[This is a guest post by Vrishank Singhania.]
In the previous two posts (Part I and Part II), Bhatia discussed the Supreme Court’s holding on the 50% cap and the interpretation of the 102nd Amendment, in the Maratha Reservation judgement. With regard the interpretation of clause 4 of the 102nd Amendment, the Supreme Court held that the power to identify socially and educationally backward classes [“SEBCs”] vested solely with the centre, to the exclusion of the states. While Bhatia argues this is an incorrect interpretation, Bhardwaj in response argues that it is correct. In this post, I take as a given the Majority’s interpretation. The next issue that the Supreme Court (specifically the majority) then had to decide was whether, on this interpretation, the 102nd Amendment was constitutional or not.
There were two arguments advanced on the issue of the constitutionality of the Amendment. First, given that the Amendment takes away the power of the states to identify SEBCs, it should have been passed in accordance with the proviso to Article 368(2) i.e. it should have been ratified by at least one half of the legislative assemblies of all states. Since this procedure was not followed, the Amendment is unconstitutional. Second, that the Amendment is contrary to the basic feature of federalism. Justice Bhat rejected both of these arguments and upheld the constitutionality of the Amendment. I agree that the Amendment does not fall foul of the Constitution’s basic structure. However, I argue that the Supreme Court erred in its decision on Article 368(2). Assuming the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 102nd Amendment is correct, the Amendment is unconstitutional qua Article 368(2).
This essay has five sections. In the first section, I look at J. Bhat’s reasoning on the applicability of the proviso to Article 368(2). In the second and third sections, I draw out the test for the applicability of the proviso from its purpose and past Supreme Court precedent. In the fourth section, I apply the test determined in the previous sections to the 102nd Amendment. In the fifth section, I provide a brief analysis of J. Bhat’s reasoning on the basic structure argument.
I. Bhat J.’s interpretation of Article 368(2)
The power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution is derived from Article 368. Article 368(2) states that –
(2) An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and thereupon the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill:
Provided that if such amendment seeks to make any change in—
(a) article 54, article 55, article 73, article 162, article 241 or article 279A or
(b) Chapter IV of Part V, Chapter V of Part VI, or Chapter I of Part XI,or
(c) any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule, or
(d) the representation of States in Parliament, or
(e) the provisions of this article,
the amendment shall also require to be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures before the Bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent.
Article 368(2) thus provides for two different types of amendments –
- Amendments to the Constitution pertaining to the parts specified in Article 368(2) sub-sections (a) to (e); and
- Amendments to all other parts of the Constitution.
The second type of amendment has to be passed by a majority in each House of the Parliament. However, the first type of amendment, in addition, also needs to be ratified by the legislatures of not less than one half of the states [as per the Proviso to Article 368(2)]. Thus, Article 368(2) limits the powers of the Parliament to bring about certain types of amendments, and if such procedure is not followed, then the amendment would be unconstitutional.
As mentioned above, the proviso to Article 368(2) [hereinafter referred to as “the proviso”] applies only when any of the parts or provisions specified in sub-sections (a) to (e) [hereinafter referred to as “specified provisions”] are amended. In the present case, the 102nd Amendment had not directly amended any of the specified provisions. There are two questions that then arise. First, whether the applicability of the proviso, requires a direct amendment to the specified provisions, or would an indirect amendment, that in effect amends the specified provisions also qualify. Second, if an indirect amendment qualifies, would an incidental effect on the specified provisions also suffice to trigger the proviso.
J. Bhat does not consider this complexity, and consequently his decision on Article 368(2) is lacking in its reasoning. It is unclear as to what the test for the applicability of the proviso is according to him. However, from my reading of his judgement, the following paragraphs indicate his holding on this issue –
181. In this regard what is noticeable is that direct amendments to any of the legislative entries in the three lists of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution requires ratification. Thus, the insertion of substantive provisions that might impact future legislation by the State in an indirect or oblique manner would not necessarily fall afoul of the Constitution for not complying with the procedure spelt out in the proviso to Article 368(2).
182. The majority judgment [in Sajjan Singh], therefore decisively held that an interpretation which hinges on indirect impact of a provision, the amendment of which needs ratification of the states, does not violate the Constitution and that unless the amendment actually deletes or alters any of the Entries in the three lists of the Seventh Schedule, or directly amends an Article for which ratification is necessary, recourse to the proviso to Article 368 (2) was not necessary.
It would seem that according to J. Bhat, the proviso is triggered only when there is an actual or direct amendment to the specified provisions. However, in paragraph 181 above, he also looks at the impact (or in other words the effect) of the Amendment on the specified provisions. A harmonious reading of these would suggest that according to J. Bhat, unless there is an actual or direct amendment, the impact on the specified provisions would be considered incidental, and thus, the proviso would not apply. This formalist interpretation of Article 368(2), in my opinion, is incorrect.
In the next two sections, I shall look at the purpose of the proviso and Supreme Court precedent on its interpretation to argue that – first, a direct amendment is not necessary i.e. that an in effect amendment is sufficient; and second, that the effect cannot be merely incidental. I will then apply the test to the 102nd Amendment to argue that the proviso is applicable in the present case.
II. Nature of the Amendment – Direct or In Effect?
The first question to be determined is whether the applicability of the proviso requires a direct amendment to the specified provisions, or would an indirect amendment, that in effect amends the specified provisions also suffice. I argue, that based on both the purpose of the proviso and Supreme Court precedent, an in effect amendment would also suffice to trigger the proviso.
According to Dr. Ambedkar, the purpose of the proviso was as follows –
If Members of the House who are interested in this matter are to examine the articles that have been put under the proviso, they will find that they refer not merely to the Centre but to the relations between the Centre and the Provinces. We cannot forget the fact that while we have in a large number of cases invaded provincial autonomy, we still intend and have as a matter of fact seen to it that the federal structure of the Constitution remains fundamentally unaltered. We have by our laws given certain rights to provinces, and reserved certain rights to the Centre. We have distributed legislative authority; we have distributed executive authority and we have distributed administrative authority. Obviously to say that even those articles of the Constitution which pertain to the administrative, legislative, financial and other powers, such as the executive powers of the provinces should be made liable to alteration by the Central Parliament…without permitting the provinces or the States to have any voice, is in my judgment altogether nullifying the fundamentals of the Constitution.
As Dr. Ambedkar mentions, the proviso includes provisions that have a bearing on the federal structure of the Constitution, such as the elections of the President, the representation of States in the Parliament, the executive and legislative powers of the States vis-à-vis the Union, and the amending power itself. The purpose of the proviso is to ensure that the Parliament cannot unilaterally amend the federal structure of the Constitution, without the consent of the States.
A formalist interpretation, such as the one suggested by J. Bhat, would allow the Parliament to in effect alter the federal structure, without directly amending any of the specified provisions. This would defeat the purpose of the proviso. It would also negate the well-established doctrine of colourable legislation – what cannot be done directly cannot also be done indirectly. A purposive interpretation to Article 368(2) has been upheld by the Supreme Court in Sajjan Singh and Kihoto Hollohan – cases which J. Bhat incorrectly relies upon to justify his formalist interpretation.
Sajjan Singh dealt with the validity of the 17th Constitutional Amendment which had amended Part III of the Constitution and had taken away the Supreme Court’s and High Court’s power of judicial review with respect to legislations included in the Ninth Schedule. The petitioners argued that this amounted to modifying the High Court’s powers under Article 226 [a specified provision under Article 368(2)(b)] and thus the amendment required ratification by the states. Similar to the present case, the constitutional amendment did not directly amend any of the specified provisions. While the Supreme Court held that the proviso did not apply, it did not confine itself to looking merely at whether the specified provisions had been directly amended. Instead it formulated the test as follows –
The proviso would apply where the amendment in question seeks to make any change, inter alia, in Article 226, and the question in such a case would be: does the amendment seek to make a change in the provisions of Article 226? The answer to this question would depend upon the effect of the amendment made in the fundamental rights. (Paragraph 8, Gajendragadkar C.J.)
If the effect of the amendment made in the fundamental rights on Article 226 is direct and not incidental and is of a very significant order, different considerations may perhaps arise.” (Paragraph 14, Gajendragadkar C.J.)
Thus, the Supreme Court was concerned with the “effect” of the amendment and not merely the formal provision it amended.
A similar issue was at stake in Kihoto Hollohan – the Supreme Court had to decide upon the validity of the 52nd Constitutional Amendment, which had introduced the Tenth Schedule, and in paragraph 7, had taken away the Courts’ power of judicial review in matters of disqualification of a Member of a House. The test formulated by the Supreme Court was as follows –
The test applied was whether the impugned provisions inserted by the constitutional amendment did ‘either in terms or in effect seek to make any change in Article 226 or in Articles 132 and 136’. Thus the change may be either in terms i.e. explicit or in effect in these articles to require ratification. (Paragraph 158, Verma J.).
In this case, similar to the Maratha Reservation case, Article 226 had not been directly amended by the 52nd Amendment. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court held that paragraph 7 of the Tenth Schedule was unconstitutional because in effect it amended Article 226, but without following the procedure in the proviso.
It is unclear then as to how J. Bhat arrived at the conclusion that Sajjan Singh and Kihoto Hollohan require a direct or actual amendment, when they clearly held to the contrary. Thus, a direct amendment is not necessary – an in effect amendment can also trigger the proviso.
III. Effect of the Amendment – Does it include incidental effects?
Having established that an in effect amendment can trigger the proviso, the next question, is whether any effect, including incidental effects, are sufficient to trigger the proviso. The Supreme Court in both Sajjan Singh and Kihoto Hollohan held that an incidental effect on a specified provision would not trigger the proviso. The Court justified this decision on the basis of the purpose and structure of Article 368(2). In Sajjan Singh, it held that –
It is urged that any amendment of the fundamental rights contained in Part III would inevitably affect the powers of the High Court, prescribed by Article 226, and as such, the bill proposing the said amendment cannot fall under the proviso; otherwise the very object of not including Part III under the proviso would be defeated.
Given that the Constitutional provisions do not operate in silos, it is likely that an amendment to a non-specified provision will effect a specified provision, thereby triggering the proviso if every effect was considered sufficient. Thus, a harmonious interpretation of the two parts of Article 368(2) requires that amendments which in their true effect seek to amend non-specified provisions, do not trigger the proviso, merely because of an incidental effect on a specified provision.
It was this question of incidentality, that distinguishes Sajjan Singh and Kihoto Hollohan. In the former, the Court held that the effect on Article 226 was incidental, whereas in the latter it was held that the effect was not incidental. The determination of whether an effect is incidental is based on which provision the amendment truly purports to effect a change in. As mentioned above, if its true effect is on a non-specified provision, then a mere incidental effect on a specified provision, would not trigger the proviso.
The Court in Kihoto Hollohan used this test to draw a distinction with the facts of Sajjan Singh –
159. Distinction has to be drawn between the abridgement or extinction of a right and restriction of the remedy for enforcement of the right. If there is an abridgement or extinction of the right which results in the disappearance of the cause of action…in the absence of which there is no occasion to make a grievance and invoke the subsisting remedy, then the change brought about is in the right and not the remedy. To this situation, Sankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh apply. On the other hand, if the right remains untouched…and, therefore, the cause of action subsists, but the remedy is curtailed or extinguished…then the change made is in the remedy and not in the subsisting right.
According to the Court, in Sajjan Singh, the 17th Constitutional Amendment’s objective was to amend the fundamental rights in Part III – that is where its true effect was. Its purpose was not to amend the remedy i.e. Article 226 and thus the effect on Article 226 was merely incidental. On the other hand, according to the Court, in Kihoto Hollohan, the true effect of paragraph 7 of the 52nd Constitutional Amendment was to remove the power of judicial review, and not to change the underlying cause of action itself. The true effect was on the remedy i.e. Article 226 and the thus the effect was not incidental.
Therefore, the determination of incidental effect is not based on the degree of change to the specified provision, but rather on the true effect of the amendment.
IV. Evaluation of the 102nd Constitutional Amendment
As mentioned earlier, according to J. Bhat, clause 4 of the 102nd Constitutional Amendment grants exclusive power to the Centre to identify SEBCs, taking away the power that the States have enjoyed for over seven decades. Applying the two-pronged test for the application of the proviso to Article 368(2), there are two questions that arise – first, whether the Amendment has the effect of amending any of the specified provisions; and second, if it does, is the effect merely incidental.
In respect of the first prong, I argue that the Amendment has the effect of amending the specified provisions – specifically, the States’ legislative powers under Article 246 and the Seventh Schedule [as specified in sub-clauses (b) and (c) of the proviso] and their executive powers under Article 162 [specified in sub-clause (a) of the proviso].
Articles 15(4) and 16(4), authorize the “State” to make reservations for SEBCs. According to the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney, this includes both the Parliament and the State Legislature, as well as the Executive (both Centre and State). However, the question of which authority is competent to provide for reservations in a specific context, is dependent on the legislative competence of the Parliament/Legislature per Article 246. For instance, the regulation of State public services, as per Entry 41, List II, is within the State Legislature’s domain. Thus, the a provision of reservations for SEBCs in the context of State public services, would come within the competence of the State Legislature and not the Parliament. Further, according to Article 162, the State’s executive powers are co-extensive with the State Legislature’s powers. Since the power to regulate State public services belongs to the State Legislature, in the context of executive power, it belongs to the State.
However, the Amendment takes away both the legislative and executive power of the States to provide for reservations in contexts such as State public services, which before the Amendment had been in their domain as per Article 246 and 162. Thus, even if the Amendment does not directly amend the specified provisions, it does have an effect on them.
The second prong then is whether this effect is incidental or not. As mentioned above, this requires a determination of which provisions clause 4 of the Amendment truly seeks to effect a change in. To evaluate this, it is useful to compare the 102nd Amendment to the 93rd Constitutional Amendment, which inserted Article 15(5), authorizing the “State” to make reservations for SEBCs even in private educational institutions. The 93rd amendment does have an effect on the powers of States. However, its true purpose was to effect a change in Article 15, and the effect on the states’ powers was merely incidental.
On the other hand, according to J. Bhat, the true purpose of clause 4 of the 102nd Amendment could not merely have been to continue status quo and grant constitutional authority to the National Commission for Backward Classes. Instead, per his interpretation the true effect and purpose of clause 4 was to shift the power that hitherto States exercised to the Centre (paragraphs 147-152). Unlike the 93rd Amendment, the 102nd Amendment did not seek to effect change in the right in Article 15(4) and 16(4), but sought to effect change in the distribution of powers between the Centre and the States to enforce that right. Thus, the effect on the distribution of legislative and executive powers between the Centre and the States was the main purpose of the Amendment. Therefore, it cannot be said that the Amendment’s effect on Articles 162 and 246 was merely incidental.
Thus, both prongs of the test are satisfied, and the proviso to Article 368(2) is applicable. However, this does not make the 102nd Constitutional Amendment unconstitutional as a whole. As was held in Kihoto Hollohan, an amendment is invalid only in so far as it would have required ratification by States under the proviso. In that case for instance, applying the doctrine of severability, the Court held that only paragraph 7 of the Tenth Schedule was unconstitutional. Similarly, in the present case, only clause 4 of the 102nd Amendment would be unconstitutional. Alternatively, the Supreme Court could, as it does when exercising its powers of judicial review under Article 13, read-down clause 4 and interpret it in a manner that does not trigger the proviso i.e. interpret the Amendment as not taking away the powers of States to identify SEBCs.
V. Basic Structure Argument
It was argued that the 102nd Amendment falls foul of the basic structure of the Constitutions in so far as it seeks to change the federal division of powers. However, J. Bhat rejected this argument, holding that –
187. …the alteration of the content of state legislative power in an oblique and peripheral manner would not constitute a violation of the concept of federalism. It is only if the amendment takes away the very essence of federalism or effectively divests the federal content of the constitution… that the amendment would take away an essential feature or violate the basic structure of the Constitution.
In my opinion, J. Bhat was correct to hold that the 102nd Amendment could not have been struck down on the grounds of a basic structure challenge. As Bhatia notes, the threshold for a basic structure challenge is quite high. As held in Nagaraj, a basic structure challenge stands only when the constitutional amendment makes the Constitution unrecognizable – not merely when there has been a change in the Constitution.
Further, the Constitution itself tolerates changes in the distribution of powers between the Centre and States. This has been explicitly provided for in Article 368(2). Thus, even if the Amendment takes away the power of the States to identify SEBCs, this would not be enough to meet the threshold of a basic structure challenge.
Conclusion
The proviso to Article 368(2) is a fundamental protection against the unilateral usurpation of power by the Parliament. It goes to heart of the federal structure of our Constitution. It is unfortunate, then, that this issue was treated somewhat cavalierly by the Majority judgement, even though it held that a power hitherto exercised by States for seven decades, had been exclusively taken over by the Centre. According to J. Bhat, the ratification of States per the proviso to Article 368(2) is necessary only when there is a direct amendment to the specified provisions. This is in my opinion is a dangerous precedent – it allows the Parliament to amend the federal structure of the Constitution by stealth, while seeking shelter in the fact that no direct amendments have been made to the provisions specified in the proviso.This formalist interpretation, is yet another instance of what Bhatia calls the Supreme Court’s anti-federal tradition.
Constitutional Law and Philosophy 