Forty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India

The Forty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India (1984), officially titled The Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1984, further strengthened the constitutional framework for land reform legislation by extending immunity from judicial review to a new set of land-related enactments. It achieved this by inserting fourteen additional State and Union Territory laws into the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, thereby protecting them from being invalidated on the grounds of violation of Fundamental Rights under Part III. The amendment was enacted during the tenure of the Indira Gandhi government, and received Presidential assent on 26 August 1984, coming into immediate effect.

Background and Constitutional Context

The Ninth Schedule to the Indian Constitution was introduced by the First Amendment (1951) to safeguard agrarian reform laws from judicial challenges based on Fundamental Rights—particularly those concerning the right to property (then Article 31), and the rights to equality and freedom (Articles 14 and 19). The objective was to facilitate the equitable redistribution of land and prevent concentration of agricultural holdings, which were considered essential for achieving the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV).
However, many such reform laws enacted by the States continued to face constitutional litigation, delaying their implementation. As a result, successive governments periodically amended the Constitution to add new land reform enactments to the Ninth Schedule. The Forty-seventh Amendment was one such effort, aligning with the commitments of the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980–1985), which had pledged to bring all pending and future land reform laws under Ninth Schedule protection.
Prior to this amendment, similar inclusions had been made through the Twenty-ninth, Thirty-fourth, Fortieth, and Forty-fourth Amendments. The Forty-seventh continued this pattern by protecting State legislation from Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu.

Legislative History and Enactment

The Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Bill, 1983 (Bill No. 94 of 1983) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19 August 1983 by Harinatha Misra, Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development. It was initially titled The Constitution (Forty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1983, but was later renumbered during passage.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Bill explained that:

“Recourse was had in the past to the Ninth Schedule whenever it was found that progressive legislation conceived in the interest of the public was imperilled by litigation. Several State enactments relating to land reforms and ceiling on agricultural land holdings have already been included in the Ninth Schedule… The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980–85) contains an assurance that necessary action would be taken to bring before Parliament land reform Acts not yet included in the Ninth Schedule.”

The Bill was debated in the Lok Sabha on 22 and 23 August 1984 and passed on 23 August 1984. Formal amendments were adopted to change its title to the Constitution (Forty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1984 and make minor textual corrections. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on 25 August 1984, and it received Presidential assent from Giani Zail Singh on 26 August 1984, being notified in The Gazette of India on the same day.

Constitutional Change: Amendment to the Ninth Schedule

The Forty-seventh Amendment inserted Entries 189 to 202 into the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, immediately before the Explanation. These entries comprised fourteen land reform enactments from seven State governments and one Union Territory administration. Their inclusion ensured that these Acts “shall not be deemed to be void on the ground that they are inconsistent with any of the provisions of Part III of the Constitution.”
The newly added entries were as follows:

1. Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971 (Assam Act XXIII of 1971)
2. Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1974 (Assam Act XVIII of 1974)
3. Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land, Amendment) (Amending) Act, 1974 (Bihar Act 13 of 1975)
4. Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land, Amendment) Act, 1976 (Bihar Act 22 of 1976)
5. Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land, Amendment) Act, 1978 (Bihar Act VII of 1978)
6. Land Acquisition (Bihar Amendment) Act, 1979 (Bihar Act 2 of 1980)
7. Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1977 (Haryana Act 14 of 1977)
8. Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Amendment Act, 1978 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1978)
9. Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Amendment Act, 1979 (Tamil Nadu Act 11 of 1979)
10. Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition Laws (Amendment) Act, 1978 (Uttar Pradesh Act 15 of 1978)
11. West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land (Amendment) Act, 1978 (West Bengal Act XXIV of 1978)
12. West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land (Amendment) Act, 1980 (West Bengal Act LVI of 1980)
13. Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 (Goa, Daman and Diu Act 7 of 1964)
14. Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1976 (Goa, Daman and Diu Act 17 of 1976)

Purpose and Legal Effect

The essential purpose of the Forty-seventh Amendment was to secure constitutional immunity for these land reform laws from being struck down on the basis of violations of Articles 14, 19, or 31 (the equality, freedom, and property rights). This protection flows from Article 31B, which declares that none of the laws specified in the Ninth Schedule shall be deemed void on such grounds.
Although Article 31 (right to property) had been repealed as a Fundamental Right by the Forty-fourth Amendment (1978), its constitutional successor, Article 300A, continued to permit challenges to land reform laws on the basis of equality and due process principles. Hence, inclusion in the Ninth Schedule continued to serve as a safeguard against judicial invalidation.

Broader Socio-economic Context

During the early 1980s, the Indian government placed significant emphasis on agricultural productivity, tenancy reforms, and redistribution of surplus land. However, implementation of land ceiling laws was often delayed due to legal disputes, particularly those invoking the Fundamental Rights chapter. The Forty-seventh Amendment thus represented a continuation of the constitutional policy of shielding agrarian reform under the protective umbrella of the Ninth Schedule.
The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980–1985) explicitly committed the Union government to “ensure the effective implementation of land reforms through appropriate constitutional protection,” making the Forty-seventh Amendment a direct fulfilment of that policy.

Constitutional and Judicial Implications

While the Forty-seventh Amendment reinforced legislative protection for land reforms, its broader constitutional implications became more complex in light of the Supreme Court’s evolving jurisprudence on the basic structure doctrine. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), the Court had held that while Parliament could place laws in the Ninth Schedule, such acts were still subject to judicial review if they damaged the basic structure of the Constitution. This principle was reaffirmed in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), which ruled that even post-1973 Ninth Schedule entries could be struck down if they violated the basic features such as equality, rule of law, and judicial review.
Accordingly, while the Forty-seventh Amendment continues to operate in form, the immunity it grants is not absolute; the inserted laws remain subject to basic structure scrutiny.

Key Features and Facts

Significance

The Forty-seventh Amendment reinforced India’s constitutional commitment to agrarian justice and economic equality, two foundational pillars of the Directive Principles of State Policy. By ensuring legal security for land reform laws, it enabled State governments to implement policies for redistribution of land, protection of tenants, and prevention of exploitation by landlords.
At the same time, its passage reflected the continuing tension between socio-economic reform and constitutional rights, a recurring theme in Indian constitutional history. Though later jurisprudence circumscribed absolute legislative immunity, the Amendment remains a key milestone in the State’s pursuit of agrarian equity within the constitutional framework.
In essence, the Forty-seventh Amendment stands as a reaffirmation of India’s long-standing constitutional principle that economic transformation and social justice are integral to the democratic process, and that progressive legislation must be constitutionally insulated from obstruction while still operating within the bounds of the Constitution’s basic structure.