How is the Constitution of India amended?

Constitution of India amended can be amended by majority of the Parliament, by special majority of the Parliament, special majority of the Parliament and the ratification of at least half of the state legislatures.

What is the latest amendment of the Constitution of India?

The Latest Amendment in Indian Constitution is the Constitution 105th Amendment Act 2021.

Why is Constitution amended?

Constitutions need to be amended over time to adjust provisions that are inadequate, to respond to new needs, including supplementing rights, etc.

When was Constitution amended in India?

18th June, 1951 was the first time when Constitution amended in India.

Amendment of the Constitution of India, Provisions & Amendments List

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Amendment of the Constitution of India

Amendment of the Constitution of India means the process of making changes to the Constitution. The parliament has the authority to change the constitution under Article 368 of Part XX. The best way to understand the nature of the constitutional amendment process is to use Pandit Nehru’s insight that the Constitution shouldn’t be so rigid that it can’t be modified to meet changing requirements for national progress and strength.

In this article, we will discuss the Amendment of the Constitution of India which is an important topic of Polity subject of the UPSC Syllabus. Students can also go for UPSC Mock Test to get more accuracy in their preparation.

Amendment of the Constitution of India and Provision

The Amendment of the Constitution of India is a process that is neither as simple as that in Britain (which has no written constitution and is based on convention) nor as challenging as that in the USA. The Indian Constitution is a mix of both flexibility and rigidity. The power of Parliament to modify the Constitution and its process are covered in Section 368 of Part XX of the Constitution. The method for amending the constitution is taken from the South African constitution.

The only body with the authority to modify the constitution is Parliament. According to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Kesavananda Bharati case, Parliament cannot modify the clauses that make up the fundamental framework of the constitution. (1973). There is no provision in Article 108 for a joint session in the event that both chambers of Congress disagree on a constitutional amendment bill. The president’s permission is not necessary in advance for the presentation of a constitutional change measure.

Procedure to Amend the Indian Constitution

To amend the Constitution, the process is as follows:

Initiation: A bill to amend the Constitution can be introduced in either house of Parliament by a minister or a private member, without needing the President’s prior permission.
Approval: The bill must be passed by a special majority in both houses. This means it needs a majority of the total members and two-thirds of those present and voting.
Separate Voting: Each house must vote on the bill separately, and there’s no joint sitting for disagreements.
Ratification: If the amendment affects certain provisions, it must also be approved by at least half of the state legislatures with a simple majority.
Presidential Assent: Once passed by both houses, the bill goes to the President, who must give his assent. The President cannot refuse or return the bill.
Final result: After the President’s assent, the bill becomes a constitutional amendment act.

Ways to Amend the Constitution

By Simple Majority of Parliament: This means more than 50% of members present and voting can amend certain articles without a special procedure. Examples include:

Article 2 (new states)
Fifth Schedule (Scheduled Areas)
Citizenship laws
Elections to Parliament and state legislatures.

By Special Majority of Parliament: This requires a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of those present and voting. Examples include:

Fundamental Rights
Directive Principles of State Policy.

Also, some amendments need both a special majority in Parliament and ratification by half of the state legislatures, like the election of the President and provisions in the Seventh Schedule.

Amendment of the Constitution of India List

Since its creation in 1950, the Indian Constitution has had 104 revisions as of January 2020.

S. No.	Amendments in the Constitution	Description
1	First Amendment Act, 1951	Given the state the authority to promote the social and economic advancement of underprivileged groups. Provided for the preservation of legislation governing the purchase of estates, etc. 9th Schedule was added in order to shield the Land Reform Act and other measures contained in it from judicial review. Included three additional justifications for limiting free speech, including public order, cordial ties with other countries, and inciting criminal activity. Additionally, it rendered the limitations “reasonable” and hence justified. As long as state trading and nationalization of any trade or business by the state are not invalidated on the grounds that the trade or business rights were violated.
2	Constitutional (13th Amendment) Act,1963	The creation of Nagaland as a state, which is given special protection under Article 371A. The change to Article 170 (Composition of the Legislative Assemblies)
3	Constitutional (15th Amendment) Act, 1963	Made it possible for the High Courts to issue writs to any person or organization, even if they are not subject to its terrorist’s jurisdiction if the cause of action occurs inside its boundaries. Raised the high court judges’ retirement age from 60 to 62 years old. Permitted the appointment of retired high court justices to serve in an acting capacity on the same court. Provided judges moving from one High court to another with the compensatory allowance. Permitted the retired High Court judge to serve as an ad hoc Supreme Court judge. Outlined the process for calculating the age of judges on the Supreme Court and the High Court.
4	The Constitution (24th Amendment) Act, 1971	Reaffirmed that any provision of the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, may be amended by Parliament. Made the president’s assent to a constitutional amendment bill necessary.
5	The Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975	Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union as a result of this Act.
6	The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976	It was put into effect when there was an internal emergency. On November 11, 1976, the Parliament approved it, and on December 18, 1976, the President gave his approval. The amendment clearly stated that Parliament was superior to all other branches of government, gave directive principles precedence over fundamental rights, and listed 10 fundamental duties for the first time. It also set additional restrictions on the judiciary’s authority and jurisdiction, increased the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha’s terms from five to six years, authorized the use of the Central Armed Forces in any State to address law and order issues, bound the President to the advice of the Council of Ministers, and planned the creation of administrative tribunals for resolving employment disputes involving public employees as well as other tribunals for economic offences. Another important provision of the Act was that no Constitutional Amendment may be challenged in a court of law.
7	The Constitution (43rd Amendment) Act, 1978	The objectionable sections of the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act passed during the Emergency are repealed by this Act. By repealing Article 3ID, which allowed Parliament to restrict even legal union activity under the cover of legislation to stop anti-national activity, it restores civil liberties. The newly enacted law, which was approved by more than half of the States in accordance with the Constitution, also gives the States again the ability to pass laws that are appropriate for anti-national acts while upholding the Fundamental Rights. The Act also permits the judiciary to reclaim its proper position. The 42nd Amendment Act stripped the Supreme Court of its ability to declare state legislation unconstitutional; this ability will now be restored. The High Courts will also be able to consider the constitutionality of Central laws, allowing those who live in remote areas to receive prompt justice without having to visit the Supreme Court.
8	The Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978	On April 30, 1979, the Constitution (45th Amendment) Bill, now known as the 44th Amendment, became a law after receiving the president’s approval. The Act eliminates significant Constitutional alterations made during the Emergency. The regular term, which was prolonged during the Emergency under the 42nd Amendment to serve specific political objectives, has been cut from six to five years for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. For the first time since independence, the Act extends constitutional protection for publication of the proceedings of Parliament and State Legislatures, unless it is proven to be “malicious,” and the Right to Property ceases to be a Fundamental Right and only remains a legal right. Another significant aspect of the Act is that from ahead, the President will only declare proclamations of emergencies after receiving written advice from the whole Cabinet. The Prime Minister’s recommendation will not be used to compel the President to take unilateral action without first consulting his Cabinet. The proclamation must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of both Houses of Parliament within a month, according to additional protections. The 44th Amendment offers protections against the Constitution’s being subverted in the future to install a totalitarian government. It includes clauses that are meant to prevent the imposition of the kind of emergency the nation had endured for 19 months.
9	The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985	The Act has rendered switching parties after elections unlawful. Any candidate who switches parties after the election will not be eligible to serve in the state legislature or the parliament.
10	The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989	The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18
11	The Constitution (66th Amendment) Act, 1990	To make land reforms subject to the Constitution’s 9th Schedule.
12	The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991	National Capital Region was formed by Delhi. The Act also established a council of ministers for Delhi and a legislative assembly.
13	The Constitution (70th Amendment) Act, 1992	Article 54, which governs the election of the President, called for an electoral college made up only of elected members of Parliament and the State legislative assembly before this act was passed (not of Union Territories). The modification allows for the participation of Pondicherry and Delhi legislators.
14	The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992	Ensuring direct elections for all Panchayat seats; allocating seats to SCs and STs according to their numbers; and allocating at least one-third of Panchayat seats to women.
15	The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992	Direct elections were intended to be held for all positions in Nagar Palikas and Municipalities.
16	The Constitution (78th Amendment) Act, 1995	It places land reform laws in the Ninth Schedule, preventing legal challenges to them.
17	The Constitution (81st Amendment) Act, 2000	It states that the prior list would not be taken into account for filling the 50% quota of the relevant year, and that the unfilled vacancies of a year reserved for SC/ST kept for being filled up in a year as per Article 16 shall be regarded separately for filling vacancies in the subsequent year.
18	The Constitution (83rd Amendment) Act, 2000	The Act modified Article 243 M to state that in Arunachal Pradesh, where the entire population is tribal, no reservations for SC/ST may be made in Panchayats.
19	The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001	With retroactive effect from June 1995, provided for “consequential seniority” in cases of promotion due to the rule of reservation for government employees belonging to the SCs and STs.
20	The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002	Offers early childhood care until the age of six and the right to an education until the age of fourteen.
21	The Constitution (87th Amendment) Act, 2003	As opposed to what was previously granted by the 84th Amendment Act of 2001, this provision allowed for the readjustment and rationalization of territorial constituencies in the states based on population statistics from the 2001 census rather than those from the 1991 one.
22	The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003	Created the National Commission of SCs (Article-338) and National Commission of STs from the former merged National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (338-A).
23	The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2004	Strengthened the anti-defection rules and limited the size of the Council of Ministers (CoM) to 15% of parliamentary members.
24	The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act, 2006	Added a 27% reserve for additional disadvantaged groups in public and private higher education institutions.
25	The Constitution (94th Amendment) Act, 2006	To establish a Minister of Tribal Welfare in the recently constituted states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which include Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
26	The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2012	Changed Article 19(l)(c) to read “or co-operative societies” after the word “or unions,” added Article 43B, which is about promoting cooperative societies, and added Part-IXB, which is about cooperative societies.
27	The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014	The amendment calls for the establishment of a National Commission for Judicial Appointments.
28	The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015	In the fourth week of May 2015, the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015 made headlines after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee approved the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill, 2013, which dealt with the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh.
29	The Constitution (101th Amendment) Act, 2017	Commenced the Goods and Services Tax on July 1st in the nation.
30	The Constitution (102th Amendment) Act,2018	It granted the National Commission for Backward Classes constitutional status.
31	The Constitution (103th Amendment) Act,2019	It allowed for a 10% reservation at most for economically weaker sections (EWSs).
32	The Constitution (104th Amendment) Act, 2020	It increased the number of seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

Limitations on Parliament’s Amending Power

The Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution is limited by the Basic Structure doctrine, established by the Supreme Court in the Keshavananda Bharati case (1973). This means that amendments cannot alter the Constitution’s fundamental features.

Court cases that highlight these limitations include:

Minerva Mills vs. Union of India (1980): The Supreme Court ruled that Parliament cannot remove the power of judicial review, as it is part of the Basic Structure.
L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997): The Court stated that Tribunals cannot replace the judicial review power held by High Courts.
I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007): The Court decided that Parliament cannot expand its amending power in a way that undermines the Constitution’s fundamentals.
Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014: This amendment for a National Judicial Appointment Commission was struck down for violating judicial independence, a part of the Basic Structure.

Criticisms of the Amendment Procedure

The amendment procedure has faced criticism for several reasons:

Only Parliament can initiate amendments; state legislatures have no such power, except for certain resolutions.
Parliament can amend major parts of the Constitution, while state consent is only needed for a few cases.
There is no specified timeframe for state legislatures to approve or reject amendments.
If there is a disagreement between the two Houses over an amendment, there’s no provision for a joint sitting to resolve it.
Constitutional amendments are passed like ordinary bills, except for requiring a special majority.

While the ability to amend the Constitution is important, it must be used carefully to prevent misuse that could undermine the country’s democratic structure. Balancing flexibility with safeguards is crucial to maintaining the Constitution’s integrity.

Amendment of the Constitution of India UPSC

These amendments made so far prove that the constitution of India is a living document. Many amendments have been made to adopt the change in society and needs. Yet our constitution held some basic characteristics and values which guided us throughout the past. This great blend of flexibility and rigidity is the reason for the successful survival of the constitution so far. Students can read all the details related to UPSC by visiting the official website of StudyIQ UPSC Online Coaching.