Article 4 of Constitution of India: Laws made under Articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters
Article 4 of Constitution of India deals with Laws made under Articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters
Original Text of Article 4 of Constitution of India:
(1) Any law referred to in Article 2 or Article 3 shall contain such provisions for the amendment of the First Schedule and the Fourth Schedule as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions (including provisions as to representation in Parliament and the Legislature or Legislatures of the State or States affected by such law) as Parliament may deem necessary.
(2) No such law as aforesaid shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purpose of article 368.
Article 4 of Constitution of India:
Article 4 of Indian Constitution states that the laws made under Article 2 (admission and establishment of new states and Article 3 (formation of new states, alteration of boundaries, areas and names of states) are not considered constitutional amendments under Article 368. Thus, it needs only a simple majority (like ordinary legislation) to enact the legislation.
This article shows the flexibility of India’s Constitution. The Parliament may form a new state or alter the area of the existing state by the simple majority, ordinary legislative process; the only conditions laid down for making such laws are as follows:
- No bill can be introduced for the purpose unless the president of India recommends it.
- The president shall, before giving its recommendation, refer the bill to the concerned state legislature for expressing its view on the changes within the specified time by the president. However, the president is not bound by the recommendation of the state legislature.
- Hence, the territory or area may be redistributed or altered if the union executive and legislature so desire.
Since the commencement of the Constitution, the power mentioned above has been used by the Parliament to enact the following acts:
| States Involve | Acts | |
| 1. | Assam | The boundaries of Assam were altered by ceding a strip of area from India to Bhutan by the Assam (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1951. |
| 2. | Andhra Pradesh | A new state was formed, namely, Andhra Pradesh, by taking out certain territory from the state of Madras by the Andhra State Act of 1953. |
| 3. | Himachal Pradesh | The Himachal Pradesh and the Bilaspur (new state) Act, 1954, merged the 2 Part C states of Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur to form 1 state, namely, Himachal Pradesh. |
| 4. | West Bengal | Certain territories were transferred from Bihar to West Bengal by the Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956. |
| 5. | Kerala |
The boundaries of different states were reorganized in order to meet local and linguistic demands by the States Reorganisation Act 1956. Apart from Transferring certain territories between the existing states, it formed the new state of Kerala and merged the former states of Madhya Bharat, Pepsi, Saurashtra, Travancore Cochin, Ajmer, Bhopal, Coorg, kutch and Vindhya Pradesh in other adjoining States. |
| 6. | Madhya Pradesh |
Certain territories were transferred from the state of Rajasthan to that of Madhya Pradesh by the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1959. |
| 7. | Andhra Pradesh | An alteration was made through the Andhra Pradesh and Madras (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1959, in the boundaries Andhra Pradesh and Madras state. |
| 8. | Gujarat and Maharashtra | The Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 partitioned the Bombay to form the new state of Gujarat and to name the remainning part of Bombay as Maharashtra. Thus, the state of Bombay was split into two states, i.e., Maharashtra and Gujarat. |
| 9. | Assam, Punjab and West Bengal | The Acquired Territories (Merger) Act 1960 provided for the merger into the states of Assam, West Bengal and Punjab of certain territories acquired by agreement between the Government of India and Pakistan in 1958 and 1959. |
| 10. | Nagaland | A new state was formed, namely Nagaland, comprising the territory of the Naga Hills-Tuensang Area, which was earlier a tribal area in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India, forming part of the state of Assam by the State of Nagaland Act, 1962. |
| 11. | Punjab, Haryana | The state of Punjab was split up into the states of Punjab and Haryana and the union territories of Chandigarh by the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966. |
| 12. | Andhra Pradesh and Mysore | The Andhra Pradesh and the Mysore (Transfer of Territory) Act, 1968, provides for the transfer of certain territory from the Mysore state to the state of Andhra Pradesh and for matters connected therewith. |
| 13. | Bihar and Uttar Pradesh | The Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1968, provides for the alteration of Boundaries of the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and for the matters connected therewith. |
| 14. | Meghalaya | An autonomous sub-state, namely Meghalaya, within the State of Assam, was created by the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act, 1969. |
| 15. | Himachal Pradesh | Himachal Pradesh was upgraded to the status of state from that of the Union Territories by the State of Himachal Pradesh Act 1970. |
| 16. | Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh | Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya brought the category of states and Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to the list of Union Territories by the North Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. |
| 17. | Sikkim | 35th Amendment Act, 1974 admitted Sikkim into India as a State, and 36th Amendment act, 1975 introduced Article 371F to give special protections to it. |
| 18. | Haryana and Uttar Pradesh | The Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1979 provides for the alteration of the boundaries of the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and for the matters connected therewith. |
| 19. | Mizoram | By the State of Mizoram Act, 1986, Mizoram was elevated to the status of state from Union Territory. |
| 20. | Arunachal Pradesh | By the state of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986, it was upgraded to status of state from Union Territory. |
| 21. | Goa | By the Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganisation Act, 1987, a state was formed, namely, Goa, separating it from Daman and Diu. |
| 22. | Chhattisgarh | A new state of Chattisgarh was created by separating out its territory from that of the territories of Madhya Pradesh by enacting the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000. |
| 23. | Uttaranchal | The Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000 separated the territory of Uttaranchal from Uttar Pradesh. |
| 24. | Jharkhand | By separating its territory from the State of Bihar via the Bihar Reorganisation Act, of 2000, |
| 25. | Telangana | The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 separated the territory of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. |
Questions related to Article 4 of Constitution of India
Article 4 explains how laws made under Articles 2 and 3 (about creating or altering states) can also make changes to the First and Fourth Schedules of the Indian Constitution—without being treated as a constitutional amendment.
Interestingly, no! Article 4 clearly says that even if a law changes parts of the Constitution of India, it won’t be considered an amendment under Article 368. This keeps the process of creating or modifying states flexible.
On Indian Kanoon, you’ll find that Article 4 is usually referenced when state boundaries change or new states are formed. It supports laws that update constitutional schedules without needing the longer amendment process.
The First Schedule lists all Indian states and union territories, while the Fourth Schedule details how Rajya Sabha seats are allocated. Article 4 allows these to be updated through normal laws passed under Articles of Indian Constitution.
It provides a legal shortcut for Parliament to adjust key parts of the Indian Constitution (like state lists and seat distribution) without a full constitutional amendment. This makes the Constitution of India more adaptable in handling territorial changes.
For Further Reference:
Read the constitution of India.
Read the Union and its Territory.
