The Constitution of India originally had eight schedules. Four more were added by different amendments, making it a total of twelve schedules at present. Schedules are essentially tables or lists that contain additional details not covered in the main articles of the Constitution. They help in making the Constitution more specific and organised.
First Schedule
- Subject Matter:
- Names of the States and their territorial jurisdiction.
- Names of the Union Territories and their extent.
- Relevant Articles: Article 1 (Name and territory of the Union) and Article 4 (Laws made under articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Any change in the territory of states or union territories, formation of new states, or alteration of boundaries necessitates an amendment to this schedule.
- Significant amendments include the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and subsequent acts related to the formation of states like Gujarat (1960), Nagaland (1962), Haryana (1966), Himachal Pradesh (1970), Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya (1971), Sikkim (1975 - 36th Amendment), Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa (1987), Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand (2000), and Telangana (2014).
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcated the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: (i) Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and (ii) Union Territory of Ladakh. This led to changes in the First Schedule.
- As of my last update, India has 28 States and 8 Union Territories.
Second Schedule
- Subject Matter: Provisions relating to the emoluments, allowances, privileges, and so on of:
- Part A: The President of India and the Governors of States.
- Part C: The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in the states, and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council in the states.
- Part D: The Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
- Part E: The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 59(3), 65(3), 75(6) (though this refers to salaries of Ministers as determined by Parliament, not directly in 2nd Schedule provisions for the named posts), 97, 125, 148(3), 158(3), 164(5) (similar to 75(6) for state ministers), 186, and 221.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- The salaries and allowances of these dignitaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India (for Union officials) or the Consolidated Fund of the State (for state officials) and are generally not subject to the vote of Parliament or State Legislature, ensuring their independence.
- These emoluments cannot be varied to their disadvantage during their term of office, except during a financial emergency.
Third Schedule
- Subject Matter: Forms of Oaths or Affirmations for:
- The Union Ministers.
- Candidates for election to the Parliament.
- Members of Parliament (MPs).
- The Judges of the Supreme Court.
- The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
- The State Ministers.
- Candidates for election to the State Legislature.
- Members of the State Legislature (MLAs/MLCs).
- The Judges of the High Courts.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 75(4), 84(a), 99, 124(6), 148(2), 164(3), 173(a), 188, and 219.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- An oath is a solemn appeal to God in witness of the truth of a statement or the inviolability of a promise. An affirmation is a solemn declaration made by a person who declines to take an oath.
- Ministers take an oath of office and an oath of secrecy.
Fourth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) to the States and the Union Territories.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 4(1) and 80(2).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Seats are allocated based on the population of each state, with some variations from a strict proportional basis to ensure representation for smaller states.
- This schedule reflects the federal character of the Indian polity by giving representation to the constituent units (states and some UTs) in the Upper House of Parliament.
- Changes in state boundaries or the creation of new states/UTs may necessitate amendments to this schedule.
Fifth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Provisions relating to the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram).
- Relevant Article: Article 244(1).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Scheduled Areas: Areas declared by the President to be Scheduled Areas. The criteria for declaring an area as a Scheduled Area are: preponderance of tribal population, compactness and reasonable size of the area, under-developed nature of the area, and marked disparity in the economic standard of the people.
- Governor’s Special Powers: The Governor of a state with Scheduled Areas has special responsibilities, including submitting a report to the President regarding the administration of such areas. The Governor can direct that any Act of Parliament or State Legislature shall not apply to a Scheduled Area or shall apply with specified modifications and exceptions.
- Tribes Advisory Council (TAC): States with Scheduled Areas must have a TAC, consisting of not more than 20 members (three-fourths of whom shall be representatives of Scheduled Tribes in the State Legislative Assembly). The TAC advises on matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes.
- Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA Act): This act extends Part IX of the Constitution (Panchayats) to Scheduled Areas with certain modifications to empower Gram Sabhas and protect tribal customs and traditions.
Sixth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Provisions relating to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 244(2) and 275(1).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and Autonomous Regional Councils (ARCs): This schedule provides for the formation of ADCs and ARCs within these four states. These bodies have significant autonomy and powers.
- Powers of Councils: These councils have powers to make laws on specified subjects (e.g., land, forests, canal water, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance of property, marriage and divorce, social customs), constitute village courts, manage primary schools, dispensaries, markets, etc., and assess and collect land revenue and impose certain specified taxes.
- Governor’s Role: The Governor has certain discretionary powers with respect to the organisation and functioning of these councils, including the power to approve or annul their laws and regulations.
- The aim is to protect the distinct culture and identity of the tribal communities in these regions and ensure their socio-economic development through self-governance.
Seventh Schedule
- Subject Matter: Division of legislative powers between the Union and the States. It contains three lists:
- List I (Union List): Subjects on which Parliament has exclusive power to legislate.
- List II (State List): Subjects on which State Legislatures have exclusive power to legislate (under normal circumstances).
- List III (Concurrent List): Subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.
- Relevant Article: Article 246.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Union List: Contains 100 subjects (originally 97) of national importance, e.g., defence, atomic energy, foreign affairs, war and peace, banking, railways, posts and telegraphs, airways, ports, foreign trade, currency, coinage, census, income tax (other than agricultural income).
- State List: Contains 61 subjects (originally 66) of local or regional importance, e.g., public order, police, public health and sanitation, agriculture, prisons, local government, fisheries, markets, betting and gambling, taxes on agricultural income, land revenue.
- Concurrent List: Contains 52 subjects (originally 47) where uniformity of legislation throughout the country is desirable but not essential, e.g., criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, adoption, forests, education, trade unions, economic and social planning, electricity, newspapers, books and printing presses, price control.
- Supremacy of Union Law: In case of a conflict between a Union law and a State law on a subject in the Concurrent List, the Union law prevails, unless the State law was reserved for the President’s consideration and received his assent.
- Residuary Powers (Article 248): Parliament has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or State List (i.e., residuary subjects).
- 42nd Amendment Act, 1976: Shifted five subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List: (a) Education, (b) Forests, (c) Protection of wild animals and birds, (d) Weights and measures (except establishment of standards), and (e) Administration of justice; constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
Eighth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Languages recognized by the Constitution.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 344(1) (Commission and Committee of Parliament on official language) and 351 (Directive for development of the Hindi language).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Originally, it had 14 languages. Currently, it has 22 languages.
- The 22 languages are: (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Bodo, (4) Dogri, (5) Gujarati, (6) Hindi, (7) Kannada, (8) Kashmiri, (9) Konkani, (10) Maithili, (11) Malayalam, (12) Manipuri, (13) Marathi, (14) Nepali, (15) Odia (formerly Oriya), (16) Punjabi, (17) Sanskrit, (18) Santhali, (19) Sindhi, (20) Tamil, (21) Telugu, (22) Urdu.
- Amendments adding languages:
- Sindhi: Added by the 21st Amendment Act, 1967.
- Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali: Added by the 71st Amendment Act, 1992.
- Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali: Added by the 92nd Amendment Act, 2003 (came into effect in 2004).
- Inclusion in the Eighth Schedule implies official recognition, promotion by the government, and use in official communications and education. Candidates for certain government exams can use these languages.
- English is not listed in the Eighth Schedule but is an official language of the Union for certain purposes (along with Hindi) as per Article 343 and the Official Languages Act, 1963.
Ninth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts on the ground of violation of fundamental rights.
- Relevant Article: Article 31B.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Added by the First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951, along with Article 31A, to protect laws related to agrarian reform and for abolishing the Zamindari system from judicial scrutiny. Article 31B provides that none of the Acts and Regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule shall be deemed to be void, or ever to have become void, on the ground that such Act, Regulation or provision is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by, any provisions of Part III (Fundamental Rights).
- Over time, many laws unrelated to agrarian reform were also placed in this schedule.
- Judicial Review and Basic Structure:
- Initially, laws under the Ninth Schedule were considered completely immune from judicial review.
- However, in the landmark I.R. Coelho vs. State of Tamil Nadu case (2007), the Supreme Court ruled that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after April 24, 1973 (the date of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment which propounded the “basic structure” doctrine) are open to judicial review if they violate the fundamental rights that form part of the basic structure of the Constitution (e.g., Articles 14, 15, 19, 21).
- The Court held that if a law infringes upon the basic structure, its inclusion in the Ninth Schedule cannot grant it immunity.
Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law)
- Subject Matter: Provisions as to disqualification on ground of defection for members of Parliament and members of State Legislatures.
- Relevant Articles: Articles 102(2) and 191(2).
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Added by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985.
- Grounds for Disqualification: 1. If a member voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party on whose ticket he/she was elected. 2. If a member votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction (whip) issued by his/her political party, without prior permission or if such act is not condoned by the party within 15 days. 3. If an independently elected member joins any political party after election. 4. If a nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date he/she takes his/her seat in the House.
- Exceptions to Disqualification (Prior to 91st Amendment): Earlier, splits (one-third members of a legislature party forming a separate group) and mergers (two-thirds members of a legislature party agreeing to merge with another party) were exceptions.
- Deciding Authority: The Chairman (Rajya Sabha/Legislative Council) or the Speaker (Lok Sabha/Legislative Assembly) is the deciding authority on questions of disqualification under this schedule.
- Judicial Review: The Supreme Court in Kihoto Hollohan vs. Zachillhu (1992) case upheld the validity of the Tenth Schedule but struck down the provision that made the Speaker’s/Chairman’s decision final and immune from judicial review. The decision is now subject to judicial review on grounds of mala fides, perversity, non-compliance with natural justice, etc.
- 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003:
- Omitted the provision relating to exemption from disqualification in case of a ‘split’ by one-third members. (Thus, only mergers are now protected).
- Provided that a member disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister or hold any remunerative political post until he/she is re-elected.
- Limited the size of the Council of Ministers at the Centre and in the States to 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha/State Legislative Assembly respectively (with a minimum of 12 in states).
Eleventh Schedule
- Subject Matter: Specifies the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Panchayats. It contains 29 functional items that may be devolved to Panchayats by the State Legislatures.
- Relevant Article: Article 243G.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Added by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave constitutional status and protection to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
- Aims to enable Panchayats to function as institutions of local self-government in rural areas.
- Examples of subjects: Agriculture, land improvement, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, fisheries, social forestry, rural housing, drinking water, roads, culverts, rural electrification, poverty alleviation programmes, primary and secondary education, health and sanitation, family welfare, women and child development, social welfare, public distribution system, maintenance of community assets, etc.
Twelfth Schedule
- Subject Matter: Specifies the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Municipalities. It contains 18 functional items that may be devolved to Municipalities by the State Legislatures.
- Relevant Article: Article 243W.
- Important Points/Amendments:
- Added by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave constitutional status and protection to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
- Aims to enable Municipalities to function as institutions of local self-government in urban areas.
- Examples of subjects: Urban planning including town planning, regulation of land use and construction of buildings, roads and bridges, water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes, public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management, fire services, urban forestry, slum improvement and upgradation, urban poverty alleviation, provision of urban amenities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds, etc.