Which of the following schedule of the Constitution of India was added to the Constitution by the first Constitutional Amendment ?

Correct — option (3), Ninth.

The Ninth Schedule was added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, so the answer is Ninth. The footnote in the official text of the Constitution records entries 1 to 13 of the Schedule as added by section 14 of that Act, with effect from 18 June 1951.

The same Act inserted Article 31B, which gives the Schedule its force. Article 31B provides that no Act or Regulation specified in the Ninth Schedule shall be deemed void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges, rights conferred by Part III.

The first entries were land-reform, tenancy and estate-abolition laws, beginning with the Bihar Land Reforms Act, 1950 and the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948.

The Schedule grew through later amendments: entries 14 to 20 came by the Fourth Amendment Act, 1955, and entries 21 to 64 by the Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964.

First Amendment, 1951: the Ninth Schedule together with Article 31B.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Sixth — The Sixth Schedule deals with the administration of tribal areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, under Articles 244(2) and 275(1).

  It was among the eight Schedules of the Constitution as adopted, so the First Amendment did not add it.

• (2)
  Tenth — The Tenth Schedule, on disqualification on the ground of defection, came much later. It was added by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985, with effect from 1 March 1985.

  It operates through Articles 102(2) and 191(2), for members of Parliament and of State Legislatures.

• (4)
  Seventh — The Seventh Schedule holds the Union, State and Concurrent Lists under Article 246, which divide legislative subjects between Parliament and the State Legislatures.

  It was among the eight Schedules of the Constitution as adopted, so no amendment added it.

Schedules are the parts of the Constitution that hold lists and detailed provisions, each tied to the Articles it serves. The Ninth serves Article 31B; the Tenth serves Articles 102(2) and 191(2); the Seventh serves Article 246.

The First Amendment, 1951 made several changes. Among them, it added clause (4) to Article 15, substituted clause (2) of Article 19 with retrospective effect, inserted Articles 31A and 31B, and added the Ninth Schedule.

Later Schedules also came by amendment: the Tenth by the Fifty-second Amendment (1985), the Eleventh by the Seventy-third and the Twelfth by the Seventy-fourth (both 1992).

Key facts

• Ninth Schedule entries 1 to 13 were added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 14, with effect from 18 June 1951.
• Article 31B, inserted by the First Amendment, protects Acts in the Ninth Schedule from being void for inconsistency with Part III rights.
• The First Amendment also added Article 15(4), substituted Article 19(2) and inserted Article 31A, among other changes.
• The Tenth Schedule (anti-defection) was added by the Fifty-second Amendment Act, 1985, with effect from 1 March 1985.
• The Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 and the Rajasthan Zamindari and Biswedari Abolition Act, 1959 are entries 55 and 56 of the Ninth Schedule.

Common traps

• The Sixth and Seventh Schedules were part of the Constitution as adopted. Only a Schedule that an amendment added can answer this stem.
• The Tenth Schedule is also an amendment-made Schedule, but it came in 1985 by the Fifty-second Amendment, not in 1951.
• Article 31B names the Ninth Schedule, and both came from the same 1951 Act. Linking the two helps date either one.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India was added by which Constitutional Amendment Act ?

  • (a)First Amendment Act, 1951
  • (b)Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976
  • (c)Fifty-second Amendment Act, 1985
  • (d)Seventy-third Amendment Act, 1992
  Answer(3) — The footnote to the Tenth Schedule records it as added by the Fifty-second Amendment Act, 1985, with effect from 1 March 1985. Option (1), the First Amendment, added the Ninth Schedule. Option (4), the Seventy-third Amendment, added the Eleventh Schedule. Option (2), the Forty-second Amendment, is not the Act the footnote names.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which Article of the Constitution of India protects the Acts and Regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule ?

  • (a)Article 31A
  • (b)Article 31B
  • (c)Article 31C
  • (d)Article 246
  Answer(2) — Article 31B provides that no Act or Regulation specified in the Ninth Schedule shall be deemed void for inconsistency with Part III rights. Option (1), Article 31A, and option (3), Article 31C, are separate saving provisions that do not mention the Ninth Schedule. Option (4), Article 246, is served by the Seventh Schedule.