6.7.3. Case of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards

In Balaji Raghavan case, the SC allowed the State to give Bharat Ratna and Padma awards but made it clear that these couldn’t be used as a title. These National Awards were instituted in 1954. The Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai discontinued them in 1977. But they were again revived in 1980 by the Indira Gandhi government.