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Constitution of India Amendments 1 To 118

T he Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1950 T his amendment provided f or several new grounds of restrictions to the right to f reedom of speech and expression and the right to practice any prof ession or to carry on any trade or business as contained in Article 19 of the Constitution. T hese restrictions related to public order, f riendly relations with f oreign States or incitement to an of f ence in relation to the right to f reedom of speech, and to the prescribing of prof 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. T he amendment also inserted two new Articles, 31-A and 31-B and the Ninth Schedule to give protection f rom challenge to land ref orm laws.T he constitution of India draws extensively f rom Western legal traditions in its outline of the principles of liberal democracy. It f ollows a British parliamentary pattern with a lower and upper house. It embodies some 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. T he Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1952 By this amendment, the scale or representation f or election to the Lok Sabha was readjusted. T he Constitution (T hird Amendment) Act, 1954 T his amendment substituted entry 33 of List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule to make it correspond to Article 369. T he Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955 Article 31 (2) of the Constitution was amended to re-state more precisely the States power of compulsory acquisition and requisitioning of private property and distinguish it f rom cases where the operation of regulatory or prohibitory laws of the States results in deprivation of property. Article 31A of the Constitution was also amended to extend its scope to cover categories of essential welf are legislation like abolition of zamindaris, proper planning of urban and rural areas and f or ef f ecting a f ull control over the mineral and oil resources of the country, etc. Six Acts were also included in the Ninth Schedule. Article 305 was also amended to save certain laws providing of State Monopolies. T he Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1955 T his amendment made a change in Article 3 so as to empower President to specif y a time limit f or state legislatures to convey their views on the proposed Central laws af f ecting areas, boundaries, etc., of their states. T he Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1956 T his amendment made some changes in Articles 269 and 286 relating to taxes on sale and purchase of goods in the course of inter-state trade and commerce. A new entry 92 A was added to the Union List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. T he Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956

T his amendment Act purported to give ef f ect to the recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission and the necessary consequential changes. Broadly, the then existing states and territories were changed to have two-f old classif ication of states and union territories. T he amendment also provided f or composition of the House of the People, re-adjustment af ter every census, provisions regarding the establishment of new High Courts, High Court Judges, etc. T he Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1960 Article 334 was amended with a view to extending the period of reservation of seats f or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and to the Anglo-Indian community by nomination in Parliament and in the State Legislatures f or a f urther period of ten years. T he Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act, 1960 T he purpose of this amendment is to give ef f ect to the transf er of certain territories to Pakistan in pursuance of the agreement extended into between Governments of India and Pakistan. T his amendment was necessitated in view of the Judgement of Supreme Court in In Re Berubari Union by which it was held that any agreement to cede a territory to another country could not be implemented by a law made under Article 3 but would only be implemented by an amendment of the Constitution. T he Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961 T his Act amended Article 240 and the First Schedule in order to include areas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli as a Union Territory and to provide f or its administration under the regulation making powers of President. T he Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1961 T he purpose of this amendment was to amend Articles 66 and 71 of the Constitution to provide that the election of President or Vice President could not be challenged on the ground of any vacancy in the appropriate electoral college. T he Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962 T his amendment sought to include Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory and to amend Article 240 f or the purpose. T he Constitution (T hirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 By this amendment, a new Article 371A was added to make special provisions with respect to state of Nagaland in pursuance of an agreement between Government of India and Naga Peoples Convention. T he Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 By this Act, Pondicherry was included in the First Schedule as a Union Territory, and this Act has also enabled the creation of Legislature by Parliamentary law f or Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu and Pondicherry. T he Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963 T his amendment provided f or increase in the age of retirement of High Court Judge and f or the provision of compensatory allowance to judges who are transf erred f rom one High Court to another. T he Act also provided f or appointment of retired judges to act as judges of High Court. Article 226 was also enlarged to empower High Court to issue direction, orders or writs to any Government authority, etc., if the cause of action f or the exercise of such power arose in the territories wherein the High Court exercise jurisdiction notwithstanding that seat of such Government authority is not within those territories. T he Act also provided f or the exercise of powers of Chairman of the Service Commissions, in their absence, by one of their Members.

T he 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 and expression, to assemble peaceably and without arms and to f orm associations in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India. T he oath of af f irmation to be subscribed by candidates seeking election to Parliament and State Legislatures have been amended to include as one of the conditions that they will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India. T he amendments are intended to promote national integration. T he Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964 Article 31A was f urther amended to prohibit the acquisition of land under personal cultivation unless the market value of the land is paid as compensation and the def inition of estate as contained in that Article had also been enlarged with retrospective ef f ect. T he Ninth Schedule had also been amended to include 44 more Acts. T he Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 1966 Article 3 was amended by this Act to specif y that the expression State will include a union territory also and to make it clear that the power to f orm a new state under this Article includes a power to f orm a new state or union territory by uniting a part of a state or a union territory to another state or union territory. T he Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966 Article 324 was amended to ef f ect a consequential change as a result of the decision to abolish Election Tribunals and to hear election petitions by High Courts. T he Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Act, 1966 T his amendment was necessitated by the decision of the Supreme Courts in Chandramohan vs. State of Uttar Pradesh in which certain appointments of District Judges in State of Uttar Pradesh were declared void by Supreme Court. A new Article 233A was added and the appointments made by Governor were validated. T he Constitution (T iventy-first Amendment) Act, 1967 By this amendment, Sindhi Language was included in the Eighth Schedule. T he Constitution (T iuenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969 T his act was enacted to f acilitate the f ormation of a new autonomous state of Meghalaya within state of Assam. T he Constitution (Twenty-third Amendment) Act, 1969Article 334 was amended so as to extend the saf eguards in respect of reservation of seats in Parliament and State Legislatures f or Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as f or Anglo-Indians f or a f urther period of ten years. T he Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971 T his amendment was passed in the context of a situation that emerged with the verdict in Golaknaths case by Supreme Court. Accordingly, this Act amended Article 13 and Article 368 to remove all doubts regarding the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights. T he Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971 T his amendment f urther amended Article 31 in the wake of the Bank Nationalisation case. T he word `amount was substituted in place of `compensation in the light of the judicial interpretation of the word `compensation meaning `adequate compensation.

T he Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971 By this amendment, the privy and privileges of the f ormer rulers of Indian states were abolished. T his amendment was passed as a result of Supreme Court decision in Madhav Raos case. T he Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1971 T his amendment was passed to provide f or certain matters necessitated by the reorganisation of northeastern states. A new Article 239B was inserted which enabled the promulgation of Ordinances by Administrators of certain union territories. T he Constitution (Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1972 T he amendment was enacted to abolish the special privileges of the members of Indian Civil Services in matters of leave, pension and rights as regard to disciplinary matters. T he Constitution (Twenty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1972 T he Ninth Schedule to the Constitution was amended to include therein two Kerala Acts on land ref orms. T he Constitution (T hirtieth Amendment) Act, 1972 T he purpose of the amendment was to amend Article 133 in order to do away with the valuation test of Rs 20,000 as f ixed therein, and to provide instead f or an appeal to Supreme Court in Civil proceedings only on a certif icate issued by High Court that the case involves a substantial question of law of general importance and that in opinion of High Court, the question needs to be decided by Supreme Court. T he Constitution (T hirty-first Amendment) Act, 1973 T his Act inter alia raises the upper limit f or the representation of states in the Lok Sabha f rom 500 to 525 and reducing the upper limit f or the representation of union territories f rom 25 members to 20. T he Constitution (T hirty-second Amendment) Act, 1973 T his Act provided the necessary constitutional authority f or giving ef f ect to the provision of equal opportunities to dif f erent areas of the State of Andhra Pradesh and f or the constitution of an Administrative Tribunal with jurisdiction to deal with grievances relating to public services. It also empowered Parliament to legislate f or the establishment of a Central university in the State. T he Constitution (T hirty-third Amendment) Act, 1974 By this amendment, Articles 101 and 190 were amended in order to streamline the procedure f or resignation of Members of Parliament and State Legislatures. T he Constitution (T hirty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1974 By this Act, twenty more land tenure and land ref orms laws enacted by various State Legislatures were included in the Ninth Schedule. T he Constitution (T hirty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1974 By this Act a new Article 2A was added thereby conf erring on Sikkim the status of an associate State of Indian Union. Consequent amendments were made to Articles 80 and 81. A new schedule, i.e., Tenth Schedule, was added laying down terms and conditions of association of Sikkim with the Union. T he Constitution (T hirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975

T his was enacted to make Sikkim a f ull-f ledged State of Indian Union and to include it in the First Schedule to the Constitution and to allot to Sikkim one seat each in the Council of States and in the House of the People. Article 2A and the Tenth Schedule inserted by the Constitution (T hirty-f if th Amendment) Act were omitted and Articles 80 and 81 were suitably amended. T he Constitution (T hirty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1975 By this Act, Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh was provided with a Legislative Assembly. Article 240 of the Constitution was also amended to provide that as in the case of other union territories with Legislatures, the power of President to make regulations f or the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh may be exercised only when the assembly is either dissolved or its f unctions remain suspended. T he Constitution (T hirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975 T his Act amended Articles 123, 213 and 352 of the Constitution to provide that the satisf action of President or Governor contained in these Articles would be called in question in any court of law. T he Constitution (T hirty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1975 By this Act, disputes relating to the election of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Speaker are to be determined by such authority as may be determined by Parliamentary Law. Certain Central enactments were also included in the Ninth Schedule by this Act. T he Constitution (Fortieth Amendment) Act, 1976 T his act provided f or vesting in the Union of all mines, minerals and other things of value lying in the ocean within the territorial waters or the continental shelf or the exclusive economic zone of India. It f urther provided that all other resources of the exclusive economic zone of India shall also vest in the Union. T his act also provided that the limits of the territorial waters, the continental shelf , the exclusive economic zone and the maritime zones of India shall be as specif ied f rom time to time by or under any law made by Parliament. Also some more Acts were added to the Ninth Scheme. T he Constitution (Forty-first Amendment) Act, 1976 By this Act, Article 316 was amended to raise the retirement age of Members of State Public Service Commissions and Joint Public Service Commissions f rom 60 to 62 years. T he Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 T his act made a number of important amendments in the Constitution. T hese amendments were mainly f or purpose of giving ef f ect to the recommendations of Swaran Singh Committee. Some of the important amendments made are f or the purpose of spelling out expressly the high ideals of socialism, secularism and the integrity of the nation, to make the Directive Principles more comprehensive and giving them precedence over those Fundamental Rights which have been allowed to be relied upon to f rustrate socioeconomic ref orms. T he amendment Act also inserted a new chapter on the Fundamental Duties of citizens and made special provisions f or dealing with anti-national activities, whether by individuals or by associations. T he judiciary provisions were also amended by providing f or a requirement as to the minimum number of judges f or determining question as to the constitutional validity of law and f or a special majority of not less than two-third f or declaring any law to be constitutionally invalid. To reduce the mounting arrears in High Courts and to secure the speedy disposal of service matters, revenue matters and certain other matters of special importance in the context of socio-economic development and progress, this amendment Act provided f or the creation of Administrative and other tribunals f or dealing with such matters while preserving the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in regard to such matters under Article 136 of the Constitution. Certain modif ications in the writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 were also made. T he Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977

T his 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 accordingly Articles 32A, 131 A, 144A, 226A and 228A included in the Constitution by the said amendment, were omitted by this Act. T he Act also provided f or the omission of Article 31 which conf erred special powers on Parliament to enact certain laws in respect of anti-national activities. T he Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978 T he right to property which had been the occasion f or more than one amendment of Constitution was omitted as a Fundamental Right and it was made only as a legal right. It was, however, ensured that the removal of the right to property f rom the list of Fundamental Rights would not af f ect the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 352 of the Constitution was amended to provide armed rebellion as one of the circumstances f or declaration of emergency. Internal disturbance not amounting to armed rebellion would not be a ground f or the issuance of a Proclamation. T he right to personal liberty as contained in Articles 21 and 22 is f urther strengthened by the provision that a law f or preventive detention cannot authorise, in any case, detention f or a longer period than two months unless an Advisory Board has reported that there is suf f icient cause f or such detention. T he additional saf eguard has also been provided by the requirements that Chairman of an Advisory Board shall be a serving Judge of the appropriate High Court and that the Board shall be constituted in accordance with the recommendations of the Chief Justice of that High Court. With a view to avoiding delays, Articles 132 and 134 were amended and a new Article 134A was inserted to provide that a High Court should consider the question of granting a certif icate f or appeal to Supreme Court immediately af ter the delivery of the judgement, f inal order or sentence concerned on the basis of an oral application by a party or, if the High Court deems it so to do, on its own. T he other amendments made by the Act are mainly f or removing or correcting the distortions which came into the Constitution by reason of the amendment initiated during the period of internal emergency. T he Constitution (Forty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1980 T his was passed to extend saf eguards in respect of reservation of seats in Parliament and State Assemblies f or Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes as well as f or Anglo-Indians f or a f urther period of ten years. T he 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 or commerce shall be assigned to the states. T his Article was also amended to enable Parliament to f ormulate by law principle f or determining when a consignment of goods takes place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce. A new 92B was also inserted in the Union List to enable the levy of tax on the consignment of goods such consignment takes place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce. Clause (3) of Article 286 was amended to enable Parliament to specif y, by law, restrictions an conditions in regard to the system of levy rates and other incidence of tax on the transf er of goods involved in the execution of a works contract, on the delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any system of payment of instalments, etc. Article 366 was also suitably amended to insert a def inition of tax on the sale or purchase goods to include transf er f or consideration of controlled commodities, transf er of property in goods involved in the execution of a works contract, delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any system payment by instalments, etc. T he Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1984T his amendment is intended to provide f or the inclusion of certain land Ref orms Acts in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution with a view to obviating the scope of litigation hampering the implementation process of those Acts. T he Constitution (Forty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1984

T he Proclamation issued by President under Article 356 of the Constitution with respect to the State of Punjab cannot be continued in f orce f or more than one year unless the special conditions mentioned in clause (5) of the said Article are satisf ied. As it is f elt that the continued f orce of the said Proclamation is necessary, theref ore, the present amendment had been ef f ected so as to make the conditions mentioned in clause (5) of Article 356 inapplicable in the instant case. T he Constitution (Forty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1984 Tripura Government recommended that the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution may be made applicable to tribal areas at that State. T he amendment involved in this Act is intended to give a constitutional security to the autonomous District Council f unctioning in the State. T he Constitution (Fiftieth Amendment) Act, 1984 by Article 33 of the constitution, Parliament is empowered to enact laws determining to what extent any of the rights conf erred by Part III of the constitution shall, in their application to the members of the armed f orces or the f orces charged the maintenance of public order, be restricted or abrogated so as to ensure proper discharge or their duties and maintenance of discipline among them. It was proposed to amend Article 33 so as to bring within its ambit: (i) the members of the Force charged with the protection of property belonging to or in the charge or possession of the state; or (ii) persons employed in any bureau or 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 any Force, bureau or organisation. Experience has revealed that the need f or ensuring proper discharge of their duties and maintenance of discipline among them is of paramount importance in the national interest. T he Constitution (Fifty-first Amendment) Act, 1984 Article 330 has been amended by this Act f or providing reservation of seats f or Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in Parliament and Article 332 has been amended to provide similar reservation in the Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya to meet the aspirations of local tribal population. T he 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 is expelled f rom the party which set him up as a candidate in the election or if an independent member of the House joins a political party af ter expiry of six months f rom the date on which he takes seat in the House shall be disqualif ied to remain a member of the House. T he Act also makes suitable provisions with respect to splits in and merger of political parties. T he Constitution (Fifty-third Amendment) Act, 1986 T his has been enacted to give ef f ect to the Memorandum of Settlement of Mizoram which was signed by Government of India and Mizoram Government with Mizoram National Front on 30 June 1986. For this purpose, a new Article 371G has been inserted in the Constitution inter alia preventing application of any Act of Parliament in Mizoram in respect of religious or social practices of Mizos, Mizos customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal practice involving decisions according to Mizos customary law and ownership and transf er of land unless a resolution is passed in the Legislative Assembly to that ef f ect. T his, however, will not apply to any Central Act already in f orce in Mizoram bef ore the commencement of this amendment. T he new Article also provides that the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram shall consist of not less than 40 members. T he Constitution (Fifty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1986

T his Act increases the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges as f ollows: Chief Justice of India Rs 10,000 per month Judges of Supreme Court Rs 9,000 per month Chief Justice of High Court Rs 9,000 per month Judges of High Court Rs 8,000 per month T his Act amended Part `D of the Second Schedule to the Constitution to give ef f ect to the above increases in the salaries of judges and to make an enabling provision in Articles 125 and 221 to provide f or changes in the salaries of judges in f uture by Parliament by law. T he Constitution (Fifty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1986 T his Act seeks to give ef f ects to the proposal of Government of India to conf er statehood on the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh and f or this purpose, a new Article 371H has been inserted which, inter alia, conf ers, having regard to the sensitive location of Arunachal Pradesh to vest special responsibility on Governor of the new State of Arunachal Pradesh with respect to law and order in the State and in the discharge of his f unctions, the Governor shall af ter consulting the Council of Ministers, exercise his individual judgement, as to the action to be taken and this responsibility shall cease when President so directs. T he new Article also provides that the new Legislative Assembly of the new State of Arunachal Pradesh, shall consist of not less than thirty members. T he Constitution (Fifty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1987 Government of India has proposed to constitute the territories comprised in Goa District of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu as the State of Goa and the territories comprised in Daman and Diu districts of that Union Territory as a new Union Territory of Daman and Diu. In this context, it was proposed that the Legislative Assembly of the new State of Goa shall consist of 40 members. T he existing Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu has 30 elected members and three nominated members. It was intended to make this Assembly with the exclusion of two members representing Daman and Diu districts the provisional Legislative Assembly f or the new State of Goa until elections are held on the expiry of the f ive year terms of the existing Assembly. It was, theref ore, decided to provide that the Legislative Assembly of the new State of Goa shall consist of not less than 30 members. T he special provision required to be made to give ef f ect to this proposal is carried out by this amendment. T he Constitution (Fifty-seventh amendment) Act, 1987

T he Constitution (Fif ty-f irst Amendment) Act, 1984 was enacted to provide f or reservation of seats in the house of the people f or scheduled tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and also f or reservation of seats f or scheduled tribes in the legislative assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya by suitably amending articles 330 and 332. Even though these states are predominantly tribal, the underlying objective the af oresaid act was to ensure that the members of scheduled tribes in these areas do not f ail to secure a minimal representation because of their inability to compete with the advanced section sections of the people. T he 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 be reserved f or Scheduled tribes in these areas. T he number of seats reserved f or Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of any State under article 332 of the constitution will have to be determined having regard to the provisions of article 332 (3) of the Constitution. However, in view of the historical background with respect to the areas comprised in north-eastern states, the circumstances obtaining in these areas in the State of development of Scheduled Tribes and other relevant considerations, it was considered necessary to provide f or special arrangements with regard to the reservation f or Scheduled Tribes in these areas f or a temporary period so as to f acilitate easy transition of these areas to the normal arrangements as envisaged in the Constitution. Article 332 of the Constitution was f urther amended f or making a temporary provision, until the re-adjustment of seats on the basis of f irst census af ter the year 2000 under article 170 of the Constitution f or these states, f or the determination of the number of seats reserved f or Scheduled Tribes. T his amendment seeks to provide that if all the seats in the Legislative Assembly of such States a existence on the date of coming into f orce of this constitution amendment act are held by the members of Scheduled Tribes, all the seats except one shall be reserved f or scheduled tribes and in any other case such number of seats as bears to the total number of seats a proportion not less than the number of members belonging to Scheduled Tribes in the existing assembly bears to the total number of seats in the existing assembly. T he act achieves these objectives. T he Constitution (Fifty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1987 T here has been general demand f or the publication of authoritative text of the Constitution in Hindi. It is imperative to have an authoritative text of the Constitution f or f acilitating its use in the legal process. Any Hindi version of the Constitution should not only conf orm to the Hindi translation published by the Constituent Assembly, but should be in conf ormity, with the language style and terminology adopted in the authoritative texts of Central Acts in Hindi. T he Constitution has been amended to empower President of India to publish under his authority the translation of the Constitution in Hindi signed by the Members of the Constituent Assembly with such modif ication as may be necessary to bring it in conf ormity with the language, 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 the Constitution made in English. T he Constitution (Fifty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1988 T he Act amends Article 365 (5) of the Constitution so as to f acilitate the extension of a Presidential Proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 beyond a period of one year, if necessary upto a period of three years, as permissible under clause (4) of Article 356 with respect to the State of Punjab because of the continued disturbed situation there. T he Act also amends Article 352 of the Constitution pertaining to the Proclamation of emergency in its application to the State of Punjab and includes internal disturbance as one of the grounds f or making a Proclamation in respect of the State of Punjab only. As a consequence of amendment in Article 352, Articles 358 and 359 in relation to the State of Punjab will be operative only f or a period of two years f rom 30 March 1988, which is the date of commencement of the amendment. T he Constitution (Sixtieth Amendment) Act, 1988

T he Act amends clause (2) of Article 276 of the Constitution so as to increase the ceiling of taxes on prof essions, trades, callings and employment f rom Rs 250 per annum to Rs 2,500 per annum. T he upward revision of this tax will help state governments in raising additional resources. T he proviso to clause (2) has been omitted. T he Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1989 T he Act provides f or reducing voting age f rom 21 to 18 years by amending Article 326 of the Constitution to provide to the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to give vent to their f eelings and help them become a part of political process. T he Constitution (Sixty-second Amendment) Act, 1989 Article 334 of the Constitution lays down that the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the representation of the Anglo-Indian community by nomination in the Lok Sabha and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States shall cease to have ef f ect on the expiry of a period of 40 years f rom the commencement of the Constitution. Although the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes have made considerable progress in the last 40 years, the reasons which weighed with the Constituent Assembly in making provisions with regard to the af oresaid reservation of seats and nomination of members, have not ceased to exist. T he Act amends Article 334 of the Constitution to continue the reservation f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the representation of the Anglo-Indians by nomination f or a f urther period of 10 years. T he Constitution (Sixty-third Amendment) Act, 1989 T he Constitution (Fif ty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1988 was enacted in March 1988 making certain changes in regard to making a Proclamation of Emergency in Punjab and to the duration of Presidents rule in State. On reconsideration, the Government decided that the special powers in regard to the Proclamation of Emergency in Punjab as envisaged in the said amendment is no longer required. Accordingly the provision to clause (5) of Article 356 and Article 359A of the Constitution have been omitted. T he Constitution (Sixty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1990 T his Act amends clauses (4) and (5) of Article 356 of the Constitution with a view to f acilitate the extension of the proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 of the Constitution on 11 May 1987 upto a total period of three years and six months in relation to the State of Punjab. T he Constitution (Sixty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1990 Article 338 of the Constitution provides f or a Special Of f icer f or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to investigate all matters relating to the saf eguards provided f or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution and to report to the President on their working. T he Article has been amended f or the constitution of a National Commission f or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes consisting of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and f ive other Members who shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. T he amended Article elaborates the duties of the said Commission and covers measures that should be taken by the Union or any state f or the ef f ective implementation 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 a suit and the reports of the said Commission shall be laid bef ore Parliament and the Legislature of the states. T he Constitution (Sixty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1990

T he Act protects 55 State Acts relating to land ref orms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings enacted by States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and administration of the Union Territory of Pondicherry, f rom challenge in courts, by including them in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution. T he Constitution (Sixty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1990 T he three year period in the case of proclamation issued on 11 May 1987 with respect to the State of Punjab was extended to three years and six months by the Constitution (Sixty-f ourth Amendment) Act, 1990. T his Act f urther amends clause (4) of Article 356 so as to f urther extend the period upto a total period of f our years. T he Constitution (Sixty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1991 T he three year period in the case of proclamation issued on 17 May 1987 with respect to the State of Punjab was earlier extended to f our years by the Constitution (sixty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1990. T his Act f urther amends clause (4) of Article 356 so as to f urther extend the period upto a total period of f ive years. T he Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 T he Government of India appointed on 24 December 1987 a Committee to go into various issues connected with the administration of Delhi and to recommend measures, inter alia f or the streamlining of the administrative set up. Af ter detailed inquiry and examination, it recommended that Delhi should continue to be a union territory and may be provided with a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers responsible to such assembly with appropriate powers to deal with matters of concern to the common man. T he Committee also recommended that with a view to ensuring stability and permanence, arrangements should be incorporated in the constitution to give the national capital a special status among the union territories. T his act has been passed to give ef f ect to the above recommendations. T he Constitution (Seventieth Amendment) Act, 1992 While considering the (Seventy-f ourth Amendment) Bill, 1991 and the Government of National Capital Territory Bill, 1991 views were expressed in both the Houses of Parliament in f avour of including also the elected members of the legislative assemblies of union territories in the electoral college f or the election of the President under Article 54 of the Constitution. At present Article 54 relating to the election of the President provides f or an electoral college consisting of only the elected Members of Parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of the states (not of union territories). Similarly, Article 55 providing f or the manner of such election also speaks of legislative assemblies of states. Accordingly, an Explanation was inserted in Article 54 to provide that ref erence to `State in Article 54 and 55 would include the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Pondicherry f or constituting the electoral college f or election of the President. T his would enable the elected members of the Legislative Assembly created f or the Union Territory of Pondicherry under the provisions of Article 239A and of the proposed Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi under Article 239AA to be included in the electoral college. T he Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992 T here have been demands f or inclusion of certain languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. T his Act amends the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. T he 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 on 12 August 1988. In order to implement the said Memorandum, Article 332 of the Constitution has been amended by the Constitution (Seventy-second Amendment) Act, 1992 f or making a temporary provision f or the determination of the number of seats reserved f or the Scheduled Tribes in the State Assembly of Tripura, until the re-adjustment of seats is made on the basis of the f irst Census af ter the year 2000 under Article 170 of the Constitution. T he Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1993 Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive Principles of State Policy lays down that the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to f unction as units of self -government. In the light of the above, a new Part IX relating to the Panchayats has been inserted in the Constitution to provide f or among other things, Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village and other level or levels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats at the and intermediate level, if any and to the of f ices of Chairpersons of Panchayats at such levels; reservation of seats f or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population f or membership of Panchayats and of f ice of Chairpersons in Panchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of the seats f or women; f ixing tenure of f ive years f or Panchayats and holding elections within a period of six months in the event of supersession of any Panchayat. T he 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 of powers and f unctions. As a result, Urban Local Bodies are not able to perf orm ef f ectively as vibrant democratic units of self -government. Having regard to these inadequacies a new part IX-A relating to the Municipalities has been incorporated in the Constitution to provide f or among other things, constitution of three types of Municipalities, i.e., Nagar Panchayats f or areas in transition f rom a rural area to urban area, Municipal Councils f or smaller urban areas and Municipal Corporations f or larger urban areas. T he Constitution (Seventy-fifth Amendment) Act, 1994 T he operation of the Rent Control Legislations, as are today in various states, suf f ers f rom major weaknesses and has led to various unintended consequences. Some of the deleterious legal consequences include mounting and mounting litigation, inability of the courts to provide timely justice, evolution of practices and systems bypass the operations of rent legislations and steady shrinkage of rental housing market. T he Supreme Court taking note of the precarious state of rent litigation in the country in case of Prabhakaran Nair and others vs. State of Tamil Nadu (Civil Writ Petition 506 of 1986) and other writs observed that the Supreme Court and the High Courts should be relieved of the heavy burden of rent litigation. Tiers of appeals should be curtailed. Laws should be simple, rational and clear, litigations must come to end quickly. T heref ore, this Act amends Article 323B in Part XIVA of the Constitution so as to give timely relief to the rent litigants by providing f or setting up of state-level Rent Tribunals in order to reduce the tiers of appeals and to exclude the jurisdiction of all courts, except that of the Supreme Court, under Article 136 of the Constitution. T he Constitution (Seventy-sixth Amendment) Act, 1994

T he policy of reservation of seats in educational institutions and reservation of appointments or posts in public services f or Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has had a long history in Tamil Nadu dating back to the year 1921. T he extent of reservation has been increased by the State Government f rom time to time, consistent with the needs of the majority of the people and it has now reached the level of 69 per cent (18 per cent Scheduled Castes, one per cent Scheduled Tribes and 50 per cent Other Backward Classes). T he Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney and others vs. Union of India and others (AIR, 1993 SC 477) on 16 November 1992 ruled that the total reservations under Article 16(4) should not exceed 50 per cent. T he Tamil Nadu Government enacted a legislation, namely, Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institution and of appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Bill, 1993 and f orwarded it to the Government of India f or consideration of the President of India in terms of Article 31-C of the Constitution. T he Government of India supported the provision of the State legislation by giving the Presidents assent to the Tamil Nadu Bill. As a corollary to this decision, it was necessary that the Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994 was brought within the purview of the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution so that it could get protection under Article 31B of the Constitution with regard to the judicial review. T he Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995 T he Schedule Castes and the scheduled tribes have been enjoying the f acility of reservation in promotion since 1955. T he Supreme Court in its judgment dated 16 November 1992 in the case of Indira Sawhney and others vs. Union of India and others, however, observed that reservation of appointments or posts under Article 16(4) of the Constitution is conf ined to initial appointment and cannot extend to reservation in the matter of promotion. T his ruling of the Supreme Court will adversely af f ect the interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Since the representation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in services in the States have not reached the required level, it is necessary to continue the existing dispensation of providing reservation in promotion in the case of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. In view of the commitment of the Government to protect the interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, the Government have decided to continue the existing policy of reservation in promotion f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. To carry out this, it was necessary to amend Article 16 of the Constitution by inserting a new clause (4A) in the said Article to provide f or reservation in promotion f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. T he Constitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Act, 1995 Article 31B of the Constitution conf ers on the enactments included in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution immunity f rom legal challenge on the ground that they violate the f undamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution. T he Schedule consists of list of laws enacted by various state governments and 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 by litigation, recourse was taken to the Ninth Schedule. Accordingly, several State enactments relating to land ref orms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings have already been included in the Ninth Schedule. Since the Government is committed to give importance to land ref orms, it was decided to include land ref orm laws in the Ninth Schedule so that they are not challenged bef ore the courts. T he state governments of Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had suggested the inclusion of some of their Acts relating to land ref orms in the Ninth Schedule. Since the amendment to Acts which are already placed in the Ninth Schedule are not automatically immunised f rom legal challenge, a number of amending Acts along with a f ew principal Acts have been included in the Ninth Schedule so as to ensure that implementation of these Acts is not adversely af f ected by litigation. T he Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Act, 1999 By this Act the Government has extended the reservations of seats f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as well as f or the Anglo-Indians in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States f or another ten years.

T he Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act, 2000 Based on the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Finance Commission, an alternative scheme f or sharing taxes between the Union and the States has been enacted by the Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act 2000. Under the new scheme of devolution of revenue between Union and the States, 26 per cent out of gross proceeds of Union taxes and duties is to be assigned to the States in lieu of their existing share in the income-tax excise duties, special excise duties and grants in lieu of tax on railway passenger f ares. T he Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Act, 2000 By this amendment the unf illed vacancies of a year which were reserved f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes f or being f illed up in that year in accordance with any provision f or reservations made under Article 16 of the Constitution, shall be considered as a separate class of vacancies to be f illed up in any succeeding year or years, and such class of vacancies shall not be considered together with the vacancies of the year in which they were f illed up f or determining the ceiling of f if ty per cent reservation against total number of vacancies of that year. T he Constitution (Eighty-second Amendment) Act, 2000 T he amendment provides that nothing in Article 335 shall prevent the State f rom making any provision in f avour of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes f or relaxation in qualif ying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation f or reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with af f airs of the Union or of a State. T he Constitution (Eighty-third Amendment) Act, 2000 T he Act amended Acticle 243M of the Constitution to provide that no reservation in Panchayats need be made in f avour of the Scheduled Castes in Arunachal Pradesh wholly inhabited by tribal population. T he Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001 T he Act amended provisos to articles 82 and 170(3) of the Constitution to readjust and rationalise the territorial constitutencies in the States, without altering the number of seats allotted to each State in House of People and Legislative Assemblies of the States, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constituencies, on the basis of the population ascertained at the census f or the year 1991 so as to remove the imbalance caused due to uneven growth of population/electorate in dif f erent constituencies. It is also to ref ix the number of seats reserved f or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States on the of the basis of the population ascertained at the census f or the year 1991 so as to remove the imbalance caused due to uneven growth of population/electorate in dif f erent constituencies. It is also to ref ix the number of seats reserved f or Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the Feroc and the Legislative Assemblies of the States on the basis of the population ascertained at the cersit f or the year 1991. T he Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2001 T his Act amended article 16(14A) of the Constitution to provide f or consequential seniority in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation f or the Government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It also provides retrospective ef f ect f rom 17th day of June 1995. T he Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002

T he Act deals with insertion of a new article 21A af ter article 21. T he new article 21A deals with Right to EducationT he State shall provide f ree and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to f ourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. Substitution of new Article f or Article 45. For Article 45 of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be substituted, namely, Provision f or early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years. Article 45: T he State shall endeavour to 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 opportunities f or education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and f ourteen years. T he 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 the f 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) in clause (3), in the Explanation, in the third proviso, f or the f igures 1991, the f igures 2001 shall be substituted. In Article 330 of the constitution, in the Explanation, in the proviso, f or the f igures 1991, the f igures 2001 shall be substituted. T he 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 and appropriated by the Government of India and the States in the manner provided in clause (2). (2) T he proceeds in any f inancial year of any such tax levied in accordance with the provisions of clause (1) shall be (a) collected by the Government of India and the States; (b) appropriated by the Government of India and the States, in accordance with such principles of collection and appropriation as may be f ormulated by Parliament by law. In Article 270 of the constitution, in clause(1), f or the words and f igures Article 268 and 269, the words, f igures and letter Articles 268, 268A and 269 shall be substituted. In the Seventh Schedule 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. T he 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 heading shall be substituted, namely : National Commission f or : Scheduled Castes; (b) f or clauses (1) and (2), the f ollowing clauses shall be substituted, namely: (1) T here shall be a Commission f or the Scheduled Castes to be known as the National Commission f or the Scheduled Castes. (2) Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure of of f ice of the Chairperson, ViceChairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as the President may by rule determine; (c) in clauses (5), (9) and (10), the words and Scheduled Tribes, wherever they occur, shall be omitted. Af ter Article 338 of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be inserted, namely: 338A. (1) T here shall be a Commission 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 of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and 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. (3) T he Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. (4) T he Commission shall have the power to regulate its own procedure. (5) It shall be the duty of the Commission (a) to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the saf eguards provided f or the Scheduled Tribes under this Constitution or under any other law f or the time being in f orce or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such saf eguards; (b) to inquire into specif ic complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and saf eguards of the Scheduled Tribes; (c) to participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State; (d) to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem f it, reports upon the working of those saf eguards; (e) to make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State f or the ef f ective implementation of those saf eguards and other measures f or the protection, welf are and socioeconomic development of the Scheduled Tribes; and (f ) to discharge such other f unctions in relation to the protection, 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) T he President shall cause all such reports to be laid bef ore each House of Parliament along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union and the reasons f or the nonacceptance, 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 be f orwarded to the Governor of the State who shall cause it to be laid bef ore the Legislature of the State along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the State and reasons f or the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations. (8) T he Commission shall, while investigating any matter ref erred to in sub-clause(a) or inquiring into any complaint ref erred to in sub-clause (b) of clause (5), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the f ollowing matters, namely: (a) summoning and enf orcing the attendance of any person f rom any part of India and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; (c) receiving evidence on af f idavits; (d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof f rom any court or of f ice; (e) issuing commissions f or the examination of witnesses and documents; (f ) any other matter which the President may, by rule, determine. (9) T he Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission on all major policy matters af f ecting Scheduled Tribes T he Constitution (Ninetieth Amendment) Act, 2003 In Article 332 of the Consitution, in clause (6), the f ollowing proviso shall be inserted, namely : Provided that f or elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Assam, the representation of the Scheduled Tribes and non-Scheduled Tribes in the constituencies included in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, so notif ied, and existing prior to the constitution of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, shall be maintained. T he Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment), Act, 2003

In Article 75 of the Constitution, af ter clause (1), the f ollowing clauses shall be inserted, namely : (1A) T he total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed f if teen per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People. (1B) A member of either House of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of that House under paragraph 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 term of his of f ice as such member would expire or where he contests any election to either House of Parliament bef ore the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier In Article 164 of the Constitution, af ter clause (i), the f ollowing clauses shall be inserted, namely: (1A) the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State sall not exceed f if teen per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State : Provided that the number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a State shall not be less than twelve: Provided f urther that where the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in any State at the commencement of the Constitution (Ninety-f irst Amendment) Act, 2003 exceeds the said f if teen per cent or the number specif ied in the f irst proviso, as the case may be, then, the total number of Ministers in that State shall be brought in conf ormity with the provisions of this clause within six months f rom such date as the President may by public notif ication appoint. (1B) A member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council beloging to any poitical party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of that House under paragraph 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 term of his of f ice as such member would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, bef ore the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier Af ter Article 361A of the Constitution, the f ollowing article shall be inserted, namely : 316B. A member of a House belonging to any political party who is disqualif ied f or being a member of the House under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualif ied to hold any remunerative political post f or duration of the period commencing f rom the date of his disqualif ication till the date on which the term of his of f ice as such member would expire or till 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 the meaning assigned to it in clause (a) of paragraph 1 of the Tenth Schedule : (b) the expression remunerative political post means any of f ice(i) under the Government of India or the Government of a State where the salary or remuneration f or such of f ice is paid out of the public revenue of the Government of India or the Government of the State, as the case may be, or (ii) under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the Government of India or the Government of a State and the salary or remuneration f or such of f ice is paid by such body, except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature. In the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution,(a) in paragraph, 1, in clause (b), the words and f igure paragraph 3 or, as the case may be, shall be omitted; (b) in paragraph 2, in subparagraph (1), f or the words and f igures paragraphs 3,4 and 5, the words and f igures paragraphs 4 and 5 shall be substituted; (c) paragraph 3 shall be omitted. T he Constitution (Ninety-second Amendment) Act, 2003 In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,(a) existing entry 3 shall be re-numbered as entry 5, and bef 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-numbered as 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 entry 15 shall be re-numbered as entry 19 and bef ore entry 19 as so re-numbered, the f ollowing entry shall be inserted, namely : 18. Santhali. (f ) existing entries 16 to 18 shall respectively be re-numbered as entries 20 to 22. T he Constitution (Ninety-third amendment) Act, 2006

Greater access to higher education including prof essional education, is of great importance to a large number of students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes of citizens. T he reservation of seats f or the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes of citizens in admission to educational institution is derived f rom the provisions of clause (4) of articles 15 of the constitution. At present, the number of seats available in aided or State maintained institutions particularly in respect of prof essional education, is limited, in comparison to those in private unaided institutions. Clause (i) of article 30 of the Constitution provides the right to all minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. It is essential that the rights available to minorities are protected in regard to institutions established and administered 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 educational advancement of the socially and educationally backward classes of citizens, i.e., the Other Backward Classes or of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in matters of admission of students belonging to these categories in unaided educational institutions, other than the minority educational institutions ref erred to in clause (1) of article 30, the provisions of article 15 were amplif ied. T he new clause (5) of said article 15 shall enable the Parliament as well as the State Legislatures to make appropriate laws f or the above mentioned purpose. T he 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, in clause(1), in the proviso, f or the word Bihar, the words Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand" shall be substituted. T his Act came into f orce: 12-06-2006 Constitution 95th Amendment Bill 2003 T he Constitution 95th amendment bill was passed and came into ef f ect as Constitution (88th Amendment Act 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 was not specif ically mentioned in any entry either in the Union List or in the State List. At the same time Entry 97 of the Union List empowers the Union Government to Make laws in respect of any other law which is not enumerated in list II (State List ) and List III (Concurrent list), including any tax which has not been mentioned in Union List or the State List. Since Taxes on Services is not there in either of the lists, the central government kept levying the service tax exercising the powers under Entry 97 of the union List. To place the Service Tax f ormally, T he Constitution 95th Amendment Act was passed in Lok Sabha on May 7, 2003. (link) T his amendment act has inserted article 268A and amended article 270. It inserted in the Union 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. T his act updates delimitation against the very latest count of the population. Background: T he 42nd amendment of the Constitution had imposed a f reeze on the delimitation of the constituencies. 42nd amendment also provided that until the relevant f igures f or the f irst census taken af ter the year 2000 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies under this article.. In this context, Constitution 84th amendment act 2001 (It came into f orce on 21-02-2002 ) lif ted the f reeze on delimitation of the constituencies imposed by the 42nd amendment act and allowed delimitation within the states on the basis of 1991 census. However, readjustment of seats on Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha was f rozen up to 2026.

Pursuant to Constitution 84th amendment act 2001, the delimitation act 2002 was also passed. T his paved the way f or constitution of Delimitation Commission on July 12, 2002. Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired Judge of Supreme court was appointed its chairman and one member of election commission and state election commissioners as its ex-of f icio members. In June 2003, Parliament Passed the Constitution (87th amendment act ) 2003. T his amendment provided that the delimitation of the assembly and parliamentary seats should be done on the basis of 2001 census f igures. T his 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 Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. T he court took this decision on the basis of dispute in census f igures. T hus we can understand that the main task of the Delimitation Commission set up, under the Delimitation Bill 2002, pursuant to the 84th Amendment, is to re-adjust the territorial constituencies in the House of the People with regard to the seats allocated to each state and the re-adjustment of the territorial constituencies of the Legislative Assembly of each state. In other words, the rationalization of the constituencies, including re-f ixing of the number of seats reserved f or the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was earlier to be done on the basis of the 1991 Census and af ter 84th amendment on the basis of 2001 Census. But within the overall number of seats allocated to each state f or Parliament and within the state f or its Assembly as f rozen at the 1971 levels. T he 96th Constitutional Amendment is a progressive step that updates delimitation against the very latest count of the population. Constitution (97th Amendment) Bill T he 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 or responsibility) leads to political instability. T he Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act 1985 was passed to curb the menace of def ection and clip the wings of Aya Ram, Gaya Ram (political word f or describing the practice of f loor-crossing by members). T his amendment added the Tenth Schedule to the constitution which contained the provisions regarding the disqualif ication of members of the parliament or state legislatures in the event of def ection. In other words Tenth Schedule, also known as the Anti-Def ection Act was included in the Constitution in 1985 by the Rajiv Gandhi ministry and sets the provisions f or disqualif ication of elected members on the grounds of def ection to another political party. Further Constitution (Ninety First Amendment) act of 2003 brought certain changes in the 1985 Antidef ection Law. T his amendment deleted paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule. Deleting this paragraph allowed one-third of the legislature party to split without attracting provisions of the existing ant def ection law. T he Constitution (Ninety First Amendment) debarred the def ectors f rom holding any public of f ice as a minister or any other remunerative post till the end of the current term or till f resh elections are hold. At the same time, the Constitution (Ninety First Amendment) 2003 also sought to check def ection by restricting 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 any member splits, he disqualif ies the membership and seek f resh election.

T his amendment was carried out during NDA Governments regime and based upon recommendations made by Dinesh Goswami Committee, Law Commission of India and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC). Constitution 98th Amendment Bill T he Constitution 98th amendment Bill sought to constitute a National Judicial Commission. T he bill propsed to include a Chapter IV-A in Part V of the Constitution which shall be in charge of appointing judges to the higher judiciary and f or transf erring High Court Judges. T he bill also sought to empower the National Judicial Commission to draw up a code of ethics f or judges, inquire into the cases of misconduct or deviant actions of a judge other than those that are punishable with his or her removal, and advise the chief justice of India or chief justice of High Courts appropriately af ter such enquiry. Current status: Lapsed Constitution 99th Amendment Bill T he constitution (99th amendment) Bill sought to protect the rights of the non-tribals in the newly elected Bodo Territorial Council (BT C) by keeping intact the existing representation of the scheduled tribes and nonscheduled tribes in the Assam legislative assembly f rom the Bodoland territorial Council Areas district. T his amendment bill came in ef f ect as constitution 90th Amendment act 2003. Constitution 100th Amendment Bill T he Constitution (100th) amendment Bill sought to insert Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali in the 8th schedule of the constitution. T his act was passed and came into f orce as Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act 2003. T his act took the number of of f icial languages in India to 22. Constitution (103rd Amendment) Bill, 2004 T he Constitution (One Hundred and T hird Amendment) Bill, 2004 along with National Commission f or Minorities (Repeal) Bill, 2004 was introduced in Lok Sabha on 23.12.2004. Bills were ref erred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment. Chairperson of this 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, the Hindus are a minority in contrast with the rest of the country. T he minority standard of Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsees who are designated as minority in India should not be applicable to these states. For example, in Punjab Sikhs are in majority, in J& K Muslims are in majority. On August 8, 2005, a Supreme Court judgment decreed that Jains should not be treated as a minority at the national level and no more communities should be declared as a minority at the national level. Only the state government may declare communities as minorities. . Constitution (One Hundred and T hird Amendment) Bill, 2004 along with National Commission f or Minorities (Repeal) Bill, 2004 was to bring an end to these anomalies. Bill proposed states as the basic unit to judge which community is a minority in which state. Some features: T he National Commission f or Minorities (Repeal) Bill, 2004 repeals the National Commission f or Minorities Act, 1992. It proposed to dissolve the National Commission f or Minorities.

T he Constitution (One Hundred and T hird Amendment) Bill, 2004 proposed to establish a new National Commission f or Minorities, with a constitutional status, in order to inspire greater conf idence towards the ef f ectiveness of the Commission. T he states would be asked f or their view on the basis of data available as to who is a minority. T hey will be consulted by the President of India, would then notif y the minorities in that state. While the President is to consult the states, he would not be bound to act on their advice. Current Status: T he 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 T hird Amendment) Bill & National Commission f or Minorities (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 the Constitution 93rd amendment Act, 2005. T his bill has been quite f amous as Quota Bill. It adds a new clause to Article 15 of the Constitution. T his act 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 making any special provision,by law, f or the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or f or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so f ar as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided 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 cant impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including prof essional colleges. T he 93rd Constitutional amendment was brought (in a hurry) f or ensuring reservations to other backward classes and Scheduled castes and Tribes in Private Educational institutions. T he move was to reverse the Supreme Court Judgement. In April 2008, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Governments move f or initiating 27% OBC quotas in Government f unded institutions. T he Court has reiterated its prior stand that Creamy Layer should be excluded f rom the ambit of reservation policy. T he Supreme Court avoided answering the question whether reservations can be made in private institutions, stating that the question will be decided only as and when a law is made making reservations 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 educational institutions. It brought all private institutions, whether aided or unaided, under the purview of the Governments policies on reservation and f ee structure, it has also quietly achieved much more than that by widening the scope of the Amendment Act to specif ically include the term admission to educational institutions. Article 15 of the constitution, as it was originally f ramed in 1950, stated the f ollowing and did not include the term admission to educational institutions.

Constitution 105th Amendment Bill T he Constitution (One Hundred Fif th) Amendment Bill, 2006 sought to exclude Bihar f rom purview of article 164 (1) and to extend the provision of this article to Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. T his bill was passed and got assent of the President on June 12, 2006. T he bill came in ef f ect as Constitution (94th Amendment) Act 2006. Note: Article 164 (1) provides f or a minister in charge of the tribal welf are, who may in addition be in charge of 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 its report on August 20, 2007. Chairperson of this committee was Prof . Ram Gopal Yadav. Background: T he Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill proposed to to insert a new part IX B in the Constitution and adding Articles 243Z H through 243Z T providing f or incorporation, regulation and winding up of cooperative societies. T he bill specif ied maximum number of Board members and the tenure of the members. T he bill also specif ied f or elections to be held bef ore the expiry of the term of the Board. T he bill specif ied that the Board of a co-operative society that has government shareholding or loans can be 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. T he Bill specif ied certain of f ences related to co-operative societies. State legislatures can def ine the penalties related to co-operative societies. Note: Government of India had constituted a high powered committee in 2005 in the chairmanship of Shri Shivajirao 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 the movement to keep pace with the changing socio-economic environment. T he committee was also asked to recommend appropriate lagislation f or the Co-operatives. T he committee reviewed the Constitution Amendment Bill (106th Amendment Bill 2006) and recommended some more changes including that introducing new part IXB af ter part IXA along with the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and Municipalities would imply that cooperatives are a part of governance. T he committee recommended at any other place in the constitution. Committee also suggested that no supersession of the 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. T his decision included benef its like empowerment of cooperatives 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 an authority 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 Caste representatives. Current Status: Pending Constitution (107th Amendment) Bill, 2007 T he Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007 had been introduced in Lok Sabha on November 30, 2007. T he Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 was also introduced with the same bill. Current Position: T his bill got lapsed. Background: T hese bills sought to amend the Constitution to include Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling in the Sixth Schedule What is Sixth Schedule? Sixth Schedule Articles 244 and 275 provides f or the creation of autonomous District Councils in certain tribal areas of the North-Eastern states viz. Assam,meghalaya,tripura,mizoram. T he Bill sought to f orm a District Council f or the hill areas of Darjeeling in West Bengal called the Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling (GHC). All District Councils have the power to make laws on a range of subjects such as the allotment of land, use of water course, and inheritance of property. T he GHC has the power to make laws on 45 additional subjects such as agriculture, education and transport. T he 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 acts on the ground. T heref ore, it accepted the views of the central and state governments and recommended that the Bills be passed with some amendments. Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill 2008 or Womens Reservation Bill Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill or Womens Reservation Bill has been the most highlighted amendment bills of recent times. T his bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on May 6, 2008 and passed in Rajya Sabha on March 9, 2010. Background: Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats f or women in Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. T he allocation of the reserve seats to be determined by an authority or as prescribed by the parliament. Seats may be allotted by rotation. T he bill also seeks to reserve one-third of SC & ST seats f or women of those classes. T he bill f urther says that the reservation shall cease to exist in 15 years f rom the commencement of the act. Constitution (109th Amendment Act) 2009 Constitution (109th Amendment Act) 2009 was passed by Rajya Sabha on the 3rd August, 2009 & Lok Sabha on the 4th August, 2009 and ratif ied by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the states, and assented to on 18 Jan., 2010. Background: T hrough this amendment article 334 of the Constitution, f or the words sixty years, the words seventy years shall be substituted. T his article has sought to extend the reservation of seats f or SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. T he time period of 60 years under article 334 of the constitution was to lapse 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 T he Constitution (One Hundred and Tenth Amendment) Bill, 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 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 by direct elections in the Panchayats shall be reserved f or women. T he seats may be allotted by rotation to dif 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 be prescribed the state legislatures. T he reservation shall be in proportion to the population of SC/STs in the state. Also, a minimum of one-third seats shall be reserved f or women among the total number of of f ices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats. T he Bill seeks to amend the article 243D to enhance the quantum of reservation f or women f rom one-third to one-half of the total seats in the Panchayats. Similar reservation shall be provided among the total number of of f ices of Chairpersons. Current Status: T he bill is pending . T he Bill was ref erred to the Department related Standing Committee on Rural Development (Chairperson: Smt Sumitra Mahajan), which has to submit its report. Constitution (111th Amendment) Bill, 2009 T he Constitution (One Hundred and Eleventh Amendment) Bill, 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 30, 2009 by Sh. Sharad Pawar , Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Af f airs and Public Distribution System. Background: T he Bill adds a new Directive Principles of State Policy stating that the State shall endeavour to promote voluntary f ormation, autonomous f unctioning, democratic control and prof essional management of cooperative societies. It f urther inserts a new part IX B in the Constitution (adding Articles 243Z H through 243Z T ), which outlines certain guidelines f or running co-operative societies. Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill T he Constitution (112 th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 24, 2009 and this bill seeks to seeks to amend many clauses of Article 243T of the Constitution, providing f or reservation of seats f or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and also f or the women in Urban local Bodies. Current Status (Till: March 2010) :T his Bill has been approved and now has been ref erred to the Departmentally-related Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Development f or examination and report in March 2010. Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Development now invites suggestions the same bill. T he committee is headed by Mr. Sharad Yadav. T he memoranda containing views of the individuals/organizations interested in the subject matter of the Bill, and also to hear oral evidence on the subject are invited.

Background: T he Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill 2009 to provide f or 50% reservation of women in Urban Local Bodies. T hrough this Bill the Government of India seeks to increase the representation of women in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) f rom the present level of one-third to 50 percent which would also include 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. T his would result in increased representation of women in ULBs and is likely to yield signif icant benef its in terms of higher priority to womens issues in critical 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 by direct elections in every Municipality shall be reserved f or women. T he 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 or SC/STs in a Municipality. Of f ices of Chairpersons in Municipality shall be reserved f or SC/STs and women in a manner to be prescribed the state legislatures. T he reservation of SC/STs shall be in proportion to the population of SC/STs in the state. Constitution(113) (One Hundred and T hirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 T he latest amendment bill is Constitution (One Hundred and T hirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 which was introduced on March 15, 2010. T he Current Status of this bill is : pending Background: T he Government of Orissa had f orwarded to the Central Government in December 2008, the Resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly of Orissa on 28th August, 2008 that, inter alia, the name of the language specif ied as Oriya, in the Eighth Schedule of Constitution be changed as Odia and translation of the word Odia in Hindi language should be revised as ????? accordingly and authorised the Government of Orissa to place the matter bef ore Government of India f or change of name of the State and change of language of the State and change of their Hindi translations. T he Constitution (One Hundred and T hirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to change of name of the language mentioned in the Eighth 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. T his bill is pending in the Lok Sabha. T he Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill, 2010 Current Status: Pending T he Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 25, 2010 by the Minister of Law and Justice, Shri M. Veerappa Moily. T he Bill seeks to amend Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution relating to judges of the High Court. T he Constitution allows every judge of a High Court including additional and acting judges to hold of f ice till 62 years. T he Bill increases the age limit to 65 years. T he Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill 2011 (GST Bill) Current Status: Pending T he Constitution (One Hundred and Fif teenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 seeks to introduce the Goods and Services Tax to give concurrent taxing powers to both the Union and States. T he bill suggests the creation of Goods and Services Tax council and a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority.

Highlights of the Bill T he Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide f or the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST ). T he Bill allows both Parliament and state legislatures to f rame laws with respect to GST. Parliament will have the exclusive power to levy GST on imports and inter-state trade. T he Bill creates a Goods and Services Tax Council consisting of state Finance Ministers, the Union Finance Minister, and Union Minister of State f or Revenue to make recommendations with respect to GST. T he Bill provides f or a Dispute Settlement Authority to settle disputes between states or between states and the Union with regard to GST. Appeals f rom the Authority lie with the Supreme Court. T he Bill exempts certain commodities f rom GST, including petroleum products and alcoholic liquor f or human consumption. Key Issues and Analysis T he GST Council will recommend harmonised tax rates, and disputes regarding these rates will be adjudicated by the Dispute Settlement Authority (with appeal to the Supreme Court). T his structure, in which executive and judicial bodies determine tax rates, may impinge on the rights of legislatures. T he Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide that Parliament and state legislatures may both f rame laws with regard to GST without providing f or Parliamentary supremacy. T he GST Council shall make all decisions by consensus. It is unclear whether this may be interpreted as majority or unanimity. T he exclusion of certain commodities f rom GST is contrary to the recommendations of the T hirteenth Finance Commission and Department of Revenue. T he Bill constitutionally requires a Union Finance Minister and Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue. T his could undermine the f lexibility of the Prime Minister in f orming a Council of Ministers. T he Constitution (116)(One Hundred and Sixteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 Current Status: Pending T he Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Mr. V. Narayanasamy on December 22, 2011. T he 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. T he Bill also amends the T hird 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. T he Bill provides that that there shall be a Lokpal f or the Union and a Lokayukta f or the States. Lokpal T he Bill vests the Lokpal with the power to (a) hold preliminary enquiry which may result in an investigation; and (b) prosecute of f ences. T his power is in relation to a complaint f iled under any prevention of corruption law

made by Parliament. T he Lokpal shall be an autonomous and independent body headed by a Chairperson. T he number of members and the conditions of the service of the Lokpal shall be determined by Parliament. T he appointment of the Chairperson and the members of the Lokpal shall be made by the President. T he 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 be determined by Parliament). Lokayukta T he Bill also provides that there shall be a Lokayukta f or every State. T he Bill vests the Lokayukta with the power to (a) hold preliminary enquiry which may result in an investigation; and (b) prosecute of f ences. T his power is in relation to a complaint f iled under any prevention of corruption of law made by either the Parliament or the State legislatures as the case may be. T he Lokayukta shall be an autonomous and independent body headed by a Chairperson. T he number of Members and the conditions of service of the Lokayukta shall be determined by either Parliament or the State Legislatures as the case may be. T he appointment of the Chairperson and the Members of the Lokayukta shall be made by the Governor. T he 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 be determined by Parliament or state legislature). T he Constitution (117th Amendment) Bill, 2012 T he Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on September 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 in promotions to be unconstitutional. Subsequently in 1995, the central government had amended the Constitution and inserted Article 16(4A). T his provided f or reservation in promotions f or Scheduled Castes and 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 the amendment. While upholding the validity of the amendment, the court held that bef ore f raming any law on this 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 or reservations in promotions. T he court held that the state government had not undertaken any exercise to identif y whether there was backwardness and inadequate representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state government. In light of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, the central government has introduced the present Bill amending the Constitution. T he Bill seeks to substitute Article 16(4A) of the Constitution of India. T he Bill provides that all the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes notif ied in the Constitutional shall be deemed to be backward. Article 335 of the Constitution states that the claims of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have to be balanced with maintaining ef f iciency in administration. T he Bill states that provision of the amendment shall override the provision of Article 355.

T he Constitution (118th Amendment) Bill, 2012 (Insertion of new article 371J) T he Constitution 118th Amendment Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 7, 2012 by the Minister of Home Af f airs, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde. T he Bill was ref erred to the Standing Committee on Home Af f airs (Chairperson: Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu), which is scheduled to submit its report by the f irst week of the Winter Session of the Parliament. A resolution to make special provisions f or the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region was passed by the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council of Karnataka in March 2012. T he resolution aims to establish an institutional mechanism to develop the region and promote inclusive growth. It aims to reduce inter-region and inter-district disparity in the State of Karnataka. T his Bill was introduced in Parliament to give ef f ect to this resolution. T he Bill seeks to insert Article 371J in the Constitution to empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region. As per the Statements of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, this Region includes the districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir and Bellary. T he President may allow the Governor to take the f ollowing steps f or development of the region: (i) setting up a development board f or the Region; (ii) ensure equitable allocation of f unds f or development of the Region; and (iii) provide f or reservation in educational and vocational training institutions, and state government positions in the Region f or persons f rom the Region.