Landmark constitutional amendments (1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th, 101st)
A high-yield survey of the five most-tested constitutional amendments—the 1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th, and 101st—and the doctrines they triggered.
The amending power: Article 368
The Constitution is amended under Article 368, which prescribes three procedures: a simple majority for certain provisions (Articles 4, 169, etc., outside Article 368), a special majority of each House (majority of total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting), and a special majority plus ratification by at least half the state legislatures for federal provisions. As of 2024 the Constitution has been amended over 105 times. Five amendments are perennial favourites in both Prelims and Mains because each one redrew a structural boundary of the polity.
The First Amendment (1951): the original course-correction
The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 was enacted by the Provisional Parliament under Prime Minister Nehru, barely sixteen months after commencement. It responded to early High Court rulings (e.g. Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras, 1950; Kameshwar Singh on zamindari abolition) that struck down speech restrictions and land-reform laws. It added Article 31A and Article 31B with the Ninth Schedule, immunising listed laws from Fundamental Rights challenge; inserted the words 'reasonable' and the grounds 'public order', 'friendly relations with foreign States' and 'incitement to an offence' into Article 19(2); and added Article 15(4) enabling special provisions for backward classes. It established the template that Parliament would amend Part III to overcome judicial review.
The 42nd Amendment (1976): the 'Mini-Constitution'
Enacted during the Emergency (1975-77) on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, the 42nd Amendment is the most sweeping single amendment. It added the words 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity' to the Preamble; inserted Part IVA (Article 51A, Fundamental Duties); added Article 31C giving DPSPs primacy over Articles 14, 19 and 31; transferred subjects (education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds) from State List to Concurrent List; extended Lok Sabha and Assembly terms from 5 to 6 years; and through Articles 368(4) and (5) tried to bar judicial review of amendments and declare Parliament's amending power unlimited. Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980) struck down clauses (4) and (5) and the 31C primacy, reaffirming the basic structure.
