Informal Way of Amending the Constitution

To prepare for Indian Polity for any competitive exam, aspirants have to know about the basics of the Amendment of the Constitution. It gives an idea of all the topics important for IAS Exam and the polity syllabus (GS-II). Amendment of the Constitution and related topics are extremely important for the UPSC Exam. This is an essential portion of the polity. As IAS aspirants, you should be thorough with the Amendment of the Constitution. This article will provide you with relevant details about the Informal Way of Amending the Constitution.

Constitution undergoes amendments informally (imperceptibly) in following two ways

1. Judicial pronouncements
2. Conventions and constitutional changes
3. Judicial Pronouncements and constitutional amendments

• In Indian democratic setup, Supreme Court has contributed immensely to amendment of constitution through its judicial pronouncements in following ways –
  • Introduction of basic structure of constitution doctrine and their non-amendability – Kesavananda Bharati case 1973
  • FR and DPSPs are complementary. They both constitute part of basic structure and hence are non-amendable – Minerva mill case 1980
  • Territory cannot be ceded except by an amendment act – Berubari case 1960
  • 361 gives governor state immunity from judicial review, however judiciary has the right to invalidate any wrong and malafide actions that a governor may take – Bihar assembly dissolution case 2006

2. Conventions and constitutional changes

• Conventions are set of unwritten rules that have come to be accepted as having the force of law.
• Some conventions in India in the field of constitution and governance are –
  • PM hails from the Lok Sabha (although could also from Rajya Sabha)
  • President dissolves Lok Sabha on the advice of union council of ministers.
• British constitutional expert is of view that conventions cannot be enforced by courts as they are unwritten. This view is true as in case of PM belonging to Lok Sabha
• Kuldip Singh (former judge of SC) observed that they are enforceable and that there is no distinction between constitutional law and an established constitutional convention