Indian Polity -Constitutional Amendments in India

Important Indian Constitutional Amendments[Indian Polity Notes for UPSC, SSC etc. ] :

This Article discusses the various Important Indian Constitutional Amendments. The original Indian Constitution has  got the necessary changes from time to time as per the needs and requirements of our nation. The change in any part of the constitution is called as the Amendment of the Constitution. Knowledge of the  Important Indian Constitutional Amendments is very important from examination point of view. Below is given the list of important Indian Constitutional Amendments along with the some of the important changes that it brought in the  Constitution of India.

First (1st) Constitutional Amendment Act 1950:

  • It added the NINTH Schedule to the list of Schedules (originally 8 schedules were there) of the Indian Constitution.
  • NINTH Schedule was added to protect the Land Reforms and other laws from being challenged in the court of law under Judicial Review.

 

Seventh (7th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1956:

  • Abolished the categorisation of states into PART A, PART B, PART C and Part D states and reorganised them into 14 states and 6 union territories.
  • Provided for the establishment of common High-court for more two or more states.

 

Ninth (9th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1960:

  • Provided for ceding of the Indian Territory of Berubari Union in West Bengal to Pakistan under Indo-Pakistan agreement of 1958.

 

Tenth (10th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1961:

  • Dadra and Nagar Haveli was added to Indian Union.

 

Twelfth (12th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1962:

  • Goa, Daman and Diu were added to the Indian Union.

 

Fourtheenth (14th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1962:

  • Puducherry ( which was known as Pondicherry earlier) became a part of Indian Union.

 

Twenty-First (21st) Constitutional Amendment Act 1967:

  • Included SINDHI as the 15th Language in the Eighth Schedule.

 

Twenty-Second (22nd) Constitutional Amendment Act 1969:

  • Provided for the creation of an autonomous state of Meghalaya within the state of Assam.

 

Twenty-Fourth (24th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1971:

  • It made it necessary for the President to give his assent to the Constitutional Bill.
  • It also affirmed the power of Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution including Fundamental rights.

 

Twenty-Fifth (25th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1971:

  • Curtailed (not deleted) the Right to Property.
  • Any law giving effect to Directive Principles contained in Article 39(b) and 39(c) cannot be questioned in any court of law on the grounds of violation of fundamental rights contained under article 14, 19 and 31.

 

Twenty-Sixth (26th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1971:

  • It abolished the Privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of the princely states.

 

Thirty-Fifth (35th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1974:

  • It terminated the protectorate status of Sikkim and added Sikkim as an associate state of the Indian Union.
  • The Tenth Schedule was added listing various terms and conditions of the association of Indian Union with Sikkim.

 

Thirty-Sixth (36th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1974:

  • Made Sikkim a full-fledged state of India.
  • Deleted the 1oth Schedule.

 

Forty-Second (42nd) Constitutional Amendment Act 1976:

  • Also known as the Mini-Constitution of India as it brought many and some very important changes.
  • Added the words – ” Socialist,”, “Secular” and “Integrity” in the Preamble.
  • Added the Fundamental duties to the Constitution (Part IV A).
  • Made the President to act only on the advise of the cabinet.
  • Made the provision for Administrative tribunals and other tribunals (Part XIV A).
  • Extended the term of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies to 6 years.
  • Provided for the creation of an All-India Judicial Service.
  • Curtailed the power of Judicial Review and provided that any law made to give effect any of the Directive Principle cannot be questioned in any court of law on the grounds of violation of Fundamental rights.
  • Removed the requirement of Quorum in the parliament and state legislatures.
  • Added 3 new Directive Principles – ” Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid”, “participation of workers in the management of industries” and “protection of environment, forests and wild life”.
  • Provided for the proclamation of national Emergency in any part of territory of India.
  • Extended the one-time duration of President’s rule from 6 months to 1 year.
  • Shifted five subjects from the state list to the concurrent list – Education, Forests, Protection of Wild animals and birds, Weights and Measures and Administration of Justice, constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

 

Forty-Fourth (44th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1978:

  • Deleted the Right To Property (Article 31) from the Fundamental rights and made it a Legal Right.
  • Restored the term of Lok Sabha and State Legislatures to 5 years.
  • Changed the term “Internal Disturbance” with “Armed Rebellion” in case of National Emergency.
  • Made the president to act only on the written recommendation of the cabinet in case of National Emergency.
  • Restored the requirement of Quorum in the parliament and state legislatures.
  • Restored some powers of Supreme court and High Courts.
  • Provided that Fundamental Rights under Article 20 and 21 cannot be taken away even under National Emergency.

 

Fifty-Second (52nd) Constitutional Amendment Act 1985:

  • Added the 1oth Schedule in the Constitution also known as the Anti-Defection Law.
  • The 10th Schedule provided for the provisions related to the disqualification of MPs and MLAs on the ground of defection

 

Sixty-First (61st) Constitutional Amendment Act 1989:

  • Reduced the voting age for Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies from 21 years to 18 years.

 

Seventy-First (71st) Constitutional Amendment Act 1992:

  • Added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali Language in the Eight Schedule. Total languages in the eight schedule increased to 18.

 

Seventy-Third (73rd) Constitutional Amendment Act 1992:

  • It gave the constitutional status and protection to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
  • Also added a new Part IX  entitled as ” the Panchayats “.
  • Added Eleventh (11th) Schedule containing list of 29 functional items of the Panchayats.

 

Seventy-Fourth (74th) Constitutional Amendment Act 1992

  • It gave the constitutional status and protection to the Urban Local Bodies.
  • Also added a new Part IX-A  entitled as ” the Municipalities “.
  • Added Twelfth (12th) Schedule containing list of 18 functional items of the Municipalities .

 

Eighty-Fourth (84th) Constitutional Amendment Act 2001:

  • Extended the ban on readjustment of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures for another 25 years (i.e 2026).
  • Also provided for the readjustment and rationalisation  of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of 1991 census.

 

Eighty-Sixth (86th) Constitutional Amendment Act 2002 :

  • It added some provisions related to the Right to Education.
  • It made primary education a Fundamental Right by adding Right to Education under Article 21-A.
  • It changed the subject matter of Article 45 of the Directive Principles.
  • It added a new Fundamental Duty under Article 51-A.

 

Eighty-Seventh (87th) Constitutional Amendment Act 2002 :

  • It  provided for the readjustment and rationalisation  of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of 2001 census (and not 1991 census as given by 84th Amendment Act 2001).

 

Eighty-Ninth (89th) Constitutional Amendment Act 2003 :

 

Ninety-First Constitutional Amendment (91st) Act 2003 :

  • The total strength of the council of ministers including PM not to exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
  • Any member of either house of the Parliament who is disqualified on the grounds of defection cannot be appointed as a minister.
  • The total strength of the council of ministers in a State  including CM not to exceed 15% of the total strength of that State Assembly. But it should not be less than 12.
  • Any member of either house of the State Legislature who is disqualified on the grounds of defection cannot be appointed as a minister.
  • The provision of Anti-Defection Law relating to exemption of disqualification in case of split by one-third of the members was deleted by this amendment.

 

Ninety-Second (92nd) Constitutional Amendment Act 2003 :

  • Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali in the Eight Schedule. Total languages now increased to 22.

 

Ninety-Seventh (97th) Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 :

  • It gave the constitutional status and protection to the Co-operative Societies.
  • Also added a new Part IX-B entitled as ” the Co-operative Societies “.
  • Right to form Co-operative Societies added as a fundamental Right under Article 19.
  • Added new Directive Principle i.e. Article 43-B for promotion and protection of the Co-operative Societies.

 

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