Amendment of the Constitution

Why an Amendment Power Was Needed

The makers of the Constitution knew that society keeps changing. New problems — reservation, land reform, taxation, elections — would demand new rules. So they built in a way to update the document without scrapping it.

Dr B. R. Ambedkar called this balance the great virtue of the Indian Constitution. It is neither rigid like the American Constitution (which is very hard to amend) nor flexible like the British (which has no written Constitution at all). India sits in between, and this is exactly why examiners love it.

Think of it like a school rulebook. Small things — a change in the timing of a class — can be done easily by a simple vote of the staff. Bigger things — rewriting the marking scheme — need a larger agreement. And the deepest values — that the school stays a school and not a factory — can never be thrown out at all. India's Constitution works on exactly this layered logic, and the three procedures below map onto these three levels of difficulty.

By June 2026, the Constitution has been amended over a hundred times since 1950, which shows the document is very much alive. Yet not a single amendment has been allowed to wipe out its core identity, thanks to the courts. That tension — a living document with an unbreakable spine — is the real theme of this chapter.

Article 368: The Heart of Amendment

Article 368 deals with the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and the procedure for doing so. It says Parliament may, in exercise of its constituent power, add, change (vary) or repeal any provision following the laid-down procedure.

Constituent power vs ordinary lawmaking

When Parliament makes an ordinary law it uses its legislative power. When it amends the Constitution it uses its constituent power — a higher, special power. That is why an amendment is not a normal Act.

The Three Amendment Procedures

This is the single most important part of the topic. There are three ways the Constitution can be amended, depending on the provision involved.

1. By simple majority

Some provisions change by a simple majority of members present and voting — just like an ordinary law. These are outside the scope of Article 368. Examples: creation of new states, changing names/boundaries of states, citizenship rules, salaries of judges, and the Second, Fifth and Sixth Schedules.

2. By special majority

Most of the Constitution is amended by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of each House and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

3. By special majority plus state ratification

Provisions affecting the federal structure need the special majority plus ratification by the legislatures of at least half the states by simple majority.

One subtle point about Route 3: there is no time limit within which the states must ratify. The states are free to take their own time, and a state can ratify even before the Bill is passed by Parliament. Only half the states need to agree — the consent of all states is not required, and a state that disagrees cannot block the amendment once half have ratified.

Special Majority Explained Clearly

Students lose marks here, so go slow. A special majority under Article 368 has two conditions that must both be satisfied in each House:

• A majority of the total membership of the House (more than 50% of all seats, whether present or not).
• A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.

Which Provisions Need State Ratification

The third route protects the federal balance. If a change touches the powers shared between the Centre and the states, half the states must agree. Important provisions in this category:

• Election of the President and its manner.
• Extent of the executive power of the Union and the states.
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts.
• Distribution of legislative powers between Centre and states (the Seventh Schedule — Union, State, Concurrent Lists).
• Representation of states in Parliament.
• Article 368 itself (the amendment power).
• Any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule.

The Basic Structure Doctrine

Can Parliament amend anything, even Fundamental Rights? This battle ran through several cases.

• Shankari Prasad (1951) — amendment is valid even if it curtails a Fundamental Right; "law" in Article 13 does not include a constitutional amendment.
• Golak Nath (1967) — reversed this; Fundamental Rights cannot be amended.
• Kesavananda Bharati (1973) — the landmark. Parliament can amend any part, including Fundamental Rights, but it cannot destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.
• Minerva Mills (1980) — reaffirmed that the power to amend is limited; judicial review and the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles are part of the basic structure.

Why does this doctrine matter so much? Because it places a permanent limit on the majority of the day. Even if a government has a huge majority in Parliament, it cannot use that strength to, say, abolish elections, end judicial review, or convert India into a non-democratic state. The amendment power is real but not unlimited. This is the single most quoted idea from this chapter in interviews and the SSB stage too, so understand it well rather than memorising it blindly.

Step-by-Step: How a Bill Becomes an Amendment

Knowing the exact sequence helps you answer procedure questions instantly.

1. An amendment Bill is introduced in either House by a minister or a private member.
2. No prior permission of the President is required.
3. The Bill must be passed in each House separately by the required majority (simple or special).
4. There is no joint sitting provision for an amendment Bill if the two Houses disagree.
5. If state ratification is needed, the legislatures of half the states must pass it (by simple majority) before it goes to the President.
6. The Bill goes to the President, who must give assent — he can neither withhold nor return it.

Important Amendments You Must Know

NDA papers love specific amendment numbers. Lock these in by remembering one headline feature for each, rather than long lists.

• 1st Amendment (1951) — added the Ninth Schedule to protect land-reform laws from court review.
• 7th Amendment (1956) — reorganised states on a linguistic basis.
• 42nd Amendment (1976) — the "Mini-Constitution"; added the words Socialist, Secular, Integrity to the Preamble and Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A).
• 44th Amendment (1978) — removed Right to Property from Fundamental Rights and made it a legal right (Article 300-A); restored safeguards weakened during the Emergency.
• 61st Amendment (1989) — lowered voting age from 21 to 18.
• 73rd and 74th (1992) — gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj and Municipalities.
• 101st Amendment (2016) — introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

A useful pattern is that many big amendments cluster around moments of political stress. The 42nd came during the 1975–77 Emergency and concentrated power, while the 44th came right after it to undo those excesses and protect citizens. Reading amendments alongside their historical context makes them far easier to recall than treating them as isolated numbers.

Worked Example: Identifying the Procedure

Notice how the rule of thumb works: anything touching the Seventh Schedule, the judiciary, the President's election or Article 368 automatically triggers the half-the-states requirement.

Traps NDA Sets in This Topic

Examiners reuse the same confusions. Beware of these:

• Thinking the President can veto an amendment — he cannot; assent is compulsory after the 24th Amendment.
• Believing a referendum is needed — India has no referendum requirement for amendments.
• Assuming all amendments need state ratification — only federal provisions do.
• Saying amendments under simple majority are "under Article 368" — they are technically outside Article 368.
• Confusing the 42nd (added words) with the 44th (Right to Property).

Previous-Year Style Question

Such questions usually pair an amendment number with its main feature, so practise matching number ↔ feature for the 1st, 42nd, 44th, 61st, 73rd and 101st amendments.

Quick Revision