Question 5
1. The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
2. The validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be examined by any court and no judgement can be made on it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
AOptions
BSolution
Statement 1 is correct: The Parliament of India, through constitutional amendment acts, has the power to place certain laws in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. The Ninth Schedule was added by the First Amendment Act, 1951, primarily to protect land reform laws from judicial review.
Statement 2 is incorrect: While laws placed in the Ninth Schedule were initially considered beyond judicial review, the Supreme Court, in its landmark judgment in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), ruled that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after April 24, 1973 (the date of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment) are open to judicial review if they violate the basic structure of the Constitution. This judgment made it clear that the Ninth Schedule does not grant absolute immunity from judicial scrutiny.
CStrategy
For questions on the Indian Constitution, it is essential to understand both the original provisions and subsequent landmark judgments by the Supreme Court that have interpreted or modified the practical application of those provisions. Pay attention to the evolution of constitutional law and the basic structure doctrine.
DSyllabus Analysis
This question falls under Indian Polity and Governance, specifically focusing on Constitutional Amendments, Judicial Review, and the Basic Structure Doctrine.
EQuestion Analysis
Medium. It requires knowledge of both the constitutional provision of the Ninth Schedule and its judicial interpretation, which is a crucial aspect of Indian constitutional law.