The Constitution of India
Article 31B
Validation of certain Acts and Regulations
Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in article 31A, none of the Acts and Regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule nor any of the provisions thereof shall be deemed to be void, or ever to have become void, on the ground that such Act, Regulation or provision is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by, any provisions of this Part, and notwithstanding any judgment, decree or order of any court or Tribunal to the contrary, each of the said Acts and Regulations shall, subject to the power of any competent Legislature to repeal or amend it, continue in force.
Why this exists
Article 31B was added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, together with Article 31A and the Ninth Schedule. After independence, land reform and zamindari-abolition laws were being challenged in courts as violations of property and equality rights, delaying redistribution of land. Parliament created the Ninth Schedule as a special list where such laws could be placed to shield them from judicial review on Fundamental Rights grounds, so social and economic reforms could proceed without repeated litigation.
How courts read it
Initially courts treated Ninth Schedule inclusion as giving near-total immunity. But in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court introduced the 'basic structure' doctrine, holding that even constitutional amendments cannot destroy the Constitution's core features. In Waman Rao v. Union of India (1981), the Court held that laws added to the Ninth Schedule before 24 April 1973 (the Kesavananda judgment date) remain fully protected, but those added afterward could be tested against the basic structure doctrine. This was strongly confirmed in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), where the Court ruled that any Ninth Schedule law enacted after 1973 can be reviewed for violating essential rights like equality (Article 14), freedom (Article 19), or life and liberty (Article 21), if it damages the Constitution's basic structure.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Any law placed in the Ninth Schedule is permanently immune from all court challenges forever.
Fact: Since I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), laws added to the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 can still be reviewed by courts if they violate the Constitution's basic structure, including key Fundamental Rights. - Myth: Article 31B only applies to land reform laws.
Fact: While it was created for land reform legislation, over time many unrelated laws have been added to the Ninth Schedule by later amendments, extending well beyond its original purpose.