104th Constitutional Amendment Act 2019
Also called: 104th Constitutional Amendment Act · Topic: Amendment of the Constitution and the Basic Structure · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"; Class 11, Ch 9 "Constitution as a Living Document"
Meaning
The 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 did two things. First, it kept seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies set aside (reserved) for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) until 25 January 2030. Second, it ended the nomination of Anglo-Indian members to these Houses. Nomination means a member is chosen to sit in the House without winning an election. SC/ST seat reservation was always meant to be temporary, so Parliament renews it every ten years by amendment. This was the seventh such extension. It is a "technical" amendment: it changes the text of the Constitution without changing how the system basically works.
Example
The nomination of Anglo-Indian members ended from 25 January 2020. The Lok Sabha's total strength therefore fell from 545 to 543. This changed the arithmetic of a special majority, which needs more than half of total membership. That figure is now 272 of 543, not the 273 of 545 that older NCERT books give.
Don't confuse with
- 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019: passed in the same year, but it gave a 10% quota to economically weaker sections (EWS) in education and jobs (Arts. 15(6), 16(6)). It has nothing to do with legislative seats.
- 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023: this one reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and assemblies for women. The 104th only extended SC/ST seats.