Constitution Amendments of India (The Complete Coverage 1st Amendment to 100th Amendment )
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- India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949 and came into force on 26th January, 1950.
- The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President. As per Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
- Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President, who shall exercise his/her functions in accordance to the advice. The real executive power is thus vested in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head.
List of Amendments of Constitution of India
As of August 2015, there have been 100 amendments to the Constitution of India since it was first enacted in 1950. There are two types of amendments to the constitution which are governed by article 368.
1. The first type includes amendments that can be effected by Parliament of India by a prescribed ‘Special Majority’.
2. The second type of amendments includes those that require, in addition to such "Special Majority", ratification by at least one half of the State Legislatures.
- The second type amendments made to the constitution are amendments No. 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 54, 61, 62, 70, 73, 74, 75, 79, 84, 88, 95 and 99.
3. The first Amendment Act to the Indian Constitution was made in the year 1951. According to it, Articles 15, 19, 85, 87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 376 were amended and Articles 31A and 3IB inserted and Ninth Schedule was added.
The Constitution (24th Amendment) Act, 1971:
- It affirmed the power of the Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution. After this amendment, the President is bound to assent to Constitution Amendment Bill. Education was transferred to the Concurrent List by this amendment.
The Constitution (31st Amendment) Act, 1973:
- Increased the elective strength of the Lok Sabha from 525 to 545. Under the Act, the upper limit of representatives of the States goes up from 500 to 525 and that of the Union Territories decreases from 25 to 20.
The Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975:
- By this Act, Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union.
The Constitution (37th Amendment) Act, 1975:
- This was passed by Parliament on April 26, 1975, to provide for a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers to Arunachal Pradesh, the country’s North-Easternmost Union Territory.
The Constitution (39th Amendment) Act, 1975:
- The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 7 and received Presidential assent on August 9,1975.
- The Act places beyond challenge in courts the election to Parliament of a person holding the office of Prime Minister or Speaker and the election of President and Vice-President.
The Constitution (40th Amendment) Act, 1976:
- This Amendment has a three-fold objective:
- It places beyond challenge in courts some major Central laws;
- It gives similar protection to several State enactments, mostly relating to land legislation, by including them in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution; and
- It provides that the limits of the territorial waters, the Continental Shelf, the Exclusive Economic Zone and the maritime zones of India shall be specified from time to time by law made by Parliament.
The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976:
- It was enacted during the period of internal emergency. It was passed by Parliament on November 11, 1976 and received Presidential assent on December 18, 1976.
- The Amendment established beyond doubt the supremacy of Parliament over the other wings of Government; gave the Directive Principles precedence over the Fundamental Rights; enumerated for the first time a set of ten Fundamental Duties. The Act also clearly laid down that no Constitutional Amendment could be questioned in any court of law.
The Constitution (43rd Amendment) Act, 1978:
- It received the Presidential assent on April 13, 1978. This Act repeals the obnoxious provisions of the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act passed during the Emergency. It restores civil liberties by deleting Article 3I D which gave powers to Parliament to curtail even legitimate trade union activity under the guise of legislation for the prevention of anti-national activities.
The Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978:
- The Constitution (45 th Amendment) Bill, re-numbered as the 44th Amendment came into force on April 30, 1979, when the President gave his assent. The Act removes major distortions in the Constitution introduced during the Emergency.
- The Act extends reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in Parliament and the State Assemblies and the representation of Anglo-Indians by nomination for a further period of 10 years.
The Constitution (46th Amendment) Bill, 1982:
- It seeks to authorize the government to prepare an authoritative text of the Constitution, in Hindi.
The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985:
- The Act has made defection to another party, after elections illegal. Any member defecting to another party after elections will be disqualified from being member of Parliament or State Legislature.
The Constitution (53rd Amendment) Act, 1986:
- It confers Statehood on Mizoram and ensures against unnecessary interference by the Central Government with the laws relating to spheres of social relationship and community conduct applicable to Mizoram.
The Constitution (54th Amendment) Act, 1986:
- It enhances the salaries of Judges of High Courts and Supreme Court of India. The salary of Chief Justice of India will be Rs 10,000; Chief Justice of High Courts Rs 9000; Judges of Supreme Court Rs 9000; and Judges of High Courts Rs 8000.
The Constitution (55th Amendment) Act, 1987:
- It grants Statehood to Arunachal Pradesh which consequently became the 24th State of the Indian Union.
The Constitution (56th Amendment) Act, 1987:
- It confers Statehood on Goa and forms a new Union Territory of Daman and Diu. Goa thus became the 25th State of the Indian Republic.
The Constitution (57th Amendment) Act, 1987:
- It made a special provision for the setting up of the new State of Goa. Consequently Daman and Diu were separated from the former to form a Union Territory.
The Constitution (58th Amendment) Act, 1988:
- It provides for special arrangements with regard to reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. By amending Article 322 the adjustment of seats has been frozen until 2000 A.D.
The Constitution (59th Amendment) Act, 1988:
- It empowered the Central Government to impose Emergency in Punjab when deemed necessary. Under the amendment, President’s rule can be extended upto three years. Earlier maximum period was two years.
The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989:
- It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
The Constitution (62nd Amendment) Act, 1989:
- It provided for the extension by another 10 years of reservation of seats in the Parliament and State Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and reservation for Anglo Indian community by nomination.
The Constitution (63rd Amendment) Act, 1989:
- It repealed Amendment 59 which empowered the government to impose emergency in Punjab.
The Constitution (64th Amendment) Act, 1990:
- It extended the President’s rule in Punjab by six months.
The Constitution (66th Amendment) Act, 1990:
- To bring land reforms within the purview of 9th Schedule of the Constitution.
The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991:
- Delhi made National Capital Region. The Act also made provision for Legislative assembly and a council of ministers for Delhi.
The Constitution (70th Amendment) Act, 1992:
- Before this act was made Article 54 relating to the election of the President provided for an electoral college consisting only of the elected members of Parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of the States (not of Union Territories). The amendment provide for inclusion of members of legislature of Pondicherry and Delhi.
The Constitution (71st Amendment) Act, 1992:
- The act amends the 8th Schedule to the Constitution to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali Languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
The Constitution (72nd Amendment) Act, 1992:
- To make temporary provision for the determination of the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the State assembly of Tripura, until the re-adjustment of seats is made on the basis of the first census after the year 2000 under article 170 of the Constitution.
The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992:
- To ensure direct election to all seats in Panchayats; to reserve seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population; and for reservation of not less than one third of the seats in Panchayats for women.
The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992:
- This was made to ensure direct election to all seats in Nagarpalikas and Municipalities.
The Constitution (75th Amendment) Act 1994:
- It provides for setting up of State-level Rent Tribunals to exclude the jurisdiction of all courts, except that of the Supreme Court, under Article 136 of the Constitution.
The Constitution (76th Amendment) Act, 1994:
- It relates to the Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutes and of appointments or posts in the Services under a State, for Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Supreme Court had ruled on November 16, 1992, that the total reservations under Article 16(40) of the Constitution should not exceed 50 per cent.
The Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995:
- According to this Act, the Government have decided to continue the existing policy of reservation in promotion for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The Constitution (78th Amendment) Act, 1995:
- It includes land reform laws in the Ninth Schedule so that they cannot be challenged before the courts.
The Constitution (79th Amendment) Act, 1999:
- It extends the reservation of seats for SC, ST and Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies for next 10 years.
The Constitution (80th Amendment) Act, 2000:
- It deals with an alternative scheme for sharing taxes between the Union and the States.
The Constitution (81st Amendment) Act, 2000:
- It provides 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 considered separately for filling vacancies in the succeeding year and the previous list will not be considered for filling the 50% quota of the respective year.
The Constitution (82nd Amendment) Act, 2000:
- It provides that nothing in the Article 355 shall prevent the State from making any provisions in favour of the members of SC/ST for relaxation in qualifying marks with respect to examination/job/promotion.
The Constitution (83rd Amendment) Act, 2000:
- The Act amended Article 243 M to provide that no reservation in Panchayats be made in favour of SC/ST in Arunachal Pradesh where the whole population is tribal.
The Constitution (84th Amendment) Act, 2002:
- Amend articles 55, 81, 82, 170, 330 and 332. 21 February 2002. Extend the usage of 1971 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats
The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2002:
- Amend article 16. 4 January 2002 A technical amendment to protect Consequential seniority in case of promotions of SC/ST Employees
The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002:
- Amend articles 45 and 51A. Insert article 21A. 12 December 2002 Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen and Early childhood care until the age of six.
The Constitution (87th Amendment) Act, 2003:
- Amend articles 81, 82, 170 and 330. 22 June 2003. Extend the usage of 2001 National Census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats
The Constitution (88th Amendment) Act, 2004:
- Amend article 270. Insert article 268A. Amend schedule 7. 15 January 2004. To extend statutory cover for levy and utilization of Service Tax
The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003:
- Amend article 338. Insert article 338A. 28 September 2003 The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
The Constitution (90th Amendment) Act, 2003:
- Amend article 332. 28 September 2003. Reservation in Assam Assembly relating to Bodoland Territory Area.
The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2004:
- Amend articles 75 and 164. Insert article 361B. Amend schedule 10. 1 January 2004. Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15% of legislative members & to strengthen Anti Defection laws.
The Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act, 2004:
- Amend schedule 8. 7 January 2004. Include Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithali as official languages.
The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act, 2006:
- Amend article 15. 20 January 2006 To enable provision of reservation(27%) for other backward classes (OBC) in government as well as private educational institutions
The Constitution (94th Amendment) Act, 2006:
- Amend article 164. 12 June 2006. To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States including Madhya Pradesh, Orissa.
The Constitution (95th Amendment) Act, 2010:
- Amend article 334. 25 January 2010. To extend the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and states assemblies from Sixty years to Seventy years
The Constitution (96th Amendment) Act, 2011:
- Amend schedule 8. 23 September 2011. Substituted "Odia" for "Oriya"
The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2012:
- Amend Art 19 and added Part IXB. 12 January 2012 Added the words "or co-operative societies" after the word "or unions" in Article 19(l)(c) and insertion of article 43B i.e., Promotion of Co-operative Societies and added Part-IXB i.e., The Co-operative Societies.
- The amendment objective is to encourage economic activities of cooperatives which in turn help progress of rural India. It is expected to not only ensure autonomous and democratic functioning of cooperatives, but also the accountability of the management to the members and other stakeholders.
The Constitution (98th Amendment) Act, 2013:
- To insert Article 371J in the Constitution 2 January 2013. To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2015:
- Insertion of new articles 124A, 124B and 124C. Amendments to Articles 127, 128, 217, 222, 224A, 231. 13 April 2015 The amendment provides for the formation of a National Judicial Appointments Commission.
- 16 State assemblies out of 29 States including Goa, Rajasthan, Tripura, Gujarat and Telangana ratified the Central Legislation, enabling the President of India to give assent to the bill. The amendment is into quashed by Supreme Court on 16 October 2015.
The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015:
- Amendment of First Schedule to Constitution 1 August 2015. Exchange of certain enclave territories with Bangladesh and conferment of citizenship rights to residents of enclaves consequent to signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Treaty between India and Bangladesh.