Civics Polity

Constitutional Amendments

529 Questions

Constitutional amendments questions evaluate knowledge of the historical adoption of the Indian Constitution and its subsequent modifications. Key themes include specific amendment acts, the insertion of new articles, and changes to the Preamble. Mastery of this topic is essential for general awareness sections in UPSC and state civil services exams.

Major amendment actsFundamental rights amendmentsConstitution adoptionPreamble amendmentsNew article insertions

Constitutional Amendments Questions

Multiple choice

The Supreme Court in a number of cases held that the Parliament, by exercising its amending power under Art 368, can amend even Part III. Which of the following choices confirms the same ruling?

  1. Shankari Prasad vs Union of India
  2. Sajjan Singh vs State of Rajasthan
  3. Golaknath vs State of Punjab
  4. Keshvanada vs State of Kerala

  1. Only 1 and 4

  2. Only 1 and 2

  3. Only 1, 2 and 4

  4. Only 1, 3 and 4
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Shankari Prasad vs Union of India case (1952) and Sajjan Singh vs State of Rajasthan (1965) ruling, the Supreme Court explicitly gave the Parliament the power to amend the Constitution. Hence, both these cases should be there in the correct option.

In Golaknath vs State of Punjab case, Fundamental Rights were given a ‘Transcendental Position’, whereby no authority including the Parliament was competent to amend the Constitution. Hence, it should not be in the correct choice.

Now the trap is Keshvanada vs State of Kerala case. A student may keep in his mind the idea of ‘basic structure’ that was propounded by this ruling, and may commit a mistake. But, we need to understand that this ruling didn’t disallow the Parliament to amend the Constitution. It only ruled out that, “Nothing that infringes the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution can be amended”. Thus, option (2) is wrong and option (3) is the correct choice.
Multiple choice

Under which of the following Amendments were the privy purses of erstwhile rulers of princely states abolished?

  1. 29th

  2. 28th

  3. 27th

  4. 26th
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'Privy purse' refers to payments made by the Indian Government to the rulers of erstwhile princely states as a part of their agreement merge with the Indian state, whereby they lost all their ruling rights. The 26th Amendment, enacted in 1971, amended article 366 of the Indian Constitution, leading to the abolition of privy purses of erstwhile royal families. The 27th Amendment Act (1972) led to the reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with a legislature and council of ministers. The 28th Amendment Act (1972) rationalized civil service rules to bring in uniformity among the appointments made prior to and post independence. The 29th Amendment Act (1972) amended Schedule 9 of the Indian Constitution and placed land reform acts and amendments to this act under Schedule 9.

Multiple choice

96th Constitutional Amendment deals with

  1. taxation for the service sector

  2. fixation of electoral constituencies on the basis of the 2001 census

  3. reservation for women

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The 96th Constitutional Amendment (2003) dealt with freezing the delimitation of constituencies until after the first census after 2026, effectively maintaining constituencies based on the 2001 census. This was done to encourage population control measures by states. Option A refers to service tax (not relevant to this amendment). Option C refers to the 108th Amendment (Women's Reservation Bill which was lapsed). This amendment specifically halted constituency readjustment based on future population growth.

Multiple choice

Which of the following judgements is/are historical in respect of amendment to Article 368 of the Constitution?

  1. Kesavananda vs. State of Kerala and Minerva Mill vs. Union of India

  2. Shankari Prasad vs. Union of India

  3. Golak Nath vs. State of Punjab

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Article 368 of the Constitution governs constitutional amendments. The provisions were inserted by the Forty-second Amendment Act, but have been declared invalid by the Supreme Court in the Minerva Mills case. All the given options are the judgements which are historical in respect of amendment to Article 368 of the Constitution.

Multiple choice

Which of the following amendments and their subject matter is incorrectly matched?

  1. 26th<font size="2"> Amendment - Abolition of titles and privileges of former rulers of princely states </font>

  2. 61st Amendment - Reduced voting age

  3. 51st Amendment - Reservation to Scheduled Tribes

  4. 21st Amendment - Curtailed the right to property
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

21st Amendment was related to Schedule 8. It included Sindhi as an official language on 10 April, 1967.

Multiple choice

What is the importance of the ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’?

  1. They show the process through which the final draft of the constitution was reached.

  2. They illustrate that the constitution was a difficult draft to draw up.

  3. They are used to teach the constitution to the legislative assembly members.

  4. They provide the rationale behind every provision of the constitution.

  5. They show the views of some of our major leaders on our constitution.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer. ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’ are 12 bulky volumes that provide the rationale behind every provision of the Constitution. These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

Multiple choice

From which date did the Constitution of India come in to force?

  1. 26 January, 1950

  2. 15 August, 1947

  3. 20 January, 1950

  4. 26 January, 1947
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, celebrated as Republic Day. This date marks when India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic, replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the country's governing document.

Multiple choice

The 42nd amendment to the Indian Constitution is notable because it gives

  1. primacy to Fundamental Rights over Directive Principles

  2. primacy to Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights

  3. balanced treatment to Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights

  4. special treatment to J&K
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The 42nd Amendment (1976) gave primacy to Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights. This meant that if a law was made to implement a Directive Principle, it could not be challenged for violating Fundamental Rights. This was controversial and later partially reversed. The amendment did not give balanced treatment or special status to J&K.

Multiple choice

The 61st Constitution (Amendment) Act 1989 relates to

  1. the grant of special states to the Union Territory of Delhi

  2. deletion of the right to property from the list of fundamental rights

  3. the establishment of autonomous District Council in Tripura

  4. the lowering of minimum voting age from 21 to 18
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989: It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

Multiple choice

Which constitutional amendment bifurcated the combined commission for SCs and STs into two separate bodies?

  1. 79th Amendment

  2. 61st Amendment

  3. 87th Amendment

  4. 89th Amendment
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The 89th Constitutional Amendment (2003) bifurcated the combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies - the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.