130th Constitutional Amendment Bill 2025 Explained: Key Provisions, Impact, and Controversy

For a UPSC-oriented response, it’s important to present the information on the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill in a clear format. This should include its provisions, rationale, and the legal and political arguments around it.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth) Amendment Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Union Home Minister. It aims to amend the Constitution to create a legal framework for removing the Prime Minister, Union ministers, chief ministers, and state ministers under certain situations involving criminal charges.

Key Provisions of the Bill
Removal of Ministers: The bill states that a minister, including the Prime Minister or a chief minister, will automatically lose their office if they are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days.

Offence Criterion: This rule specifically applies to criminal cases that carry a prison sentence of five years or more.

Preventive Action: To avoid this automatic removal, a minister must explain their detention to the President (for a Union minister) or the Governor (for a state minister) by the 31st day after their arrest.

Reappointment Clause: The bill also states that nothing stops a minister from being reappointed after they are released from custody.

Rationale and Objectives
The government says this bill aims to uphold constitutional morality, ensure good governance, and maintain public trust in elected officials. They argue that a minister facing serious criminal charges and being held for a long time may struggle to perform their constitutional duties effectively, which could harm good governance.

Major Criticisms and Concerns
The bill faces strong opposition due to several legal and constitutional issues:

Violation of Due Process: Critics say the bill breaches the fundamental legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” The removal is based on accusations and detention, not on a conviction.

Separation of Powers: Some view the bill as an overreach of the Executive into the Judiciary. It allows executive agencies (like the police or CBI) to initiate the removal of elected officials through arrest and detention, bypassing the judicial conviction process.

Political Misuse: A major concern is that the bill could be misused for political purposes. A ruling government could use this provision to target and undermine opposition-led state governments by arresting their chief ministers and ministers on false charges.

Erosion of Federalism: By potentially giving the central government a tool to destabilize state governments, the bill is seen as weakening federalism, an essential feature of the Indian Constitution.

Relevance for UPSC Exam
This topic is very relevant for the UPSC Civil Services Examination and may appear in the GS-II paper on Indian Polity and Governance.

Constitutional Articles: The bill is directly related to Article 75 (for Union Ministers) and Article 164 (for State Ministers). A UPSC question might address the amendments to these articles and their effects.

Constitutional Principles: It touches on key constitutional concepts like the separation of powers, due process, constitutional morality, and federalism, which are vital areas for analysis in the exam.

Comparison with Existing Laws: The bill adds a new layer of disqualification based on detention, differing from the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which disqualifies a person only after a conviction with a sentence of two or more years. A question may ask for a comparative analysis of these two legal frameworks.

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