44th amendment to the Constitution moved in the Lok Sabha

The 44th amendment to the Constitution moved in the Lok Sabha last week sets out the primary purpose of implementing the directive principles of the Constitution which have so far found only second place to the fundamental rights. This is one of the reasons for amending the preamble to describe the state as "secular" and "socialist". In order to organize the economy along socialist lines, a new amendment has been proposed to prevent or prohibit anti-national activities as recurring problems of law and order are likely to come in the way of national reconstruction.The association of large masses of people in the tasks of national regeneration is guaranteed by an addition to the directive principles asking for the participation of workers in the management of organizations engaged in any industry. The poor have also been promised free legal aid in another new directive principle. A third one calls for environmental cleanliness.The life of Central and State legislatures has been extended to six years instead of five. Perhaps the reason for this is that five years is too short a term for the implementation of policies and programmes contained in election manifestoes. In another proposal the relationship between the President and the Council of Ministers has been clearly defined so that all ambiguity in this regard should end. The President is simply to act on the advice of the government.Important changes have been proposed in the power of High Courts and the Supreme Court. It is now proposed to invest the Supreme Court with exclusive jurisdiction over deciding the validity of central laws. This is necessitated because different High Courts give different decisions on the same case causing considerable confusion and requiring appeals to the Supreme Court. It should also help to reduce the back-log of cases in High Courts. In order to avoid judgements on paper-thin majority in the Supreme Court, it is now proposed that in deciding the constitutional validity of a central law, the Supreme Court shall have a bench of seven judges and that a Central law or State law shall be declared constitutionally invalid only if two-thirds of the judges so decide..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}To do away with the mischief from filing writs for every trivial purpose, it is now proposed that the expression "for any other purpose" in article 226 should be dropped. The High Court will have, when the 44th amendment is passed, restricted jurisdiction. They can exercise jurisdiction in (a) cases where there is a contravention of a statutory provision causing substantial injury to the petitioner and (b) cases where there is an illegality resulting in substantial failure of justice. In either case, the petitioner has to satisfy the court that he has no other remedy.It is proposed to set up a tribunal for determining disputes relating to the recruitment and conditions of the service of Union government servants and servants of State governments.There is a provision for the President to declare an emergency in a part of the country which was not allowed by the constitution as framed by the Constituent Assembly. Above all, the supremacy of parliament over the executive and the judiciary has been emphatically defined in another proposal.There are also listed a number of fundamental duties along with fundamental rights. These duties are however not enforcible. The Bill was moved and not introduced in parliament for the reason that the government wants to have a broad national debate on its merits. Newspaper opinions are so far generally favourable to the proposals for strengthening the economy and enforcing discipline but are somewhat critical of the overwhelming power exercised by parliament. From the Left in the country, there is some protesting murmur about not incorporating agriculture in the Concurrent List, only education. This is described as a concession to the rich farmers.There is wide support for making education a central responsibility. For far too long, the States have had different yardsticks in grading students. There have also been great disparities in educational standards, different syllabi and quality of teaching staff. With central direction, it is felt that standards will remain high and uniform to all parts of India.It is quite likely that some of the provisions of the bill will be dropped or further amended after the national debate. In parliament itself changes may be suggested and accepted by the government. But the broad purpose of taking the country with a united and dedicated people to the goal of socialism is bound to be welcomed by all progressive forces.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Apr 11, 2015--- ENDS ---

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44th amendment to the Constitution moved in the Lok Sabha

The 44th amendment to the Constitution moved in the Lok Sabha last week sets out the primary purpose of implementing the directive principles of the Constitution which have so far found only second place to the fundamental rights.

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