Amendment of the Constitution

Also called: Article 368 · Topic: Amendment of the Constitution and the Basic Structure · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 10 "The Constitution of India: An Introduction"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 2 "Rights in the Indian Constitution"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"; Class 11, Ch 9 "Constitution as a Living Document"

Meaning

Amendment of the Constitution is the formal change of the Constitution's text by addition, variation or repeal. Parliament makes it under Article 368 using its constituent power (the power to make or change the Constitution itself). The bill must pass each House by a special majority. Where federal provisions are touched, at least half the state legislatures must also approve it. The President must then give assent.

This is the only way the written text of the Constitution can change. The procedure is built to allow routine changes while protecting the federal core. The courts still check every amendment against the basic structure.

Explanation

How Article 368 works

• Art. 368 is the only Article in Part XX. Its title is "Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefor" [2].
• Art. 368(1) was rewritten by the 24th Amendment Act, 1971. It lets Parliament "in exercise of its constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution" [4].
• Addition means putting in a new provision, such as a new Article.
• Variation means changing an existing provision.

• Repeal means removing a provision.

• Constituent power is different from legislative power.

• Constituent power changes the Constitution itself.

• Legislative power makes ordinary laws under the Constitution.

• An amendment is not "law" under Art. 13. Art. 13 strikes down any "law" that takes away Fundamental Rights.

• Art. 13(4) and Art. 368(3), both added in 1971, say Art. 13 does not apply to amendments [4].
• This ended the Golaknath (1967) view that an amendment was "law" under Art. 13.
• Courts can still strike down an amendment that destroys the Constitution's core features, such as democracy, federalism or judicial review. This is the basic structure test (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973).

Steps in order

Step	What happens	Majority / time limit
1. Introduction	The bill is introduced in either House of Parliament, never in a state legislature. A minister or a private member may introduce it.	No prior sanction of the President is needed.
2. Passing in each House	Each House passes the bill separately.	Special majority: a majority of the House's total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting [2][3].
3. No deadlock route	If the Houses disagree, the bill fails.	No joint sitting. Art. 108 does not apply to amendment bills.
4. State ratification (only for some provisions)	At least half of the state legislatures pass resolutions approving the bill.	Simple majority in each state. No time limit. This must happen before the bill goes to the President [2].
5. President's assent	The President signs the bill and it becomes an Act.	The President must assent and cannot withhold assent or return the bill (24th Amendment, 1971) [4].

• The special majority is needed several times. In the Lok Sabha, it is needed for:
• the motion to consider the bill
• each effective clause (a clause that actually changes the Constitution)

• the final passing motion [3]

• There is no referendum and no outside body. The people do not vote on amendments directly, and no convention or constituent assembly is called. NCERT therefore says parliamentary sovereignty underlies the procedure. Here this means the elected Parliament has the final word on changing the Constitution, within the basic structure limit.

The three modes of amendment

(i) Simple majority, outside Art. 368

• Parliament passes an ordinary law by a majority of members present and voting. Such laws are expressly "not deemed" to be amendments for Art. 368, for example under Arts. 4(2), 169(3) and 239A(2).
• Arts. 2–4 cover admitting or forming new states and changing their names or boundaries.
• Art. 11 lets Parliament regulate citizenship by law.
• Art. 169 covers creating or abolishing Legislative Councils in states, after a resolution by the state assembly [2].
• Art. 239A covers legislatures for Union territories.
• Fifth Schedule (para 7) covers Scheduled Areas. Sixth Schedule (para 21) covers tribal areas.
• Other matters in this mode:
• Second Schedule emoluments (pay and allowances)
• quorum, MPs' salaries and privileges
• the number of Supreme Court judges
• delimitation and elections

(ii) Special majority alone

• This covers most of the Constitution. Examples are Part III (Fundamental Rights), Part IV (Directive Principles) and the Election Commission (Art. 324).

(iii) Special majority plus ratification by half the states

• The proviso to Art. 368(2) requires state approval for matters that touch the balance between the Union and the states [2]:
• Arts. 54–55: election of the President
• Art. 73 and Art. 162: extent of Union and state executive power
• Art. 241: High Courts for Union territories
• Art. 279A: the GST Council, added by the 101st Amendment, 2016
• Chapter IV of Part V (Supreme Court) and Chapter V of Part VI (High Courts)
• Chapter I of Part XI: legislative relations between the Union and the states
• Any List of the Seventh Schedule
• Representation of states in Parliament
• Art. 368 itself

Limits on the power

• Basic structure. Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, but it cannot destroy its core features (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973).
• Ratification has real force. If a provision on the ratification list is changed without state approval, that provision is void.
• States cannot start an amendment. Only Parliament can introduce one.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Art. 368 in Part XX. Arts. 13(4) and 368(3) were added by the 24th Amendment Act, 1971 [4]. The latest official text of the Constitution is the one "as on February, 2026" [10].
• The 106th Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) reserved one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and the Delhi assembly.
• It added Arts. 330A, 332A and 334A and amended Art. 239AA. The reservation lasts 15 years [8].
• The bill passed the Lok Sabha 454–2 and the Rajya Sabha unanimously [9].

• No state ratification was needed, because seat reservation is not on the Art. 368(2) proviso list [7].

• A minister can introduce an amendment bill. In 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha [12].

• A bill fails without the special majority. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 dealt with delimitation (redrawing constituencies). It would have raised the Lok Sabha's maximum size from 550 to 850.
• It was introduced on 16 April 2026.

• It was negated (defeated) in the Lok Sabha on 17 April 2026 [11].

• Bill numbers are not Act numbers. A bill gets its number when it is introduced. An Act gets its number only when it is passed. So the 2025 and 2026 bills are numbered 130 and 131, while the Act passed in 2023 is the 106th [8][11][12].

• Kihoto Hollohan (1992): this case dealt with the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, which created the Tenth Schedule (the anti-defection law).
• Para 7 of the Schedule barred all courts from hearing disqualification cases. This cut down the powers of the Supreme Court and High Courts, which are on the ratification list.
• Para 7 had not been ratified, so the Court struck it down.

• The rest of the Schedule survived as severable (able to stand on its own). The Speaker's disqualification decisions are therefore open to judicial review, the courts' power to check whether an action is valid under the Constitution.

• Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (20 July 2021): this case dealt with the 97th Amendment Act, 2011, which added:

• co-operative societies to Art. 19(1)(c)
• Art. 43B, a Directive Principle to promote co-operatives

• Part IXB (Arts. 243ZH–243ZT), rules on co-operatives

• What the Court held: "co-operative societies" is a State List entry, and Part IXB had not been ratified. So Part IXB now applies only to multi-state co-operative societies, and states keep full power over co-operatives within one state [5][6].

• What followed: the Union's Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 works within this narrower Part IXB [5].

Don't confuse with

• Ordinary law under Arts. 2–4, 11 or 169. These change the Constitution's working by a simple majority, and they are expressly "not deemed" amendments under Art. 368. An Art. 368 amendment always needs a special majority.
• Legislative power. This is the power to make ordinary laws, and those laws are tested under Art. 13. An Art. 368 amendment uses constituent power, and Art. 13 does not apply to it [4]. Courts test an amendment only against the basic structure.
• Joint sitting (Art. 108). A joint sitting can settle a deadlock on an ordinary bill. It cannot be used for an amendment bill, which fails if either House rejects it.
• Suspensive veto over ordinary bills. For an ordinary bill, the President may return it to Parliament. For an amendment bill, the President must assent (24th Amendment, 1971) [4].

Prelims Hooks

• 24th Amendment Act, 1971 → it brought in the term "constituent power" in Art. 368(1), compulsory presidential assent, and Arts. 13(4) and 368(3) [4].
• Special majority = a majority of total membership + two-thirds of members present and voting, in each House separately. There is no joint sitting for amendment bills [3].
• Trap: an amendment bill cannot start in a state legislature. It can be moved by a private member, and it needs no prior sanction of the President.
• Ratification list (proviso to Art. 368(2)): Arts. 54, 55, 73, 162, 241 and 279A (GST Council); the Supreme Court and High Courts; Ch. I of Part XI; the Seventh Schedule; states' representation in Parliament; and Art. 368 itself [2].
• Not on the ratification list: Fundamental Rights, the Election Commission (Art. 324) and women's reservation (106th Amendment, 2023; Arts. 330A, 332A, 334A) [7][8].
• Case–principle pairs:
• Kihoto Hollohan (1992) → para 7 of the Tenth Schedule was void because it was not ratified.
• Rajendra N. Shah (2021) → Part IXB applies only to multi-state co-operatives [5].

Mains Points

• Flexible but guarded. The three modes run from a simple majority to ratification by half the states.
• Routine changes pass easily, and there had been 106 amendments by 2023 [8].

• The federal core still needs state consent. Kihoto Hollohan (1992) and Rajendra N. Shah (2021) show that skipping ratification makes a provision void [5].

• A design tilted towards the Centre.

• States cannot initiate amendments, half the states are enough to ratify, and there is no time limit. The USA needs three-fourths of its states.
• Seat changes and delimitation need no ratification at all [7][11].

• Possible reform: add delimitation and seat redistribution to the Art. 368(2) proviso. Delimitation debates are growing, as the defeat of the 131st Amendment Bill, 2026 shows [11].

• Parliamentary sovereignty versus constitutionalism. Without a referendum or convention, elected representatives decide alone. Since 1973, the basic structure doctrine has balanced this with a judicial check. The special majority is also a real hurdle, so Parliament cannot change the Constitution at will [11].

Related concepts

• Constituent power
• Amendment by simple majority
• Amendment by special majority and state ratification
• 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011

Read more

• The procedure under Article 368