Supreme Court struck down Constitution 97th Amendment related to Cooperative Societies

Supreme Court struck down Constitution 97^th Amendment with respect to Cooperative Societies, upheld for multi State Cooperative Societies

ABCAUS Case Law Citation
ABCAUS 3532 (2021) (07) SC

Important case law relied referred:
Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. State of Bihar, (1983) 3 SCR 130
Daman Singh v. State of Punjab, (1985) 2 SCC 670

In the instant case, appeal was filed by the Government raising the question of law as to whether Part IXB of the Constitution is non est for want of ratification by half of the States under the proviso to Article 368(2).

The appeal was filed against the order of the division bench of the Gujarat High Court declaring that the Constitution 97^th Amendment Act inserting Part IXB under the chapter heading ‘The Co-operative Societies’ is ultra vires the Constitution of India for want of the requisite ratification under Article 368(2) proviso, which however will not impact amendments that have been made in Article 19(1)(c) and in inserting Article 43B in the Constitution of India.

The High Court had found the Articles 243ZH to 243ZT as unconstitutional.  

The Hon’ble Supreme Court stated that Co-operative societies as a subject matter belongs wholly and exclusively to the State legislatures to legislate upon, whereas multi-State  co-operative societies i.e., co-operative societies having objects not confined to one state alone, is exclusively   within the ken of Parliament.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court observed if the subject matter of a constitutional amendment falls within the proviso to Article 368(2), such amendment shall also be required to be ratified by the legislatures of not less than one half of the States by resolution to that effect passed by those legislatures before the bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that provisions relating to Article 240ZI to   Article 243ZQ and Article 243ZT being unconstitutional for non-compliance, with the mandate of the proviso to Article   368(2) of the Constitution of India.

In a lengthy judgment, the Full Bench by majority judgment upheld the judgment of the High Court except to the extent that it struck down the entirety of Part IXB of the Constitution of India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court declared that Part IXB of the Constitution of India is operative only insofar as it concerns multi-State co-operative societies both within the various States and in the Union territories of India.

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