The 66th Amendment of Indian Constitution is related to incorporating all the land reforms into the Constitution’s 9th schedule.

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 Amendment. 

See Also – 73rd Amendment Of Indian Constitution

Background

The 66th Amendment of 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 Indian constitution Act, 55 land reforms were included in the 9th schedule by various states to protect them from judicial scrutiny.

Since the amendment to acts already existing in the 9th schedule is not automatically protected from court challenges, Some amending Acts are also suggested to be included in the Ninth Schedule.

By including them in the Ninth 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 – Land Reforms in India

Salient Features And Facts

1. The idea of the 66th Amendment of 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.

Date Enacted

The Act was enacted on 7 June 1990.

Statement Of Objects And Reasons

The need for the 66th Amendment of 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. In the past, the 9th schedule was used whenever it was determined that progressive legislation created in the public interest was in jeopardy due to litigation.
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, including those of 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, have proposed adding certain of their land reform-related Acts to the Ninth Schedule.
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.

Prominent People Involved

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

Important Provisions Under 66th Amendment Of Indian Constitution

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.
2. The Act was named the Constitution (Sixty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1990.
3. Amendment of the Ninth schedule. In the 9th schedule, 55 entries after entry 202 but before the Explanation were added.
4. A total of 55 state acts concerning land reforms were protected from legal challenges.
5. The state governments of 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, have recommended adding the acts about land reforms in the 9th Schedule.

Summing Up

The 66th Amendment Act was enacted on 7 June 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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