Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India

The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976
Parliament of India
An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Citation	42nd Amendment
Territorial extent	India
Enacted by	Lok Sabha
Date passed	2 November 1976
Enacted by	Rajya Sabha
Date passed	11 November 1976
Date assented to	18 December 1976
Date commenced	3 January 1977
Legislative history
Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha	The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill, 1976
Bill published on	1 September 1976
Introduced by	H. R. Gokhale
Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha	Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill, 1976
Bill published on	4 November 1976
Repealing legislation
43rd and 44th Amendments
Summary
Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental duties and changes to the basic structure of the constitution by making India a "Socialist Secular" Republic
Status: Substantially amended

The Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Forty-second amendment) Act, 1976, was enacted during the Emergency (25 June 1975 – 21 March 1977) by the Indian National Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi. Most provisions of the amendment came into effect on 3 January 1977, others were enforced from 1 February and Section 27 came into force on 1 April 1977. The 42nd Amendment is regarded as the most controversial constitutional amendment in Indian history. It attempted to reduce the power of the Supreme Court and High Courts to pronounce upon the constitutional validity of laws. It laid down the Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens to the nation. This amendment brought about the most widespread changes to the Constitution in its history, and is sometimes called a "mini-Constitution" or the "Constitution of Indira".

Almost all parts of the Constitution, including the Preamble and amending clause, were changed by the 42nd Amendment, and some new articles and sections were inserted. The amendment's fifty-nine clauses stripped the Supreme Court of many of its powers and moved the political system toward parliamentary sovereignty. It curtailed democratic rights in the country, and gave sweeping powers to the Prime Minister's Office. The amendment gave Parliament unrestrained power to amend any parts of the Constitution, without judicial review. It transferred more power from the state governments to the central government, eroding India's federal structure. The 42nd Amendment also amended the Preamble and changed the description of India from "sovereign democratic republic" to a "sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic", and also changed the words "unity of the nation" to "unity and integrity of the nation".

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