Fourteenth Amendment Act, 1962 in Indian Constitution

The Constitution of India’s Fourteenth Amendment, officially known as the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1962, established Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry as the country’s ninth union territory and granted Parliament the authority to enact laws establishing legislatures and councils of ministers for each. On August 30, the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 1962 was first heard in the Lok Sabha. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the minister of home affairs at the time, suggested making this adjustment. Generally speaking, the proposed Fourteenth Amendment Act would establish legislative bodies and ministerial councils in the union territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Pondicherry, Daman, and Diu on the model of the program that was in place in some of the Part C States before the reorganization of the States. The Bill intends to create a new article 239A that generally follows the wording of article 240 as it existed before the reorganization of the States to grant Parliament the necessary legislative authority to pass legislation for this purpose. 

History Related to the 14th Amendment Act, 1962

• India and France exchanged ratification documents on August 16, 1962, under which France gave India complete control over the regions it occupied.
• On July 1st, 1963, the administration of Pondicherry and the other enclaves of Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam became the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Statement of Objects and Reasons

On August 16, 1962, the governments of France and India approved the “Treaty of Cession,” creating the French installations. The regions of Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam, and Pondicherry are the French extremities of the Indian Union. Under the constitution by this Act, these regions shall be assigned as “Pondicherry,” a union territory. According to Article 81(1)(b) of the Indian Constitution, the Union territory may be represented by a maximum of 20 members in the House of People. It’s reached its limit. To immediately offer Pondicherry representation in the House of the People and to accommodate for unexpected events, the measure seeks to increase this number to 25. The Act also gives the parliament the necessary legislative power to pass laws creating legislatures and councils of ministers in numerous union territories often following the same organizational structure as some of the part “C” states that preceded the states’ official recognition. 
 This power is provided by a new article 239A. The new article 239A was included to give Parliament the necessary ability to adopt laws for the efficient administration of the reorganized states. The provisions of this article, which were in effect before the states’ restructuring, are quite similar to those of Article 240. 

Proposal and enactment of the 14th Amendment Act, 1962

• The Lok Sabha heard the introduction of the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 1962 on August 30. 
• It was carried out by Lal Bahadur Shastri, the minister of home affairs at that time, and tried to change articles 81 and 240 as well as the First and Fourth Schedules of the Constitution. Additionally, it aimed at changing the Constitution by adding a new article 239A.
• The Lok Sabha discussed and approved the measure on September 4, 1962, after making certain changes. On September 7, 1962, the Rajya Sabha discussed and approved the measure that had been approved by the Lok Sabha. 
• On September 4 and September 7, 1962, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, respectively, accepted Bill’s original contents of clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5 to 7. The Bill’s clause 4 aimed to add a new article 239A to the Constitution, giving Parliament the authority to enact legislation and create legislatures and councils of ministers for certain Union territories. 
• In the Lok Sabha, Hari Vishnu Kamath suggested changing clause 4 to remove the words “nominated or” from clause 1(a) of the new article 239A. 
• The amended Clause 4 was approved by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The amendment had the effect of preventing the legislatures of the Union territory from being completely nominated bodies.
• On December 28, 1962, the legislation was approved by the administration of the time’s president, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and it also became operative on the same day. On December 29, 1962, The Gazette of India published a notice about it. 

Important Provisions of the 14th Amendment Act, 1962

• Amendment to Article 81- The maximum number of Lok Sabha seats available for legislators from Union territories must be increased from twenty to twenty-five members, as stated in Article 81’s clause (1) of the Indian Constitution.
• As of August 16, 1962, the first schedule of the Indian Constitution was modified to include the “Pondicherry” areas as the ninth Indian Union Territory.
• Article 239A: Article 239A has been added after Article 239.
• On August 16, 1962, Pondicherry, Mahé, Yanam, and Karaikal were French possessions that became part of the Indian Union.
• This came after the Treaty of Cession was approved by both India and France. The Treaty of Cession gave legal force to the colonies’ incorporation into the Indian Union.
• According to section 4 of the amendment, any law passed for this purpose would not be considered to modify Article 368 of the Constitution.
• Clause (1) of Article 240 was altered to include Pondicherry as a Union territory, giving the President the power to “establish regulations for the peace, progress, and good governance” of the territory.
• With effect from the date fixed for the first sitting of any legislature created under the new article 239A to serve the union territories of Goa, Daman, and Diu, or Pondicherry, the President, however, shall no longer publish rules or take other acts.
• Through an alteration to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, the Union Territory of Pondicherry got a seat in the Rajya Sabha.