Amendment of the Constitution

The procedure of Constitutional Amendments provided in Article 368:

Under this article, there can be an introduction of a bill in either one of the houses in parliament. Only this type of bill does not require any president’s approval. It can be introduced by any member or minister of the house. To implement this bill, it must have passed in both houses with the help of a special majority of votes. The bill can be passed if there is overall voting from the house where 2/3rd of the members are present. After getting passed from both the houses, if there is any disagreement regarding that, there will be no provision for conducting the joint sitting for both the houses. However, if the bill needs to amend the subject in a state list, it should have a majority of the vote from the representative of the house. After getting passed by the state legislature and each of the houses of the parliament, the bill is now sent to the president for his assent to be implemented. After providing the assent to the bill, the president cannot withhold the bill or return the bill to the parliament for consideration.

There are three types of Amendments, and under the implementation of article 368 of the constitution, there are two forms of constitutional amendments in the constitution of India. 

Special Majority of the Parliament in the list of Constitutional Amendments

There should always be most of the total membership, with 2/3rd of the representatives of both the houses present and voting. The term “total membership” is used for members of each house in their respective vacancies or absentees. These provisions can be modified by constitutional amendments, that  are fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy. 

Special Majority of the Parliament and its ratification by a simple majority

The provisions can be constitutionally amended by the amendment of the constitution, which comprises the majority of parliament’s vote; if half of the members give their consent on the bill, then the bill is automatically passed. There is no specific time or restriction to provide consent on these bills. The provisions must be under the amendments of the constitution, consisting of the state’s representation in parliament, the election of the president, etc.

Various provision amendments of the constitution under Article 368

The provision  includes allowances and privileges to the president, the governors, the judge, and other ministries. This also includes the use of the rules and regulations procedure to be followed by the parliament and to converse in the English language in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The process of maintaining decorum and using official language is highly required. 

The Criticism of the procedure of Amendment of the Constitution:

• Specialized Agency

There should be no special body like the constitutional convention when amending the constitution.

• Federal Character

The Parliament of India only initiates the amendment process. The state legislature plays its role in passing a resolution for the request of formation or abolition of the legislative council of the parliament. However, the parliament can neither approve nor disapprove or take any action on it.

• Only in a few cases, the state legislature can be amended by most of the constitution
• There is no well-defined time process for any of these amendments and can be delayed to legislative delays just like judicial delays or remain silent on this matter
• There is no provision for a joint sitting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha if there is any issue regarding the constitutional amendment 
• The process of Amendment will be analogous except for the cases where it requires a special majority
• The ordinary bills pass the constitutional amendment bills despite all the disadvantages; the constitutional amendments cannot be rejected and must meet the necessary changes required