Validation of certain Acts and Regulations (The Ninth Schedule)
Official heading: “Validation of certain Acts and Regulations”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part III, Article 31B, printed page 17
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 31B validates acts and regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution against any inconsistency with Fundamental Rights, subject to basic structure judicial review.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Inserted by the First Amendment in 1951 alongside the Ninth Schedule to provide a constitutional vault protecting specified land reforms and socio-economic legislation from being challenged for violating any Fundamental Right in Part III.
Article 31B operates without prejudice to the generality of Article 31A; laws placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be deemed void merely because they conflict with Part III rights.
In the landmark judgment I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), the Supreme Court ruled that laws inserted into the Ninth Schedule on or after 24 April 1973 (the date of Kesavananda Bharati) are open to judicial review if they damage or destroy the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A state enactment regulating agricultural tenancy was placed into the Ninth Schedule by a constitutional amendment.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 31B provides unique retroactive immunity to specific listed statutes, but is subject to basic structure review.
- Only statutes explicitly enacted into the Ninth Schedule by constitutional amendments qualify.
- Judicial review remains operative for laws added after 24 April 1973 under the I.R. Coelho doctrine.
- A competent legislature retains power to amend or repeal any Act placed in the Ninth Schedule.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
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 III, Article 31B, printed page 17 • 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.
- •Supreme Court of India • (2007) 2 SCC 1; AIR 2007 SC 861; judgment dated 11 January 2007 • Human source-link check pending
Nine-judge Constitution Bench holding that laws added to the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 are open to judicial review if they damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.