UPSC Prelims 2019 Question:

Consider the following statements

1. The 44th Amendment to the Constitution of India introduced an Article placing the election of the Prime Minister beyond judicial review. 
2. The Supreme Court of India struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India as being violative of the independence of judiciary.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• As per the 39th Amendment (Not 44th) of the Constitution of India, the election of the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha beyond the scrutiny of the Indian Judiciary. This amendment was passed during the Emergency of 1975–1977. However, in the Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain case, the 39th amendment was struck down as this provision violates the Doctrine of Basic Structure of the Indian Constitution. So, statement 1 is not correct.
  
  
• In 2014, Parliament passed the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 along with the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014. It sought to provide for the creation of an independent commission to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and high courts to replace the collegium system. However, in 2015, the five-judge bench ruled with a 4:1 majority, that the NJAC was “unconstitutional and void”. It violated the principle of the independent judiciary which is the “basic structure of the Constitution”. So, statement 2 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | Amendment to the Constitution