Consider the following statements:                                                        

1. The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
2. The validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be examined by any court and no judgement can be made on it.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2018 Prelims] 

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

A: Option a

• The Ninth Schedule was added to the Constitution by the first amendment in 1951 along with Article 31-B with a view to providing a “protective umbrella” to land reform laws to save them from being challenged in courts on the ground of violation of fundamental rights.
  • The SC upheld the validity of Article 31-B and Parliament’s power to place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Supreme Courthas said that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule are open to judicial scrutiny and that such laws do not enjoy blanket protection.
  • The landmark ruling inIR Coelho V/S State of Tamil Nadu, 2007, the Supreme Court of India ruled that all laws (including those in the Ninth Schedule) would be open to Judicial Review if they violated the basic structure of the constitution.
  • Laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after the Kesavananda Bharati judgmenton April 24, 1973, when it propounded the “basic structure” doctrine, were open to judicial review. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.