Understanding Article 31C Insertion

Article 31C of the Constitution of India provides protection to certain laws that implement Directive Principles of State Policy specified in Article 39(b) and (c). It essentially states that no law giving effect to the policy for securing the principles referred to in Article 39(b) or Article 39(c) shall be void on the ground that it takes away or abridges any rights conferred by Article 14, Article 19, or Article 31. This was a significant provision aimed at prioritizing socio-economic justice goals over certain individual rights.

The 25th Constitutional Amendment Act

Article 31C was introduced into the Constitution of India through the 25th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971. This amendment aimed to give precedence to the Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights in specific cases, particularly those related to the equitable distribution of resources and the functioning of the economic system.

The key aspects of the 25th Amendment Act were:

• Introduction of Article 31C.
• Modification of Article 39 by adding clause (f) relating to child welfare and development.
• This amendment sought to strengthen the government's ability to implement land reforms and other socio-economic measures without facing challenges based on violations of Articles 14 and 19.

Context of Other Amendments

To understand why the 25th Amendment is the correct answer, let's briefly look at the others mentioned:

• 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978: This amendment significantly altered Fundamental Rights, notably by removing the Right to Property from the list of Fundamental Rights and making it a legal right.
• 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976: Often called the 'Mini-Constitution', it introduced fundamental duties, changed the Preamble, and made other wide-ranging changes, including giving the Directive Principles of State Policy precedence over Fundamental Rights (though this aspect was later modified by the Minerva Mills case).
• 24th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971: This amendment asserted Parliament's supremacy to amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, in response to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shankari Prasad case.

Therefore, the specific amendment responsible for inserting Article 31C was the 25th Constitutional Amendment Act.