His appointment as CJI came on the heels of a dissenting opinion in the Keshavanand Bharti case which gave rise to the Basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution.

This appointment superseded three senior judges of the Supreme Court, Jaishanker Manilal Shelat, AN Grover and K. S. Hegde, and was viewed as an attack on the independence of the Judiciary.

He made himself amenable to her influence by telephoning her frequently, and also ask her personal secretary's advise on simple matters, conveying the impression that Prime Minister's views might be heard concerning an ongoing court-case.

[4] Ultimately, the powers of the Judiciary over judicial appointments was re-established under the Morarji Desai government with Shanti Bhushan as law minister through various Constitutional amendments.

The IR Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu case was a landmark 2007 Supreme Court of India ruling that established the importance of judicial review and the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution.