Which of the following Constitution Amendments was the first Constitutional Amendment, which was rectified by the State Legislatures according to the requirements of the provision of the Article 368 (

Question

Which of the following Constitution Amendments was the first Constitutional Amendment, which was rectified by the State Legislatures according to the requirements of the provision of the Article 368 (2) of the Constitution?

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, the Third Constitutional Amendment Act, 1954. It re-enacted Entry 33 of the Concurrent List (List III, Seventh Schedule) to widen Union/State power over trade, production, supply and distribution of essential commodities such as foodstuffs, raw cotton, raw jute and cattle fodder. Because it altered an entry in a Seventh Schedule List — one of the categories entrenched under the proviso to Article 368(2) — it needed, and by record received, ratification from several State Legislatures, making it the first amendment actually carried through that route.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Mainly curbed free-speech grounds (Article 19) and inserted the Ninth Schedule for land-reform laws — it did not touch a Seventh Schedule List or another Article 368(2)-proviso category, so no State ratification was involved.  (b) Amended Article 81(1)(b) to remove the upper population-ceiling for parliamentary constituencies after the 1951 Census — a machinery change; it is not the amendment credited with being the first ratified by States under the Article 368(2) proviso.  (d) Came after the Third Amendment and dealt chiefly with property-compensation matters (Article 31) — it is not the amendment credited with being first through the State-ratification route.

Concept: The proviso to Article 368(2) carves out certain 'federal' provisions — e.g., the election of the President, the extent of executive power of the Union/States, Supreme Court/High Court provisions, the distribution of legislative powers, any List in the Seventh Schedule, and representation of States in Parliament — where a constitutional amendment needs a special majority in Parliament PLUS ratification by not less than one-half of the State Legislatures, because these provisions touch the federal structure itself.

State PCS 2021 Q92 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q92 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer