Constitutional Amendment by Special Majority
Context:
A united Opposition recently defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to redistribute Lok Sabha seats on the basis of the 2011 Census to expedite the implementation of women's reservation.
The legislation failed because it fell short of the mandatory two-thirds special majority mark.
In a House where 528 members were present and voting, the Bill secured only 298 votes in favour against 230 opposing votes, missing the required 352-vote threshold.
Constitutional Provisions (Article 368):
The formal procedure for amending the nation's supreme law is laid down in Part XX, Article 368 of the Constitution of India.
An amendment can be initiated exclusively by introducing a Bill for that specific purpose in either House of Parliament.
The Special Majority Requirement:
To successfully pass under Article 368, the Amendment Bill must be approved in each House by a specific dual-condition majority:
A majority of the total membership of that House.
A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House who are present and voting.
Once passed by both Houses with this requisite special majority, the Bill must be presented to the President, who is constitutionally obligated to give his assent, after which the Constitution stands amended.
The Basic Structure Doctrine:
While Article 368 grants Parliament constituent power, the Supreme Court has established implied limitations on this amending power through landmark judgments like Golaknath, Kesavananda Bharati, and Indira Gandhi.
These historic rulings established the "basic structure doctrine," which explicitly dictates that Parliament has limited power and cannot use its amending power to damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.