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1. The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1950---This
amendment provided for several new grounds of restrictions to the right to
freedom of speech and expression and the right to practise any profession or
to carry on any trade or
business as contained in Article 19 of the Constitution. These
restrictions related to public order, friendly relations with foreign States
or incitement to an offence in relation to the right to freedom of speech,
and to the prescribing of professional or technical qualifications or the carrying on by the
State, etc., of any trade, business, industry or service in relation to the right to carry on any trade or business. The amendment also inserted two new Articles,
31A and 31B and the Ninth Schedule to give protection from challenge to land
reform laws.The constitution of India draws extensively from Western legal
traditions in its outline of the principles of liberal democracy. It follows
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 from the
US.
2. The Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1952---By
this amendment, the scale or representation for election to the Lok Sabha was
readjusted.
3. The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1954---This
amendment substituted entry 33 of List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh
Schedule to make it correspond to Article 369.
4. The Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955---Article
31 (2) of the Constitution was amended to re-state more precisely the State's
power of compulsory acquisition and requisitioning of private property and distinguish it from
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 welfare legislation like abolition of zamindaris, proper planning
of urban and rural areas and for effecting a full 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.
5. The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1955---This
amendment made a change in Article 3 so as to empower President to specify a
time limit for state legislatures to convey their views on the proposed
Central laws affecting areas, boundaries, etc., of their states.
6. The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1956---This
amendment made some changes in Articles 269 and 286 relating totaxes 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.
7. The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956---This
amendment Act purported to give effect 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-fold
classification of states and union territories. The amendment also provided
for composition of the House of the People, re-adjustment after every census,
provisions regarding the establishment of new High Courts, High Court Judges,
etc.
8. The Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1960---Article
334 was amended with a view to extending the period of reservation of seats
for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and to the Anglo-Indian community
by nomination in Parliament and in the State Legislatures for a further
period of ten years.
9. The Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act, 1960---The
purpose of this amendment is to give effect to the transfer of certain
territories to Pakistan in pursuance of the agreement extended into between
Governments of India and Pakistan. This 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.
10. The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961---This
Act amended Article 240 and the First Schedule in order to include areas of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli as a Union Territory and to provide for its
administration under the regulation making powers of President.
11. The Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1961---The
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.
12. The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962---This
amendment sought to include Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory and to
amend Article 240 for the purpose.
13. The Constitution (Thirteenth 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 People's Convention.
14. The 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 for Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu
and Pondicherry.
15. The Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963---This
amendment provided for increase in the age
of retirement of High Court Judge and for the provision of compensatory
allowance to judges who are transferred from one High Court to another. The
Act also provided for 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 for 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. The Act also provided for the
exercise of powers of Chairman of the Service Commissions, in their absence,
by one of their Members.
16. The Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963---Article
19 was amended by this Act to impose further restriction on the rights to
freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peaceably and without arms and
to form associations in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India.
The oath of affirmation 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. The
amendments are intended to promote national integration.
17. The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964---Article
31A was further amended to prohibit the acquisition of land under personal
cultivation unless the market value of the land is paid as compensation and
the definition of "estate" as contained in that Article had also
been enlarged with retrospective effect. The Ninth Schedule had also been
amended to include 44 more Acts.
18. The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 1966---Article
3 was amended by this Act to specify that the expression "State"
will include a union territory also and to make it clear that the power to
form a new state under this Article includes a power to form a new state or
union territory by uniting a part of a state or a union territory to another
state or union territory.
19. The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966---Article
324 was amended to effect a consequential change as a result of the decision to
abolish Election Tribunals and to hear election petitions by High
Courts.
20. The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Act, 1966---This
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.
21. The Constitution (Tiventy-first Amendment) Act, 1967---By
this amendment, Sindhi Language was included in the Eighth Schedule.
22. The Constitution (Tiuenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969---This
act was enacted to facilitate the formation of a new autonomous state of
Meghalaya within state of Assam.
23. The Constitution (Twenty-third Amendment) Act, 1969---Article
334 was amended so as to extend the safeguards in respect of reservation of
seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for Schedules Castes and Scheduled
Tribes as well as for Anglo-Indians for a further period of ten years.
24. The Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971---This
amendment was passed in the context of a situation that emerged with the
verdict in Golaknath's 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.
25. The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971---This
amendment further amended Article 31 in the wake of the Bank Nationalisation
case. The word `amount' was substituted in place of `compensation' in the
light of the judicial interpretation of the word `compensation' meaning
`adequate compensation'.
26. The Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971---By
this amendment, the privy and privileges of the former rulers of Indian
states were abolished. This amendment was passed as a result of Supreme Court
decision in Madhav Rao's case.
27. The Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1971---This
amendment was passed to provide for certain matters necessitated by the
reorganisation of north-eastern states. A new Article 239B was inserted which
enabled the promulgation of Ordinances by Administrators of certain union
territories.
28. The Constitution (Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1972---The
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.
29. The Constitution (Twenty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1972---The
Ninth Schedule to the Constitution was amended to include therein two Kerala
Acts on land reforms.
30. The Constitution (Thirtieth Amendment) Act, 1972---The
purpose of the amendment was to amend Article 133 in order to do away with
the valuation test of Rs 20,000 as fixed therein, and to provide instead for
an appeal to Supreme Court in Civil proceedings only on a certificate 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.
31. The Constitution (Thirty-first Amendment) Act, 1973---This
Act inter alia raises the upper limit for the representation of states in the
Lok Sabha from 500 to 525 and reducing the upper limit for the representation
of union territories from 25 members to 20.
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