Amendment of The Indian Constitution - Deepanshi Kalra

The Constitution (40th Amendment Act), 1976

The 40th amendment of the Indian Constitution’s 40th amendment was a part of the ninth schedule, and it contained 64 more central and state laws that were mostly related to land reforms. With the commencement of this amendment act the borders of territorial waters, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and India’s maritime zones were timely checked.

The Constitution (42nd Amendment Act), 1976

The Constitution Amendment act of 42nd amendment had brought some significant changes in the Indian constitution, which are as follows: The words socialist, secular, and integrity were added in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. The fundamental duties enshrined in part four of the Indian Constitution also emanated from this amendment act. This act in part XIV A of the Indian constitution mandated the President to follow the advice of Cabinet as and when provided. The modification also occurred in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats in accordance with the 1971 census up till 2001 which was an initiation of the population management mechanism. Also, through this act, the amendments made in the Indian constitution were enabled to be made without judicial review. The superior courts that are the Supreme Court and High Court had curtailed the power of judicial review and written jurisdiction, which further increased the tenure of the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to 6 years. The three new guidelines to the Indian constitution- namely equal justice and free legal assistance, employee participation and environmental protection and Forest and wildlife where added through this amendment to the Indian constitution. It also facilitated the declaration of national emergency within a confined portion of Indian territories besides extending the President‘s period from six months to 1 year. It also empowered the Centre to deploy its armed forces to deal with the intricacies of law and order situation as per its discretion. There were five subjects namely education, forest, wildlife and bird protection, weights and measures and the administration of justice, constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and High Court-all the subjects were added from state list to concurrent list.

Finally, the Parliament was empowered to determine the rights and responsibilities of its members and commissions regularly for developing the judicial services of all India.

The Constitution (43rd Amendment Act), 1978

Following changes occurred to the 43rd amendment act, 1948 that is: The 42nd amendment act that emanated some fundamental clauses were repealed in this act. Article 31 D which empowers the Parliament to curtail even legitimate trade union activity was deleted from the Indian constitution so that civil liberties can be restored. Legislative powers for the states to provide adequate provision for antinational activities which were consistent with the fundamental rights were also restored, including the restoration of the judiciary to its rightful place. The act also empowered the highest of court to invalidate state laws, power which was taken away by the previous act. It also enables the High Court to resolve the disputes in question regarding the statutory legitimacy of central legislation requiring citizens residing in remote areas to seek timely justice.

The Constitution (44th Amendment Act), 1978

The term ‘internal disturbance’ was replaced with the term ‘armed rebellion’ in the provisions contained regarding national emergency. The President’s declaration of national emergency could only be made on the recommendation of the cabinet and not otherwise. Right to the property provided to the Indian citizens was now made a legal right through this amendment act. Suspension of fundamental rights during national emergency excluded the right contained in article 20 and 21. The tenure of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha was restored to 5 years. The rules related to the quorum in the Parliament and the Rajya Sabha of the states was restored. The provisions contained in the Parliamentary privileges section was omitted. The permission was granted regarding the publishing of accounts of legislative trials and state assembly concerning fundamental immunity. The permission was also granted regarding the President returning the decision of the Cabinet for the consideration regarding their recommendations related to various matters.

The Constitution (45th Amendment Act), 1980

The representation of Anglo Indians by a nomination for a period of 10 years was now permitted through this act. It also extended the reservation of seats for the scheduled caste and scheduled Tribes in the Parliament and the State Legislatures.

The Constitution (46th Amendment Bill), 1982

The Government of India was directed to prepare an authoritative text of the Indian Constitution in the Hindi language.

The Constitution (47th Amendment Act), 1984

The ninth schedule was amended by this act. The legislation related to land reforms by the different states such as Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and the union territories of Goa and Daman and Diu were enacted as they were not inconsistent with the provisions contained in part III of the Indian Constitution.

The Constitution (48th Amendment Act), 1984.

This Act amended the clause (5) of Article 356 of the Constitution to stipulate that in the case of the Proclamation issued by the President on 6 October 1983 with respect to the State of Punjab, Parliament may pass any resolution concerning the continuance in force of the Proclamation for a period up to two years.

The Constitution (49th Amendment Act), 1984.

The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was made applicable to the tribal areas of the State of Tripura.

The Constitution (50th Amendment Act), 1984

This Act modified article 33 of the Indian Constitution to include: The Members of the Forces charged with the protection of property belonging to, or in the charge or possession of, the State. The persons employed in any bureau or other organisation established by the State for purposes of intelligence or counterintelligence.

The persons employed in, or in connection with, the telecommunication systems set up for the purposes of any Force, Bureau or organisation.