UPSC Notes / Polity & Constitution / Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of 20

Constitutional Amendments and Important Articles

Article 368's three amendment procedures, the Basic Structure doctrine, and a ready-reference table of the most-asked constitutional amendments.

📖 ~15 min read ⚖️ Polity & Constitution

Introduction

Article 368 lays down the procedure to amend the Constitution. Unlike a rigid constitution (needs a special body/process for every change) or a fully flexible one (changed like ordinary law), India's Constitution is a blend of both — some provisions can be changed by a simple parliamentary majority, others need a special majority, and a few need state ratification too.

Three Procedures of Amendment

Flowchart — Types of Constitutional Amendment
Constitutional Amendment
↓
Simple Majority (outside Art. 368) — e.g., new states, citizenship, Second/Fourth Schedule salaries
Special Majority (Art. 368) — most FRs and DPSPs
Special Majority + Ratification by 1/2 of States — federal provisions

Special Majority = majority of total membership of each House AND 2/3rd of members present and voting.

  • A Constitutional Amendment Bill can be introduced in either House — only by a member (Minister or private member), no President's prior recommendation needed.
  • Must be passed separately by each House — no provision for a joint sitting in case of disagreement (unlike ordinary bills under Article 108).
  • President's assent is mandatory after the 24th Amendment (1971) — no veto power over amendment bills.

Provisions needing state ratification (by at least half the states): Election of the President; extent of executive power of Union/States; Supreme Court and High Courts; distribution of legislative powers (Seventh Schedule); representation of states in Parliament; and Article 368 itself.

Basic Structure Doctrine

CaseYearHolding
Shankari Prasad1951Parliament can amend any part, including Fundamental Rights
Golaknath1967Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights (reversed the earlier view)
24th Amendment1971Restored & clarified Parliament's power to amend any part including FRs
Kesavananda Bharati1973Parliament can amend any part but cannot alter the "Basic Structure" of the Constitution (13-judge bench, by 7:6 majority)
Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain1975Free & fair elections held to be part of the Basic Structure
Minerva Mills1980Judicial review and the balance between FRs & DPSPs are part of the Basic Structure
💡 Basic Structure — illustrative elements: supremacy of the Constitution, republican & democratic form of government, secularism, separation of powers, federalism, judicial review, free & fair elections, rule of law. (The list is not exhaustive — it evolves through case law.)

Key Constitutional Amendments — Ready Reference

AmendmentYearKey Change
1st Amendment1951Added Ninth Schedule (protects listed laws from judicial review on FR grounds); added reasonable restriction grounds to Art. 19
7th Amendment1956Gave effect to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956
24th Amendment1971Affirmed Parliament's power to amend any part including FRs; made President's assent to amendment bills mandatory
42nd Amendment1976"Mini-Constitution" — added Fundamental Duties, added "Socialist," "Secular," "Integrity" to the Preamble, curtailed judicial review
44th Amendment1978Reversed several 42nd Amendment excesses; removed Right to Property as a Fundamental Right
52nd Amendment1985Added the Tenth Schedule — Anti-Defection Law
61st Amendment1988Reduced voting age from 21 to 18
73rd & 74th Amendments1992Constitutional status to Panchayats and Municipalities
86th Amendment2002Made education a Fundamental Right (Art. 21A); added 11th Fundamental Duty
91st Amendment2003Capped size of Council of Ministers at 15% of House strength; tightened anti-defection exceptions
97th Amendment2011Made cooperative societies a Fundamental Right (Art. 19(1)(c)) — largely struck down by SC in 2021 for lack of state ratification
101st Amendment2016Introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the GST Council
103rd Amendment201910% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education & employment, upheld by SC in 2022
104th Amendment2020Extended SC/ST reservation in Lok Sabha & Assemblies by 10 years; removed the Anglo-Indian nominated seats
106th Amendment2023Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — 1/3rd reservation for women in Lok Sabha & State Assemblies (to take effect after the next delimitation)
✅ UPSC Focus: Three types of amendment and which provisions fall in each · Basic Structure case sequence · 42nd vs 44th Amendment (and-vs-reversal pairs) · Most recent amendments (103rd EWS, 104th, 106th women's reservation) — as of 2026, the Constitution has been amended 106 times.

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