Constitution of India Amendments 1 to 118

english.ullat chit hagaval.co m http://www.english.ullatchithagaval.com/?p=821

Constitution of India – Amendments 1 To 118

The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1950

This amendment provided f or several new grounds of restrictions to the right to f reedom of speech andexpression and the right to practice any prof ession or to carry on any trade or business as contained inArticle 19 of the Constitution. These restrictions related to public order, f riendly relations with f oreignStates or incitement to an of f ence in relation to the right to f reedom of speech, and to the prescribing ofprof essional or technical qualif ications or the carrying on by the State, etc., of any trade, business,industry or service in relation to the right to carry on any trade or business. The amendment also insertedtwo new Articles, 31-A and 31-B and the Ninth Schedule to give protection f rom challenge to land ref ormlaws.The constitution of India draws extensively f rom Western legal tradit ions in its outline of the principlesof liberal democracy. It f ollows a Brit ish parliamentary pattern with a lower and upper house. It embodiessome Fundamental Rights which are similar to the Bill of Rights declared by the United States constitution.It also borrows the concept of a Supreme Court f rom the US.

The Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1952

By this amendment, the scale or representation f or election to the Lok Sabha was readjusted.

The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1954

This amendment substituted entry 33 of List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule to make itcorrespond to Article 369.

The Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955

Article 31 (2) of the Constitution was amended to re-state more precisely the State’s power of compulsoryacquisit ion and requisit ioning of private property and distinguish it f rom cases where the operation ofregulatory or prohibitory laws of the States results in “deprivation of property”. Article 31A of theConstitution was also amended to extend its scope to cover categories of essential welf are legislation likeabolit ion of zamindaris, proper planning of urban and rural areas and f or ef f ecting a f ull control over themineral and oil resources of the country, etc. Six Acts were also included in the Ninth Schedule. Article 305was also amended to save certain laws providing of State Monopolies.

The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1955

This amendment made a change in Article 3 so as to empower President to specif y a t ime limit f or statelegislatures to convey their views on the proposed Central laws af f ecting areas, boundaries, etc., of theirstates.

The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1956

This amendment made some changes in Articles 269 and 286 relating to taxes on sale and purchase ofgoods in the course of inter-state trade and commerce. A new entry 92 A was added to the Union List ofthe Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.

The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956

This amendment Act purported to give ef f ect to the recommendations of the State ReorganisationCommission and the necessary consequential changes. Broadly, the then existing states and territorieswere changed to have two-f old classif ication of states and union territories. The amendment also providedf or composition of the House of the People, re-adjustment af ter every census, provisions regarding theestablishment of new High Courts, High Court Judges, etc.

The Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1960

Article 334 was amended with a view to extending the period of reservation of seats f or Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes and to the Anglo-Indian community by nomination in Parliament and in the StateLegislatures f or a f urther period of ten years.

The Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act, 1960

The purpose of this amendment is to give ef f ect to the transf er of certain territories to Pakistan inpursuance of the agreement extended into between Governments of India and Pakistan. This amendmentwas necessitated in view of the Judgement of Supreme Court in In Re Berubari Union by which it was heldthat any agreement to cede a territory to another country could not be implemented by a law made underArticle 3 but would only be implemented by an amendment of the Constitution.

The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961

This Act amended Article 240 and the First Schedule in order to include areas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli asa Union Territory and to provide f or its administration under the regulation making powers of President.

The Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1961

The purpose of this amendment was to amend Articles 66 and 71 of the Constitution to provide that theelection of President or Vice President could not be challenged on the ground of any vacancy in theappropriate electoral college.

The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962

This amendment sought to include Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory and to amend Article 240 f orthe purpose.

The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962

By this amendment, a new Article 371A was added to make special provisions with respect to state ofNagaland in pursuance of an agreement between Government of India and Naga People’s Convention.

The Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1962

By this Act, Pondicherry was included in the First Schedule as a Union Territory, and this Act has alsoenabled the creation of Legislature by Parliamentary law f or Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa,Daman and Diu and Pondicherry.

The Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963

This amendment provided f or increase in the age of retirement of High Court Judge and f or the provisionof compensatory allowance to judges who are transf erred f rom one High Court to another. The Act alsoprovided f or appointment of retired judges to act as judges of High Court. Article 226 was also enlarged toempower High Court to issue direction, orders or writs to any Government authority, etc., if the cause ofaction f or the exercise of such power arose in the territories wherein the High Court exercise jurisdictionnotwithstanding that seat of such Government authority is not within those territories. The Act alsoprovided f or the exercise of powers of Chairman of the Service Commissions, in their absence, by one oftheir Members.

The Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963

Article 19 was amended by this Act to impose f urther restriction on the rights to f reedom of speech andexpression, to assemble peaceably and without arms and to f orm associations in the interests ofsovereignty and integrity of India. The oath of af f irmation to be subscribed by candidates seeking electionto Parliament and State Legislatures have been amended to include as one of the conditions that they willuphold the sovereignty and integrity of India. The amendments are intended to promote nationalintegration.

The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964

Article 31A was f urther amended to prohibit the acquisit ion of land under personal cult ivation unless themarket value of the land is paid as compensation and the def init ion of “estate” as contained in that Articlehad also been enlarged with retrospective ef f ect. The Ninth Schedule had also been amended to include 44more Acts.

The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 1966

Article 3 was amended by this Act to specif y that the expression “State” will include a union territory alsoand to make it clear that the power to f orm a new state under this Article includes a power to f orm a newstate or union territory by unit ing a part of a state or a union territory to another state or union territory.

The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966

Article 324 was amended to ef f ect a consequential change as a result of the decision to abolish ElectionTribunals and to hear election petit ions by High Courts.

The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Act, 1966

This amendment was necessitated by the decision of the Supreme Courts in Chandramohan vs. State ofUttar Pradesh in which certain appointments of District Judges in State of Uttar Pradesh were declared voidby Supreme Court. A new Article 233A was added and the appointments made by Governor were validated.

The Constitution (Tiventy-f irst Amendment) Act, 1967

By this amendment, Sindhi Language was included in the Eighth Schedule.

The Constitution (Tiuenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969

This act was enacted to f acilitate the f ormation of a new autonomous state of Meghalaya within state ofAssam.

The Constitution (Twenty-third Amendment) Act, 1969—Article 334 was amended so as to extend thesaf eguards in respect of reservation of seats in Parliament and State Legislatures f or Schedules Castesand Scheduled Tribes as well as f or Anglo-Indians f or a f urther period of ten years.

The Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971

This amendment was passed in the context of a situation that emerged with the verdict in Golaknath’s caseby Supreme Court. Accordingly, this Act amended Article 13 and Article 368 to remove all doubts regardingthe power of Parliament to amend the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights.

The Constitution (Twenty-f ifth Amendment) Act, 1971

This amendment f urther amended Article 31 in the wake of the Bank Nationalisation case. The word`amount’ was substituted in place of `compensation’ in the light of the judicial interpretation of the word`compensation’ meaning `adequate compensation’.

The Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971

By this amendment, the privy and privileges of the f ormer rulers of Indian states were abolished. Thisamendment was passed as a result of Supreme Court decision in Madhav Rao’s case.

The Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1971

This amendment was passed to provide f or certain matters necessitated by the reorganisation of north-eastern states. A new Article 239B was inserted which enabled the promulgation of Ordinances byAdministrators of certain union territories.

The Constitution (Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1972

The amendment was enacted to abolish the special privileges of the members of Indian Civil Services inmatters of leave, pension and rights as regard to disciplinary matters.

The Constitution (Twenty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1972

The Ninth Schedule to the Constitution was amended to include therein two Kerala Acts on land ref orms.

The Constitution (Thirt ieth Amendment) Act, 1972

The purpose of the amendment was to amend Article 133 in order to do away with the valuation test of Rs20,000 as f ixed therein, and to provide instead f or an appeal to Supreme Court in Civil proceedings only ona certif icate issued by High Court that the case involves a substantial question of law of generalimportance and that in opinion of High Court, the question needs to be decided by Supreme Court.

The Constitution (Thirty-f irst Amendment) Act, 1973

This Act inter alia raises the upper limit f or the representation of states in the Lok Sabha f rom 500 to 525and reducing the upper limit f or the representation of union territories f rom 25 members to 20.

The Constitution (Thirty-second Amendment) Act, 1973

This Act provided the necessary constitutional authority f or giving ef f ect to the provision of equalopportunit ies to dif f erent areas of the State of Andhra Pradesh and f or the constitution of anAdministrative Tribunal with jurisdiction to deal with grievances relating to public services. It also empoweredParliament to legislate f or the establishment of a Central university in the State.

The Constitution (Thirty-third Amendment) Act, 1974

By this amendment, Articles 101 and 190 were amended in order to streamline the procedure f or resignationof Members of Parliament and State Legislatures.

The Constitution (Thirty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1974

By this Act, twenty more land tenure and land ref orms laws enacted by various State Legislatures wereincluded in the Ninth Schedule.

The Constitution (Thirty-f if th Amendment) Act, 1974

By this Act a new Article 2A was added thereby conf erring on Sikkim the status of an associate State ofIndian Union. Consequent amendments were made to Articles 80 and 81. A new schedule, i.e., TenthSchedule, was added laying down terms and conditions of association of Sikkim with the Union.

The Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975

This was enacted to make Sikkim a f ull- f ledged State of Indian Union and to include it in the First Scheduleto the Constitution and to allot to Sikkim one seat each in the Council of States and in the House of thePeople. Article 2A and the Tenth Schedule inserted by the Constitution (Thirty- f if th Amendment) Act wereomitted and Articles 80 and 81 were suitably amended.

The Constitution (Thirty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1975

By this Act, Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh was provided with a Legislative Assembly. Article 240 ofthe Constitution was also amended to provide that as in the case of other union territories withLegislatures, the power of President to make regulations f or the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh maybe exercised only when the assembly is either dissolved or its f unctions remain suspended.

The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975

This Act amended Articles 123, 213 and 352 of the Constitution to provide that the satisf action ofPresident or Governor contained in these Articles would be called in question in any court of law.

The Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1975

By this Act, disputes relating to the election of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Speaker are tobe determined by such authority as may be determined by Parliamentary Law. Certain Central enactmentswere also included in the Ninth Schedule by this Act.

The Constitution (Fortieth Amendment) Act, 1976

This act provided f or vesting in the Union of all mines, minerals and other things of value lying in the oceanwithin the territorial waters or the continental shelf or the exclusive economic zone of India. It f urtherprovided that all other resources of the exclusive economic zone of India shall also vest in the Union. Thisact also provided that the limits of the territorial waters, the continental shelf , the exclusive economic zoneand the marit ime zones of India shall be as specif ied f rom time to t ime by or under any law made byParliament. Also some more Acts were added to the Ninth Scheme.

The Constitution (Forty-f irst Amendment) Act, 1976

By this Act, Article 316 was amended to raise the retirement age of Members of State Public ServiceCommissions and Joint Public Service Commissions f rom 60 to 62 years.

The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976

This act made a number of important amendments in the Constitution. These amendments were mainly f orpurpose of giving ef f ect to the recommendations of Swaran Singh Committee. Some of the importantamendments made are f or the purpose of spelling out expressly the high ideals of socialism, secularismand the integrity of the nation, to make the Directive Principles more comprehensive and giving themprecedence over those Fundamental Rights which have been allowed to be relied upon to f rustrate socio-economic ref orms. The amendment Act also inserted a new chapter on the Fundamental Duties of cit izensand made special provisions f or dealing with anti-national activit ies, whether by individuals or byassociations. The judiciary provisions were also amended by providing f or a requirement as to the minimumnumber of judges f or determining question as to the constitutional validity of law and f or a special majorityof not less than two-third f or declaring any law to be constitutionally invalid. To reduce the mountingarrears in High Courts and to secure the speedy disposal of service matters, revenue matters and certainother matters of special importance in the context of socio-economic development and progress, thisamendment Act provided f or the creation of Administrative and other tribunals f or dealing with such matterswhile preserving the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in regard to such matters under Article 136 of theConstitution. Certain modif ications in the writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 were also made.

The Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977

This Act inter alia provided f or the restoration of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts,curtailed by the enactment of the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 and accordinglyArticles 32A, 131 A, 144A, 226A and 228A included in the Constitution by the said amendment, were omittedby this Act. The Act also provided f or the omission of Article 31 which conf erred special powers onParliament to enact certain laws in respect of anti-national activit ies.

The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978

The right to property which had been the occasion f or more than one amendment of Constitution wasomitted as a Fundamental Right and it was made only as a legal right. It was, however, ensured that theremoval of the right to property f rom the list of Fundamental Rights would not af f ect the right of minorit iesto establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 352 of the Constitution wasamended to provide “armed rebellion” as one of the circumstances f or declaration of emergency. Internaldisturbance not amounting to armed rebellion would not be a ground f or the issuance of a Proclamation.The right to personal liberty as contained in Articles 21 and 22 is f urther strengthened by the provision thata law f or preventive detention cannot authorise, in any case, detention f or a longer period than two monthsunless an Advisory Board has reported that there is suf f icient cause f or such detention. The additionalsaf eguard has also been provided by the requirements that Chairman of an Advisory Board shall be aserving Judge of the appropriate High Court and that the Board shall be constituted in accordance with therecommendations of the Chief Justice of that High Court. With a view to avoiding delays, Articles 132 and134 were amended and a new Article 134A was inserted to provide that a High Court should consider thequestion of granting a certif icate f or appeal to Supreme Court immediately af ter the delivery of thejudgement, f inal order or sentence concerned on the basis of an oral application by a party or, if the HighCourt deems it so to do, on its own. The other amendments made by the Act are mainly f or removing orcorrecting the distortions which came into the Constitution by reason of the amendment init iated during theperiod of internal emergency.

The Constitution (Forty-f if th Amendment) Act, 1980

This was passed to extend saf eguards in respect of reservation of seats in Parliament and StateAssemblies f or Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes as well as f or Anglo-Indians f or a f urther period of tenyears.

The Constitution (Forty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1982

Article 269 was amended so that the tax levied on the consignment of goods in the course of inter-state orcommerce shall be assigned to the states. This Article was also amended to enable Parliament to f ormulateby law principle f or determining when a consignment of goods takes place in the course of inter-state tradeor commerce. A new 92B was also inserted in the Union List to enable the levy of tax on the consignment ofgoods such consignment takes place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce. Clause (3) of Article286 was amended to enable Parliament to specif y, by law, restrictions an conditions in regard to the systemof levy rates and other incidence of tax on the transf er of goods involved in the execution of a workscontract, on the delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any system of payment of instalments, etc. Article366 was also suitably amended to insert a def init ion of “tax on the sale or purchase goods” to includetransf er f or consideration of controlled commodities, transf er of property in goods involved in theexecution of a works contract, delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any system payment by instalments,etc.

The Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1984—This amendment is intended to provide f or theinclusion of certain land Ref orms Acts in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution with a view to obviating thescope of lit igation hampering the implementation process of those Acts.

The Constitution (Forty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1984

The Proclamation issued by President under Article 356 of the Constitution with respect to the State ofPunjab cannot be continued in f orce f or more than one year unless the special conditions mentioned inclause (5) of the said Article are satisf ied. As it is f elt that the continued f orce of the said Proclamation isnecessary, theref ore, the present amendment had been ef f ected so as to make the conditions mentionedin clause (5) of Article 356 inapplicable in the instant case.

The Constitution (Forty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1984

Tripura Government recommended that the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution may bemade applicable to tribal areas at that State. The amendment involved in this Act is intended to give aconstitutional security to the autonomous District Council f unctioning in the State.

The Constitution (Fift ieth Amendment) Act, 1984

by Article 33 of the constitution, Parliament is empowered to enact laws determining to what extent any ofthe rights conf erred by Part III of the constitution shall, in their application to the members of the armedf orces or the f orces charged the maintenance of public order, be restricted or abrogated so as to ensureproper discharge or their duties and maintenance of discipline among them. It was proposed to amendArticle 33 so as to bring within its ambit: (i) the members of the Force charged with the protection ofproperty belonging to or in the charge or possession of the state; or (ii) persons employed in any bureauor other organisation established by the state f or purposes of intelligence or counter- intelligence; or (iii)persons employed in or in connection with the telecommunication systems set up f or the purposes of anyForce, bureau or organisation. Experience has revealed that the need f or ensuring proper discharge of theirduties and maintenance of discipline among them is of paramount importance in the national interest.

The Constitution (Fifty-f irst Amendment) Act, 1984

Article 330 has been amended by this Act f or providing reservation of seats f or Scheduled Tribes inMeghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in Parliament and Article 332 has been amended toprovide similar reservation in the Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya to meet theaspirations of local tribal population.

The Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985

It amends the Constitution to provide that a Member of Parliament or a State Legislature who def ects or isexpelled f rom the party which set him up as a candidate in the election or if an independent member of theHouse joins a polit ical party af ter expiry of six months f rom the date on which he takes seat in the Houseshall be disqualif ied to remain a member of the House. The Act also makes suitable provisions with respectto splits in and merger of polit ical parties.

The Constitution (Fifty-third Amendment) Act, 1986

This has been enacted to give ef f ect to the Memorandum of Settlement of Mizoram which was signed byGovernment of India and Mizoram Government with Mizoram National Front on 30 June 1986. For thispurpose, a new Article 371G has been inserted in the Constitution inter alia preventing application of anyAct of Parliament in Mizoram in respect of religious or social practices of Mizos, Mizos’ customary law andprocedure, administration of civil and criminal practice involving decisions according to Mizos’ customary lawand ownership and transf er of land unless a resolution is passed in the Legislative Assembly to that ef f ect.This, however, will not apply to any Central Act already in f orce in Mizoram bef ore the commencement ofthis amendment. The new Article also provides that the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram shall consist ofnot less than 40 members.

The Constitution (Fifty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1986

This Act increases the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges as f ollows: Chief Justice of IndiaRs 10,000 per month Judges of Supreme Court Rs 9,000 per month Chief Justice of High Court Rs 9,000per month Judges of High Court Rs 8,000 per month This Act amended Part `D’ of the Second Schedule tothe Constitution to give ef f ect to the above increases in the salaries of judges and to make an enablingprovision in Articles 125 and 221 to provide f or changes in the salaries of judges in f uture by Parliament bylaw.

The Constitution (Fifty-f if th Amendment) Act, 1986

This Act seeks to give ef f ects to the proposal of Government of India to conf er statehood on the UnionTerritory of Arunachal Pradesh and f or this purpose, a new Article 371H has been inserted which, inter alia,conf ers, having regard to the sensit ive location of Arunachal Pradesh to vest special responsibility onGovernor of the new State of Arunachal Pradesh with respect to law and order in the State and in thedischarge of his f unctions, the Governor shall af ter consulting the Council of Ministers, exercise hisindividual judgement, as to the action to be taken and this responsibility shall cease when President sodirects. The new Article also provides that the new Legislative Assembly of the new State of ArunachalPradesh, shall consist of not less than thirty members.

The Constitution (Fifty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1987

Government of India has proposed to constitute the territories comprised in Goa District of the UnionTerritory of Goa, Daman and Diu as the State of Goa and the territories comprised in Daman and Diudistricts of that Union Territory as a new Union Territory of Daman and Diu. In this context, it was proposedthat the Legislative Assembly of the new State of Goa shall consist of 40 members. The existing LegislativeAssembly of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu has 30 elected members and three nominatedmembers. It was intended to make this Assembly with the exclusion of two members representing Damanand Diu districts the provisional Legislative Assembly f or the new State of Goa until elections are held onthe expiry of the f ive year terms of the existing Assembly. It was, theref ore, decided to provide that theLegislative Assembly of the new State of Goa shall consist of not less than 30 members. The specialprovision required to be made to give ef f ect to this proposal is carried out by this amendment.

The Constitution (Fifty-seventh amendment) Act, 1987

The Constitution (Fif ty- f irst Amendment) Act, 1984 was enacted to provide f or reservation of seats in thehouse of the people f or scheduled tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh andalso f or reservation of seats f or scheduled tribes in the legislative assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalayaby suitably amending articles 330 and 332. Even though these states are predominantly tribal, theunderlying objective the af oresaid act was to ensure that the members of scheduled tribes in these areasdo not f ail to secure a minimal representation because of their inability to compete with the advancedsection sections of the people. The Constitution (f if ty- f irst amendment) act, though f ormally enf orced,could not be f ully implemented unless parallel action is taken to determine the seats which are to bereserved f or Scheduled tribes in these areas. The number of seats reserved f or Schedule Castes andSchedule Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of any State under article 332 of the constitution will have to bedetermined having regard to the provisions of article 332 (3) of the Constitution. However, in view of thehistorical background with respect to the areas comprised in north-eastern states, the circumstancesobtaining in these areas in the State of development of Scheduled Tribes and other relevantconsiderations, it was considered necessary to provide f or special arrangements with regard to thereservation f or Scheduled Tribes in these areas f or a temporary period so as to f acilitate easy transit ionof these areas to the normal arrangements as envisaged in the Constitution. Article 332 of the Constitutionwas f urther amended f or making a temporary provision, until the re-adjustment of seats on the basis off irst census af ter the year 2000 under article 170 of the Constitution f or these states, f or thedetermination of the number of seats reserved f or Scheduled Tribes. This amendment seeks to providethat if all the seats in the Legislative Assembly of such States a existence on the date of coming into f orceof this constitution amendment act are held by the members of Scheduled Tribes, all the seats except oneshall be reserved f or scheduled tribes and in any other case such number of seats as bears to the totalnumber of seats a proportion not less than the number of members belonging to Scheduled Tribes in theexisting assembly bears to the total number of seats in the existing assembly. The act achieves theseobjectives.

The Constitution (Fifty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1987

There has been general demand f or the publication of authoritative text of the Constitution in Hindi. It isimperative to have an authoritative text of the Constitution f or f acilitating its use in the legal process. AnyHindi version of the Constitution should not only conf orm to the Hindi translation published by theConstituent Assembly, but should be in conf ormity, with the language style and terminology adopted in theauthoritative texts of Central Acts in Hindi. The Constitution has been amended to empower President ofIndia to publish under his authority the translation of the Constitution in Hindi signed by the Members ofthe Constituent Assembly with such modif ication as may be necessary to bring it in conf ormity with thelanguage, style and terminology adopted in the authoritative texts of Central Acts in Hindi language.President has also been authorized to publish the translation Hindi of every amendment of theConstitution made in English.

The Constitution (Fifty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1988

The Act amends Article 365 (5) of the Constitution so as to f acilitate the extension of a PresidentialProclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 beyond a period of one year, if necessary upto a periodof three years, as permissible under clause (4) of Article 356 with respect to the State of Punjab becauseof the continued disturbed situation there. The Act also amends Article 352 of the Constitution pertainingto the Proclamation of emergency in its application to the State of Punjab and includes internal disturbanceas one of the grounds f or making a Proclamation in respect of the State of Punjab only. As a consequenceof amendment in Article 352, Articles 358 and 359 in relation to the State of Punjab will be operative only f ora period of two years f rom 30 March 1988, which is the date of commencement of the amendment.

The Constitution (Sixtieth Amendment) Act, 1988

The Act amends clause (2) of Article 276 of the Constitution so as to increase the ceiling of taxes onprof essions, trades, callings and employment f rom Rs 250 per annum to Rs 2,500 per annum. The upwardrevision of this tax will help state governments in raising additional resources. The proviso to clause (2)has been omitted.

The Constitution (Sixty-f irst Amendment) Act, 1989

The Act provides f or reducing voting age f rom 21 to 18 years by amending Article 326 of the Constitutionto provide to the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to give vent to their f eelings and helpthem become a part of polit ical process.

The Constitution (Sixty-second Amendment) Act, 1989

Article 334 of the Constitution lays down that the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservationof seats f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the representation of the Anglo-Indiancommunity by nomination in the Lok Sabha and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States shall cease tohave ef f ect on the expiry of a period of 40 years f rom the commencement of the Constitution. Althoughthe Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes have made considerable progress in the last 40 years, thereasons which weighed with the Constituent Assembly in making provisions with regard to the af oresaidreservation of seats and nomination of members, have not ceased to exist. The Act amends Article 334 ofthe Constitution to continue the reservation f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and therepresentation of the Anglo-Indians by nomination f or a f urther period of 10 years.

The Constitution (Sixty-third Amendment) Act, 1989

The Constitution (Fif ty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1988 was enacted in March 1988 making certain changes inregard to making a Proclamation of Emergency in Punjab and to the duration of President’s rule in State. Onreconsideration, the Government decided that the special powers in regard to the Proclamation ofEmergency in Punjab as envisaged in the said amendment is no longer required. Accordingly the provision toclause (5) of Article 356 and Article 359A of the Constitution have been omitted.

The Constitution (Sixty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1990

This Act amends clauses (4) and (5) of Article 356 of the Constitution with a view to f acilitate the extensionof the proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 of the Constitution on 11 May 1987 upto a totalperiod of three years and six months in relation to the State of Punjab.

The Constitution (Sixty-f if th Amendment) Act, 1990

Article 338 of the Constitution provides f or a Special Of f icer f or the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes to investigate all matters relating to the saf eguards provided f or the Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes under the Constitution and to report to the President on their working. The Article hasbeen amended f or the constitution of a National Commission f or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribesconsisting of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and f ive other Members who shall be appointed by thePresident by warrant under his hand and seal. The amended Article elaborates the duties of the saidCommission and covers measures that should be taken by the Union or any state f or the ef f ectiveimplementation of the reports presented by the Commission. It also provides that the Commission shall,while investigating any matter or inquiring into any complaint have all the powers of a Civil Court trying asuit and the reports of the said Commission shall be laid bef ore Parliament and the Legislature of thestates.

The Constitution (Sixty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1990

The Act protects 55 State Acts relating to land ref orms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings enacted byStates of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and administration of the UnionTerritory of Pondicherry, f rom challenge in courts, by including them in the Ninth Schedule to theConstitution.

The Constitution (Sixty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1990

The three year period in the case of proclamation issued on 11 May 1987 with respect to the State ofPunjab was extended to three years and six months by the Constitution (Sixty- f ourth Amendment) Act,1990. This Act f urther amends clause (4) of Article 356 so as to f urther extend the period upto a totalperiod of f our years.

The Constitution (Sixty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1991

The three year period in the case of proclamation issued on 17 May 1987 with respect to the State ofPunjab was earlier extended to f our years by the Constitution (sixty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1990. ThisAct f urther amends clause (4) of Article 356 so as to f urther extend the period upto a total period of f iveyears.

The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991

The Government of India appointed on 24 December 1987 a Committee to go into various issuesconnected with the administration of Delhi and to recommend measures, inter alia f or the streamlining ofthe administrative set up. Af ter detailed inquiry and examination, it recommended that Delhi should continueto be a union territory and may be provided with a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministersresponsible to such assembly with appropriate powers to deal with matters of concern to the common man.The Committee also recommended that with a view to ensuring stability and permanence, arrangementsshould be incorporated in the constitution to give the national capital a special status among the unionterritories. This act has been passed to give ef f ect to the above recommendations.

The Constitution (Seventieth Amendment) Act, 1992

While considering the (Seventy-f ourth Amendment) Bill, 1991 and the Government of National CapitalTerritory Bill, 1991 views were expressed in both the Houses of Parliament in f avour of including also theelected members of the legislative assemblies of union territories in the electoral college f or the election ofthe President under Article 54 of the Constitution. At present Article 54 relating to the election of thePresident provides f or an electoral college consisting of only the elected Members of Parliament as well asthe legislative assemblies of the states (not of union territories). Similarly, Article 55 providing f or themanner of such election also speaks of legislative assemblies of states. Accordingly, an Explanation wasinserted in Article 54 to provide that ref erence to `State’ in Article 54 and 55 would include the NationalCapital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Pondicherry f or constituting the electoral college f orelection of the President. This would enable the elected members of the Legislative Assembly created f orthe Union Territory of Pondicherry under the provisions of Article 239A and of the proposed LegislativeAssembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi under Article 239AA to be included in the electoralcollege.

The Constitution (Seventy-f irst Amendment) Act, 1992

There have been demands f or inclusion of certain languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.This Act amends the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languagesin the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

The Constitution (Seventy-second Amendment) Act, 1992

For restoring peace and harmony in the areas of the State of Tripura where disturbed conditions prevailed,a Memorandum of Settlement was signed by the Government of India with Tripura National Volunteers on12 August 1988. In order to implement the said Memorandum, Article 332 of the Constitution has beenamended by the Constitution (Seventy-second Amendment) Act, 1992 f or making a temporary provision f orthe determination of the number of seats reserved f or the Scheduled Tribes in the State Assembly ofTripura, until the re-adjustment of seats is made on the basis of the f irst Census af ter the year 2000 underArticle 170 of the Constitution.

The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1993

Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive Principles of State Policy lays down thatthe State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authorityas may be necessary to enable them to f unction as units of self -government. In the light of the above, anew Part IX relating to the Panchayats has been inserted in the Constitution to provide f or among otherthings, Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village and other level orlevels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats at the and intermediate level, if any and to the of f ices ofChairpersons of Panchayats at such levels; reservation of seats f or the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes in proportion to their population f or membership of Panchayats and of f ice of Chairpersons inPanchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of the seats f or women; f ixing tenure off ive years f or Panchayats and holding elections within a period of six months in the event of supersessionof any Panchayat.

The Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1993

In many states local bodies have become weak and inef f ective on account of a variety of reasons,including the f ailure to hold regular elections, prolonged supersession and inadequate devolutions ofpowers and f unctions. As a result, Urban Local Bodies are not able to perf orm ef f ectively as vibrantdemocratic units of self -government. Having regard to these inadequacies a new part IX-A relating to theMunicipalit ies has been incorporated in the Constitution to provide f or among other things, constitution ofthree types of Municipalit ies, i.e., Nagar Panchayats f or areas in transit ion f rom a rural area to urban area,Municipal Councils f or smaller urban areas and Municipal Corporations f or larger urban areas.

The Constitution (Seventy-f ifth Amendment) Act, 1994

The operation of the Rent Control Legislations, as are today in various states, suf f ers f rom majorweaknesses and has led to various unintended consequences. Some of the deleterious legalconsequences include mounting and mounting lit igation, inability of the courts to provide timely justice,evolution of practices and systems bypass the operations of rent legislations and steady shrinkage ofrental housing market. The Supreme Court taking note of the precarious state of rent lit igation in thecountry in case of Prabhakaran Nair and others vs. State of Tamil Nadu (Civil Writ Petit ion 506 of 1986) andother writs observed that the Supreme Court and the High Courts should be relieved of the heavy burdenof rent lit igation. Tiers of appeals should be curtailed. Laws should be simple, rational and clear, lit igationsmust come to end quickly. Theref ore, this Act amends Article 323B in Part XIVA of the Constitution so as togive timely relief to the rent lit igants by providing f or setting up of state- level Rent Tribunals in order toreduce the tiers of appeals and to exclude the jurisdiction of all courts, except that of the Supreme Court,under Article 136 of the Constitution.

The Constitution (Seventy-sixth Amendment) Act, 1994

The policy of reservation of seats in educational institutions and reservation of appointments or posts inpublic services f or Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has had a long history inTamil Nadu dating back to the year 1921. The extent of reservation has been increased by the StateGovernment f rom time to t ime, consistent with the needs of the majority of the people and it has nowreached the level of 69 per cent (18 per cent Scheduled Castes, one per cent Scheduled Tribes and 50 percent Other Backward Classes). The Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney and others vs. Union of India andothers (AIR, 1993 SC 477) on 16 November 1992 ruled that the total reservations under Article 16(4) shouldnot exceed 50 per cent. The Tamil Nadu Government enacted a legislation, namely, Tamil Nadu BackwardClasses, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institution and ofappointments or posts in the Services under the State) Bill, 1993 and f orwarded it to the Government ofIndia f or consideration of the President of India in terms of Article 31-C of the Constitution. TheGovernment of India supported the provision of the State legislation by giving the President’s assent to theTamil Nadu Bill. As a corollary to this decision, it was necessary that the Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994 wasbrought within the purview of the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution so that it could get protection underArticle 31B of the Constitution with regard to the judicial review.

The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995

The Schedule Castes and the scheduled tribes have been enjoying the f acility of reservation in promotionsince 1955. The Supreme Court in its judgment dated 16 November 1992 in the case of Indira Sawhney andothers vs. Union of India and others, however, observed that reservation of appointments or posts underArticle 16(4) of the Constitution is conf ined to init ial appointment and cannot extend to reservation in thematter of promotion. This ruling of the Supreme Court will adversely af f ect the interests of the ScheduledCastes and the Scheduled Tribes. Since the representation of the Scheduled Castes and the ScheduledTribes in services in the States have not reached the required level, it is necessary to continue the existingdispensation of providing reservation in promotion in the case of the Scheduled Castes and the ScheduledTribes. In view of the commitment of the Government to protect the interests of the Scheduled Castes andthe Scheduled Tribes, the Government have decided to continue the existing policy of reservation inpromotion f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. To carry out this, it was necessary toamend Article 16 of the Constitution by inserting a new clause (4A) in the said Article to provide f orreservation in promotion f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

The Constitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Act, 1995

Article 31B of the Constitution conf ers on the enactments included in the Ninth Schedule to theConstitution immunity f rom legal challenge on the ground that they violate the f undamental rights enshrinedin Part III of the Constitution. The Schedule consists of list of laws enacted by various state governmentsand Central Government which inter alia af f ect rights and interest in property including land. In the past,whenever, it was f ound that progressive legislation conceived in the interest of the public was imperilled bylit igation, recourse was taken to the Ninth Schedule. Accordingly, several State enactments relating to landref orms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings have already been included in the Ninth Schedule. Since theGovernment is committed to give importance to land ref orms, it was decided to include land ref orm laws inthe Ninth Schedule so that they are not challenged bef ore the courts. The state governments of Bihar,Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had suggested the inclusion of some oftheir Acts relating to land ref orms in the Ninth Schedule. Since the amendment to Acts which are alreadyplaced in the Ninth Schedule are not automatically immunised f rom legal challenge, a number of amendingActs along with a f ew principal Acts have been included in the Ninth Schedule so as to ensure thatimplementation of these Acts is not adversely af f ected by lit igation.

The Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Act, 1999

By this Act the Government has extended the reservations of seats f or the Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes as well as f or the Anglo-Indians in the House of the People and in the LegislativeAssemblies of the States f or another ten years.

The Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act, 2000

Based on the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Finance Commission, an alternative scheme f orsharing taxes between the Union and the States has been enacted by the Constitution (EightiethAmendment) Act 2000. Under the new scheme of devolution of revenue between Union and the States, 26per cent out of gross proceeds of Union taxes and duties is to be assigned to the States in lieu of theirexisting share in the income-tax excise duties, special excise duties and grants in lieu of tax on railwaypassenger f ares.

The Constitution (Eighty-f irst Amendment) Act, 2000

By this amendment the unf illed vacancies of a year which were reserved f or the Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes f or being f illed up in that year in accordance with any provision f or reservations madeunder Article 16 of the Constitution, shall be considered as a separate class of vacancies to be f illed up inany succeeding year or years, and such class of vacancies shall not be considered together with thevacancies of the year in which they were f illed up f or determining the ceiling of f if ty per cent reservationagainst total number of vacancies of that year.

The Constitution (Eighty-second Amendment) Act, 2000

The amendment provides that nothing in Article 335 shall prevent the State f rom making any provision inf avour of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes f or relaxation in qualif yingmarks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation f or reservation in matters of promotionto any class or classes of services or posts in connection with af f airs of the Union or of a State.

The Constitution (Eighty-third Amendment) Act, 2000

The Act amended Acticle 243M of the Constitution to provide that no reservation in Panchayats need bemade in f avour of the Scheduled Castes in Arunachal Pradesh wholly inhabited by tribal population.

The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001

The Act amended provisos to articles 82 and 170(3) of the Constitution to readjust and rationalise theterritorial constitutencies in the States, without altering the number of seats allotted to each State inHouse of People and Legislative Assemblies of the States, including the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes constituencies, on the basis of the population ascertained at the census f or the year 1991 so as toremove the imbalance caused due to uneven growth of population/electorate in dif f erent constituencies. Itis also to ref ix the number of seats reserved f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in theHouse of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States on the of the basis of the populationascertained at the census f or the year 1991 so as to remove the imbalance caused due to uneven growthof population/electorate in dif f erent constituencies. It is also to ref ix the number of seats reserved f orScheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the Feroc and the Legislative Assemblies ofthe States on the basis of the population ascertained at the cersit f or the year 1991.

The Constitution (Eighty-f if th Amendment) Act, 2001

This Act amended article 16(14A) of the Constitution to provide f or consequential seniority in the case ofpromotion by virtue of rule of reservation f or the Government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castesand the Scheduled Tribes. It also provides retrospective ef f ect f rom 17th day of June 1995.

The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002

The Act deals with insertion of a new article 21A af ter article 21. The new article 21A deals with Right toEducation—”The State shall provide f ree and compulsory education to all children of the age of six tof ourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”. Substitution of new Article f or Article45. For Article 45 of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be substituted, namely, Provision f or earlychildhood care and education to children below the age of six years. Article 45: “The State shall endeavourto provide early childhood care and education f or all children until they complete the age of six years.”Article 51A of the Constitution was amended and a new clause (k) was added af ter clause (j), namely, “(k)who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunit ies f or education to his child or, as the case may be, wardbetween the age of six and f ourteen years.”

The Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2003

In Article 81 of the Constitution, in clause (3), in the proviso, in clause (ii), f or the f igures “1991″, the f igures“2001″ shall be substituted. In Article 82 of the Constitution, in the third proviso, in clause (ii), f or thef igures “1991″, the f igures “2001″ shall be substituted. In Article 170 of the Constitution, – (i) in clause (2),in the Explanation, in the proviso, f or the f igures “1991″, the f igures “2001″ shall be substituted; (ii) inclause (3), in the Explanation, in the third proviso, f or the f igures “1991″, the f igures “2001″ shall besubstituted. In Article 330 of the constitution, in the Explanation, in the proviso, f or the f igures “1991″, thef igures “2001″ shall be substituted.

The Constitution (Eighty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2003

It shall come into f orce on such date as the Central Government may, by notif ication in the Of f icial Gazette,appoint. Af ter Article 268 of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be inserted, namely : “268A. (1)Taxes on services shall be levied by the Government of India and such tax shall be collected andappropriated by the Government of India and the States in the manner provided in clause (2). (2) Theproceeds in any f inancial year of any such tax levied in accordance with the provisions of clause (1) shallbe – (a) collected by the Government of India and the States; (b) appropriated by the Government of Indiaand the States, in accordance with such principles of collection and appropriation as may be f ormulated byParliament by law”. In Article 270 of the constitution, in clause(1), f or the words and f igures “Article 268 and269″, the words, f igures and letter “Articles 268, 268A and 269″ shall be substituted. In the SeventhSchedule to the Constitution, in List I-Union List, af ter entry 9.2B, the f ollowing entry shall be inserted,namely : “92C. Taxes on services”.

The Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2003

It shall come into f orce on such date as the Central Government may, by notif ication in the Of f icial Gazette,appoint. In Article 338 of the Constitution, – (a) f or the marginal heading, the f ollowing marginal headingshall be substituted, namely : “National Commission f or : Scheduled Castes”; (b) f or clauses (1) and (2), thef ollowing clauses shall be substituted, namely: “(1) There shall be a Commission f or the Scheduled Castesto be known as the National Commission f or the Scheduled Castes. (2) Subject to the provisions of anylaw made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersonand three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure of of f ice of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as the President may by rule determine”; (c) inclauses (5), (9) and (10), the words “and Scheduled Tribes”, wherever they occur, shall be omitted. Af terArticle 338 of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be inserted, namely: “338A. (1) There shall be aCommission f or the Scheduled Tribes to be known as the National Commission f or the Scheduled Tribes.(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist ofa Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure ofof f ice of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as thePresident may by rule determine. (3) The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of theCommission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. (4) The Commissionshall have the power to regulate its own procedure. (5) It shall be the duty of the Commission – (a) toinvestigate and monitor all matters relating to the saf eguards provided f or the Scheduled Tribes under thisConstitution or under any other law f or the time being in f orce or under any order of the Government andto evaluate the working of such saf eguards; (b) to inquire into specif ic complaints with respect to thedeprivation of rights and saf eguards of the Scheduled Tribes; (c) to participate and advise on the planningprocess of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of theirdevelopment under the Union and any State; (d) to present to the President, annually and at such othertimes as the Commission may deem f it, reports upon the working of those saf eguards; (e) to make in suchreports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State f or theef f ective implementation of those saf eguards and other measures f or the protection, welf are and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes; and (f ) to discharge such other f unctions in relation to theprotection, welf are and development and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes as the President may,subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specif y. (6) The President shall cause allsuch reports to be laid bef ore each House of Parliament along with a memorandum explaining the actiontaken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union and the reasons f or the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations. (7) Where any such report, or any part thereof ,relates to any matter with which any State Government is concerned, a copy of such report shall bef orwarded to the Governor of the State who shall cause it to be laid bef ore the Legislature of the Statealong with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendationsrelating to the State and reasons f or the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations. (8) TheCommission shall, while investigating any matter ref erred to in sub-clause(a) or inquiring into any complaintref erred to in sub-clause (b) of clause (5), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particularin respect of the f ollowing matters, namely: (a) summoning and enf orcing the attendance of any personf rom any part of India and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of anydocument; (c) receiving evidence on af f idavits; (d) requisit ioning any public record or copy thereof f rom anycourt or of f ice; (e) issuing commissions f or the examination of witnesses and documents; (f ) any othermatter which the President may, by rule, determine. (9) The Union and every State Government shall consultthe Commission on all major policy matters af f ecting Scheduled Tribes”

The Constitution (Ninetieth Amendment) Act, 2003

In Article 332 of the Consitution, in clause (6), the f ollowing proviso shall be inserted, namely : “Providedthat f or elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Assam, the representation of the ScheduledTribes and non-Scheduled Tribes in the constituencies included in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, sonotif ied, and existing prior to the constitution of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, shall bemaintained”.

The Constitution (Ninety-f irst Amendment), Act, 2003

In Article 75 of the Constitution, af ter clause (1), the f ollowing clauses shall be inserted, namely : “(1A) Thetotal number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed f if teenper cent of the total number of members of the House of the People. (1B) A member of either House ofParliament belonging to any polit ical party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of that House underparagraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualif ied to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1)f or duration of the period commencing f rom the date of his disqualif ication till the date on which the termof his of f ice as such member would expire or where he contests any election to either House of Parliamentbef ore the expiry of such period, t ill the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier” In Article164 of the Constitution, af ter clause (i), the f ollowing clauses shall be inserted, namely: “(1A) the totalnumber of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State sall not exceedf if teen per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State : Provided thatthe number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a State shall not be less than twelve: Providedf urther that where the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers inany State at the commencement of the Constitution (Ninety-f irst Amendment) Act, 2003 exceeds the saidf if teen per cent or the number specif ied in the f irst proviso, as the case may be, then, the total number ofMinisters in that State shall be brought in conf ormity with the provisions of this clause within six monthsf rom such date as the President may by public notif ication appoint. (1B) A member of the LegislativeAssembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council beloging toany poitical party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of that House under paragraph 2 of the TenthSchedule shall also be disqualif ied to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) f or duration of the periodcommencing f rom the date of his disqualif ication till the date on which the term of his of f ice as suchmember would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or eitherHouse of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, bef ore the expiry ofsuch period, t ill the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier” Af ter Article 361A of theConstitution, the f ollowing article shall be inserted, namely : 316B. A member of a House belonging to anypolit ical party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of the House under paragraph 2 of the TenthSchedule shall also be disqualif ied to hold any remunerative polit ical post f or duration of the periodcommencing f rom the date of his disqualif ication till the date on which the term of his of f ice as suchmember would expire or t ill the date on which he contests an election to a House and is declared elected,whichever is earlier. Explanation : For the purposes of this Article,— (a) the expression “House” has themeaning assigned to it in clause (a) of paragraph 1 of the Tenth Schedule : (b) the expression“remunerative polit ical post” means any of f ice—(i) under the Government of India or the Government of aState where the salary or remuneration f or such of f ice is paid out of the public revenue of the Governmentof India or the Government of the State, as the case may be, or (ii) under a body, whether incorporated ornot, which is wholly or partially owned by the Government of India or the Government of a State and thesalary or remuneration f or such of f ice is paid by such body, except where such salary or remuneration paidis compensatory in nature’. In the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution,—(a) in paragraph, 1, in clause (b), thewords and f igure “paragraph 3 or, as the case may be,” shall be omitted; (b) in paragraph 2, in sub-paragraph (1), f or the words and f igures “paragraphs 3,4 and 5″, the words and f igures “paragraphs 4 and5″ shall be substituted; (c) paragraph 3 shall be omitted.

The Constitution (Ninety-second Amendment) Act, 2003

In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,—(a) existing entry 3 shall be re-numbered as entry 5, andbef ore entry 5 as so re-numbered, the f ollowing entries shall be inserted, namely: “3. Bodo; 4. Dogri”. (b)existing 4 to 7 shall respectively be re-numbered as entries 6 to 9; (c) existing entry 8 shall be re-numberedas entry 11 and bef ore entry 11 as so renumbered, the f ollowing entry shall be inserted, namely: “10.Maithili”. (d) existing entries 9 to 14 shall respectively be re-numbered as entries 12 to 17; (e) existing entry15 shall be re-numbered as entry 19 and bef ore entry 19 as so re-numbered, the f ollowing entry shall beinserted, namely : “18. Santhali”. (f ) existing entries 16 to 18 shall respectively be re-numbered as entries 20to 22.

The Constitution (Ninety-third amendment) Act, 2006

Greater access to higher education including prof essional education, is of great importance to a largenumber of students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other socially andeducationally backward classes of cit izens. The reservation of seats f or the Scheduled Castes, theScheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes of cit izens in admission to educational institution isderived f rom the provisions of clause (4) of articles 15 of the constitution. At present, the number of seatsavailable in aided or State maintained institutions particularly in respect of prof essional education, islimited, in comparison to those in private unaided institutions. Clause (i) of article 30 of the Constitutionprovides the right to all minorit ies to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. It isessential that the rights available to minorit ies are protected in regard to institutions established andadministered by them. Accordingly, institutions declared by the State to be minority institutions under clause(1) of article 30 are excluded f rom the operation of this enactment. To promote the educationaladvancement of the socially and educationally backward classes of cit izens, i.e., the Other BackwardClasses or of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in matters of admission of studentsbelonging to these categories in unaided educational institutions, other than the minority educationalinstitutions ref erred to in clause (1) of article 30, the provisions of article 15 were amplif ied. The newclause (5) of said article 15 shall enable the Parliament as well as the State Legislatures to makeappropriate laws f or the above mentioned purpose.

The Constitution (Ninty Four Amendment) Act, 2006

It also provides retrospective ef f ect f rom 17th day of June 1995.In article 164 of the Constitution, inclause(1), in the proviso, f or the word “Bihar”, the words “Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand”" shall be substituted.This Act came into f orce: 12-06-2006

Constitution 95th Amendment Bill 2003

The Constitution 95th amendment bill was passed and came into ef f ect as Constitution (88th AmendmentAct 2003 to place “Service Tax ” f ormally under Union List.

In the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, under Article 246, the item relating to “taxes on services” wasnot specif ically mentioned in any entry either in the Union List or in the State List. At the same time Entry 97of the Union List empowers the Union Government to Make laws in respect of any other law which is notenumerated in list II (State List ) and List III (Concurrent list), including any tax which has not been mentionedin Union List or the State List. Since “Taxes on Services” is not there in either of the lists, the centralgovernment kept levying the service tax exercising the powers under Entry 97 of the union List. ”

To place the Service Tax f ormally, The Constitution 95th Amendment Act was passed in Lok Sabha on May7, 2003. (link) This amendment act has inserted article 268A and amended article 270. It inserted in theUnion List Item 92 C ‘taxes on services”

Constitution (96th Amendment) Bill, 2003

Constitution (96th amendment )Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on May 6, 2003 & Rajya Sabha on August 5,2003. This act updates delimitation against the very latest count of the population.

Background: The 42nd amendment of the Constitution had imposed a f reeze on the delimitation of theconstituencies. 42nd amendment also provided that until the relevant f igures f or the f irst census takenaf ter the year 2000 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the allocation of seats in theHouse of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies under thisarticle.”.

In this context, Constitution 84th amendment act 2001 (It came into f orce on 21-02-2002 ) lif ted thef reeze on delimitation of the constituencies imposed by the 42nd amendment act and allowed delimitationwithin the states on the basis of 1991 census. However, readjustment of seats on Lok Sabha & RajyaSabha was f rozen up to 2026.

Pursuant to Constitution 84th amendment act 2001, the delimitation act 2002 was also passed. Thispaved the way f or constitution of Delimitation Commission on July 12, 2002. Justice Kuldip Singh, a retiredJudge of Supreme court was appointed its chairman and one member of election commission and stateelection commissioners as its ex-of f icio members.

In June 2003, Parliament Passed the Constitution (87th amendment act) 2003. This amendment providedthat the delimitation of the assembly and parliamentary seats should be done on the basis of 2001 censusf igures. This decision made the Delimitation Commission to start work af resh.

Meanwhile in March 2004, the Lok Sabha got dissolved and f resh elections were held f or 14th Lok Sabha.During the same period Guwahati High Court stated the delimitation exercise in respect with ArunachalPradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The court took this decision on the basis of dispute in censusf igures.

Thus we can understand that the main task of the Delimitation Commission set up, under the DelimitationBill 2002, pursuant to the 84th Amendment, is to re-adjust the territorial constituencies in the House of thePeople with regard to the seats allocated to each state and the re-adjustment of the territorialconstituencies of the Legislative Assembly of each state.

In other words, the rationalization of the constituencies, including re-f ixing of the number of seatsreserved f or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was earlier to be done on the basis of the 1991Census and af ter 84th amendment on the basis of 2001 Census. But within the overall number of seatsallocated to each state f or Parliament and within the state f or its Assembly as f rozen at the 1971 levels.The 96th Constitutional Amendment is a progressive step that updates delimitation against the very latestcount of the population.

Constitution (97th Amendment) Bill

The Constitution (97th Amendment) is also known as an amendment to Anti-Def ection Law.

Background: Def ection which literally means (withdrawing support or help despite allegiance orresponsibility) leads to polit ical instability. The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act 1985 was passed to curbthe menace of def ection and clip the wings of “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” (polit ical word f or describing thepractice of f loor-crossing by members).

This amendment added the Tenth Schedule to the constitution which contained the provisions regardingthe disqualif ication of members of the parliament or state legislatures in the event of def ection. In otherwords Tenth Schedule, also known as the Anti-Def ection Act was included in the Constitution in 1985 by theRajiv Gandhi ministry and sets the provisions f or disqualif ication of elected members on the grounds ofdef ection to another polit ical party.

Further Constitution (Ninety First Amendment) act of 2003 brought certain changes in the 1985 Anti-def ection Law. This amendment deleted paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule. Deleting this paragraph allowedone-third of the legislature party to split without attracting provisions of the existing ant def ection law. TheConstitution (Ninety First Amendment) debarred the def ectors f rom holding any public of f ice as a ministeror any other remunerative post t ill the end of the current term or t ill f resh elections are hold.

At the same time, the Constitution (Ninety First Amendment) 2003 also sought to check def ection byrestricting the size of Council of Ministers 15% of the Lok Sabha & Assembly members.

Due the these developments, it is not possible f or handf ul members to split and create new parties. If anymember splits, he disqualif ies the membership and seek f resh election.

This amendment was carried out during NDA Government’s regime and based upon recommendations madeby Dinesh Goswami Committee, Law Commission of India and the National Commission to Review theWorking of the Constitution (NCRWC).

Constitution 98th Amendment Bill

The Constitution 98th amendment Bill sought to constitute a National Judicial Commission. The bill propsedto include a Chapter IV-A in Part V of the Constitution which shall be in charge of appointing judges to thehigher judiciary and f or transf erring High Court Judges. The bill also sought to empower the NationalJudicial Commission to draw up a code of ethics f or judges, inquire into the cases of misconduct or deviantactions of a judge other than those that are punishable with his or her removal, and advise the chief justiceof India or chief justice of High Courts appropriately af ter such enquiry.

Current status: Lapsed

Constitution 99th Amendment Bill

The constitution (99th amendment) Bill sought to protect the rights of the non-tribals in the newly electedBodo Territorial Council (BTC) by keeping intact the existing representation of the scheduled tribes andnonscheduled tribes in the Assam legislative assembly f rom the Bodoland territorial Council Areas district.This amendment bill came in ef f ect as constitution 90th Amendment act 2003.

Constitution 100th Amendment Bill

The Constitution (100th) amendment Bill sought to insert Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali in the 8thschedule of the constitution. This act was passed and came into f orce as Constitution (92nd Amendment)Act 2003. This act took the number of of f icial languages in India to 22.

Constitution (103rd Amendment) Bill, 2004

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Bill, 2004 along with National Commission f orMinorit ies (Repeal) Bill, 2004 was introduced in Lok Sabha on 23.12.2004. Bills were ref erred to theDepartment-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment. Chairperson ofthis committee was Smt Sumitra Mahajan and the committee submitted its report on February 21, 2006.

Background:

In 6 states& UTs viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Punjab, theHindus are a minority in contrast with the rest of the country.

The minority standard of Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsees who are designated as minority in Indiashould not be applicable to these states. For example, in Punjab Sikhs are in majority, in J& K Muslims are inmajority.

“On August 8, 2005, a Supreme Court judgment decreed that Jains should not be treated as a minority atthe national level and no more communities should be declared as a minority at the national level. Only thestate government may declare communities as minorit ies. .”

Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Bill, 2004 along with National Commission f or Minorit ies(Repeal) Bill, 2004 was to bring an end to these anomalies. Bill proposed states as the basic unit to judgewhich community is a minority in which state.

Some features:

The National Commission f or Minorit ies (Repeal) Bill, 2004 repeals the National Commission f or Minorit iesAct, 1992. It proposed to dissolve the National Commission f or Minorit ies.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Bill, 2004 proposed to establish a new NationalCommission f or Minorit ies, with a constitutional status, in order to inspire greater conf idence towards theef f ectiveness of the Commission.

The states would be asked f or their view on the basis of data available as to who is a minority. They will beconsulted by the President of India, would then notif y the minorit ies in that state. While the President is toconsult the states, he would not be bound to act on their advice.

Current Status: The Bill got lapsed.

Note: On May 3, 2007, the Union Cabinet approved f or moving the of f icial amendments to the Constitution(One Hundred and Third Amendment) Bill & National Commission f or Minorit ies (Repeal) Bill, 2004.

Constitution (104th Amendment) Bill, 2005

Constitution (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Bill was pased 22nd December, 2005. President A. P. J.Abdul Kalam signed it on January 20, 2006 and the 104th Constitution Amendment Bill became the theConstitution 93rd amendment Act, 2005.

This bill has been quite f amous as “Quota Bill”. It adds a new clause to Article 15 of the Constitution. Thisact amends the article 15 and adds clause 15(5) af ter Clause 15(4).

Clause(5) says:

“Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State f rom makingany special provision,by law, f or the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes ofcit izens or f or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so f ar as such special provisions relate totheir admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided orunaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions ref erred to in clause (1) of article 30.”.

Short Background:

In August 12, 2005 Supreme Court had delivered a judgement by 7 judges uninamously in case of P.A.Inamdar & Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors..

Supreme court declared that State can’t impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaidedprivate colleges, including prof essional colleges.

The 93rd Constitutional amendment was brought (in a hurry) f or ensuring reservations to other backwardclasses and Scheduled castes and Tribes in Private Educational institutions.

The move was to reverse the Supreme Court Judgement.

In April 2008, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Government’s move f or init iating 27% OBC quotas inGovernment f unded institutions.

The Court has reiterated its prior stand that “Creamy Layer” should be excluded f rom the ambit ofreservation policy. The Supreme Court avoided answering the question whether reservations can be madein private institutions, stating that the question will be decided only as and when a law is made makingreservations in private institutions.

In conclusion, this amendment enables the constitution to provide f or reservations f or OBCs in all“educational institutions” including private, whether aided or unaided, excepting minority educationalinstitutions. It brought all private institutions, whether aided or unaided, under the purview of theGovernment’s policies on reservation and f ee structure, it has also quietly achieved much more than that bywidening the scope of the Amendment Act to specif ically include the term “admission to educationalinstitutions”. Article 15 of the constitution, as it was originally f ramed in 1950, stated the f ollowing and didnot include the term “admission to educational institutions”.

Constitution 105th Amendment Bill

The Constitution (One Hundred Fif th) Amendment Bill, 2006 sought to exclude Bihar f rom purview of article164 (1) and to extend the provision of this article to Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. This bill was passed andgot assent of the President on June 12, 2006. The bill came in ef f ect as Constitution (94th Amendment) Act2006.

Note: Article 164 (1) provides f or a minister in charge of the tribal welf are, who may in addition be in chargeof the welf are of the scheduled castes and backward classes of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Orissa.

Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, 2006

Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2006 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 22,2006. It was ref erred to the Department Related Standing Committee on Agriculture which submitted itsreport on August 20, 2007. Chairperson of this committee was Prof . Ram Gopal Yadav.

Background:

The Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill proposed to to insert a new part IX B in the Constitution andadding Articles 243ZH through 243ZT providing f or incorporation, regulation and winding up of co-operative societies.

The bill specif ied maximum number of Board members and the tenure of the members.

The bill also specif ied f or elections to be held bef ore the expiry of the term of the Board.

The bill specif ied that the Board of a co-operative society that has government shareholding or loans canbe superseded f or the maximum period of six months.

State governments can co-opt upto two nominees on the Board of a co-operative society.

The Bill specif ied certain of f ences related to co-operative societies. State legislatures can def ine thepenalties related to co-operative societies.

Note: Government of India had constituted a high powered committee in 2005 in the chairmanship of ShriShivajirao G. Patil to review the achievements of the cooperatives during the last one hundred years,identif y the challenges f aced by the sector and suggest measures to address them to enable themovement to keep pace with the changing socio-economic environment. The committee was also asked torecommend appropriate lagislation f or the Co-operatives.

The committee reviewed the Constitution Amendment Bill (106th Amendment Bill 2006) and recommendedsome more changes including that introducing new part IXB af ter part IXA along with the Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRI) and Municipalit ies would imply that cooperatives are a part of governance. The committeerecommended at any other place in the constitution. Committee also suggested that no supersession ofthe Board of Directors should be allowed in any case where government share holding is less than 51%..

In August 2008 Union Cabinet gave approval f or moving certain of f icial amendments in the Constitution(One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2006. This decision included benef its like empowerment ofcooperatives by inserting article 43B in Part- IV of the Constitution providing f or Voluntary f ormation,autonomous f unctioning, democratic control and prof essional management.

Audit by independent auditors or Auditing f irms out of the panel approved by State Government or anauthority authorized by the Government in this behalf .

Free and f air elections to be conducted by an independent body.

Directors in the Cooperative Societies will also include two women and one Scheduled Casterepresentatives.

Current Status: Pending

Constitution (107th Amendment) Bill, 2007

The Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007 had been introduced in Lok Sabha onNovember 30, 2007. The Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 was also introducedwith the same bill.

Current Posit ion: This bill got lapsed.

Background: These bills sought to amend the Constitution to include Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling in theSixth Schedule

What is Sixth Schedule? Sixth Schedule Articles 244 and 275 provides f or the creation of autonomousDistrict Councils in certain tribal areas of the North-Eastern states viz. Assam,meghalaya,tripura,mizoram.The Bill sought to f orm a District Council f or the hill areas of Darjeeling in West Bengal called the GorkhaHill Council, Darjeeling (GHC). All District Councils have the power to make laws on a range of subjects suchas the allotment of land, use of water course, and inheritance of property. The GHC has the power to makelaws on 45 additional subjects such as agriculture, education and transport.

The Bills were ref erred to the Standing Committee on Home Af f airs which submitted its report on Feb 28,2008. Chairperson of this committee was Sushma Swaraj. Standing Committee was unable to verif y f actson the ground. Theref ore, it accepted the views of the central and state governments and recommendedthat the Bills be passed with some amendments.

Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill 2008 or Women‘s Reservation Bill

Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill or Women’s Reservation Bill has been the most highlighted amendmentbills of recent t imes. This bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on May 6, 2008 and passed in Rajya Sabha onMarch 9, 2010.

Background:

Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats f or women in Lok Sabhaand the state legislative assemblies. The allocation of the reserve seats to be determined by an authorityor as prescribed by the parliament. Seats may be allotted by rotation.

The bill also seeks to reserve one-third of SC & ST seats f or women of those classes.

The bill f urther says that the reservation shall cease to exist in 15 years f rom the commencement of theact.

Constitution (109th Amendment Act) 2009

Constitution (109th Amendment Act) 2009 was passed by Rajya Sabha on the 3rd August, 2009 & LokSabha on the 4th August, 2009 and ratif ied by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the states, andassented to on 18 Jan., 2010.

Background: Through this amendment article 334 of the Constitution, f or the words “sixty years”, thewords “seventy years” shall be substituted.

This article has sought to extend the reservation of seats f or SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and stateassemblies by another 10 years. The time period of 60 years under article 334 of the constitution was tolapse on January 25, 2010 and this bill extends the reservation beyond January 25, 2010.

Current status : Passed and this is the Latest Passed Amendment Act

Constitution (110th Amendment) Bill, 2009

The Constitution (One Hundred and Tenth Amendment) Bill, 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha onNovember 26, 2009 by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri C.P. Joshi.

Background:

Article 243D of the Constitution provides that a minimum of one-third of the total number of seats f illed bydirect elections in the Panchayats shall be reserved f or women. The seats may be allotted by rotation todif f erent constituencies in a Panchayat.

Of f ices of Chairpersons in Panchayats shall be reserved f or SC/STs and women in a manner to beprescribed the state legislatures. The reservation shall be in proportion to the population of SC/STs in thestate. Also, a minimum of one-third seats shall be reserved f or women among the total number of of f icesof Chairpersons in the Panchayats.

The Bill seeks to amend the article 243D to enhance the quantum of reservation f or women f rom one-thirdto one-half of the total seats in the Panchayats. Similar reservation shall be provided among the totalnumber of of f ices of Chairpersons.

Current Status:

The bill is pending . The Bill was ref erred to the Department related Standing Committee on RuralDevelopment (Chairperson: Smt Sumitra Mahajan), which has to submit its report.

Constitution (111th Amendment) Bill, 2009

The Constitution (One Hundred and Eleventh Amendment) Bill, 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha onNovember 30, 2009 by Sh. Sharad Pawar , Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Af f airs and Public DistributionSystem.

Background:

•The Bill adds a new Directive Principles of State Policy stating that the “State shall endeavour to promotevoluntary f ormation, autonomous f unctioning, democratic control and prof essional management of co-operative societies.”

•It f urther inserts a new part IX B in the Constitution (adding Articles 243ZH through 243ZT), which outlinescertain guidelines f or running co-operative societies.

Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill

The Constitution (112 th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 24, 2009 and thisbill seeks to seeks to amend many clauses of Article 243T of the Constitution, providing f or reservation ofseats f or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and also f or the women in Urban local Bodies.

Current Status (Till: March 2010) :This Bill has been approved and now has been ref erred to theDepartmentally-related Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Development f or examination andreport in March 2010.

Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Development now invites suggestions the same bill. Thecommittee is headed by Mr. Sharad Yadav. The memoranda containing views of the individuals/organizationsinterested in the subject matter of the Bill, and also to hear oral evidence on the subject are invited.

Background: The Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill 2009 to provide f or 50% reservation of women inUrban Local Bodies. Through this Bill the Government of India seeks to increase the representation ofwomen in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) f rom the present level of one-third to 50 percent which would alsoinclude enhancement of reservation f or women upto 50 percent in seats reserved f or Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes, and 50 percent reservations f or women in the posts of Chairpersons. This would resultin

increased representation of women in ULBs and is likely to yield signif icant benef its in terms of higherpriority to women’s issues in crit ical areas of urban Governance and service delivery such as water supply,sanitation, solid waste management, education and health, etc.

Article 243T:

Article 243T of the Constitution provides that a minimum of one-third of the total number of seats f illed bydirect elections in every Municipality shall be reserved f or women.

The seats may be allotted by rotation to dif f erent constituencies in a Municipality.

Also, a minimum of one-third seats shall be reserved f or SC/ST women within the seats reserved f orSC/STs in a Municipality.

Of f ices of Chairpersons in Municipality shall be reserved f or SC/STs and women in a manner to beprescribed the state legislatures.

The reservation of SC/STs shall be in proportion to the population of SC/STs in the state.

Constitution(113) (One Hundred and Thirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010

The latest amendment bill is Constitution (One Hundred and Thirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 which wasintroduced on March 15, 2010. The Current Status of this bill is : pending

Background: The Government of Orissa had f orwarded to the Central Government in December 2008, theResolution passed by the Legislative Assembly of Orissa on 28th August, 2008 that, inter alia, the name ofthe language specif ied as “Oriya”, in the Eighth Schedule of Constitution be changed as “Odia” andtranslation of the word “Odia” in Hindi language should be revised as ” ????? ” accordingly and authorisedthe Government of Orissa to place the matter bef ore Government of India f or change of name of the Stateand change of language of the State and change of their Hindi translations. The Constitution (OneHundred and Thirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to change of name of the language mentioned in theEighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, f rom ‘Oriya’ to ‘Odia’.

Please note that the bill that seeks to change the name of Orissa to Odisha is Orissa (Alteration of Name)Act, 2010. This bill is pending in the Lok Sabha.

The Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill, 2010 Current Status: Pending

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha onAugust 25, 2010 by the Minister of Law and Justice, Shri M. Veerappa Moily.

The Bill seeks to amend Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution relating to judges of the High Court.

The Constitution allows every judge of a High Court including additional and acting judges to hold of f ice till62 years. The Bill increases the age limit to 65 years.

The Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill 2011 (GST Bill) Current Status: Pending

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fif teenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 seeks to introduce the Goods andServices Tax to give concurrent taxing powers to both the Union and States. The bill suggests the creationof Goods and Services Tax council and a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority.

Highlights of the Bill

The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide f or the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax(GST).

The Bill allows both Parliament and state legislatures to f rame laws with respect to GST. Parliament willhave the exclusive power to levy GST on imports and inter-state trade.

The Bill creates a Goods and Services Tax Council consisting of state Finance Ministers, the Union FinanceMinister, and Union Minister of State f or Revenue to make recommendations with respect to GST.

The Bill provides f or a Dispute Settlement Authority to settle disputes between states or between statesand the Union with regard to GST. Appeals f rom the Authority lie with the Supreme Court.

The Bill exempts certain commodities f rom GST, including petroleum products and alcoholic liquor f orhuman consumption.

Key Issues and Analysis

The GST Council will recommend harmonised tax rates, and disputes regarding these rates will beadjudicated by the Dispute Settlement Authority (with appeal to the Supreme Court). This structure, inwhich executive and judicial bodies determine tax rates, may impinge on the rights of legislatures.

The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide that Parliament and state legislatures may both f ramelaws with regard to GST without providing f or Parliamentary supremacy.

The GST Council shall make all decisions by “consensus”. It is unclear whether this may be interpreted asmajority or unanimity.

The exclusion of certain commodities f rom GST is contrary to the recommendations of the ThirteenthFinance Commission and Department of Revenue.

The Bill constitutionally requires a “Union Finance Minister” and “Union Minister of State in charge ofRevenue”. This could undermine the f lexibility of the Prime Minister in f orming a Council of Ministers.

The Constitution (116)(One Hundred and Sixteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 Current Status: Pending

The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha

by the Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Mr. V. Narayanasamy on December 22, 2011.

The Bill amends the Constitution by inserting a new Part XIVB (adding Articles 323C and 323D) to the

Constitution. It provides an outline f or establishing a Lokpal f or the Union and Lokayukta f or the states.The

Bill also amends the Third Schedule (insertion of Part IX) to provide f or the f orm of oath to be taken by the

Chairperson and members of Lokpal and the Lokayukta. The Bill provides that that there shall be a Lokpalf or the Union and a Lokayukta f or the States.

Lokpal

The Bill vests the Lokpal with the power to (a) hold preliminary enquiry which may result in an investigation;

and (b) prosecute of f ences. This power is in relation to a complaint f iled under any prevention ofcorruption law

made by Parliament. The Lokpal shall be an autonomous and independent body headed by a Chairperson.The number of members and the conditions of the service of the Lokpal shall be determined by Parliament.

The appointment of the Chairperson and the members of the Lokpal shall be made by the President.

The Chairperson and members of the Lokpal shall not be eligible to hold any f urther government posts(including of f ice under the Government of India, State Government or any other of f icer as may bedetermined by Parliament).

Lokayukta

The Bill also provides that there shall be a Lokayukta f or every State. The Bill vests the Lokayukta with thepower to (a) hold preliminary enquiry which may result in an investigation; and (b) prosecute of f ences. Thispower is in relation to a complaint f iled under any prevention of corruption of law made by either theParliament or the State legislatures as the case may be. The Lokayukta shall be an autonomous andindependent

body headed by a Chairperson. The number of Members and the conditions of service of the Lokayuktashall be

determined by either Parliament or the State Legislatures as the case may be.

The appointment of the Chairperson and the Members of the Lokayukta shall be made by the Governor.

The Chairperson and Members of the Lokayukta shall not be eligible to hold any f urther government posts

(including of f ice under the Government of India, State Government or any other of f icer as may bedetermined by Parliament or state legislature).

The Constitution (117th Amendment) Bill, 2012

The Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha onSeptember 5, 2012 by Mr. V Narayansamy, Minister of State f or Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

In 1992, the Supreme Court in the case of Indira Sawhney v Union of India had held reservations inpromotions to be unconstitutional. Subsequently in 1995, the central government had amended theConstitution and inserted Article 16(4A). This provided f or reservation in promotions f or Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes which in the opinion of the state are not adequately represented in the services.

In 2006, the Supreme Court in the case of M. Nagraj v Union of India upheld the constitutional validity of theamendment. While upholding the validity of the amendment, the court held that bef ore f raming any law onthis issue, the state will have to satisf y the test of ; (a) backwardness of the particular SC and ST group;(b) inadequate representation of the said group; and (c) ef f iciency of administration.

In April 2012, the Supreme Court struck down the UP Government Seniority Rules which provided f orreservations in promotions. The court held that the state government had not undertaken any exercise toidentif y whether there was backwardness and inadequate representation of Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes in the state government.

In light of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, the central government has introduced the present Billamending the Constitution. The Bill seeks to substitute Article 16(4A) of the Constitution of India.

The Bill provides that all the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes notif ied in the Constitutional shall bedeemed to be backward.

Article 335 of the Constitution states that the claims of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes haveto be balanced with maintaining ef f iciency in administration. The Bill states that provision of theamendment shall override the provision of Article 355.

The Constitution (118th Amendment) Bill, 2012 (Insertion of new article 371J)

The Constitution 118th Amendment Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 7, 2012 by theMinister of Home Af f airs, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde. The Bill was ref erred to the Standing Committee onHome Af f airs (Chairperson: Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu), which is scheduled to submit its report by the f irst weekof the Winter Session of the Parliament.

A resolution to make special provisions f or the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region was passed by the LegislativeAssembly and Legislative Council of Karnataka in March 2012. The resolution aims to establish aninstitutional mechanism to develop the region and promote inclusive growth. It aims to reduce inter-regionand inter-district disparity in the State of Karnataka. This Bill was introduced in Parliament to give ef f ect tothis resolution.

The Bill seeks to insert Article 371J in the Constitution to empower the Governor of Karnataka to takesteps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region. As per the Statements of Objects and Reasons of theBill, this Region includes the districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir and Bellary.

The President may allow the Governor to take the f ollowing steps f or development of the region: (i) settingup a development board f or the Region; (ii) ensure equitable allocation of f unds f or development of theRegion; and (iii) provide f or reservation in educational and vocational training institutions, and stategovernment posit ions in the Region f or persons f rom the Region.