Procedure for amending the Constitution has been mentioned in Article 368(Part XX). It deals with the powers of the Parliament to amend the Constitution. However, the Parliament can not amend those provisions which form the ‘basic structure of the Constitution’. The concept of “basic structure” was established by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).

Key Concepts

• The Indian Constitution, like any other written constitution, allows for revision in order to adapt to changing situations and demands.
• However, the method for amending it is neither as simple as in the United Kingdom nor as onerous as in the United States.
• In other words, the Indian Constitution is a mixture of both flexibility and rigidity.
• The Idea of amending the constitution has been borrowed from the Constitution of South Africa.
• The procedure for amendment is detailed under Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution.
• It provides that the Parliament, in exercising its constituent authority, may alter any provision of the Constitution by adding, modifying, or repealing it in line with the method established for that purpose.
• However, the sections that comprise the Constitution’s ‘basic structure’ cannot be amended by Parliament. The Supreme Court decided on this in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973)
• Article 368 in itself has been amended by the Parliament through 24th Amendment Act, 1971 and 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

Procedure for Amending Indian Constitution

The procedure for the amendment of the Constitution as laid down in Article 368 is as follows:

• A constitutional amendment bill can only be initiated by the introduction of a bill in either House of Parliament, not in state legislatures.
• The bill can be introduced by either a minister or a private member, and no prior permission of the president is required.
• The bill must be passed by each house with special majority, that is a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting.
• The bill must be passed separately by each House. There is no provision for a joint sitting for the consideration and passing of the bill if the two Houses disagree.
• If the bill aims to change federal provisions of the Constitution, it must also be ratified by the legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority, that is, a majority of members of the house present and voting.
• The president must give his assent to the bill.He can neither withhold his assent nor return the bill for reconsideration of the Parliament.
• After the President’s assent, the bill becomes the Act and the Constitution is altered in line with the Act’s terms.