In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to

Question

In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights?

Accepted Answer

There have been several cases in which the supremacy of the Fundamental Rights (FR) has been questioned vis-a-vis other constitutional provisions, such as the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). During the initial fifteen months of the working of the Constitution, certain difficulties were brought to light by judicial decisions and pronouncements, especially in regard to the chapter on fundamental rights.The citizen's right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by article 19(1)(a) was held by some courts to be so comprehensive as not to render a person culpable even if he advocates murder and other crimes of violence. The main objective of the First Amendment Act, 1951 was, accordingly, to amend article 19 for the purposes indicated above.The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, enacted in 1951, made several changes to the Fundamental Rights provisions of the Indian constitution. It provided means to restrict freedom of speech and expression, validated zamindari abolition laws, and clarified that the right to equality does not bar the enactment of laws which provide special consideration for weaker sections of society. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.The 43rd and 44th amendment Acts were believed to be enacted to undo many changes introduced in the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act (1976). They did not aim at overcoming the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights.Source: MLaxmikanth