Edaneer (Kasaragod): Head of Edaneer Math Kesavananda Bharathi (79), who rose to fame after engaging in a legal battle to protect fundamental rights, passed away here in the wee hours of Sunday. He was suffering from breathing trouble. He breathed his last at the Math itself.

Born to Manjathaya Sreedhara Bhatt and Padmavathi Amma, Kesavananda became the head of Edaneer Math on November 14, 1960. He took up the position two days before the demise of his father's elder brother and the then head of the Math Easwarananda Bharati.

The legal battle led by Kesavananda Bharati was one of the most historical and long cases to protect fundamental rights. The case known as 'The Kesavananda Case' is familiar among the law circles even now. Swami filed a writ questioning the 29th Amendment of Constitution in 1971, Kerala Land Reforms Act in 1969 and the Kerala Land Reforms Amendment Act in 1971.

Following this, Kesavananda became the first petitioner to question the amendment of fundamental rights. Due to the political relevance of the case, intense pressure was imposed on the court from the very beginning. The Supreme Court full bench consisting of 13 judges tried the case for 66 days creating another history. Kesavananda made headlines in the newspapers in the country every day.

The government argued in the court that the Constitution can be amended to ensure the upliftment of the common people and social justice. The judiciary and the government were engaged in verbal spat in the court on the basis of this. The judges who took stand against the government were denied promotion.

However, the judiciary won finally. The Supreme Court pronounced the verdict for 6-7 majority that the fundamental rights in the Constitution cannot be amended by the Parliament. The historical verdict was pronounced on April 24, 1973.