Question 45
1. The 44th Amendment to the Constitution of India introduced an Article placing the election of the Prime Minister beyond judicial review.
2. The Supreme Court of India struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India as being violative of the independence of judiciary.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
AOptions
BSolution
Let's analyze each statement:
1. The 44th Amendment to the Constitution of India introduced an Article placing the election of the Prime Minister beyond judicial review. Incorrect. This provision was actually introduced by the 39th Amendment Act of 1975 (during the Emergency period) through Article 329A. However, this Article was struck down by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975). The 44th Amendment Act, 1978, enacted after the Emergency, aimed to reverse many of the restrictive changes made by the 42nd Amendment and did not introduce such a provision regarding the Prime Minister's election beyond judicial review.
2. The Supreme Court of India struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India as being violative of the independence of judiciary. Correct. The 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014, established the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to replace the collegium system for appointing judges to the higher judiciary. In October 2015, the Supreme Court of India declared both the 99th Amendment and the NJAC Act unconstitutional, holding that they violated the basic structure of the Constitution, specifically undermining the independence of the judiciary.
Therefore, only statement 2 is correct.
CStrategy
For questions on constitutional amendments and related Supreme Court judgments, it's crucial to distinguish between different amendments and their specific provisions. Pay close attention to dates and the historical context, especially landmark cases that struck down amendments. Be wary of attributing provisions to incorrect amendments.
DSyllabus Analysis
This question falls under the Indian Polity (Constitutional Amendments, Judiciary, Basic Structure Doctrine) section of the UPSC Prelims syllabus.
EQuestion Analysis
Medium to Difficult. This question requires precise knowledge of specific constitutional amendments and significant Supreme Court judgments related to them, which can be challenging.