History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.21

v7.c96.s2.21

Another criticism is that there are too many amendments. From 1950 there have been ten amendments, while in the U.S.A. there have been only 22 amendments during a period of about 170 years The very first amendment was made within less than a year and a half from the day the Constitution came into force. It affected about a dozen Articles, among which there were three Articles dealing with fundamental rights viz. 15, 19, 31 One fails to understand the meaning of the words 'fundamental rights' in a constitution which took over two years of deliberations, if they could be changed within a year and a half. The amendment made in Article 31 prohibits a person from challenging in a court of justice a law about the compensation to be paid to a person for compulsory acquisition of his property. This is a serious inroad on rights to private property and smacks of spoliation and arbitrariness. In the House of the People the quorum is only 50 and if 50 persons are present and a majority of them (say 26) decide that a certain amount of compensation should be paid for compulsory acquisition of several properties of a person and the compensation is felt to be ridiculously low he has no remedy in a court of law at all. Besides, the Welfare State is, if at all, foreshadowed in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Art. 38, 39 etc.), but these principles are not enforceable in a court of law and, therefore, they are inferior to fundamental rights, the breach of which can be examined by the High Court or Supreme Court, which is invested with the power of issuing writs. Parliament (Lokasabha) has over 500 members and the quorum is 50 and yet this small number is not often present and the Speaker has several times to reprimand the House of the People on this score.