The Thirty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975, made the declaration of "The Emergency" final and conclusive. In particular it codified and enlarged the State's power to remove fundamental rights from its citizens during states of emergency.[1]
| The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament of India | |
| |
| Citation | 38th Amendment |
| Territorial extent | India |
| Passed by | Lok Sabha |
| Passed | 23 July 1975 |
| Passed by | Rajya Sabha |
| Passed | 24 July 1975 |
| Assented to | 1 August 1975 |
| Commenced | 1 August 1975 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Lok Sabha | |
| Bill title | The Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Bill, 1975 |
| Bill citation | Bill No. 54 of 1975 |
| Introduced by | H.R. Gokhale |
| First reading | 22 July 1975 |
Introduced on 22 July 1975, the bill received presidential assent in ten days. The Amendment barred judicial review of proclamations of emergency whether made to meet external, internal, or financial threats (Article 360 for the latter). It also barred judicial review of overlapping emergency proclamations, or ordinances promulgated by the President or by governors, and of laws enacted during emergencies that contravened Fundamental Rights.[2]
Ratification
editThe Act was passed when it was ratified by more than half of the State Legislatures. State Legislatures that ratified the amendment are listed below:[3]
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Meghalaya
- Orissa
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- West Bengal
Did not ratify:
References
edit- ^ Henderson, Michael (October 1979). "Setting India's Democratic House in Order: Constitutional Amendments" (PDF). Asian Survey. 19 (10). University of California Press: 946–956. doi:10.2307/2643847. JSTOR 2643847. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Austin, Granville (1999). Working a Democratic Constitution - A History of the Indian Experience. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 319. ISBN 019565610-5.
- ^ "Constitution Amendment in India" (PDF). Lok Sabha Secretariat. pp. 148–152. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
