Constitutional Amendments
A brief description of the amendments made in the Constitution (till August, 2014, only 98 amendments have been made), is given here under:
Sl. No. of | Amendments | Enforced since | Major Details/Aspects | |
Amendment | ||||
1 | Made in articles 15, 19, 85, | 18 June 1951 | Restrictions on right to freedoms; constitutional validity | |
87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 372 | of Zamindari abolition laws; insertion of Article 31A | |||
and 376.Inserted articles | and 31B in right to property; Schedule Ninth | |||
31A and 31B. Inserted | incorporated to provide protection to the land | |||
Schedule 9. | reforms laws passed by the state legislatures. | |||
constituency was adjusted | ||||
3 | Made in Schedule 7 | 22 February 1955 | Entry III (Concurrent List) of the Schedule Seventh was | |
amended | ||||
4 | Made in articles 31, 35 | 27 April 1955 | Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related | |
and 305 and Schedule 9. | bills in Schedule 9 of the Constitution | |||
5 | Made in article 3. | 24 December 1955 | Provision made for a consultation mechanism with | |
concerned states in matters relating to the amendments | ||||
to the territorial matters and in the renaming of the state | ||||
6 | Made in articles 269 and | 11 September 1956 | Changes made in Union and State Lists with respect to | |
286 and Schedule 7. | raising of taxes. Entry 92A was added in the Union List. | |||
7 | Made articles 1, 49. 80. 81. | 1 November 1956 | States are reorganized on linguistic bases, abolition of | |
82. 131. 153. 158. 168. 170. | Class A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union | |||
171. 216. 217. 220. 222. 224. | Territories: Now 14 States and 6 Union Territories; | |||
230. 231 and 232. Also | Related changes are made in the Lok Sabha; also made | |||
inserted articles 258A, | changes in Supreme/High Courts. | |||
290A, 298, 350A, 350B, |
Indian Polity and Governance 33 | ||||
8 | Made in article 334. | 5 January 1960 | Extension of the period of reservation of seats for | |
Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes and Anglo- | ||||
Indian community in Parliament and State Legislatures | ||||
for a further period of ten years. | ||||
9 | Made in Schedule 1. | 28 December 1960 | Transfer of certain territories to Pakistan in view of an | |
agreement between two countries. In Berubari case, the | ||||
apex court held that such transfer needs amendment. | ||||
10 | Made in article 240 | 11 August 1961 | Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union | |
and Schedule 1. | Territory, consequent on their acquisition from Portugal | |||
11 | Made in articles 66 and 71. | 19 December 1961 | Election of Vice President by electoral college consisting | |
of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of | ||||
the President and Vice President Election procedure | ||||
from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies | ||||
in the electoral college | ||||
12 | Made in article 240 | 20 December 1961 | Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union | |
and Schedule 1. | Territory, consequent on their acquisition from Portugal | |||
13 | Insertion of Article 371A. | 1 December 1963 | Formation of the state of Nagaland. | |
14 | Made in article 81 and | 28 December 1962 | Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India | |
240 and inserted article | and creation of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal | |||
239A, and Schedules | Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa | |||
1 and 4. | ||||
15 | Made in articles 124, 128, | 5 October 1963 | Retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62 | |
217, 222, 224, 226, 297, 311 | raised and other minor amendments for rationalizing | |||
and 316 and inserted | interpretation of rules regarding judges etc. | |||
article 224A, and | ||||
Schedule 7. | ||||
16 | Made in articles 19, 84 | 5 October 1963 | Changes in the freedom right and made it obligatory | |
the Indian Republic | ||||
17 | Made in article 31A, | 20 June 1964 | To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of | |
and Schedule 9. | estates and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9 | |||
of the Constitution | ||||
18 | Made in Article 3. | 27 August 1966 | Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3 | |
and hence permit reorganization of Union Territories | ||||
19 | Made in article 324. | 11 December 1966 | Provision to abolish election tribunals and enable trial | |
of election petitions by regular High Courts | ||||
and sentences passed by judges and to validate the | ||||
appointment, posting, promotion and transfer of judges | ||||
barring a few who were not eligible for appointment | ||||
under article 233. Amendment needed to overcome | ||||
the effect of judgement invalidating appointments of | ||||
certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh as in Chandra | ||||
Mohan v State of Uttar Pradesh | ||||
22 | Made article 275 and | 25 September 1969 | Provision to form Autonomous states within the State | |
inserted articles 244A | in Assam | |||
and 371B, |
23 | Made in articles 330, | 23 January 1970 | Reservation for SC/ST and nomination of Anglo |
332, 333 and 334. | Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for | ||
another ten years extended i.e. up to 1980 | |||
24 | Made in articles 13 | 5 November 1970 | Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through |
and 368. | amendments to the Constitution as was restricted in | ||
Golak Nath case. Asserts Parliament’s power to amend | |||
the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights | |||
25 | Made in article 31 | 20 April 1972 | Restricts property rights and compensation in case the |
and inserted article 31C. | state taking over private property, using the word | ||
‘amount’ for ‘compensation’. | |||
26 | Made article 366 and | 28 December 1971 | Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of princely |
inserted article 363A, | states in the wake of overriding what was decided in | ||
the Madhav Rao’s case | |||
while removing articles | |||
291 and 362. | |||
27 | Made in articles 239A | 15 February 1972 | Reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with |
and 240, and inserted | a legislature and a Council of Ministers | ||
articles 239B and 371C. | |||
28 | Inserted article 312A and | 29 August 1972 | Rationalize Civil Service rules to make it uniform across |
removed article 314. | those appointed prior to independence and post | ||
independence, removed the earlier special privileges. | |||
29 | Made in Schedule 9. | 9 June 1972 | Land reform acts and amendments to be put under |
Schedule 9 of the Constitution | |||
30 | Made in article 133. | 27 February 1973 | The basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case question of law |
31 | Made in articles 81, | 17 October 1973 | The size of the Lok Sabha in increased from 500 to 525 |
330 and 332. | from the states while that of the Union Territories reduced | ||
from 25 to 20. | |||
32 | Made in article 371, | 1 July 1974 | Protection of regional rights in Telengana and Andhra |
and inserted articles 371D | regions of State of Andhra Pradesh and a central | ||
and 371E, and changes | University Andhra Pradesh | ||
in Schedule 7. | |||
33 | Made in Articles | 19 May 1974 | Prescribed procedure for resignation by member of |
101 and 190. | Parliament and State legislatures and the procedure for speaker | ||
34 | Made in Schedule 9. | 7 September 1974 | Land reform acts and amendments to be put under |
Schedule 9 of the Constitution | |||
35 | Made in articles 80 and | 1 March 1975 | Terms for the incorporation of Sikkim into the Union |
81, and inserted articles | of India as an associate State of India | ||
2A, and also inserted | |||
Schedule 10. | |||
36 | Made in articles and 81 | 26 April 1975 | Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union was admitted |
and inserted article 371F, | into India and relative changes made in Articles and | ||
while removing article 2A; | Schedules. | ||
also changes in Schedules | |||
1 and 4 and removed | |||
Schedule 10. |
37 | Made in articles 239A | 3 May, 1975 |
and 240. | ||
38 | Made in articles 123, 213, | 1 August 1975 |
239B, 352, 356, 359 and 360. | ||
39 | Made in articles 71 and | 10 August 1975 |
329, and inserted article | ||
329A, also changes in | ||
Schedule 9. | ||
40 | Made in article 297, | 27 May 1976 |
and changes in | ||
Schedule 9. | ||
41 | Made in article 316. | 7 September 1976 |
42 | Made in articles 31, 31C, | 1 April 1977 |
39, 55, 74, 77, 81, 82, 83, | ||
100, 102, 103, 105, 118, | ||
145, 150, 166, 170, 172, 189, | ||
191, 192, 194, 208, 217, | ||
225, 226, 227, 228, 311, 312, | ||
330, 352, 353, 356, 357, | ||
358, 359, 366, 368 and 371F, | ||
and inserted articles 31D, | ||
32A, 39A, 43A, 48A, 131A, | ||
139A, 144A, 226A, 228A | ||
and 257A. Also inserted | ||
changes in parts 4A and | ||
14A and Schedule 7. | ||
43 | Made in articles 145, 226, | 13 April 1978 |
228 and 366, and removed | ||
articles 31D, 32A, 131A, | ||
144A, 226A and 228A. | ||
44 | Made in articles 19, 22, | 6 September 1979 |
30, 31A, 31C, 38, 71, 74, | ||
77, 83, 103, 105, 123, 132, | ||
133, 134, 139A, 150, 166, | ||
172, 192, 194, 213, 217, | ||
225, 226, 227, 239B, 329, | ||
352, 356, 358, 359, 360 | ||
and 371F, and inserted | ||
articles 134A and 361A, | ||
while removing articles 31, | ||
257A and 329A. Changes | ||
were made in Part XII and | ||
also in Schedule 9. | ||
45 | Made in article 334. | 25 January 1980 |
46 | Made article 269, 286 and | 2 February 1983 | Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on |
366 and in Schedule 7. | scope and applicability on Sales Tax | ||
47 | Made in Schedule 9. | 26 August 1984 | Land reform acts and amendments added under Schedule |
9 of the Constitution | |||
48 | Made in article 356. | 1 April 1985 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to |
two years in the state of Punjab | |||
49 | Made in article 244, and | 11 September 1984 | Tripura as a Tribal State was recognized and the |
also in Schedules 5 and 6. | amendment enabled the creation of a Tripura Tribal | ||
Areas Autonomous District Council | |||
50 | Made in article 33. | 11 September 1984 | An Amendment in the Fundamental Rights as per Part III |
as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel | |||
protection property and communication infrastructure | |||
51 | Made in articles 330 | 16 June 1986 | Reservation to Schedule Tribes in Nagaland, |
and 332. | Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative | ||
Assemblies was provided | |||
102, 190 and 191 and | members from Parliament and Legislative Assembly in | ||
inserted Schedule 10. | case of defection from one party to other | ||
53 | Inserted article 371G. | 20 February 1987 | Special provision with respect to the state of Mizoram |
54 | Made in article 125 and | 1 April 1986 | The salaries of Chief Justice of India & other Judges |
221, and in Schedule 2. | were increased and provided for determining future | ||
increases without the need for constitutional amendment | |||
55 | Inserted article 371H. | 20 February 1987 | Special powers to Governor, consequent to formation |
of state of Arunachal Pradesh | |||
56 | Inserted article 371I. | 30 May 1987 | Provision to enable formation of state of Goa was |
incorporated | |||
57 | Made in article 332. | 21 September 1987 | Reservation to Scheduled tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya. |
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies | |||
provided | |||
58 | Inserted article 394A, | 9 December 1987 | Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of |
and changes in Part 22. | Constitution as on date and provision to publish authentic | ||
Hindi translation of future amendments | |||
59 | Made in article 356, and | 30 March 1988 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to |
inserted article 359A. | three years in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and | ||
Article 359A amended to permit imposing emergency | |||
in the state or part thereof in Punjab |