Constitution is a living document which requires changes according to time and need. Amendments are the changes done in any article or its part or sub parts. There is a process of Amending given in our constitution in part 20 Article 368.
A Constitution should be a dynamic document. It should be able to adapt itself to the changing needs of the society. Sometimes under the impact of new powerful social and economic forces, the pattern of government will require major changes. Keeping this factor in mind the Draftsmen of the Indian Constitution incorporated Article 366 in the Constitution which dealt with the procedure of amendment. Due to Article 368 the Indian Constitution can neither be called nor flexible but in fact it is partly rigid and partly flexible. Articles of the Indian Constitution can be amended by a simple majority in the Parliament (Second Schedule, Articles 100 (3), 105, 11, 124 133 81. 137), or by special majority that is majority of the total membership of each house and by majority of not less than two thirds of the members of each house present and voting, or by Ratification by the State Legislatures after special majority (Articles 73, 162, Chapter 1V of Part V. Chapter V of Part V1, Seventh Schedule, representation of the State in Parliament and provisions dealing with amendment of the Constitution). Constituent power is the area in the history of Indian Constitutional Law which has lead to most serious disagreements between Parliament and Judiciary, the conflict involving Parliamentary Supremacy on one hand and on the other Judicial review of the Scope and extent of the power and the manner in which such power is to be exercised. Constituent power is termed as a power which is exercised by a representative body authorized by a Constitution to amend the Constitution. This amending power is one of the most desirable powers in a Constitution, if a Constitution as a fundamental document is to continue. John Burgess is of the opinion that the first and most important part is the organization of the State for the accomplishments of future changes in the Constitution, which is the amendment clause. Classification of amendment procedures can if classified in two heads as rigid and flexible. Rigid procedures means difficult to amend the onstitution like that of US, Australia, Canada and Switzerland and flexible procedure means in which procedure to amend is and can be done even by passing a normal legislation like that of United Kingdom. But in Indian constitution though the procedures classified as Rigid but it has practically proved to a flexible one in India Article 365 provides the power of amendment. The procedure to be followed in India in not strictly rigid or flexible, and further here is a difference in procedure when it affects the federal character of the Union. An amendment can be proposed in either of the Houses. In India all constitutional amendments can be generally effectuated by a Special Majority, Le it must be passed by both he houses, with more than 50% of total number of members along with two thirds of members present and voting The cause 2 of Art. 306 also specifies certain situations in which apart from above mentioned special majority ratification by more than half of the number of States is required, they are: Election of the President Extent of executive power of the Union and State z Provisions dealing with the Supreme Court Provisions dealing with High Courts in the States and Union territories & Distribution of legislative power between Centre and State Representation of States in Parliament. # Seventh schedule # Art. 368 itself. In either of the two procedures after the bill is passed it is reserved for Presidential assent, which in turn is bound to give it. In India the procedure has proved to be far more flexible, till now as much as 96 amendments have been made. Dr. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly while defending the procedure contented that the procedure for amendment in the Indian Constitution is a simple procedures, as compared to US, Australia or Canada, and deliberately models of convention and referenda are avoided. He further said that it may be possible that in future this power may be used for partisan motives and hence some rigidity is required in the procedure. During the 50 years of the Constitution, more than 80 amendments have taken place. The founding fathers of the Indian constitution granted rights to the people without balancing them with their duties, perhaps did not foresee the emergence of present political environment, wherein the political players of various segments in the country are more interested in ulfilling their individual aspirations than the aspirations of the people. There is an element of truth in this criticism. The fact is that the ease in the amending process of the Indian Constitution is due to the one party dominance both at the Centre and the State.
Yet, on close examination it will be seen that there were compelling in co circumstances which led to the constitutional amendments. While te some amendments were a natural product of the eventual evolution C of the new political system established under the Constitution in 1950, there were others necessitated by practical difficulties. The first amendment took place in June, 1950. Necessity of Amendinge Provisions in the Constitution: Provisions for amendment of the Constitution is made with a view to overcome the difficulties which may encounter in future in the working of the constitution. The time is not static, it goes on changing. The social, economic and political conditions of the people go on changing so the constitutional law of the country must also change in order toward it to the changing needs, changing life of the people. If no provisions were made for amendment of the Constitution, the people would have recourse to extra constitutional method like revolution to change the constitution. The framers of the Indian constitution were anxious to have a document which could grow with a growing nation, adapt itself to the changing circumstances of a growing people. The Constitution has to be changed at every interval of time. Nobody can say that this is the finality. A constitution which is static is a constitution which ultimately becomes a big hurdle in the path of the progress of the nation. Restriction on parliament power of Amending Provisions in the Constitution and Judicial Review: The framers of the Indian constitution were also aware of that fact that if the constitution was so flexible it would be like playing cards of the ruling party so they adopted a middle course. It is neither too rigid to admit. necessary amendments, nor flexible for undesirable changes. India got independence after a long struggle in which numerous patriots sacrificed their life. They knew the, real value of the freedom so they framed a constitution in which every person is equal and there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, sex and religion. They wanted to build a welfare nation where the social, economical, political rights of the general person recognize. The one of the wonderful aspect of our constitution is Fundamental rights and for the protection of these rights they provided us an independent judiciary. According to constitution, parliament and state legislature in India have the power to make the laws within their respective jurisdiction. This power is not absolute in nature. The constitution vests in judiciary, the power to adjudicate upon the constitutional validity of all the laws. If a laws made by parliament or state legislature violates any provision of the constitution, the Supreme Court has power to declare such a law invalid or ultra virus . So the process of judicial scrutiny of legislative acts is called Judicial Review. Article 368 of the Constitution gives the impression that Parliament's amending powers are absolute and encompass all parts of the document. But the Supreme Court has acted as a brake to the legislative anding enthusiasm of Parliament ever since independence With the intention of preserving the original ideals envisioned by the constitution-makers. To Abraham Lincoln, democracy meant a Government of the people, by the people and for the people. So in democratic nation whenever any law passed by parliament violates any provision of constitution or takes away any fundamental rights of the person, the Supreme Court has right and power to strike down that law or act. According to me this jurisdiction of Supreme Court is essential for protection of basic features of the Constitution.
Stay tuned ✨
No comments:
Post a Comment