66th Amendment of the Indian Constitution

This blog discusses the 66th Amendment of the Indian Constitution which is related to incorporating all the land reforms into the 9th Schedule of the Constitution of India.

The laws included in the 9th Schedule cannot be questioned and thus the Government has opted to incorporate all land reform laws in the 9th Schedule because it is committed to prioritizing land reforms, preventing legal challenges.

Many state governments like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, and many more were also involved in the Act.

This article will discuss the 66th Amendment, the features and facts associated with it, and the provisions laid down along with the reasons for this constitutional amendment.

This blog will help in your UPSC preparation for the Indian Polity part of the UPSC syllabus.

66th Amendment of the Indian Constitution: Background

The 66th Amendment of the Indian constitution was enacted in 1990 by amending the 9th schedule, which was added by the 1st Amendment and established by Article 31B. According to the 9th schedule, all the Central and State laws in the list cannot face legal challenges.

As per the 66th amendment of the Indian constitution Act, 55 land reforms were included in the 9th schedule by various States to protect them from judicial scrutiny.

Considering the fact that amendment to Acts currently in the Ninth Schedule is also not exempt from the judicial challenge, some modifying Acts are also recommended to be incorporated into the Ninth Schedule.

By including them in the 9th Schedule to the Constitution, the Act shields 55 State acts relating to land reforms and caps on agricultural land holdings that were passed by the States of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and administration of the Union Territory of Puducherry from legal challenge.

Related Article: Land Reforms in India

Salient features and facts

1. The idea of the 66th Amendment of the Indian constitution was to protect land reforms.
2. The 9th schedule established by Article 31B under the 1st Amendment Act, was modified.
3. Many state governments including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and the Union territory of Pondicherry among others, have suggested inserting their land reforms-related Acts in the 9th schedule.
4. The incorporation was done in the 9th schedule since it safeguards the laws from being challenged in court.

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Date enacted

The 66th Amendment of the Indian Constitution was enacted on June 7, 1990.

Statement of Objects and Reasons

The need for the 66th Amendment of the Indian constitution was based on the following Objects and Reasons:

1. The laws listed in the 9th schedule, are granted legal protection because they infringe upon the fundamental rights established in Part III of the Constitution by the provision of Article 31B of the Constitution.
2. Previously, anytime any progressive legislation created in the public’s interest was jeopardised by litigation, the Ninth Schedule was applied.
3. The 9th schedule currently hosts many state laws regarding land reforms and holding limitations for agricultural land. Owing to the government’s commitment to granting land reforms a priority, it was decided to place all land reform laws in the Schedule to avoid legal battles.
4. The governments of several State governments proposed adding certain of their land reform-related Acts to the Ninth Schedule. These States included Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and administration of the Union territory of Pondicherry,
5. Some amending Acts were also proposed to be listed in the 9th Schedule because it does not automatically shield Amendments to Acts from judicial challenge.
6. It was advised to incorporate these Acts in the 9th Schedule to prevent litigation against harming their implementation.

Also Read: 67th Amendment of the Indian Constitution

Prominent people involved

The 66th Amendment of the Indian constitution was enacted in June 1990 under the tenure of former Prime Minister V.P Singh and former President R. Venkataraman.

Important provisions

The 66th Constitutional Amendment holds some important provisions discussed below:

1. The 66th Amendment Act was implemented by the Parliament in the Forty-first year of the Indian Republic and was officially called the Constitution (Sixty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1990.
2. Amendment of the Ninth Schedule. In this schedule, 55 entries after entry 202 but before the Explanation were added. To have a thorough reading of the list of all 55 entries, click here.
3. A total of 55 State Acts concerning land reforms were protected from legal challenges.
4. The State governments of various States recommended adding the Acts about land reforms in the 9th Schedule. These States were Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, and the administration of the Union territory of Pondicherry.

Summing Up

Through this blog for UPSC preparation, you learnt that the 66th Amendment Act was enacted on June 7, 1990, to include the land reforms in the 9th schedule. The incorporation was found necessary to protect all the land reforms from the court questions as the 9th schedule forbids any law which is listed in it to be challenged legally.

This protection was thought to help remove poverty as the Government intended to prevent the land reforms and also prioritize their safety. Thus many states mentioned above proposed the idea of including their land reform-related Acts in the 9th schedule.

The above objective was achieved by amending the 9th schedule and adding several entries after entry 202.

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