On 12 June 1975, for the first time in independent India’s history, the election of a prime minister was set aside by a high court judgment. The watershed case, Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain, acted as the catalyst for the imposition of the Emergency. Based on detailed notes of the court proceedings, The Case That Shook India is both a significant legal and a historical document.
The author, advocate Prashant Bhushan, provides a blow-by-blow account of the goings-on inside the courtroom as well as the manoeuvrings outside it, including threats, bribes and deceit. As the case goes to the Supreme Court, we see how a ruling government can misuse legislative power to save the PM’s election.
Through his forceful and gripping narrative, Bhushan vividly recreates the legal drama that decisively shaped India’s political destiny.
‘Not just of historical interest . . . many of these issues are back in focus today’ Mint
‘An invaluable historical document . . . being re-issued when new questions are being asked about the independence of the judiciary from the PMO’ Caravan
‘Of general interest [with] contemporary resonances’ India Today
‘Bhushan reminds the public about how a democracy can go wrong, so that we remain vigilant’ Hans India
– Apratim Roy
Good one