The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution to India, formally recognized as The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962, created Goa, Daman and Diu as the eighth Union territory of India by amending the First Schedule of the Constitution. In December 1961 India gained possession of Goa, Daman and Diu from Portugal. The amendment further amended Article 240(1) of the Constitution to cover certain territories in order to require the President to "make rules on security, development and good governance of the region."

The twelfth amendment came into force retroactively on 20 December 1961, the day after the formal ceremony of the official Portuguese surrender, when Governor General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva signed an instrument of surrender putting to an end 451 years of Portuguese rule in Goa. The union territory was split on 30 May 1987, and Goa became India's twenty-fifth province, though Daman and Diu remained a union territory.

Text

In the 13th year of the Republic of India, Parliament enacted the following: 

1. Short title and starting (1) This Act can be referred to as the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962. 

(2) It shall be considered to have come into effect on the 20th day of December 1961. 

2. Amendment of the First Schedule. The following provision shall be made in the First Schedule of the Constitution under the heading "UNION TERRITORIES" after entry 7, namely: — 

"8. Goa, Diu and Daman. The territories comprised in Goa, Daman and Diu immediately before December 20, 1961.

"(d) Goa, Daman and Diu".

Proposal and enactment

The Act of 1962 (Bill of 1962 No 3) was laid down in the Lok Sabha on 12 March 1962 (Twelfth Amendment) The Constitution. It was first adopted by Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and was supposed to change Article 240 and the first schedule of the constitution. The complete text of the statement of reasons attached to the draft is provided as follows:

Upon the annexation of the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu with effect from 20 December 1961, those regions, according to sub-clause (c) of Section 1(3) of the Constitution, have been constituted within the jurisdiction of India since that date and are governed as Union territory by the President through the Administrator pursuant to Article 239 of the Constitution. Nevertheless, the specific inclusion of Goa, Daman and Diu as territory of the Union in the First Annex to the Constitution is deemed desirable. It is also proposed that Article 240(1) should be modified to grant the President the authority to lay down rules for the stability, development and good governance of Goa, Daman and Diu, as has been achieved in the case of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. 

The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act 1962 aims to set down the clauses alluded to above.

— Jawaharlal Nehru, "Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Bill, 1962." This article contains text from this document, which is in the public domain.

The bill was discussed and approved in its original incarnation by Lok Sabha on 14 March 1962. This was accepted and sent on to the Rajya Sabha on 20 March 1962. The bill was authorised by the then President Rajendra Prasad on 27 March 1962 and reported to the Indian Gazette on 28 March 1962. It comes into effect retroactively on 20 December 1961.