IMPORTANT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Team Shashank Sajwan

AMENDMENT NUMBER
AND YEAR AMENDED PROVISIONS
First Amendment Act. 1951 • Empowered the state to make special provisions for the
advancement of socially economically backward classes.
• Provided for the saving of laws providing for acquisition of
estates. etc.
• Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reform and other
laws included in it from the judicial review.
• 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, 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. • Made the scale of compensation given in lieu of compulsory
1955 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 31A (saving of laws).
Eighth Amendment Act. • Extended the reservation of seats for the SCs and STs, and
1960 special representation for the Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha
and the state legislative assemblies for a period of ten years
(i.e., up to 1970).
Eleventh Amendment Act, • Changed the procedure of election of the vice-President by
1961 providing an electoral college instead of a joint meeting of the
two Houses of 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
Sixteenth Amendment Act, • Empowered the state to impose further restriction on the
1963 rights to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble
peaceably and to form associations in the interests of
sovereignty and integrity of India.
• Included sovereignty and integrity in the forms of oaths or
affirmations to be subscribed by contestants to the
legislatures, members of the legislatures, Ministers, judges
and CAG of India.
Twenty-Fourth • Affirmed the power of Parliament to amend any part of the
Amendment Act, 1971 Constitution including fundamental rights.

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 • Made it compulsory for the President to give his assent to a
Constitutional Bill.
Twenty-Fifth Amendment • Curtailed the fundamental right to property
Act, 1971 • Provided that any law made to give effect to the Directive
Principles contained in Article 39 (b) or (c) cannot be
challenged on the ground of violation of the rights guaranteed
by Articles 14, 19 and 31.
Twenty-Sixth Amendment • Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers
Act, 1971 of princely states.

Thirty-First Amendment • Increased the number of Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545.
Act, 1972
Thirty-Ninth Amendment • Placed the disputes relating to the President, Vice-President.
Act, 1975 Prime Minister and Speaker beyond the scope of the judiciary.
They are to be decided by such authority as may be
determined by the Parliament.
• Included certain Central acts in the Ninth Schedule.
Forty-First Amendment • Raised the retirement age of members of State Public Service
Act, 1976 Commission and Joint Public Service Commission from 60 to
62.
Forty-Second Amendment • Added three new words (i.e., socialist, secular and integrity)
Act, 1976 (The most • Added Fundamental Duties by the citizens (new Part IV A).
comprehensive • Made the President bound by the advise of the cabinet.
amendment made so far to • Provided for administrative tribunals and tribunals for other
the Constitution: it is matters (Added Part XIV A).
known as 'Mini-- • Froze the seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative
Constitution’; it gave effect assemblies on the basis of 1971 census till 2001.
to the recommendations of • Made the constitutional amendments beyond judicial
Swaran Singh Committee.) scrutiny.
• Curtailed the power of judicial review and writ jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court and high courts.
• Raised the tenure of Lok Sabha and state legislative
assemblies from 5 to 6 years.
• Provided that the laws made for the implementation of
Directive Principles cannot be declared invalid by the courts
on the ground of violation of some Fundamental Rights.
• Empowered the Parliament to make laws to deal with anti-
national activities and such laws are to take precedence over
Fundamental Rights.
• Added three new Directive Principles viz., equal justice and
free-legal aid, participation of workers in the management of
industries and protection of environment, forests and Wild
life.
• Facilitated the proclamation of national emergency in a part
of territory of India.

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 • Extended the one-time duration of the President's rule in a
state from 6 months to one year
• Empowered the Centre to deploy its armed forces in any state
to deal with a grave situation of law and order.
• Shifted five subjects from the state list to the concurrent list.
viz. 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.
• Did away with the requirement of quorum in the Parliament
and the state legislatures.
• Empowered the Parliament to decide from time to time the
rights and privileges of its members and committees.
• Provided for the creation of the All-India Judicial Service.
• Shortened the procedure for disciplinary action by taking
away the right of a Civil servant to make representation at the
second stage after the inquiry (i.e., on the penalty proposed).
Forty Third Amendment • Restored the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High
Act, 1977 (Enacted by courts in respect of judicial review and issue of writs.
Janata to nullify some of • Deprived the Parliament of its special powers to make laws to
the distortions introduced deal with anti-national activities
by the 42nd Amendment
Act, 1972)
Forty-Fourth Amendment • Restored the original term of the Lok Sabha and the state
Act, 1975 (Enacted by the legislative assemblies (i.e., 5 years).
Janata Government mainly • Restored the provisions with regard to quorum in the
to nullify some of the other Parliament and state
distortions introduced by • Omitted the reference to the British House of Commons in the
the 42nd Act, 1976) provisions pertaining to the parliamentary privileges.
• Gave constitutional protection to publication in newspaper of
true reports of the proceedings of the Parliament and the
state legislatures.
• Empowered the president to send back once the advice of
cabinet for reconsideration. But the reconsidered advice is to
be binding on the President
• Deleted the provision which made the satisfaction of the
President, Governor and administrators final in issuing
ordinances.
• Restored some of the powers of the Supreme Court and high
courts.
• Replaced the term 'internal disturbance' by 'armed rebellion'
in respect of national emergency.
• Made the President to declare a national emergency only on
the written recommendation of the cabinet.
• Made certain procedural safeguards with respect to national
emergency and President's rule.

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 • Deleted the right to property from the list of Fundamental
Rights and made it only a legal right.
• Provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles
20 and 21 cannot be suspended during a national emergency.
• Omitted the provisions which took away the power of the
court to decide the election disputes of the President, the
Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha.
Fifty-Second Amendment • Provided for disqualification of members of Parliament and
Act, 1985 (Popularly known state legislatures on the ground of defection and added a new
as Anti-Defection Law) Tenth Schedule containing the details in this regard.
Sixty-First Amendment Act, • Reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok
1989 Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.
Sixty-Fifth Amendment Act, • Provided for the establishment of a multi-member National
1990 Commission for SCs and STs in the place of a Special Officer
for SCs and STs
Sixty-Ninth Amendment • Accorded a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi by
Act, 1991 designing it as the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• The amendment also provided for the creation of a 70-
member legislative assembly and a 7-member council of
ministers for Delhi.
Seventieth Amendment • Provided for the inclusion of the members of Legislative
Act, 1992 Assemblies of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the
Union Territory of Puducherry in the electoral college the
election Of the President.
Seventy-Third Amendment • Granted constitutional status and protection to the
Act, 1992 Panchayati raj institutions. For this purpose, the Amendment
has added a new Part-IX entitled as ‘the panchayats’ and a
new Eleventh Schedule containing 29 functional items of the
panchayats.
Seventy-fourth • Granted constitutional status and protection to the urban
Amendment Act, 1992 local bodies. For this purpose, the Amendment has added a
new Part IX-A entitled as ‘the municipalities’ and a Twelfth
Schedule containing 18 functional items of the municipalities.
Seventy-Fifth Amendment • Provided for the establishment of rent tribunals for the
Act, 1994 adjudication of disputes with respect to rent, its regulation
and control and tenancy issues including the rights, title and
interest of landlords and tenants.
Eighty-Sixth Amendment • Made elementary education a fundamental right. The newly-
Act, 2002 added Article 21-A declares that “the State Shall provide free
and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to
fourteen years in such manner as the State may determine”.
• Changed the subject matter of Article 45 in Directive
Principles. It now reads “The State Shall endeavour to provide

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 early Childhood care and education for all children until they
complete the age of six years”.
• Added a new fundamental duty under Article 51-A which
reads – “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India who is a
parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to
his child or ward between the age of Six and fourteen years”.
Eighty-Ninth Amendment • Bifurcated the erstwhile combined National Commission for
Act, 2003 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate
bodies, namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes
and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
• Both the Commissions consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-
Chairperson and three other members. They are appointed by
the President.
Ninety-First Amendment • Made the following provisions to limit the Size of Council of
Act, 2003 Ministers, to debar defectors from holding public offices, and
to strengthen the anti-defection law:
1. The total number of ministers, including the Prime
Minister. in the Central Council of Ministers shall not
exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
2. A member of either house of Parliament belonging to any
political party who is disqualified on the ground of
defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a
minister.
3. The total number of ministers, including the Chief
Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a state shall not
exceed 15% of the total strength of the legislative
Assembly of that state. But, the number of ministers,
including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not be less
than 12.
4. A member of either House of a state legislature belonging
to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of
defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a
minister.
5. A member of either House of Parliament or either House
of a State Legislature belonging to any political party who
is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be
disqualified to hold any remunerative political post. The
expression “remunerative political post" means (i) any
office under the central government or a state
government where the salary or remuneration for such
office is paid out of the public revenue of the concerned
government; or (ii) any office under a body. whether
incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by
the central government or a state government and the
salary or remuneration for such office is paid by such body,

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 except where such salary or remuneration paid is
compensatory in nature.
6. The provision of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law)
pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of
split by one-third members of legislature party has been
deleted. It means that the defectors have no more
protection on grounds of splits.
Ninety-Second Amendment • Included four more languages in the Eighth Schedule.
Act, 2003 • They are Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Mathilli (Maithili) and Santhali.
With this, the total number of constitutionally recognised
languages increased to 22.
Ninety-Third Amendment • Empowered the state to make special provisions for the
Act, 2005 socially and educationally backward classes or the Scheduled
Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions
including private educational institutions (whether aided or
unaided by the state), except the minority educational
institutions.
Ninety-Fifth Amendment • Extended the reservation of seats for the SCs and STs an
Act, 2009 special representation for the Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha
and the state legislative assemblies for a further period of ten
years i.e., upto 2020.
Ninety-Seventh • Gave a constitutional status and protection to co-operative
Amendment Act, 2011 societies. In this context, it made the following three changes
in the constitution:
1. It made the right to form co-operative societies a
fundamental right.
2. It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on
promotion of co-operative societies.
3. It added a new Part in the constitution which is entitled as
"The Co-operative Societies”
Ninety-Ninth Amendment • Replaced the collegium system of appointing judges to the
Act, 2014 Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
• However, in 2015, the Supreme Court has declared this
amendment act as unconstitutional and void.
• Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative
again.
One Hundredth • Gave effect to the acquiring of certain territories by India and
Amendment Act, 2015 transfer of certain other territories to Bangladesh (through
exchange of enclaves and retention of adverse possessions) in
pursuance of the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its
Protocol of 2011. For this purpose, this amendment act
amended the provisions relating to the territories of four
states (Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura) in the
First Schedule of the Constitution.

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One Hundred and First • Paved the way for the introduction of the goods and services
Amendment Act, 2016 tax (GST) regime in the country.
• The GST shall replace a number of indirect taxes being levied
by the Union and the State Government. It is intended to
remove cascading effect of taxes and provide for a common
national market for goods and services. The proposed Central
and State GST will be levied on all transactions involving
supply of goods and services, except those which are kept out
of the purview of the GST. Accordingly, the amendment made
the following provisions:
1. Conferred concurrent taxing powers upon the Parliament
and the State Legislatures to makes laws for levying GST
on every transaction of supply of goods or services or
both.
2. Dispensed the concept of "declared goods of special
importance" under the constitution.
3. Provided for the levy of Integrated GST on inter-state
transactions of goods and services
4. Provided for the establishment of a Goods and Services
Tax Council by a Presidential order.
5. Made the provision of compensation to the states for loss
of revenue arising on account of introduction of GST for a
period of five years.
6. Substituted and omitted certain entries in the Union and
State Lists of the seventh Schedule.
One Hundred and Second • Conferred a constitutional status on the National Commission
Amendment Act, 2018 for Backward Classes which was set-up in 1993 by an Act of
the Parliament.
• Relieved the National Commission for Scheduled Castes from
Its functions with regard to the backward classes.
• Empowered the President to specify the socially and
educationally backward classes in relation to a state or union
territory.
One Hundred and Third • Empowered the state to make any special provision for the
Amendment Act, 2019 advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens.
• Allowed the state to make a provision for the reservation of
up to 10% of seats for such sections in admission to
educational institutions including private educational
Institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, except
the minority educational institutions. This reservation of up to
10% would be in addition to the existing reservations.
• Permitted the state to make a provision for the reservation of
up to 10% of appointments or posts in favour of such sections.
This reservation of up to 10% would be in addition to the
existing reservation.

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One Hundred and Fourth • Extended the reservation of seats for the SCs and STs in the
Amendment Act, 2019 Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for a further
period of ten years i.e., up to 2030.
• Discontinued the special representation of the Anglo-Indian
community in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative
assemblies by nomination.
One Hundred and Fifth • Provided that the President may with respect to any state or
Amendment Act, 2021 union territory specify the socially and educationally
backward classes in the Central List for the purposes of the
central government.
• Explained that the expression "Central List- means the List of
socially and educationally backward classes prepared and
maintained by and for the central government.
• Provided that every state or union territory may, by law,
prepare and maintain, for its own purposes, a list of socially
and educationally backward classes, in which entries may be
different from the Central List.
• Exempted the state governments from consulting the
National Commission for Backward Classes with regard to the
preparation and maintenance of the list of socially and
educationally backward classes for their own purposes.

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