Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of India

The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966
Parliament of India
  • An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Citation19th Amendment
Territorial extentIndia
Passed byLok Sabha
Passed22 November 1966
Passed byRajya Sabha
Passed30 November 1966
Assented to11 December 1966
Commenced11 December 1966
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill titleConstitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Bill, 1966
Introduced byGopal Swarup Pathak
Introduced29 August 1966
Related legislation
Representation of the People Act, 1951
Summary
Abolished Election Tribunals and enabled trial of election petitions by High Courts
Status: In force

The Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 1966, abolished Election Tribunals in India and enabled trial of election petitions by High Courts. It amended clause (1) of article 324 of the Constitution, which provides for vesting of the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections with the Election Commission. The 19th Amendment removed the provision relating to the power of "the appointment of election tribunals for the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with elections to Parliament and to the Legislatures of States".

Provisions for the trial of election petitions by High Courts instead of the election tribunals, was provided for by amending the Representation of the People Act, 1951.