Kozhikode: Kesavananda Bharati, the Kerala Seer whose petition led to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court judgement on the “Basic structure doctrine” of the constitution and rights related to Religion, Equality and Property, died on Sunday at the Edneer Mutt in Kasargod.

He was 80 years old and had been ailing. He was appointed the Chief Pontiff of the Edneer Mutt in 1961 at the age of 19, Bharati went on to become a cause célèbre of constitutional rights when, as a 30 year old, he walked into the Supreme Court with a Writ petition challenging the contours of Parliament’s power to amend the constitution. The historic case had its genesis in 1969, when the Kerala Government decided to take over land owned by the Mutt under the land reforms act.

While Bharati may not have intended it to be so, the case opened up a debate on gamut of rights guaranteed under Article 25 (Right to practice and propagate Religion) Article 26 (Right to manage Religious Affairs), Article 14 (Right Equality), Article 19 (1) (F) (Freedom to acquire property) Article 31 (Compulsory acquisition of property) of the constitution.