Consider the following statements:The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Sc

Question

Consider the following statements:The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India.The validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be examined by any court and no judgement can be made on it.Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

The Ninth Schedule was added to the Constitution by the first amendment in 1951 along with Article 31-B with a view to provide a protective umbrella to land reforms laws to save them from being challenged in courts on the ground of violation of fundamental rights.The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Article 31-B and Parliament’s power to place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule. Hence, statement 1 is correct.The Supreme Court has said that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule are open to judicial scrutiny and that such laws do not enjoy a blanket protection. Laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after the Keshwanand Bharti Judgment on April 24, 1973, when it propounded the basic structure doctrine, were open to challenge. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.Source: Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth: Chapter - Fundamental Rights