Schedules of Indian Constitution 

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Schedules of Indian Constitution 

One of the first mentions of Schedules was made in the Government of India Act, 1935 where it included 10 Schedules. The Indian Constitution originally had eight schedules. The 9th schedule was added via First Amendment Act, while 10th Schedule was first added by 35th Amendment [Sikkim as Associate State]. Once Sikkim became a state of India, the 10 Schedule was repealed but later added once again by 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 in context with the “Anti-defection” law.

 

Objectives of providing Schedule in the Indian Constitution

  • To act as an aid to the Indian Constitution and for various laws.
  • To establish a list of states and union territories, as well as a list of other subject matters that fall under the jurisdiction of the state, the union, or both.
  • To make it easier to make revisions or updates to the provisions as the amendments are divided.
  • To make the provisions less complicated and brief by separating the legal element from the additional information.

 

Schedules Of Indian Constitution

There are 12 Schedules in the Constitution of India. Here is a brief description of the schedules of the Indian Constitution:

Schedules Provisions
First Schedule
  • The first schedule lists the states and territories of India; lists any changes to their borders and the laws used to make that change.
  • Whenever there is a change in the territory of a state/UT or formation of a new state/UT or merger of states/UTs the Schedule 1 gets amended.
  • The first amendment of Schedule 1 was carried out by the 7th Constitutional Amendment 1956 with the formation of Andhra Pradesh state.
Second Schedule The second schedule lists the emoluments for holders of constitutional offices. The provisions in relation to allowances, privileges, emoluments of:
  • President of India
  • Governors of Indian States
  • Speaker of Lok Sabha & Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
  • Chairman of Rajya Sabha & Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
  • Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assemblies of Indian States
  • Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Legislative Councils of the Indian States
  • Supreme Court Judges
  • High Court Judges
  • Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG)
Third Schedule This schedule lists the various forms of oath for holders of various constitutional offices. It contains the forms of oath and affirmation for:
  • Union Ministers of India
  • Parliament Election Candidates
  • Members of Parliament (MPs)
  • Supreme Court Judges
  • Comptroller and Auditor General
  • State Ministers
  • State Legislature Elections’ Candidates
  • State Legislature Members
  • High Court Judges
Fourth Schedule
  • The fourth schedule enumerates the allocation of Rajya Sabha seats to States or Union Territories.
  • The Rajya Sabha has a maximum strength of 250 members, with 12 members nominated by the President and 238 representing the States and two Union Territories, according to Article 80 of the Constitution.
  • The Rajya Sabha currently has 245, with 233 members representing the states and union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 members selected by the President.
Fifth Schedule
  • This schedule enumerates administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (areas and tribes needing special protection due to disadvantageous conditions).
  • Scheduled Areas are autonomous areas within a state, administered federally, usually populated by a predominant Scheduled Tribe.
  • Scheduled Tribes are groups of indigenous people, identified in the Constitution, struggling socio-economically
Sixth Schedule
  • This schedule comprises provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.
  • To protect the rights of tribal people, the Sixth Schedule allows the formation of Autonomous District Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
  • This provision is found in Articles 244(2) and 275(1) of the Indian Constitution.
Seventh Schedule
  • The Seventh Schedule under Article 246 of the Indian Constitution deals with the division of powers (distribution of legislative powers) between the Union and the States in terms of List I (Union List), List II (State List), and List III (Concurrent List).
Eighth Schedule
  • It lists the official languages of the Republic of India. Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351.
  • The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:
  • Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.
  • Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution. The Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
  • Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992.
  • Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003 which came into force in 2004.
Ninth Schedule
  • It covers state laws and regulations relating to land reform and the dismantling of the zamindari system. It also deals with the Parliament’s acts and regulations on a variety of topics.
  • The Ninth Schedule was inserted to the 1st Amendment Act of 1951 to safeguard the legislation covered in it from judicial scrutiny based on fundamental rights violations.
  • The Supreme Court, however, declared in 2007 that the statutes included in this timetable following the events of April 24, 1973, are now subject to judicial examination.
Tenth Schedule
  • Anti defection law was introduced by the 52nd constitutional amendment act 1985 to prevent the defections from one political party to another in lieu of certain gains by members of parliament and state legislatures, it led to the introduction of the 10th schedule.
  • It was further refined by the 91st constitutional amendment act 2003.
Eleventh Schedule
  • The Schedule 11 of Indian Constitution contains provisions that specify the Panchayats’ powers, authority, and responsibilities for them to function as local governments.
  • The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 added this schedule.
  • State legislatures are required to enact laws granting Panchayats powers and authority for them to perform local government functions.
Twelfth Schedule
  • Schedule 12 of the Indian Constitution contains provisions that define the Municipalities’ powers, authority, and responsibilities for them to function as local governments.
  • The 74th Amendment Act of 1992 added this schedule.
  • According to Article 243 W, all municipalities would be given the powers and responsibilities necessary to function as effective institutions of self-government.

 

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