Question

What is/are the major change/s made through the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act?

1. It restored the term of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies to 5 years.

2. It removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights and added Article 300A.

3. It mandated that a national emergency can only be declared on the written recommendation of the Cabinet.

• A. 1 only
• B. 2 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. All of the above

Answer 1

Answer:

D. All of the above

Significant Changes Introduced by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978

• The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 was enacted by the Janata Party government, led by Prime Minister Morarji Desai, primarily to reverse many of the changes made by the controversial 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 (also known as the 'Mini Constitution').

Restoration of Term Limits

• It restored the term of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies to 5 years. The 42nd Amendment had extended their term from 5 to 6 years, a move seen as an attempt to prolong the government's tenure.

Right to Property

• The 44th Amendment removed the Right to Property from the list of Fundamental Rights (Part III of the Constitution).

• Previously, Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 guaranteed the Right to Property as a fundamental right.

• It was made a legal right (or constitutional right) under Article 300A in Part XII of the Constitution.

• This change aimed to provide the state with greater flexibility to enact land reforms and social welfare legislation without being hampered by fundamental right challenges based on property rights.

National Emergency Provisions

• It mandated that a National Emergency can only be declared on the written recommendation of the Cabinet.

• This was a crucial safeguard against the misuse of emergency powers, as experienced during the 1975 Emergency, which was declared without a formal written recommendation from the Cabinet to the President.

• It replaced the term 'internal disturbance' with 'armed rebellion' for declaring a National Emergency, making the grounds for declaration more stringent and specific.

• It also introduced provisions for the Presidential satisfaction regarding an emergency to be non-justiciable.

• The Act also provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 20 (Protection in respect of conviction for offences) and Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) cannot be suspended even during a National Emergency. This is a vital protection for individual liberties.

Other Key Provisions

• It ensured that certain procedural safeguards were included regarding the declaration of a National Emergency and the process of its approval by Parliament.

• It also reinstated the requirement that the 'satisfaction of the President' (or Governor) for issuing ordinances must be justiciable, reversing a provision of the 42nd Amendment that made it non-justiciable.

• It aimed to protect the freedom of the press by specifying that the publication of true reports of parliamentary and state legislative proceedings could not be censored