Changes done in the Constitution

Constitutions are an integral part of every country as they encompass every law and their prescribed implementation manner. They are formulated to meet and resolve every possible challenge of the country. However, some problems evolve, and the existing laws are rendered useless. This phenomenon requires a procedure to edit changes by adding or deleting the law or provisions of the Constitution. This editing is called the Constitutional Amendments. They are made to cope with present challenges and meet existing requirements. There have been 105 Indian Constitutional Amendments since independence in 1947 in total. The procedure of Constitutional Amendments in India is taken from South Africa.

Steps to Indian Constitutional Amendments:

The Indian Constitution is rigid but can be amended in a prescribed manner. These changes require consent from the state and cannot be changed without taking consent from them. As mentioned above, South Africa is the source from which India’s Constitutional Amendments are adopted and enshrined in our constitution. The steps to conducting amendments in India are explained below:

1. Simple Majority:

This method is similar to passing an ordinary law in Parliament. This method requires more than 50℅ representatives agree to the amendment from both the houses of the Parliament. Amendments in citizenship, formation or removal of any legislative council, rules of the Parliament, changing names of States or borders can be passed through a Simple Majority in the Parliament.

2. Special Majority:

This method is quite difficult to pass in Parliament. This method requires two processes. First, it should be ratified by more than ⅔ rd members of Parliament. Secondly, this number should be more than half of the present members of the Parliament. The changes in Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) can be done through a Special Majority in Parliament.

3. Special Majority and Ratification of the states:

This method adds one more condition to the current criteria of the special majority. This process requires a special majority from Parliament and ratification from more than half of the Legislative Assembly of the states to enact the amendment. The changes in executive powers between state and the center, the election of President, amend the Constitution itself can be attained by passing a special majority and ratifying the states in the Parliament.

Landmark Judgements for Indian Constitutional Amendments:

History witnessed several confusions between powers to amend the constitution. Even if the Constitution enables the law to amend certain provisions, the extent of these amendments is not written in the Constitution, resulting in a wide range of debates. Some of the important judgments regarding Constitutional Amendments in India are mentioned below:

1. Golaknath V. State of Punjab- The power to amend fundamental rights was challenged in this case. The Supreme Court mentioned that the Constitution could not amend the Fundamental rights of citizens. This judgment overruled previous judgments of the Shankari Prasad Case and the Sajjan Singh Case.
2. Kesavananda Bharati V. State of Kerala- In this case, land amendments in Kerala were challenged. In this judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the Parliament has the power to amend every provision of the constitution, including fundamental rights if necessary. Still, it can not amend the basic structure or doctrine of the Constitution. It also mentioned which provisions constitute a basic structure, for example, the judicial review.
3. Indira Gandhi V. Raj Narain- An amendment was passed during the term of Indira Gandhi that stated that the judicial review could not be part of elections. This amendment was challenged in this case. Again, the Supreme Court held that democracy and free and fair elections constitute the basic doctrine of the Constitution and thus cannot be upheld in any case.

Latest Constitutional Amendments:

There have been 105 Constitutional Amendments in the Indian Constitution. The latest amendments in the Indian Constitution are listed below:

• 100th Constitutional Amendment: This was passed in 2015 and led to an exchange of 162 enclave territories between India and Bangladesh. This amendment was in the context of the Land Agreement signed in 1974 after the Partition of Bangladesh from India. 

• 101st Constitutional Amendment: This was passed in 2016 that introduced the Goods and Services Act in India. It was brought to encompass various taxes under one umbrella. It led to the addition of Article 279A in the Indian Constitution and the formation of the GST Council.

• 102nd Constitutional Amendment: This was passed in 2016, through which a constitutional status was granted to National Commission for backward classes (NCBC). 

• 103rd Constitutional Amendment: This was passed in 2018, which provided 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the society. The center identified such groups that need reservation provisions, and hence Articles 15 and 16 were amended.

• 104th Constitutional Amendment:

It was passed in 2020 and extended reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs). It also removed the reservation of Anglo Indians from the Parliament.

• 105th Constitutional Amendment:

It was passed in 2021 and provided that States can maintain and change their OBC lists. They have the power to declare whether a community requires reservation due to backwardness.

Conclusion:

For each country, the provisions for Constitutional Amendments are eminent. They provide a room to edit the current laws and provisions and modify them according to the needs of present times and generations. A proper mechanism is also needed to conduct constitutional amendments properly and ensure that justice reaches everyone. The landmark judgments in the history of Indian Constitutional Amendments prove that amendments are crucially needed for better administration and maintaining peace and order in the country. They act as a mechanism for correcting our mistakes or misjudgments in the past and allow us to make them better for the present, as seen in the latest Constitutional amendments.