Schedules in the Indian Constitution | Explained

The present article ‘Schedules in the Indian Constitution’ aims to provide a complete overview of the readers about all the twelve schedules in the Constitution of India. For that purpose, the article is divided into two key sections; the first section is introductory and will discuss the objectives and purpose of schedules. The second section will solely envisage the list of all the schedules in the constitution. Further, the author provides brief details on the provisions governed under each of the lists and ends the article with a suitable conclusion.

Introduction

A schedule is a part of an enactment that contains additional information that has not been mentioned in the body of the legislative document. Schedules are an appendix attached to enactments, supplementing the act with information not written under the main text of the articles. Essentially, schedules are tables containing supplemental details in addition to what is already mentioned in the governing articles.[1]

For example, article 1 of the constitution deals with the provision for states and Union territories, i.e. the spirit of the law, but the names of union and state territories cannot be mentioned in the main article itself. Here the role of schedules comes into the picture which acts as an instrument to describe the extra article information in a tabular form. Therefore, it is imperative for the readers to know both; what is mentioned in the article and the additional information given in the schedule.

The Constitution of India comprised initially only eight schedules. Later, four more schedules were added by the amendment process in the constitution, making a total tally of twelve schedules at present.[2]

List of Schedules in the Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution contains a total of twelve schedules. The list of schedules[3] is as outlined below in the table:

S. No.	Schedule	Provision
1.	Schedule 1	List of states and Union territories
2.	Schedule 2	Provisions relating to emoluments, allowances, privileges
3.	Schedule 3	forms of oath or affirmations
4.	Schedule 4	Allocation of seats to Rajya Sabha of each state (Council of states)
5.	Schedule 5	Provisions relating to scheduled areas
6.	Schedule 6	Provisions relating to scheduled tribes
7.	Schedule 7	Division of power between Union and States
8.	Schedule 8	List of recognized languages
9.	Schedule 9	Validation of certain acts and regulations
10.	Schedule 10	Provision as to disqualification on ground of defection laws
11.	Schedule 11	Powers, Authority, and Responsibilities of Panchayats
12.	Schedule 12	Powers, Authority, and Responsibilities of Municipality

The schedules are kept separate and not included in the original text of the constitution because it contains lengthy informative details which are more than 100 pages of a document. Let’s see the brief overview of the provisions included in all of the twelve lists of the Indian Constitution:

Schedule 1: List of states and Union territories

The first schedule is divided into two parts.

Part 1: First part relates to Article 1 to 4 of the constitution that deals with the name of the 29 states and their territorial jurisdiction. The part concludes with the details regarding the respective laws, acts, etc. that determines the boundaries of each state.

Part 2: The second part includes the name of union territories and their territorial extent. Originally, India had two union territories, i.e. Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands since independence. Later, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Puducherry, Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were added to the list.

Schedule 2: Provisions relating to the emoluments, privileges, allowances, and so on

The second schedule covers the provisions for emoluments, allowances, privileges, and so on of the following:

1. The President of India
2. The Vice-president or the acting President, or the acting Governor (based on salary)
3. The Governors
4. The Speaker, Deputy speakers of Lok Sabha and states legislative assembly
5. The Chairman, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha and states legislative councils
6. The Judges of Supreme Court, High Court, and the CAG
7. For official residence of judges without pay

The related articles to the second schedule are Articles 59(3), 65(3), 75(6), 97, 125, 148(3), 158(3), 164(5), 186, and 221.

Schedule 3: Forms of oath or Affirmations

The third schedule deals with the forms of oaths or affirmations for the following:

1. The Union Ministers
2. The Parliament members
3. The Candidates for election to the Parliament
4. The state ministers
5. The candidates for election to the state legislature
6. The members of the state legislatures
7. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
8. The Supreme Court Judges
9. The High Court judges

Schedule 4: Allocation of seats in the Council of states

The fourth schedule contains the provision for allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and the Union territories (233 + 12 nominated= 245). The allocation is done via indirect election except for 12 nominations that are selected by the president from the field of Arts, Science, Literature, and Social service.

Schedule 5: Provisions relating to schedule areas

The fifth schedule contains the provision relating to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes. This schedule is divided into four parts, as given below:

Part A: General

Part B: Administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes- Report is sent by the Governor to the president regarding the administration of scheduled areas.

Part C: Scheduled Areas

Part D: Amendment of the Schedule- Tribal Advisory council with 20 members are set up to advise on such matters concerning the welfare and advancement of the STs in the state as may be referred to the council by the Governor.

Schedule 6: Provision relating to scheduled tribes

The sixth schedule contains the provision relating to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram as given under article 244 and 275 of the constitution. The autonomous districts and autonomous region are governed by the district council and regional council respectively.

Schedule 7: Division of power between Union and States

The seventh schedule has prime significance as it deals with the division of powers between the Union and the State in terms of three Lists.

List I is Union list (Present: 100 subjects, originally: 97), dealt by the central government,

List II is State List (Present: 61 subjects, originally: 66), dealt by the state government, and

List III is Concurrent List (present: 52 subjects, Originally: 47), where both the Union and state can deal with a concerning matter, however, in case of conflict, the power of the central government will supersede.

Schedule 8: List of recognized languages

The schedule comprises the list of languages recognized by the Indian constitution. It had originally 14 languages, but now there are 22 in total. The list of original languages is: Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, and Punjabi. Later on, Sindhi was added with the 21st Constitutional amendment, the 71st amendment added Manipuri, Konkani, and Nepali, and lastly, the 92nd amendment added four other languages: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali.

Schedule 9: Validation of certain acts and regulations

The ninth schedule was added by the 1st Amendment of 1951. It says that the laws included under the schedule are to be protected from judicial scrutiny on the ground of violation of fundamental rights. Originally the schedule consisted of 13 acts dealing with the acts and regulations of state legislatures dealing with land reforms and the abolition of the zamindari system, but presently it is 282. Nineteen of them are dealt with by state legislatures and the others by the Parliament.

Schedule 10: Provision as to disqualification on ground of defection

Inserted by the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985, the tenth schedule is also known as anti-defection laws. It related to the disqualification of the members of parliament and state legislatures on the ground of defection, i.e. voluntary giving up of membership of the political party, abstains from voting, contrary to any direction issued by its political party without prior permission that includes 15 days of condoning period.

Schedule 11: Powers, authority, and responsibilities of Panchayats

The eleventh schedule was added by the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992, covering 29 matters. It signifies the powers, authority, and responsibility of Panchayats as given under Article 243-G, the 3-tier of government at the central, state, and local level, and the Gandhian vision enshrined under Article 40 dealing with the organization of village panchayats. Some of the covered matters under the schedule are: land reforms, agriculture, soil conservation, animal husbandries, fisheries, dairying and poultry, water management and watershed development, minor irrigation, and others.

Schedule 12: Powers, authority, and responsibilities of the Municipality

The schedule deals with the powers, authority, and responsibilities of the local governments, i.e. municipalities, governing under the article 243-W of the constitution.[4] It deals with 18 matters relating to urban planning including town planning, planning for economic and social development, regulation of land-use and construction of buildings, water supply, urban forestry, roads and bridges, public health, etc. The schedule was added to the constitution by the 74th Amendment Act of 1992.[5]

Conclusion

Schedules of the Indian Constitution were brought for a purpose by the framers of the Constitution that it will be of prime use to the legislators while drafting various legislations. Each of the twelve schedules plays a vital role in legislation drafting as it seeks to bring conciseness and clarity to the enactment.

However, the misuse of schedules cannot be left unnoticed, particularly if we talk about the ninth schedule of the constitution. The schedule 9 was formed with the objective to protect the land reforms and abolish the Zamindari system, though thereafter, the parliamentarians misused their constitutional powers and added over 282 legislations which were not related to land reforms at all. It was done to escape from the judicial review which led to the passing of blanket protection to all the added legislations which parliamentarians considered necessary as per their will.

Notably, the Supreme Court was vigilant enough to curtail this practice, and it made sure that the legislative body is not misusing their constitutional powers by putting a check on them through its landmark judgment of Kesavananda Bharati[6]. Apart from schedule 9, the tenth schedule on anti-defection laws was also a good law, but it carries certain loopholes and necessarily requires some changes.

To conclude, the duty of the judiciary and legislative body is not only to form schedules, but the conduct of regular review of the subject-matter in the schedules is equally important. It will ensure that the information in schedules acts contributory to the system, not a troublemaker, let alone because of misuse of powers by some in authority.

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[1]Analysis: The Schedules of the Indian Constitution, last assessed Jan 14th 2021, at,

https://lexlife.in/2020/05/11/analysis-schedules-of-indian-constitution/.

[2] PM Bakshi, ‘The Constitution of India’, 14th edn. (2017).

[3] M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, (2017).

[4] INDIAN CONST. art. 243-W.

[5] PYLEE, M. V., India’s Constitution, 16th Edition. India, S CHAND & Company Limited, 2017.

[6] Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461.

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