During the tenure of which of the following Prime Ministers was the Representation of the People Act, 1951, inserted in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution?

Correct option is B

The Representation of the People Act, 1951, was inserted into the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This was done through the 39th Amendment to the Constitution in 1975, which was introduced to address judicial challenges related to her election and safeguard certain laws from being challenged in courts. The Ninth Schedule was created to shield specific laws from judicial review, especially those related to land reforms and socio-economic policies.
The inclusion of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, was part of the measures taken during the Emergency period (1975–1977) to centralize power and protect political interests. This amendment also sought to validate Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha, which had been declared void by the Allahabad High Court.
Information Booster
1. Representation of the People Act, 1951: Governs the conduct of elections and outlines qualifications and disqualifications for membership in Parliament and State Legislatures.
2. Ninth Schedule: Added by the First Amendment in 1951, originally to protect land reform laws from judicial scrutiny.
3. 39th Amendment (1975): Introduced provisions to shield the Prime Minister and Speaker’s election from judicial review and placed related laws in the Ninth Schedule.
4. Emergency Period: Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975, which saw significant changes to constitutional and legislative frameworks.
5. Judicial challenges led to later debates on the misuse of the Ninth Schedule for political purposes.