First Amendment of the Constitution of India

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The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, enacted in 1951, made several changes to the Fundamental Rights provisions of the Indian constitution. It provided against abuse of freedom of speech and expression, validation of zamindari abolition laws, and clarified that the right to equality does not bar the enactment of laws which provide "special consideration" for weaker sections of society.

The formal title of the amendment is the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951. It was moved by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on 10 May 1951 and enacted by Parliament on 18 June 1951.[1]

This Amendment set the precedent of amending the Constitution to overcome judicial judgements impeding fulfilment of the government's perceived responsibilities to particular policies and programmes.

Freedom of speech

In 1950, a leftist weekly journal in English, Cross Roads, published by Romesh Thapar was banned by the Madras State for publishing critical views on Nehruvian policy, who petitioned the Supreme Court, which led to the landmark judgment in "Romesh Thappar vs The State Of Madras" on 26 May 1950. Eventually, in 1951 Nehru administration made a provision limiting Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution of India against "abuse of freedom of speech and expression".[2][3]

Some courts had held the citizen's right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India to be so comprehensive as not to render a person culpable even if he advocates murder and other crimes of violence.[4] The Parliament of India noted that in other countries with written constitutions, freedom of speech and of the press is not regarded as debarring the State from punishing or preventing abuse of this freedom.[1]

Freedom of trade

The right of citizens of India to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business conferred by article 19(1)(g) is subject to reasonable restrictions which the laws of the State may impose "in the interests of general public". While the words cited are comprehensive enough to cover any scheme of nationalisation, it was thought desirable to place the matter beyond doubt by a clarificatory addition to article 19(6).[1]

Upholding land reforms

The Parliament of India noted that validity of agrarian reform measures passed by the State Legislatures had, in spite of the provisions of clauses (4) and (6) of article 31, formed the subject-matter of dilatory litigation, as a result of which the implementation of these important measures, affecting large numbers of people, had been held up. Accordingly, a new article 31A was introduced to uphold such measures in the future. Further, another new article 31B, with retrospective effect, was introduced to validate 13 enactments relating to zamindari abolition.[1]

Equality

It is laid down in Article 46 as a Directive Principle of State Policy that the State should promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and protect them from social injustice. In order that any special provision that the State may make for the educational, economic or social advancement of any backward class of citizens may not be challenged on the ground of being discriminatory, article 15(3) was suitably amplified.[1]

Background

Jawaharlal Nehru encouraged the Parliament of India to pass the amendment in response to State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, which went before the Madras High Court and then the Supreme Court of India. In that case, a Brahmin woman in Madras challenged the state's Communal General Order, which established caste quotas in government-supported medical and engineering schools, on the grounds that it denied her equality under the law; both courts had upheld her petition.[5]

Debates

Aside from Nehru, B. R. Ambedkar also spoke in support of the proposed amendment, while Syama Prasad Mookerjee who opposed the amendment for curtailing freedom of speech expressly conceded that Parliament has the power to make the aforesaid amendment.[6]

Other amendments

Certain amendments in respect of articles dealing with the convening and proroguing of the sessions of Parliament were also incorporated in the Act. So also a few minor amendments in respect of articles 341, 342, 372, and 376.[1]

See also
  • Sixteen Stormy Days, Book written by historian Tripurdaman Singh on first amendment of constitution of India

References
  1. Full text of First Amendment
  2. "Romesh Thappar vs The State Of Madras on 26 May, 1950". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  3. "Half a century of ideas". Indian Express. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  4. "Shaila Bala Devi vs The Chief Secretary To The State Of Bihar on 13 October, 1950". indiankanoon.org.
  5. Hasan, Zoya; Sridharan, Eswaran; Sudarshan, R. (2005), India's living constitution: ideas, practices, controversies, Anthem South Asian studies, Anthem Press, p. 321, ISBN 978-1-84331-137-9
  6. Khanna, Hans Raj (2008), Making of India's Constitution (2nd ed.), Eastern Book Company, p. 224, ISBN 978-81-7012-108-4
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