What is an amendment?

Correction of an error in (legal document); improvements in (measure before Parliament); a correction of errors, faults, etc; correction of a fault; the curing of a defect; improvement; a correction of any errors in the writ or pleadings in actions, suits or prosecutions; a structural improvement.

 A device to alter a motion moved or question under discussion in the Legislature; includes omission substitution, addition and insertion of certain words, figures or marks to the clause of a bill, a resolution or a motion or to an amendment made thereof; the object being to modify a question before the Legislature with a view to increasing its acceptability or to present to the legislature a different alternative to the original question.

 Notice of an amendment is given and is moved by the member in whose name it stands. However, in the House of Commons an amendment can be moved by any member if the member who gave notice of the same does not rise to move it; the Speaker has also the power to select amendments; this power is exercised in such a way as to bring out the salient points of criticism, to prevent repetition and overlapping and, where several amendments deal with the same point, to choose the more effective and the better drafted; this power includes the power to select amendments proposed to be moved to an amendment selected by the Chair. 

The chair does not give reasons for not selecting an amendment. In the Indian Parliament, the member who gives notice of the amendment alone has the right to move it; similarly, an amendment given notice of by a Minister cannot be moved by another Minister unless advance notice therefor is given by him; amendments are moved in the interval between the proposing and the putting of the question before the House; an amendment which has merely the effect of a negative vote is not permissible; here too, the Speaker has the power to select the amendments to be proposed in respect of any motion,  he may also refuse to put an amendment which in his opinion is frivolous.

Rigid or Flexible Constitution

Constitutions are usually classified as ‘flexible’ or ‘rigid’ depending upon the process through which they can be amended. 

Prof. A.V. Dicey defines two types of Constitutions—the flexible as ‘one under which every law of every description can legally be changed wfth the same ease and in the same manner by one and the same body’, and the rigid Constftutfons as ‘one under whfch certain laws generally known as Constitutional or fundamentaf laws, cannot be changed in the same manner as ordfnary faws’ The Unfted Kingdom having an unwrftten Constftutfon is the best exampfe of an extremefy flexibleConstftutfon as thereis no distinction between the legislative power and the constittuent power. The British Parliament has the power to change the Constitution by the ordinary process of legislation. As opposed to the U.K. system, the constitutional amendment has an important place under a written Constitution like that of the U.S.A. Its importance increases where the system is federal. In most of the written Constitutions, the power to amend the Constitutions is either vested in a body other than the ordinary Legislature or it is vested in the ordinary Legislature, subject to a special procedure. In a federal system, additional safeguards like the involvement of Legislatures at the State level are also provided for with a view to ensure that the federal set-up does not get altered only at the will of the federal legislature. 

Need for Flexibility in the Constitution

Explaning why it was necessary to introduce an element of flexibility in the Constitution, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru observed in the Constituent Assembly: While we want this Constitution to be as solid and as permanent a structure as we can make it, nevertheless, there is no permanence in Constitutions. There should be a certain flexibility. If you make anything rigid and permanent, you stop a nation’s growth, the growth of living, vital, and organic people. Therefore, it has to be flexible…. In any event, we should not make a Constitution, such as some other great countries have, which are so rigid that they do not and cannot be adapted easily to changing conditions. Today, especially when the world is in turmoil and we are passing through a very swift period of transition, what we may do today may not be wholly acceptable tomorrow. Therefore, when we make a Constitution which is sound and as basic as we can, it should also be flexible. 

Procedure for constitutional amendment in India 

Article 368  provides for the Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefor

(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may in exercise of its constituent power, amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.

(2) An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and thereupon] the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill:

Provided that if such amendment seeks to make any change in—

(a) article 54, article 55, article 73, article 162, article 241 or article 279A; or

(b) Chapter IV of Part V, Chapter V of Part VI, or Chapter I of Part XI; or

(c) any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule; or

(d) the representation of States in Parliament; or

(e) the provisions of this article,

the amendment shall also require to be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures before the Bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent.

(3) Nothing in article 13 shall apply to any amendment made under this article.

(4) No amendment of this Constitution (including the provisions of Part III) made or purporting to have been made under this article, whether before or after the commencement of section 55 of the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, shall be called in question in any court on any ground.

(5) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that there shall be no limitation whatever on the constituent power of Parliament to amend by way of addition, variation or repeal the provisions of this Constitution under this article.

The power and procedure for constitutional amendment in India have some special points of interest: 

1. There is no separate constituent body for the purposes of amendment of the Constitution; constituent power is also vested in the Legislature. 

2. Although Parliament must preserve the basic framework of the Constitution, there is no other limitation placed upon the amending power; that is to say, there is no provision of the Constitution that cannot be amended 

3. The role of the States in the Constitution amendment is limited. The State Legislatures cannot initiate any bill or proposal for amendment of the Constitution. They are associated in the process of Constitution amendment by the ratification procedure laid down in Article 368 in case the amendment seeks to make any change in any of the provisions mentioned in the provision to Article 368. Besides, all that is open to them is

 (1) to initiate the process for creating or abolishing Legislative Councils in their respective legislatures  and 

(2) to give their views on a proposed Parliamentary Bill seeking to affect the area, boundaries or name of any State or States which has been referred to them under the provisions of Article  3, a reference which does not fetter the power of Parliament to make any further amendments of the Bill

Procedure to Amend the Constitution in the USA 

The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a convention called by Congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the State legislatures. An amendment proposed in either of the above two ways has then to be ratified (a) by the Legislatures of, or (b) by Conventions of the States, according to one or the other method of ratification proposed by Congress.

After a proposed amendment is ratified in either of the above two modes, it becomes a part of the Constitution. By a combination of the two modes of proposal and two alternative modes of ratification, there are four possible modes of amendment of the Constitution of the USA. As to ratification, the choice of the mode of ratification–whether by Legislatures or by conventions–lies in the sole discretion of Congress. 

UPSC PYQs on  Constitution Amendments

Q1. Consider the following subjects under the Constitution of India: (UPSC Prelims 2025)

1. List I-Union List, in the Seventh Schedule

2 . Extent of the executive power of a State

3 . Conditions of the Governor’s office 

For a constitutional amendment with respect to which of the above, ratification by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States is required before presenting the bill to the President of India for assent?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Consider the following statements (UPSC Prelims 2013)

1. An amendment to the Constitution of India can be initiated by an introduction of a bill in the Lok Sabha only.

2. If such an amendment seeks to make changes in the federal character of the Constitution, the amendment also requires to be ratified by the legislature of all the States of India. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q3. “Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution is a limited power, and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power.” In the light of this statement, explain whether Parliament under Article 368 of the Constitution can destroy the Basic Structure of the Constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC Mains 2019)