UPPSC 2024 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 23 of 150

Correct — B, 1 and 2. Article 368(2) is emphatic on the point: "An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament." The word 'only' shuts out every other body, and 'either House' opens both. So the power to *initiate* rests with the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and with no one else. State Legislatures (item 3) enter the process only at a later stage and only for a defined class of amendments: under the proviso to Article 368(2), an amendment touching federal provisions — the election of the President, the extent of Union and State executive power, the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the distribution of legislative powers, any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule, the representation of States in Parliament, or Article 368 itself — must also be ratified by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States. Ratification comes after Parliament has passed the Bill; it is a consent, not an initiation. The President (item 4) also comes in at the end, not the beginning: the Bill is presented to him for assent, and since the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971 the wording of Article 368(2) is that he 'shall give his assent' — he can neither withhold it nor return the Bill. Unlike a Money Bill or the Bills covered by Articles 117 and 274, a Constitution Amendment Bill needs no prior recommendation of the President even to be introduced, so the President has no role at the initiating end at all.

• (a)1, 2 and 3 — It confuses ratification with initiation. State Legislatures never introduce a Constitution Amendment Bill; for the federal entrenched provisions they merely ratify, by a simple majority, a Bill that Parliament has already passed — and even then, only for that limited category.
• (c)Only 1 — This treats a Constitution Amendment Bill like a Money Bill. It is not one. Article 368(2) says 'either House', so the Rajya Sabha can originate an amendment on exactly the same terms as the Lok Sabha, and each House must pass it separately by the special majority — there is not even a joint-sitting escape route (Article 108 covers ordinary and financial Bills only).
• (d)2, 3 and 4 — It drops the Lok Sabha, which plainly can initiate, and adds two bodies that cannot. The President's only role is at the assent stage, and after the 24th Amendment (1971) that assent is mandatory, not discretionary.

Article 368 gives Parliament the power to amend the Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any provision, subject to the procedure laid down in the Article itself. The procedure has a fixed order: introduction of a Bill in either House → passage in each House separately by a special majority (a majority of the total membership of that House and at least two-thirds of the members present and voting) → for the entrenched federal provisions, ratification by the legislatures of not less than half the States → presentation to the President, whose assent is obligatory. Nothing in this chain lets a State legislature or the President start the process.

This is a classic 'stage-confusion' item. Every one of the four bodies listed does appear somewhere in the amendment story, so a student who only remembers that 'states ratify' and 'the President assents' can be tempted into (a) or (d). The discipline is to read the verb: the question asks who can *initiate*. There is one genuine-looking exception worth knowing so that it does not unsettle you in the hall — Article 169 lets Parliament abolish or create a State Legislative Council if the State's Legislative Assembly first passes a resolution to that effect by a special majority. That looks like a State legislature setting an amendment in motion, but Article 169(3) expressly says such a law shall not be deemed to be an amendment for the purposes of Article 368. Also remember that a Constitution Amendment Bill may be moved by a minister or by a private member alike, and that no time limit is prescribed for the States to ratify.

• Article 368(2) — an amendment 'may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament'; no prior recommendation of the President is needed.
• Special majority in each House separately: a majority of the total membership of that House plus at least two-thirds of the members present and voting. There is no joint sitting for a Constitution Amendment Bill.
• Ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States (by simple majority) is required only for the seven categories in the proviso to Article 368(2), and only after Parliament has passed the Bill; no time limit is fixed.
• The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971 made presidential assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill compulsory — the President can neither withhold assent nor return the Bill for reconsideration.
• Article 169(3) — a law abolishing or creating a State Legislative Council, though begun by a resolution of the State's Legislative Assembly, is expressly not deemed an amendment under Article 368.

• Reading 'ratify' as 'initiate' — State legislatures only consent, and only for the entrenched federal provisions.
• Assuming a Constitution Amendment Bill must start in the Lok Sabha. It may start in either House, unlike a Money Bill.
• Thinking the President can withhold assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill. Since the 24th Amendment (1971) assent is mandatory.

UPSC and UPPSC both use the four-item list (Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha / State Legislatures / President) almost unchanged, or flip it into 'which amendments require ratification by half the States'. Know the stage at which each actor enters.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  A Bill to amend the Constitution of India under Article 368 can be introduced:

  • (a)Only in the Lok Sabha
  • (b)Only in the Rajya Sabha
  • (c)In either House of Parliament, without the prior recommendation of the President
  • (d)In either House of Parliament, but only with the prior recommendation of the President

  Answer(c) In either House of Parliament, without the prior recommendation of the President — Article 368(2) says 'either House', and unlike a Money Bill no presidential recommendation is required for introduction.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following requires ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States before it can take effect?

  • (a)An amendment altering the boundaries of an existing State
  • (b)An Act abolishing the Legislative Council of a State
  • (c)An amendment changing any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule
  • (d)A law increasing the number of judges of the Supreme Court

  Answer(c) An amendment changing any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule — it is one of the entrenched federal provisions in the proviso to Article 368(2). Boundary changes go under Article 3 by simple majority, abolition of a Legislative Council under Article 169 is not deemed an amendment at all, and the strength of the Supreme Court is fixed by ordinary law under Article 124(1).