7th Constitutional Amendment of India

The 7th amendment was introduced in the constitution to make states’ segregation more organised, replacing it with the existing system. The 7th Constitutional Amendment India helped in the appointment of governors in two or more states and offered term periods for these positions. It also established special provisions for Andhra Pradesh and Punjab states based on the importance of or assertive strength of linguistics. There were 14 states and 6 territories established as per amendment law. This led to many problems within the local public, which led to the ultimate abolition of the law.

State Reorganisation Act, 1956

The State Reorganisation Act was passed in the Parliament of India in 1956 to establish 14 states and 5 centrally administered territories. People from the state of Maharashtra created widespread rioting, and about eighty people were killed due to the declaration of the amendment. This led to the division of Bombay state into Gujarat and Maharashtra, with Bombay becoming a separate state which was later revised to be part of Maharashtra due to continued protests and public outcry. In May 1960, Bombay was declared the capital city of Maharashtra and Ahmedabad was declared the capital city of Gujarat. As part II of the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, all the states and union territories were involved in a complete revision of the fourth schedule of the constitution, with the seats in the council of states being allocated to the existing states.

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Key Points

• It nullified the qualification between Part A, B, C and D States

• It laid out two classifications of units a) States and b) Union domains

• The posts of Rajpramukhs were nullified

• The Constitutional Amendment Act made 14 states and 6 association regions

Article 153 of the 7th Constitutional Amendment of India

Article 153 of the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act was created as a governor-appointed for each state led to clashes of understanding amongst the governors, and similar states could not function simultaneously. Hence, a governor was appointed for more than two states at a time.

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Key Points

• Article 153 gives that there will be a Governor for each State

• Since it very well might be attractive in specific conditions to select a Governor for at least two States

• It is proposed to add an arrangement to this article to eliminate any conceivable specialised bar to such an arrangement

Article 171 of the 7th Constitutional Amendment of India

The maximum strength of the legislative council of a state was touted to be about twenty-five per cent of the entire Legislative Assembly of the State. This is applicable in larger states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but not for smaller states as it leads to functional difficulties. Hence, the strength was lowered down to one-third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly of the State.

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Key Points

• The greatest strength of the Legislative Council of a State is fixed at one-fourth of the strength of the Legislative Assembly of that State

• Although this is satisfactory in the bigger States, like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it prompts troubles in the more modest States

• It is, subsequently, proposed to modify the greatest to 33% of the strength of the Legislative Assembly.

Article 258A of the 7th Constitutional Amendment of India

The President of India, under Article 258A of the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, the President of India entrusted Union territories to the leadership of governors of the state as part of the amendment policies. The governor, however, cannot pass on the leadership or functions of the Union territories to the central government under this article. This transfer issue of leadership was later amended into article 258A employing Presidential law. The governor of states, in addition to this, was given the power to assert functions or any responsibilities to the officers assigned to the state in discussion with the Central Government of India. As long as the state laws were being followed, the governor of India permitted this transference of duties.

Key Points

• Another article 258A was embedded to give that the Governor of a State, with the consent of the Government of India, share any State capacities with the focal Government or its officials

Conclusion

Along with the setup of State laws in India, the seventh amendment further led to the establishment of High courts in all states and allowed their decision to be of the highest order. It also led to the establishment of administrators to lead the union territories and report their development and requirements directly to the office of the President of India. These administrators were later given the position of Lieutenant governors of union territories. In case of any issues or matters requiring urgent concern, the seventh amendment allowed for article 350B to allow special investigative officers to take these decisions.