CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

INTRODUCTION 

Article 368 of Indian Constitution empowers the parliament to amend  the constitution .The parliament can ament any part of the constitution except fundamental rights ,federal structure. Article 368 lays down the procedure for amending the constitution .But this power is not absolute ,Supreme court has the power to review the constitutional validity of amendments . the process requires a special majority of both the houses of parliament. The constitution has undergone 103 in last 69 years . this shows its flexible nature.

TYPES OF AMENDMENT

There are three types of amendment of constitution of india ;

1.     SIMPLE MAJORITY AMENDMENT ; It can be made by a simple majority vote of the parliament, a majority of members present and voting in both lok sabha and the rajya sabha .

2.     SPECIAL MAJORITY AMENDMENT ; A majority of not less than two thirds of the members present and voting in both the houses.

3.     Amendment by special majority of parliament and the ratification  of at least half of the state legislature.

Landmark Cases

Shankar Prasad vs Union of india

In this case , for the very first time question was raised on the amendment of fundamental rights . in this case validity of first amendment through which article 31A and 31B were added in the constitution . the five judges bench stated that article 368 provides powers to parliament to amend the constitution by following proper procedure.

Sajjan Singh vs State of Rajasthan

In this case , the validity of Seventeenth Amendment was challenged . the question was whether the seventeenth amendment puts a limit on the jurisdiction of high court . the court disposed of the contention .

Golaknath  vs state of Punjab 

In this case , the validity of first , seventeenth , and fourth amendment were challenged . the majority of six judges decided that parliament has no power to amend part 3 of  the constitution , the court considered that parliament has a duty to correct errors in law. After the judgement of supreme court the 24^th amendment was passed in 1971 and made a change in article 13 and 368.

Indira Nehru Gandhi vs Raj Narayan

The basic structure concept was reevaluated . supreme court struck down the 4^th clause of article 329 A on the ground that amendment is beyond the power of parliament and it destroyed the basic structure of the constitution . the amendment was made regarding the jurisdiction of all courts including supreme court regarding the dispute of an election of prime minister of india,

NO .	Amendments	Objectives
1.	15, 19, 85 , 87 174 , 176 , 341, 342, 372 and 376. Insert articles 31 A and 31B insert schedule 9.	Added special provision for advancement of backward classes or (SC AND ST)
2.	Amend article 13 and 368	Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through amendments to the constitution.

The Indian constitution is considered to be a mix of both rigid and flexible features .On one hand the process of amending the constitution in article 368  Implies its rigidity , On other hand 103 amendments shows its flexible nature.

The Basic Structure Doctrine states that there are certain fundamental structures and principles of the constitution which is  the backbone of the constitution.  they are ideologies of the constitution which are essential for the survival of the constitution. Some examples are Free and Fair Election, the Federal nature of the Nation, Judicial review and Separation of Power. The government is restricted from touching these contours of the constitution through amendment.

Ultimately the relationship between supreme court and parliament in terms of constitutional amendments remains a question of supremacy and interpretation of law.

AUTHOR – VIKAS SINGH