RAS question
The 44th Amendment Act (1978) was primarily aimed at:
Correct answer: (D) Reversing most of the changes made by the 42nd Amendment.
The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 was primarily aimed at reversing major effects of the 42nd Amendment and restoring constitutional safeguards around fundamental rights, judicial review and Emergency powers.
Explanation
The 44th Amendment Act, 1978, passed under Prime Minister Morarji Desai's Janata Party government, was a corrective amendment after the 42nd Amendment. The official Statement of Objects and Reasons says recent experience had shown that fundamental rights, including life and liberty, could be taken away by a transient majority, so safeguards were needed. The Act restored constitutional balance by protecting judicial review, narrowing Article 352 so that an Emergency could be based on war, external aggression or armed rebellion rather than mere internal disturbance, and securing life and liberty against suspension during Emergency. It also removed the Right to Property from the list of fundamental rights and recognised it instead as a legal right under Article 300A.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Sarkaria Commission cannot explain a 1978 amendment because the Commission was appointed only in 1983.
- (B) GST was not introduced by the 44th Amendment; GST was introduced by the 101st Amendment.
- (C) Panchayati Raj was not established by the 44th Amendment; it is linked to the 73rd Amendment, not to the 1978 corrective amendment.
Concept
This tests the constitutional-amendment theme within Indian Polity, especially the post-Emergency correction of the 42nd Amendment. It recurs in RAS because Emergency provisions, fundamental rights and judicial review are core governance areas with direct constitutional consequences.