The Schedules of the Constitution

Why this matters for CAPF

The twelve Schedules are the single most reliable matching question in the polity section: examiners give a Schedule number and ask what it contains, or give a subject (languages, anti-defection, panchayats) and ask which Schedule it sits in. The original Constitution had eight Schedules; four more were added by amendment, and CAPF likes the "which Schedule was added by which amendment" pair. This note gives the full twelve-Schedule table, the count and the additions, and a focused note on the highest-yield Schedules (Fifth and Sixth for tribal areas, Seventh for the lists, Eighth for languages, Ninth for protected laws, Tenth for anti-defection, Eleventh and Twelfth for local government). The standard references are the Schedules of the Constitution and Laxmikanth's appendix on the Schedules.

The twelve Schedules at a glance

Memory for the count: the original Constitution had eight Schedules; the Ninth (1951), Tenth (1985), Eleventh (1992) and Twelfth (1992) were added later.

The high-yield Schedules in detail

Fifth and Sixth Schedules (tribal administration)

• Fifth Schedule (Art 244) governs the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in States other than the four north-eastern States covered by the Sixth Schedule. The Governor has a special role: he reports to the President on the administration of these areas and may direct that an Act of Parliament or the State legislature shall not apply, or shall apply with modifications. Each such State has a Tribes Advisory Council.
• Sixth Schedule (Art 244(2), 275(1)) governs the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram through autonomous district councils and regional councils with legislative, judicial and financial powers. This is the device for tribal self-government in the North-East and is directly relevant to the security and internal-stability profile of the region.

Seventh Schedule (the legislative lists)

The Seventh Schedule (Art 246) divides legislative power into three lists. Police and public order are State subjects, which is why the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces is a Centre-State question. For the full treatment, see federalism and centre state relations.

Eighth Schedule (the languages)

The Eighth Schedule lists the languages the Constitution recognises. It began with 14 languages and now lists 22 after later amendments (Sindhi added by the 21st Amendment, 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali by the 71st Amendment, 1992; Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali by the 92nd Amendment, 2003). For the full list and the official-language framework, see official language and the eighth schedule.

Ninth Schedule (protected laws)

The Ninth Schedule, added by the 1st Amendment, 1951 and protected by Art 31B, lists Acts and regulations that are shielded from challenge on the ground that they violate Fundamental Rights. It was created to protect land-reform laws. In I R Coelho (2007), the Supreme Court held that laws added to the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 (the date of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment) can still be tested against the basic structure. See amendments and basic structure.

Tenth Schedule (anti-defection)

The Tenth Schedule, added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985, contains the anti-defection law. For the grounds, exceptions and the Speaker's role, see anti defection and tenth schedule.

Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules (local government)

• The Eleventh Schedule (73rd Amendment, 1992; Art 243G) lists 29 subjects that may be devolved to the panchayats.
• The Twelfth Schedule (74th Amendment, 1992; Art 243W) lists 18 subjects that may be devolved to the municipalities.

For the local-government framework, see local government.

Security and human-rights angle

• The Fifth and Sixth Schedules are the constitutional core of tribal autonomy and protection. The Sixth Schedule autonomous councils in the North-East are central to the political settlement of insurgency and the management of ethnic identity in the region, a direct internal-security concern.
• The Eighth Schedule is the constitutional anchor of linguistic rights and minority protection, and language has been the trigger of several agitations (the anti-Hindi movements, statehood demands).
• The Ninth Schedule illustrates the limit of executive shielding: even protected laws are now open to basic-structure review, a safeguard against the misuse of immunity.

How CAPF asks it

• Matching: Schedule number to subject (Seventh = lists, Eighth = languages, Ninth = protected laws, Tenth = defection).
• Single-correct: which Schedule deals with anti-defection (Tenth); which Schedule lists the languages (Eighth).
• How-many-statements-correct: a cluster on which Schedules were added by amendment (Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth).
• Assertion-reason: the Sixth Schedule provides autonomous councils because certain tribal areas need self-government.

Authored practice

Authored practice, not a verbatim PYQ.

1. The legislative lists (Union, State, Concurrent) are contained in which Schedule. (a) Sixth (b) Seventh (c) Eighth (d) Ninth. Answer (b). The Seventh Schedule under Art 246 contains the three lists.

2. The original Constitution had how many Schedules. (a) eight (b) ten (c) eleven (d) twelve. Answer (a). The Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth were added later.

3. Match the Schedule with its subject. (1) Eighth (2) Ninth (3) Tenth (4) Eleventh, with subjects: anti-defection, languages, panchayat items, protected laws. Answer 1-languages, 2-protected laws, 3-anti-defection, 4-panchayat items.

4. The Sixth Schedule applies to the tribal areas of which States. (a) Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh (b) Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram (c) Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim (d) Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana. Answer (b).

5. The Ninth Schedule was added by which amendment, and which Article protects the laws in it. (a) 42nd Amendment, Art 31C (b) 1st Amendment, Art 31B (c) 44th Amendment, Art 300A (d) 52nd Amendment, Art 102. Answer (b). The 1st Amendment, 1951 added the Ninth Schedule, protected by Art 31B.

Common confusion

Memory hook

• "First Constitution, eight Schedules." Original count is eight; four added later.
• "9-31B, 10-defection, 11-village, 12-city." Schedules nine through twelve in order.
• "Sixth is the North-East four": Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.
• "7 lists, 8 languages, 11 has 29, 12 has 18."

Night before

• The Constitution now has twelve Schedules; the original had eight.
• Fifth Schedule (Art 244): Scheduled Areas in other States; Sixth Schedule: tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.
• Seventh Schedule (Art 246): Union, State and Concurrent lists.
• Eighth Schedule: 22 recognised languages (started with 14).
• Ninth Schedule (1st Amendment, 1951; Art 31B): laws protected from review, now open to basic-structure test after 1973.
• Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment, 1985): anti-defection.
• Eleventh Schedule (73rd Amendment, 1992): 29 panchayat items; Twelfth Schedule (74th Amendment, 1992): 18 municipal items.

Glossary

• Schedule: a list appended to the Constitution containing detailed matter.
• Scheduled Area: a tribal-majority area administered under the Fifth Schedule.
• Autonomous district council: a self-governing tribal body under the Sixth Schedule.
• Legislative list: a list of subjects assigning law-making power (Seventh Schedule).
• Eighth Schedule language: a language formally recognised by the Constitution.
• Art 31B: the Article that protects Ninth Schedule laws from challenge.

Related notes

• federalism and centre state relations
• official language and the eighth schedule
• anti defection and tenth schedule
• amendments and basic structure
• local government
• preamble and features of the constitution
• special provisions articles 370 and 371
• syllabus index