54th Constitutional Amendment Act 1986
Topic: Amendment of the Constitution and the Basic Structure · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 9 "Constitution as a Living Document"
Meaning
The 54th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1986 raised the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges. It also let Parliament revise these salaries in future by an ordinary law, without a new constitutional amendment. NCERT gives it as an example of a technical amendment: a change in law with little real effect on how the Constitution works.
Example
Before 1986, judges' pay was fixed in the Constitution, so a raise needed an amendment. After the 54th Amendment, Parliament can change the pay by passing a normal law. This saves the special-majority process for more important matters.
Don't confuse with
- 15th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1963: also a technical amendment about judges, but it raised the retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62.