Who among the following, while praising the amending feature of the Indian Constitution said that ‘This variety in the amending process is wise but is rarely found’?

Correct — D. The line "This variety in the amending process is wise but is rarely found" is K C Wheare's, written of the Indian Constitution in his work on federal government.

The variety he means is real. Some provisions can be altered by a simple majority of Parliament, outside Article 368 altogether.

Most need the special majority of Article 368, and provisions touching the federal structure need that majority plus ratification by half the state legislatures — option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Ivor Jennings — Ivor Jennings is quoted in this chapter for criticism rather than praise — that the Constitution is too long, too detailed and a paradise for lawyers.
• (b)
  HM Seervai — H M Seervai is remembered as the author of the treatise Constitutional Law of India, not for a one-line verdict on the amending procedure.
• (c)
  Granville Austin — Granville Austin also praised the amending process, but this sentence is not his. He is the one quoted for calling the Constitution first and foremost a social document.

The Indian amendment procedure sits between the American model, which is very rigid, and the British, which is fully flexible.

Article 368 supplies two routes. A special majority means a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of the members present and voting.

For provisions affecting the federal structure, that majority must then be followed by ratification by the legislatures of not less than half the states.

A third set of changes, such as altering state areas, boundaries or names under Article 3, is made by ordinary law with a simple majority and is not an amendment under Article 368.

Key facts

• K C Wheare praised the variety in the Indian amending process as wise and rarely found.
• Article 368 provides amendment by special majority, and for some provisions special majority plus ratification by half the states.
• Changes under Article 3 are made by simple majority and are not amendments under Article 368.
• Wheare described the Indian Constitution as quasi-federal.

Common traps

• Attributing every favourable verdict on the Constitution to Granville Austin.
• Assuming every amendment needs state ratification, when only the listed federal provisions do.

No directly related past PYQ was found.