Abstract

The Constitutional Amendment Act 1976 is one of the most controversial Amendments of India. It is referred to as the Mini Constitution of India as it sought to rewrite the Constitution by amending a large number of provisions of the Constitution. It consisted of fifty-nine provisions, of which 57 dealt with substantive and permanent changes in the text of the Constitution, while the last two were transitional in nature. To be more precise, it runs through the entire length and breadth of the Constitution right from the Preamble down to Article 368 and the legislative lists as well. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment in India is well known for its controversial changes and inclusions. The changes were undertaken in consonance with the suggestions made by the Swaran Singh Committee constituted for the same purpose by the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi and introduced by Shri H.R. Gokhale, the then Law Minister in Congress regime. One of the most interesting facts about this Amendment is that it was introduced during the period of Emergency and when most of the opposition leaders were behind the bars Supreme court, through Minerva Mills v. Union of India and the 43rd and 44th Amendments in 1977 and 1978, undid most of the provision of distortions introduced by the 42nd Amendment.

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