Laxmikanth Test: Amendment of the Constitution

Key Points
There are two methods of amending the Constitution and they apply to two different sets of articles of the Constitution:

• A special majority can amend the two houses of the Parliament.
• It requires a special majority of the Parliament and consent of half of the State legislatures. This method is more difficult.

Additional Information

• Special Majority according to Article 249
• This refers to a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. This is used to approve a Rajya Sabha resolution authorizing the Parliament to make State List laws.
• Special Majority according to Article 368
• This refers to a vote backed by more than half of the House's total strength and a majority of 2/3rds of the members present and voting. The majority of Constitution Amendment Bills are written in this format.

Key Points
The bill can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member and does not require prior permission of the president. A private member here means an MP who does not belong to the ruling coalition. Special days in the Parliament are reserved for Private member bills - not constitutional amendment bills.

Additional Information
The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill in either house of Parliament, i.e. the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. A bill can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member. In the former case it is known as a government bill and in the latter case it is known as a private member's bill.

Key Points
The prior permission of the President is required only in the case of money bills and other bills like the one which seeks to divide a state. It can be introduced in any House.

Additional Information
No Bill or amendment which imposes or varies any tax which varies any tax or duty in which States are interested,
(a) a tax or duty the whole or part of the net proceeds whereof are assigned to any State; or
(b) a tax or duty by reference to the net proceeds whereof sums are for the time being payable out of the Consolidated Fund of India to any State.

Key Points
The bill must be passed in each House by a special majority, that is, a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent) of the total membership of the House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting.
In the case of two-third of total membership approving the bill, the second condition automatically gets fulfilled.

Additional Information

• The Constitution of India provides for a distinctive amendment process when compared to the Constitutions of other nations. This can be described as partly flexible and partly rigid. The Constitution provides for a variety in the amending process. 
• This feature has been commended by Australian academic Sir Kenneth Wheare who felt that uniformity in the amending process imposed "quite unnecessary restrictions" upon the amendment of parts of a Constitution.An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament.

Key Points

• It should be ratified by the legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of the House present and voting. No special majority or two-thirds states are needed. So, A is incorrect.
• After duly passed by both the Houses of Parliament and ratified by the state legislatures, where necessary, the bill is presented to the President for assent. No prior consent is required.
• The power to initiate an amendment to the Constitution lies with the Parliament.

​​​​​​​Additional Information

These provisions deal with the following matters (i.e., those which require ratification by state legislatures):

• Election of the President of India and the manner of the said election, as detailed in articles 54 and 55.
• Extent of the executive power of the Union, as detailed in Article 73.
• Extent of the executive power of a state, as detailed in Article 162.
• Provisions relating to High Courts for Union Territories, as detailed in Article 241.
• Provisions relating to the Union Judiciary, i.e., the Supreme Court, as detailed in Chapter IV of Part V of the Constitution.
• Provisions relating to the High Courts in the states, as detailed in Chapter V of Part VI of the Constitution.
• Distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the states, as detailed in Chapter I of Part XI of the Constitution.
• The three lists in the Seventh Schedule, i.e., the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List, enumerating details of the matters in which the Union only, the states only and both the Union and states respectively have the powers to make laws.
• The representation of states in Parliament (e.g., articles such as 80, 81 and 82 and the Fourth Schedule).
• The amending clause itself, i.e., Article 368.

Key Points

• After duly passed by both the Houses of Parliament and ratified by the state legislatures, where necessary, the bill is presented to the President for assent.
• The President must give his assent to the bill. He can neither withhold his assent to the bill nor return the bill for reconsideration of the Parliament.
• The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971 made it obligatory for the President to give his assent to a constitutional Amendment Bill.
• After the President's assent, the bill becomes an Act (i.e., a constitutional amendment act) and the Constitution stands amended following the terms of the Act.

Additional Information

A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it receives the assent of the President. When such a bill is presented to the President for his assent, he has three alternatives (under Article 111 of the Constitution):

• He may give his assent to the bill, or
• He may withhold his assent to the bill, or
• He may return the bill (if it is not a Money bill) for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, the President must give his assent to the bill.

Key Points
The USA is a truly federal nation, gives power to its states to initiate amendments to the constitution. It is not the case in India, which is a quasi-federal nation.

Additional information
An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.

Key Points
We can see the first statement in cases like Kesavarianda Bharati Sripadagalvam v. State of Kerala (1973) 4 SCC 225: Basic structure Doctrine; in other cases which enhanced the scope of Article 21 etc. In all other cases of a constitutional amendment, it is the Parliament and the state legislatures that are involved in constitutional amendment via Article 368 of the constitution. The President cannot send back a constitutional amendment bill for reconsideration to the Parliament.

Additional Information
With Regard to Constitutional Amendment Bills They can only be ratified (that is, cannot be rejected or returned) The President has the veto power over the bills passed by the Parliament that is, he can withhold his assent to the bills.

Key Points
This is to encourage women to not underestimate them .As Many women politicians are in a very low minority in the respective parties and may feel marginalised .It is an 108th amendment bill ,popularly called reservation for women and the major step taken to boost and encourage women's in the society and other areas.

Additional Information

• The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 th March, 2010, is a pending bill in the Parliament of India which proposes to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 1/3rd of all seats in the Lower house of Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, and in all state legislative assemblies for women.
• The seats were proposed to be reserved in rotation and would have been determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 9 March 2010.

However, the Lok Sabha never voted on the bill. The bill Lapsed since it was still pending in Lok Sabha and the Lok Sabha expired during this two times in 2014 and 2019.

Key Points
These matters include:

• Admission or establishment of new states.
• Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states. 
• Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states. 
• Second Schedule - emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the President, the Governors, the Speakers, judges, etc. 
• Quorum in Parliament. 
• Salaries and allowances of the members of Parliament. 
• Rules of procedure in Parliament.
• Privileges of the Parliament, its members and its committees. 
• Use of English language in Parliament.
• Several puisne judges in the Supreme Court. 
• Conferment of more jurisdictions on the Supreme Court. 
• Use of official language.
• Citizenship - acquisition and termination.
• Elections to Parliament and state legislatures. 
• Delimitation of constituencies.
• Union territories. 
• Fifth Schedule - administration of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes.
• Sixth Schedule - administration of tribal areas.

Additional Information

• Special Majority according to Article 249
• This refers to a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. This is used to approve a Rajya Sabha resolution authorising the Parliament to make State List laws.
• Special Majority according to Article 368
• This refers to a vote backed by more than half of the House's total strength and a majority of 2/3rds of the members present and voting. The majority of Constitution Amendment Bills are written in this format.
• This type of majority is utilised in the following situations:
• Passing a constitutional amendment bill that has no effect on the federal government.
• Removing Supreme Court or High Court judges.
• Getting rid of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) or the Chief Election Commissioner is a bad idea (CEC
• National emergency.