Constitution 130th Amendment Bill 2025 sent to Join Committee amid uproar: 5 things you need to know

What is the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025?

In effect, the Bill says that any minister who has been in jail for 30 days for a serious offence will lose his post.

“A Minister, who for any period of thirty consecutive days during holding the office as such, is arrested and detained in custody, on allegation of committing an offence under any law for the time being in force, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or more, shall be removed from his office, by the President on the advice of the Chief Minister to be tendered by the thirty-first day, after being taken in such custody:

Provided that if the advice of the Chief Minister, for the removal of such Minister is not tendered to the President by the thirty-first day, he shall cease to be a Minister, with effect from the day falling thereafter…,” the Bill says.

The Bill will amend Article 75 of the Constitution, which primarily deals with the appointment and responsibilities of the Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister.

What happens when the minister is released from jail?

Under the provisions of the Bill, it is theoretically possible for the minister concerned to be re-appointed once they are out of prison.

“…that nothing in this sub-section shall prevent such Chief Minister or Minister from being subsequently appointed as the Chief Minister or a Minister, by the President, on his release from custody, as per sub-section (1).”

What happened in Parliament when Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Bill?

The Bill was greeted with loud protests from the Opposition. Congress MP K C Venugopal brought up the Home Minister’s own arrest in 2010 in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh encounter case. However, Shah replied that he had resigned as Gujarat home minister before he was arrested.

Why is the Opposition against the Bill?

According to the Bill’s statement of objects and reasons, “A Minister, who is facing allegation of serious criminal offences, arrested and detained in custody, may thwart or hinder the canons of constitutional morality and principles of good governance and eventually diminish the constitutional trust reposed by people in him.”

However, some feel that the provisions of the Bill could be used to selectively target Opposition leaders, destabilising their governments in states. Congress, Samajwadi Party, AAP, and others have long claimed that central agencies like the CBI and the ED — which come under the BJP-led Union government — unfairly target their leaders.

Also, under the Bill, ministers are punished by losing their post simply on the basis of arrest, and not after conviction. Provisions to disqualify lawmakers convicted of various offences already exist. In Indian law, the established position is that an accused is presumed innocent under proven guilty.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said he was opposing the Bill as it went against the principle of separation of powers, making the executive agencies judge and executioner.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamate Banerjee said the Bill could bring in a “super-Emergency”. “I condemn the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill, proposed to be tabled by the Government of India today. I condemn it as a step towards something that is more than a super-Emergency, a step to end the democratic era of India forever. This draconian step comes as a death knell for democracy and federalism in India,” Banerjee posted on X.

What is a Joint Committee?

A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is set up by Parliament for a special purpose, such as for the detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill. It has members from both Houses, and is dissolved after its term ends or its task has been completed.

The Constitution (130th amendment) Bill, 2025, for example, has been sent to a joint Parliamentary panel of 31 members to be chosen by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman. Shah requested that the committee present its report before the first day of the next session of Parliament.

The mandate of a JPC depends on the motion constituting it. While its recommendations have a persuasive value, they are not binding on the government.