All Amendments of the Indian Constitution at a glance

77. The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995—The Schedule Castes and the
scheduled tribes have been enjoying the facility of reservation in promotion since 1955. The Supreme
Court in its judgment dated 16th November 1992 in the case of Indira Sawhney and others vs. Union
of India and others, however, observed that reservation of appointments or posts under Article 16(4)
of the Constitution is confined to initial appointment and cannot extend to reservation in the matter of
promotion. This ruling of the Supreme Court will adversely affect the interests of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Since the representation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes in services in the States have not reached the required level, it is necessary to continue the
existing dispensation of providing reservation in promotion in the case of the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes. In view of the commitment of the Government to protect the interests of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, the Government have decided to continue the existing
policy of reservation in promotion for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. To carry out
this, it was necessary to amend Article 16 of the Constitution by inserting a new clause (4A) in the
said Article to provide for reservation in promotion for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes.

78. The Constitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Act, 1995—Article 31B of the Constitution
confers on the enactments included in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution immunity from legal
challenge on the ground that they violate the fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the
Constitution. The Schedule consists of list of laws enacted by various State Governments and Central
Government which, inter alia, affect rights and interest in property including land.
In the past, whenever, it was found that progressive legislation conceived in the interest of the
public was imperilled by litigation, recourse was taken to the Ninth Schedule. Accordingly, several
State enactments relating to land reforms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings have already been
included in the Ninth Schedule. Since, the Government is committed to give importance to land
reforms, it was decided to include land reform laws in the Ninth Schedule so that they are not
challenged before the courts. The State Governments of Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan,
Tamilnadu and West Bengal had suggested the inclusion of some of their Acts relating to land reforms
in the Ninth Schedule.
Since the amendment to Acts which are already placed in the Ninth Schedule are not automatically
immunised from legal challenge, a number of amending Acts along with a few principal Acts have
been included in the Ninth Schedule so as to ensure that implementation of these Acts is not adversely
affected by litigation.