Important Constitutional Amendment Part-1

Like any other written Constitution in the world, the Constitution of India also provides for its amendment in order to adjust itself according to the changing conditions and needs.

Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution deals with the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure. It states that the Parliament may amend the Constitution by way of addition, variation, or repeal of any provision in accordance with the procedure laid down for the purpose.

However, the Parliament cannot amend those provisions which form the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. This was ruled by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).

Important Amendments of the Indian Constitution

First Amendment Act, 1951

Reasons:

To remove certain practical difficulties created by the court’s decision in several cases such as Kameshwar Singh Case, Romesh Thapar Case, etc.

Issues involved in the cases included freedom of speech, acquisition of the Zamindari land, State monopoly of trade, etc

Amendments:

Empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.

Provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.

Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.

Added three more grounds of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression: public order, friendly relations with foreign states and incitement to an offence. Also, it made the restrictions ‘reasonable’ and thus, justiciable in nature.

Provided that state trading and nationalisation of any trade or business by the state is not to be invalid on the ground of violation of the right to trade or business.

Fourth Amendment Act, 1955

Amendments:

Made the scale of compensation given in lieu of compulsory acquisition of private property beyond the scrutiny of courts.

Authorised the state to nationalise any trade.

Included some more Acts in the Ninth Schedule.

Extended the scope of Article 31 A (savings of laws).

Seventh Amendment Act, 1956

Reasons:

To implement the recommendations of the State Reorganization Committee and to implement the State Reorganization Act, 1956.

Amendments:

Second and Seventh Schedules were amended

Abolished the existing classification of states into four categories i.e., Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D states, and reorganised them into 14 states and 6 union territories.

Extended the jurisdiction of high courts to union territories.

Provided for the establishment of a common high court for two or more states.

Provided for the appointment of additional and acting judges of the high court.

Ninth Amendment Act, 1960

Reasons:

After the Nehru-Noon agreement was signed between India and Pakistan to divide the territory of the Berubari Union, the Government of West Bengal opposed it. After this Union referred the matter to SC which held that the power of Parliament to diminish the area of a state (under Article 3) does not cover the cession of Indian territory to a foreign country. Hence, Indian territory can be ceded to a foreign state only by amending the Constitution under Article 368. Consequently, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act (1960) was enacted.

Amendments:

Facilitated the cession of the Indian territory of the Berubari Union (located in West Bengal) to Pakistan as provided in the Indo-Pakistan Agreement (1958).

Tenth Amendment Act, 1961

Amendments:

Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.

Eleventh Amendment Act, 1961

Amendments:

Changed the procedure of election of the vice president by providing for an electoral college instead of a joint meeting of the two Houses of the Parliament.

Provided that the election of the President or vice president cannot be challenged on the ground of any vacancy in the appropriate electoral college.

Twelfth Amendment Act, 1962

Amendments:

Incorporated Goa, Daman and Diu in the Indian Union.

Thirteenth Amendment Act, 1962

Amendments:

Gave the status of a state to Nagaland and made special provisions for it.

Fourteenth Amendment Act, 1962

Amendments:

Incorporated Puducherry in the Indian Union.

Provided for the creation of legislatures and council of ministers for the Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry.

Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964

Amendments:

Prohibited the acquisition of land under personal cultivation unless the market value of the land is paid as compensation.

Included 44 more Acts in the Ninth Schedule

Eighteenth Amendment Act, 1966

Amendments:

Made it clear that the power of Parliament to form a new state also includes a power to form a new state or union territory by uniting a part of a state or a union territory to another state or union territory.

It created new states namely, Punjab and Haryana

Twenty First Amendment Act, 1967

Amendments:

Included Sindhi as the 15th language in the Eighth Schedule.

Twenty Fourth Amendment Act, 1971

Reasons:

Twenty Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act was brought in response to the Golaknath ruling (1967) of the Supreme Court which held that the Parliament does not have the power to take away any fundamental rights through amendment to the Constitution.

Amendments:

Affirmed the power of Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution including fundamental rights by amending Article 13 and 368.

Made it compulsory for the President to give his assent to a Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Twenty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1971

Amendments:

Curtailed the fundamental right to property.

Any law enacted to implement the Directive Principles contained in Article 39 (b) or (c) cannot be challenged on the basis of violating the rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 19, and 31.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1971

Amendments:

Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of princely states.

Thirty First Amendment Act, 1973

Reasons:

An increase in the population of India revealed in the Census of 1971.

Amendments:

Increased the number of Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545.

Thirty-Third Amendment Act, 1974

Amendments:

The amendment to Articles 101 and 190 stipulates that the Speaker/Chairman may accept the resignation of members of Parliament and state legislatures only if they are satisfied that the resignation is voluntary or genuine.

Thirty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1974

Amendments:

Terminated the protectorate status of Sikkim and conferred the status of an associate state of the Indian Union. The Tenth Schedule was added laying down the terms and conditions of association of Sikkim with the Indian Union