in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala. He was also part of the majority judgment in Golaknath vs Union of India, which was overruled in Kesavananda. The biggest question before the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case was whether the Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution to any extent? Can the Parliament amend the fundamental rights of citizens? These were the questions that the 13 judges had to answer in the Kesavananda Bharati case. Already in the Golaknath case, a bench of 11 judges had given the verdict that the Parliament cannot tamper with the fundamental rights. To take a new decision on this issue, a bench larger than 11 judges was required. Therefore, for the first time in the history of the country, a bench of 13 judges was formed under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Sarv Mitra Sikri and the hearing of the Kesavananda Bharati case began. After nearly 70 days of debate, the court gave its verdict on 24 April 1973. Seven judges gave the verdict in favour and six judges against. In this decision, the judges overturned the decision of the Golaknath case by a majority of seven against six. That is, the court accepted that the Parliament can amend the fundamental rights, but it cannot make any such amendment which changes the basic structure of the Constitution.
