On 22 August 2006, a five-judge Constitution Bench upheld the 2003 amendment to the Representation of the People Act 1951 that deleted the requirement of ordinary residence in the State concerned for election to the Rajya Sabha, and upheld the accompanying shift to an open ballot for Rajya Sabha elections. The Court held that federalism is part of the basic structure but that residence in the represented State is not itself a basic feature of Rajya Sabha membership, and that the secrecy of the ballot is not an absolute constitutional value where an indirect election by elected representatives is at stake.