A bill is introduced in the Parliament in either house.
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Who passes bill?]
It states that the Parliament may, in exercise of its
constituent power, amend by way of
addition, variation or repeal any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down for the
purpose. However, the Parliament cannot amend those provisions which form the
‘basic structure’ of the Constitution
Article 368 in
Part XX of the Constitution deals with the powers
of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure
TYPES OF AMENDMENTS
Article 368 provides for two types of amendments,
that is, by a special majority of Parliament and also through the ratification
of half of the states by a simple majority. But, some other articles provide
for the amendment of certain provisions of the Constitution by a simple
majority of Parliament, that is, a majority of the members of each House
present and voting (similar to the ordinary legislative process). Notably,
these amendments are not deemed to be amendments of the Constitution for the
purposes of Article 368. Therefore, the Constitution can be amended in three
ways:
(a)Amendment
by simple majority of the Parliament,
(b) Amendment by special majority of
the Parliament, and
(c) Amendment by special
majority of the Parliament and the ratification
of half of the state legislatures.
(a) By Simple Majority of Parliament
A number of
provisions in the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the two
Houses of Parliament outside the scope of Article 368. These provisions
include:
1. Admission or establishment of new states.
2. Formation of new states and alteration of areas,
boundaries or names of existing states.
3. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in
states.
4. Second
Schedule—emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the president, the
governors, the Speakers, judges, etc.
5. Quorum in Parliament.
6. Salaries
and allowances of the members of Parliament.
7. Rules of
procedure in Parliament.
8. Privileges of the Parliament, its members and its
committees.
9. Use of
English language in Parliament.
10. Number of puisne judges in the Supreme Court.
11. Conferment
of more jurisdiction on the Supreme Court.
12. Use of official language.
13. Citizenship—acquisition and termination.
14. Elections to Parliament and state legislatures.
15. Delimitation of constituencies.
16. Union territories.
17. Fifth Schedule—administration of scheduled areas
and scheduled tribes.
18. Sixth Schedule—administration of tribal areas.
(b) By Special Majority of Parliament
A majority (that is, more than 50 per cent) of the
total membership of each House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of
each House present and vote. The provisions which can be amended by this way
includes:
(i) Fundamental Rights;
(ii) Directive
Principles of State Policy; and
(iii) All other provisions which are not covered by
the first and third categories.
(c)By Special Majority of Parliament and Consent of
States
The procedure for the amendment of the Constitution
as laid down in Article 368 is as follows:
1. An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated
only by the introduction of a bill for the purpose in either House of
Parliament and not in the state legislatures.
2. The bill can be introduced either by a minister or
by a private member and does not require prior permission of the president.
3. The bill must be passed in each House by a special
majority, that is, a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent) of the total
membership of the House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of the
House present and voting.
4. Each House must pass the bill separately. In case
of a disagreement between the two Houses, there is no provision for holding a
joint sitting of the two Houses for the purpose of deliberation and passage of
the bill.
5.If the bill seeks to amend the federal provisions
of the Constitution, it must also be ratified by the legislatures of half of
the states by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members ofthe House present and voting.
6. After duly passed by both the Houses of Parliament
and ratified by the state legislatures, where necessary, the bill is presented
to the president for assent.
7. The president must give his assent to the bill. He
can neither withhold his assent to the bill nor return the bill for
reconsideration of the Parliament.
8. After the president’s assent, the bill becomes an
Act (i.e., a constitutional amen-dment act) and the Constitution stands amended in
accordance with the terms of the Act
The following provisions can be amended in this way:
1. Election of
the President and its manner.
2. Extent of the executive power of the Union and the
states.
3. Supreme Court and high courts.
4. Distribution of legislative powers between the
Union and the states.
5. Any of the lists in the Seventh Schedule.
6. Representation of states in Parliament.
7. Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and
its procedure (Article 368 itself).sssss
CRITICISM OF THE AMENDMENT PROCEDURE
The constituent power is vested in the Parliament and
only in few cases, in the state legislatures.
The power to initiate an amendment to the
Constitution lies with the Parliament. Hence, unlike in USA4, the state
legislatures cannot initiate any bill or proposal for amending the Constitution
except in one case, that is, passing a resolution requesting the Parliament for
the creation or abolition of legislative councils in the states. Here also, the
Parliament can either approve or disapprove such a resolution or may not take
any action on it.
The Constitution does not prescribe the time frame
within which the state legislatures should ratify or reject an amendment
submitted to them. Also, it is silent on the issue whether the states can
withdraw their approval after according the same.
5. There is no provision for holding a joint sitting
of both the Houses of Parliament if there is a deadlock over the passage of a
constitutional amendment bill. On the other hand, a provision for a joint
sitting is made in the case of an ordinary bill.
6. The process of amendment is similar to that of a
legislative process. Except for the special majority, the constitutional
amendment bills are to be passed by the Parliament in the same way as ordinary
bills.
7. The provisions relating to the amendment procedure
are too sketchy. Hence, they leave a wide scope for taking the matters to the
judiciary.
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