Revision Notes: The Amendments in the Constitution- 1

The Constitution of India is a living document. Amendments have been used to correct, clarify, extend or change constitutional provisions to respond to political, social and administrative needs. The notes below present a chronological, syllabus-oriented summary of the early and important constitutional amendments as historically recorded, along with short explanations of their purpose and legal effect. Key persons, case names and article numbers mentioned in the source text are retained and used where relevant.

Procedure for Constitutional Amendment (Article 368) - brief overview

• Constitutional amendment means a change made to the Constitution by Parliament in the manner provided by the Constitution itself.
• Article 368 is the principal provision governing the amendment procedure. Generally, an amendment requires a special parliamentary majority, i.e., a majority of the total membership of each House and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
• Certain amendments which affect federal provisions (for example, changes to the distribution of legislative powers, representation of states in Parliament, or provisions relating to the judiciary and the amendment procedure itself) also require ratification by one or more State Legislatures in the manner provided in Article 368.
• Amendments may take several forms: additions of new Articles, changes in the text of existing Articles, insertion of Schedules (for example, the Ninth Schedule) or omission of provisions.

Revision notes: Selected Amendments in chronological order

1. The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1950 - This amendment introduced new grounds for restriction on the right to freedom of speech and expression and on the right to practise any profession or to carry on any trade or business, as contained in Article 19. The new grounds included restrictions related to public order, friendly relations with foreign States and incitement to an offence. It also permitted the State to prescribe professional or technical qualifications and to carry on certain trades, businesses, industries or services. The amendment inserted Articles 31A and 31B and introduced the Ninth Schedule to protect certain land-reform and related laws from challenge.
2. The Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1952 - Readjusted the scale of representation for election to the Lok Sabha.
3. The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1954 - Substituted entry 33 of List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule to make it correspond to Article 369.
4. The Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955 - Amended Article 31(2) to clarify the State's power of compulsory acquisition and to distinguish it from regulatory laws that operate to deprive a person of property. Article 31A was extended to cover essential welfare legislation such as abolition of zamindaris and control over minerals and oil resources. Several Acts were added to the Ninth Schedule. Article 305 was amended to save certain laws providing State monopolies.
5. The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1955 - Amended Article 3 to empower the President to specify a time limit for State Legislatures to convey their views on proposed central laws affecting areas, boundaries or names of States.
6. The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1956 - Made changes in Articles 269 and 286 relating to taxes on sale and purchase of goods in the course of inter-state trade and commerce. Added a new entry 92A to the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.
7. The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 - Gave effect to recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission and made consequential changes: reclassification of states and union territories, readjustment of the composition of the House of the People, provisions regarding establishment of new High Courts and appointment of High Court Judges, and related matters arising from reorganisation.
8. The Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1960 - Amended Article 334 to extend the period of reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and nomination of the Anglo-Indian community for further periods.
9. The Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act, 1960 - Amended the First Schedule and other provisions to give effect to the transfer of certain territories to Pakistan pursuant to an agreement between India and Pakistan. This amendment followed the Supreme Court's decision in In Re Berubari Union, which held that cession of territory required a constitutional amendment.
10. The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961 - Amended Article 240 and the First Schedule to include Dadra and Nagar Haveli as a Union Territory and to provide for its administration under the President's regulatory powers.
11. The Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1961 - Amended Articles 66 and 71 to provide that elections of the President or Vice-President could not be challenged on the ground of any vacancy in the relevant electoral college.
12. The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962 - Included Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory and amended Article 240 accordingly.
13. The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 - Inserted a new Article 371A to make special provisions for the State of Nagaland pursuant to an agreement between the Government of India and the Naga People's Convention.
14. The Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 - Included Pondicherry in the First Schedule as a Union Territory and enabled creation by Parliament of Legislatures for Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu and Pondicherry.
15. The Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963 - Increased the age of retirement of High Court Judges and provided compensatory allowances to transferred judges; permitted appointment of retired judges as acting judges; extended Article 226 so High Courts could issue writs to authorities whose cause of action arose within the High Court's territorial jurisdiction even if the authority's seat lay outside it; provided for powers of Chairmen of Service Commissions to be exercised by members in their absence.
16. The Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963 - Amended Article 19 to impose reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression and the freedoms to assemble peacefully and to form associations, with the aim of promoting national integration. The oath or affirmation for candidates seeking election to Parliament and State Legislatures was amended to include upholding the sovereignty and integrity of India.
17. The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964 - Further amended Article 31A to restrict acquisition of land under personal cultivation unless the market value was paid as compensation; the definition of "estate" was enlarged retrospectively.
18. The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 1966 - Amended Article 3 to clarify that the term "State" includes a Union Territory for the purposes of State reorganisation and that the power includes formation of new states or union territories by uniting parts of states or union territories.
19. The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966 - Amended Article 324 consequential to the abolition of Election Tribunals; election petitions would be heard by High Courts.
20. The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Act, 1966 - Added Article 233A and validated certain appointments of District Judges which had been declared void by the Supreme Court in Chandramohan v. State of Uttar Pradesh.
21. The Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967 - Included the Sindhi language in the Eighth Schedule.
22. The Constitution (Twenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969 - Facilitated the formation of a new autonomous State of Meghalaya within Assam.
23. The Constitution (Twenty-third Amendment) Act, 1969 - Amended Article 334 to extend reservations of seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the Anglo-Indian nomination for a further period of ten years.
24. The Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971 - Passed in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Golaknath. This Act amended Article 13 and Article 368 to remove doubts regarding Parliament's power to amend the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights.
25. The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971 - Amended Article 31 (relating to acquisition of property) replacing the word "compensation" with "amount" following judicial interpretation arising from the Bank nationalisation case.
26. The Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971 - Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of princely States. The amendment followed the Supreme Court decision in Madhav Rao's case.
27. The Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1971 - Addressed matters arising from reorganisation of certain northeastern states and inserted Article 239B enabling promulgation of ordinances by Administrators of specified Union Territories.

28. Cultural and Educational Rights of Minorities

    Cultural and educational rights of minorities are protected by Articles 29 and 30. Under Article 29, any section of citizens residing in any part of the country having a distinct language, script or culture is entitled to protection against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste or language in admission to educational institutions. Article 30 gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and the right to receive grants from State Governments on the same terms as other institutions.

29. The Constitution (Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1972 - Abolished certain special privileges of members of the Indian Civil Service in matters of leave, pension and disciplinary rights.
30. The Constitution (Twenty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1972 - Amended the Ninth Schedule to include two Kerala land-reform Acts to protect them from judicial challenge.
31. The Constitution (Thirtieth Amendment) Act, 1972 - Amended Article 133 to remove the earlier valuation test (Rs. 20,000) for appeals to the Supreme Court and provided that appeals in civil proceedings could lie only on a High Court certificate that a substantial question of law of general importance is involved.
32. The Constitution (Thirty-first Amendment) Act, 1973 - Raised the upper limit for representation of States in the Lok Sabha from 500 to 525 and reduced the upper limit for Union Territories from 25 to 20.
33. The Constitution (Thirty-second Amendment) Act, 1973 - Provided constitutional authority for equal opportunities to different areas of the State of Andhra Pradesh, for constitution of an Administrative Tribunal to deal with public service grievances, and empowered Parliament to establish a Central University in the State.
34. The Constitution (Thirty-third Amendment) Act, 1974 - Amended Articles 101 and 190 to streamline resignation procedures for Members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
35. The Constitution (Thirty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1974 - Included twenty more land tenure and land reform laws enacted by various State Legislatures in the Ninth Schedule.
36. The Constitution (Thirty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1974 - Added a new Article 2A, conferring on Sikkim the status of an associate State of the Union and inserted a Tenth Schedule laying down terms of association of Sikkim with the Union.
37. The Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975 - Made Sikkim a full state of the Indian Union; omitted Article 2A and the Tenth Schedule and amended Articles 80 and 81 to allot representation to Sikkim in Parliament.
38. The Constitution (Thirty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1975 - Provided the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh with a Legislative Assembly and amended Article 240 so that presidential regulations for Arunachal Pradesh would be exercisable only when the Assembly is dissolved or its functions suspended, consistent with other Union Territories having Legislatures.
39. The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975 - Amended Articles 123, 213 and 352 to make the satisfaction of the President or Governor in these provisions non-justiciable in court.
40. The Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1975 - Provided that disputes relating to the election of the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Speaker would be determined by such authority as Parliament may determine; also included certain Central enactments in the Ninth Schedule.
41. The Constitution (Fortieth Amendment) Act, 1976
    • Vested in the Union all mines, minerals and other things of value lying in the ocean within territorial waters, the continental shelf or the exclusive economic zone of India; other resources of the exclusive economic zone were also vested in the Union.
    • Provided that limits of territorial waters, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone and maritime zones of India are those specified by or under any law made by Parliament. Also added more Acts to the Ninth Schedule.
42. The Constitution (Forty-first Amendment) Act, 1976 - Amended Article 316 to raise the retirement age of Members of State Public Service Commissions and Joint Public Service Commissions from 60 to 62 years.
43. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976
    • Implemented several significant changes recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee.
    • Expressly included the ideals of socialism, secularism and the integrity of the nation in the Constitution and sought to make the Directive Principles of State Policy more comprehensive, giving them precedence over certain Fundamental Rights used earlier to frustrate socio-economic reforms.
    • Inserted a new chapter on Fundamental Duties of citizens.
    • Made special provisions to deal with anti-national activities and amended judicial provisions by prescribing minimum number of judges and a special majority for declaring a law constitutionally invalid.
    • Provided for creation of administrative and other tribunals to reduce arrears and secure speedy disposal of certain categories of matters while preserving the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 136.
44. The Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977
    • Restored jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts curtailed by the Forty-second Amendment by omitting Articles 32A, 131A, 144A, 226A and 228A.
    • Omitted Article 31D, which had conferred special powers on Parliament to enact certain laws in respect of anti-national activities.
45. The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978
    • Removed the right to property from the chapter of Fundamental Rights and made it a legal right.
    • Amended Article 352 so that armed rebellion is a ground for a proclamation of emergency; mere internal disturbance that does not amount to armed rebellion cannot be a ground for emergency.
    • Strengthened personal liberty safeguards in Articles 21 and 22, and limited preventive detention to a maximum of two months unless an Advisory Board reports sufficient cause; required that the Advisory Board be chaired by a serving High Court Judge and be constituted in accordance with the Chief Justice's recommendations.
    • Amended Articles 132 and 134 and inserted Article 134A to require High Courts to consider the question of granting a certificate for appeal to the Supreme Court immediately after delivery of judgement, order or sentence, on oral application or suo motu.
    • Primarily removed or corrected distortions introduced during the period of internal emergency.
46. The Constitution (Forty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1980 - Extended reservation safeguards in Parliament and State Assemblies for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Anglo-Indian community for a further ten years.
47. The Constitution (Forty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1982
    • Amended Article 269 so tax levied on consignment of goods in the course of inter-state trade or commerce shall be assigned to the States.
    • Enabled Parliament to lay down principles by law for determining when a consignment of goods takes place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce; inserted a new entry 92B in the Union List to enable levy of tax on consignments where the consignment is in the course of inter-state trade or commerce.
    • Amended clause (3) of Article 286 to enable Parliament to prescribe restrictions and conditions regarding levy of tax on transfer of goods in execution of works contracts, hire-purchase, instalment payments etc.
    • Amended Article 366 to define 'tax on the sale or purchase of goods' to include transfer for consideration of controlled commodities, transfer of property in goods involved in works contracts, delivery on hire-purchase or payment by instalments.
48. The Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1984 - Included certain land reform Acts in the Ninth Schedule to remove scope for litigation that hampered their implementation.

49. Role and Function of the Cabinet Secretariat

    The Cabinet Secretariat plays an important coordinating role in decision-making at the highest level and operates under the direction of the Prime Minister. Its functions include submission of cases to the Union Cabinet and its committees, preparation of records of decisions taken and follow-up action on their implementation. It formulates rules of business and allocates business of government to ministries and departments under the direction of the Prime Minister and with the approval of the President. The Secretariat obtains and circulates to the President, Vice-President, Council of Ministers and other important functionaries periodicals, summaries and notes on important developments in each Ministry. It is empowered to set up special committees, boards and commissions for matters requiring urgent and exclusive attention.

50. The Constitution (Forty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1984 - Made Article 356 clause (5) inapplicable in respect of the Proclamation issued by the President for the State of Punjab, so that continuation of that particular Proclamation did not depend on the conditions in clause (5).
51. The Constitution (Forty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1984 - Made the Sixth Schedule applicable to specified tribal areas of Tripura, providing constitutional security to the Autonomous District Council functioning in the State.
52. The Constitution (Fiftieth Amendment) Act, 1984 - Proposed amendments to Article 33 to expand its ambit so Parliament could specify the extent to which rights under Part III may be restricted or abrogated for members of the Armed Forces and certain other categories (for example, those protecting State property, intelligence organisations, or telecommunication systems connected with these organisations) to ensure proper discharge of duties and maintenance of discipline.
53. The Constitution (Fifty-first Amendment) Act, 1984 - Amended Article 330 to provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in Parliament and amended Article 332 to provide similar reservations in Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya.
54. The Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985
    • Introduced anti-defection provisions to disqualify a Member of Parliament or a State Legislature who defects from the party which set him or her up as a candidate, or who, being an independent member, joins a political party after six months from taking the seat.
    • Made provisions with respect to splits in and mergers of political parties to regulate defections and preserve stability of legislatures.
55. The Constitution (Fifty-third Amendment) Act, 1986
    • Gave effect to the Memorandum of Settlement of Mizoram signed on 30 June 1986 between Government of India and the Mizoram National Front.
    • Inserted Article 371G which, among other things, prevents application of any Act of Parliament in Mizoram in respect of religious or social practices, customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice according to customary law, and ownership and transfer of land unless the Mizoram Legislative Assembly passes a resolution to that effect; it preserves Central Acts already in force in Mizoram before the amendment.
    • Provided that the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram shall consist of not less than forty members.
56. The Constitution (Fifty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1986 - Increased the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges and amended Part D of the Second Schedule to give effect to the increases. It also made enabling provisions in Articles 125 and 221 for Parliament to change the salaries of judges by law in future.
57. The Constitution (Fifty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1986 - Conferring statehood on the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, this Act inserted Article 371H giving the Governor special responsibility with respect to law and order in view of the sensitive location of Arunachal Pradesh and provided that the new Assembly shall consist of not less than thirty members.
58. The Constitution (Fifty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1987 - Provided for constitution of the territories comprised in the Goa district of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu as the State of Goa and the territories comprised in Daman and Diu as a new Union Territory. It made transitional provisions regarding the Legislative Assembly and provided that the Legislative Assembly of the new State of Goa shall consist of not less than thirty members.
59. The Constitution (Fifty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1987 - Provided for special arrangements with regard to reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in predominantly tribal states (for example, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) to ensure minimal representation during transition to normal constitutional arrangements, and to determine which seats should be reserved.
60. The Constitution (Fifty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1987 - Recognised the need for an authoritative Hindi text of the Constitution. The President was authorised to publish a Hindi translation of every amendment of the Constitution made in English so that Hindi versions conform to authoritative translations and to the style and terminology adopted in official Hindi texts of Central Acts.

Concluding notes

• The amendments summarised above show the range of constitutional change: expansion or limitation of Fundamental Rights, adjustment of federal relations, creation of new States and Union Territories, protection of social and land-reform legislation (notably by use of the Ninth Schedule), judicial and administrative reforms, and special provisions for particular States and regions.
• Important legal landmarks mentioned (for example Golaknath, Madhav Rao, Chandramohan and In Re Berubari Union) reflect the interaction between the judiciary and Parliament on the scope and limits of constitutional amendment.
• Students should use these notes as a chronological reference and study the major amendments (notably the First, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Forty-second and Forty-fourth) in greater depth to understand their constitutional impact and the judicial responses they provoked.