Constitutional Validity of Central Laws (Repealed)
Official heading: “Constitutional validity of Central laws not to be considered in proceedings under article 226.].”
Inserted during the Emergency by the 42nd Amendment (1976) to shield Central statutes from High Court scrutiny; repealed by the post-Emergency 43rd Amendment (1977).
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part VI, Article 226A, printed page 105
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 226A, inserted by the 42nd Amendment (1976) to bar High Courts from considering the constitutional validity of Central laws, was repealed by the 43rd Amendment (1977).
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 226A was enacted during the Emergency by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, as part of an attempt to curtail the judicial review powers of State High Courts.
The provision expressly prohibited High Courts from considering the constitutional validity of any Central law in proceedings under Article 226, forcing all federal challenges to be taken exclusively to the Supreme Court.
Constitutional Restoration: Following the revocation of Emergency, the Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977, repealed Article 226A in its entirety (w.e.f. 13 April 1978), fully restoring the comprehensive writ jurisdiction of High Courts over both Union and State enactments.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A litigant challenges a Union tax statute in the Madras High Court on the ground that it violates fundamental rights under Article 14.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 226A represents a repealed constitutional restriction demonstrating the restoration of judicial review.
- Inserted by 42nd Amendment (1976) during the Emergency.
- Barred High Courts from reviewing the constitutional validity of Central legislation.
- Repealed by 43rd Amendment (1977) to restore full High Court judicial review.
- Retained in official editions as an omitted historical entry.
5. Historical constitutional wording — not operative
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 226A, printed page 105 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.