Polity

Basic Structure of Indian Constitution

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Basic Structure

The basic structure doctrine is an Indian judicial principle that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the parliament. Key among these “basic features”, are the fundamental rights granted to individuals by the constitution. The doctrine thus forms the basis of a limited power of the Indian Supreme Court to review and strike down constitutional amendments enacted by the parliament which conflict with or seek to alter this “basic structure” of the constitution.

In 1965, The “basic features” principle was first expounded by Justice J.R. Mudholkar in his dissent in the case of Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan.

In 1973, the basic structure doctrine triumphed in Justice Hans Raj Khanna’s judgment in the landmark decision of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. Previously, the Supreme Court had held that the power of parliament to amend the constitution was unfettered. However, in this landmark ruling, the court adjudicated that while parliament has “wide” powers, it did not have the power to destroy or emasculate the basic elements or fundamental features of the constitution.

In 1975, Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court used the basic structure doctrine to strike down the 39th amendment and paved the way for restoration of Indian democracy.

In 1980, The Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act had been enacted by the government of Indira Gandhi in response to the Kesavananda judgment in an effort to reduce the power of the judicial review of constitutional amendments by the Supreme Court. In the Minerva Mills case, Nani Palkhivala successfully moved the Supreme Court to declare sections 4 & 55 of the 42nd amendment as unconstitutional. Chief Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud explained in the Minerva Mills judgment that since the power of Parliament to amend the constitution was limited, as had been previously held through the basic structure doctrine in the Kesavananda case, the parliament could not by amending the constitution convert this limited power into an unlimited power (as it had purported to do by the 42nd amendment). In addition, the court also ruled that the parliament’s “power to amend is not a power to destroy”.

The basic structure doctrine applies only to constitutional amendments. It does not apply to ordinary acts of parliament, which must itself be in conformity with the constitution.

In Kesavananda there were differing opinions even among the majority for what the “basic structure” of the constitution comprised.

Chief Justice Sikri, writing for the majority, indicated that the basic structure consists of the following:

  • The supremacy of the constitution.
  • A republican and democratic form of government.
  • The secular character of the Constitution.
  • Maintenance of the separation of powers.
  • The federal character of the Constitution.

Justices Shelat and Grover in their opinion added three features to the Chief Justice’s list:

  • The mandate to build a welfare state contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
  • Maintenance of the unity and integrity of India.
  • The sovereignty of the country.

Justices Hegde and Mukherjea, in their opinion, provided a separate and shorter list:

  • The sovereignty of India.
  • The democratic character of the polity.
  • The unity of the country.
  • Essential features of individual freedoms.
  • The mandate to build a welfare state.

Justice Jaganmohan Reddy preferred to look at the preamble, stating that the basic features of the constitution were laid out by that part of the document, and thus could be represented by:

  • A sovereign democratic republic.
  • The provision of social, economic and political justice.
  • Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
  • Equality of status and opportunity.

The interpretation of the basic structure has since evolved in numerous other court rulings since the Kesavananda judgment.

 

Judicial Review

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The Judiciary plays a very important role as a protector of the constitutional values that the founding fathers have given us. They try to undo the harm that is being done by the legislature and the executive and also they try to provide every citizen what has been promised by the Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy. All this is possible thanks to the power of judicial review.

 

All this is not achieved in a day it took 50 long years for where we are right now, if one thinks that it is has been a roller coaster ride without any hindrances they are wrong judiciary has been facing the brunt of many politicians, technocrats, academicians, lawyers etc. Few of them being genuine concerns, and among one of them is the aspect of corruption and power of criminal contempt. In this paper I would try to highlight the ups and downs of this greatest institution in India.

 

 

 

The rule of law is the bedrock of democracy, and the primary responsibility for implementation of the rule of law lies with the judiciary.1 This is now a basic feature of every constitution, which cannot be altered even by the exercise of new powers from parliament. It is the significance of judicial review, to ensure that democracy is inclusive and that there is accountability of everyone who wields or exercises public power. As Edmund Burke said: “all persons in positions of power ought to be strongly and lawfully impressed with an idea that “they act in trust,” and must account for their conduct to one great master, to those in whom the political sovereignty rests, the people”.2

 

 

 

India opted for parliamentary form of democracy, where every section is involved in policy-making, and decision taking, so that every point of view is reflected and there is a fair representation of every section of the people in every such body. In this kind of inclusive democracy, the judiciary has a very important role to play. That is the concept of accountability in any republican democracy, and this basic theme has to be remembered by everybody exercising public power, irrespective of the extra expressed expositions in the constitution.3

 

 

 

The principle of judicial review became an essential feature of written Constitutions of many countries. Seervai in his book Constitutional Law of India noted that the principle of judicial review is a familiar feature of the Constitutions of Canada, Australia and India, though the doctrine of Separation of Powers has no place in strict sense in Indian Constitution, but the functions of different organs of the Government have been sufficiently differentiated, so that one organ of the Government could not usurp the functions of another.4

 

The power of judicial review has in itself the concept of separation of powers an essential component of the rule of law, which is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. Every State action has to be tested on the anvil of rule of law and that exercise is performed, when occasion arises by the reason of a doubt raised in that behalf, by the courts. The power of Judicial Review is incorporated in Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution insofar as the High Courts are concerned. In regard to the Supreme Court Articles 32 and 136 of the Constitution, the judiciary in India has come to control by judicial review every aspect of governmental and public functions.5

 

 

 

Extent of Judicial Review in India:

 

The initial years of the Supreme Court of India saw the adoption of an approach characterised by caution and circumspection. Being steeped in the British tradition of limited judicial review, the Court generally adopted a pro-legislature stance. This is evident form the rulings such as A.K. Gopalan, but however it did not take long for judges to break their shackles and this led to a series of right to property cases in which the judiciary was loggerhead with the parliament. The nation witnessed a series of events where a decision of the Supreme Court was followed by a legislation nullifying its effect, followed by another decision reaffirming the earlier position, and so on. The struggle between the two wings of government continued on other issues such as the power of amending the Constitution.6 During this era, the Legislature sought to bring forth people-oriented socialist measures which when in conflict with fundamental rights were frustrated on the upholding of the fundamental rights of individuals by the Supreme Court. At the time, an effort was made to project the Supreme Court as being concerned only with the interests of propertied classes and being insensitive to the needs of the masses. Between 1950 and 1975, the Indian Supreme Court had held a mere one hundred Union and State laws, in whole or in part, to be unconstitutional.

 

After the period of emergency the judiciary was on the receiving end for having delivered a series of judgments which were perceived by many as being violative of the basic human rights of Indian citizens 7and changed the way it looked at the constitution. The Supreme Court said that any legislation is amenable to judicial review, be it momentous amendments8 to the Constitution or drawing up of schemes and bye-laws of municipal bodies which affect the life of a citizen9. Judicial review extends to every governmental or executive action – from high policy matters like the President’s power to issue a proclamation on failure of constitutional machinery in the States like in Bommai case, to the highly discretionary exercise of the prerogative of pardon like in Kehar Singh case  or the right to go abroad as in Satwant Singh case.Judicial review knows no bounds except the restraint of the judges themselves regarding justifiability of an issue in a particular case.

 

Judicial Review of Political Questions:

 

In the initial stages of the judicial adjudication Courts have said that where there is a political question involved it is not amenable to judicial review but slowly this changed, in Keshavananda Bharathi’s case,10 the Court held that, “it is difficult to see how the power of judicial review makes the judiciary supreme in any sense of the word. This power is of paramount importance in a federal constitution…. Judicial Review of constitutional amendments may seem involving the Court in political question, but it is the Court alone which can decide such an issue. The function of Interpretation of a Constitution being thus assigned to the judicial power the State, the question whether the subject of law is within the ambit of one or more powers of the legislature conferred by the constitution would always be a question of interpretation of the Constitution.”

 

Than it was in Special Courts Bill, 1978, In re, case where the majority opined that, “The policy of the Bill and the motive of the mover to ensure a speedy trial of persons holding high public or political office who are alleged to have committed certain crimes during the period of emergency may be political, but the question whether the bill or any provisions are constitutionally invalid is a not a question of a political nature and the court should not refrain from answering it.” What this meant was that though there are political questions involved the validity of any action or legislation can be challenged if it would violate the constitution. This position has been reiterated in many other cases11 and in S.R. Bommai’s case the Court held, “though subjective satisfaction of the President cannot be reviewed but the material on which satisfaction is based open to review…” the court further went on to say that, “The opinion which the President would form on the basis of Governor’s report or otherwise would be based on his political judgment and it is difficult to evolve judicially manageable norms for scrutinizing such political decisions. Therefore, by the very nature of things which would govern the decision-making under Article 356, it is difficult to hold that the decision of the president is justiciable. To do so would be entering the political thicker and questioning the political wisdom which the courts of law must avoid. The temptation to delve into the President’s satisfaction may be great but the courts would be well advised to resist the temptation for want of judicially manageable standards. Therefore, the Court cannot interdict the use of the constitutional power conferred on the President under Article 356 unless the same is shown to be male fide.”

 

As Soli Sorabjee points out, “there is genuine concern about misuse by the Centre of Article 356 on the pretext that the State Government is acting in defiance of the essential features of the Constitution. The real safeguard will be full judicial review extending to an inquiry into the truth and correctness of the basic facts relied upon in support of the action under Article 356 as indicated by Justices Sawant and Kuldip Singh. If in certain cases that entails evaluating the sufficiency of the material, so be it.”

 

What this meant was the judiciary was being cautious about the role it has to play while adjudicating matters of such importance and it is showing a path of restraint that has to be used while deciding such matters so that it does not usurp the powers given by the Constitution by way of the power of review at the same it is also minimizing the misusing of the power given under Article 356 to the President.

 

Judicial Review as a part of the Basic Structure:

 

In the celebrated case of Keshavanda Bharathi v. State of Kerela, the Supreme Court of India the propounded the basic structure doctrine according to which it said the legislature can amend the Constitution, but it should not change the basic structure of the Constitution, The Judges made no attempt to define the basic structure of the Constitution in clear terms. S.M. Sikri, C.J mentioned five basic features:

 

  1. Supremacy of the Constitution. 2. Republican and democratic form of Government. 3. Secular character of the Constitution. 4. Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. 5. Federal character of the Constitution.

He observed that these basic features are easily discernible not only from the Preamble but also from the whole scheme of the Constitution. He added that the structure was built on the basic foundation of dignity and freedom of the individual which could not by any form of amendment be destroyed. It was also observed in that case that the above are only illustrative and not exhaustive of all the limitations on the power of amendment of the Constitution. The Constitutional bench in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975 Supp SCC 1.) held that Judicial Review in election disputes was not a compulsion as it is not a part of basic structure. In S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India((1987) 1 SCC 124 at 128.), P.N. Bhagwati, C.J., relying on Minerva Mills Ltd. ((1980) 3 SCC 625.) declared that it was well settled that judicial review was a basic and essential feature of the Constitution. If the power of judicial review was absolutely taken away, the Constitution would cease to be what it was. In Sampath Kumar the Court further declared that if a law made under Article 323-A(1) were to exclude the jurisdiction of the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 without setting up an effective alternative institutional mechanism or arrangement for judicial review, it would be violative of the basic structure and hence outside the constituent power of Parliament.

 

In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhur (1992 Supp (2) SCC 651, 715, para 120) another Constitution Bench, while examining the validity of para 7 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution which excluded judicial review of the decision of the Speaker/Chairman on the question of disqualification of MLAs and MPs, observed that it was unnecessary to pronounce on the contention whether judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and para 7 of the Tenth Schedule violated such basic structure.

 

Subsequently, in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India ((1997) 3 SCC 261) a larger Bench of seven Judges unequivocally declared:

 

“that the power of judicial review over legislative action vested in the High Courts under Article 226 and in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is an integral and essential feature of the Constitution, constituting part of its basic structure”.

 

Though one does not deny that power to review is very important, at the same time one cannot also give an absolute power to review and by recognizing judicial review as a part of basic feature of the constitution Courts in India have given a different meaning to the theory of Check’s and Balances this also meant that it has buried the concept of separation of powers, where the judiciary will give itself an unfettered jurisdiction to review any thing every thing that is done by the legislature.

 

Expansion of Judicial Review through Judicial Activism:

 

After the draconian exposition of power by the Executive and the Legislature during Emergency the expectations of the public soared high and the demands on the courts to improve the administration by giving appropriate directions for ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional prescriptions. Likewise the judiciary has taken an activist view the Beginning with the Ratlam Municipality case 12the sweep of Social Action Litigation13 had encompassed a variety of causes14.

 

With the interpretation given by it in Menaka Gandhi case the Supreme Court brought the ambit of constitutional provisions to enforce the human rights of citizens and sought to bring the Indian law in conformity with the global trends in human-rights-jurisprudence. This was made possible in India, because of the procedural innovations with a view to making itself more accessible to disadvantaged sections of society giving rise to the phenomenon of Social Action Litigation/Public Interest Litigation15. During the Eighties and the first half of the Nineties, the Court have broken there shackle’s and moved much ahead from being a mere legal institution, its decisions have tremendous social, political and economic ramifications. Time and again, it has sought to interpret constitutional provisions and the objectives sought to be achieved by it and directed the executive to comply with its orders.

 

SAL, a manifestation of judicial activism, has introduced a new dimension regarding judiciary’s involvement in public administration16. The sanctity of locus standi and the procedural complexities are totally side-tracked in the causes brought before the courts through SAL. In the beginning, the application of SAL was confined only to improving the lot of the disadvantaged sections of the society who by reason of their poverty and ignorance were not in a position to seek justice from the courts and, therefore, any member of the public was permitted to maintain an application for appropriate directions17.

 

The new role of the Supreme Court has been criticised in some quarters as being violative of the doctrine of separation of powers; it is claimed that the Apex Court has, by formulating policy and issuing directions in respect of various aspects of the country’s administration, transgressed into the domain of the executive and the legislature. As Justice Cardozo puts it, “A Constitution states or ought to state not rules for the passing hour but principles for an expanding future.”18 It is with this view that innovations in the rules of standing have come into existence.

 

Limitation on the power of review:

 

The expansion of the horizon of judicial review is seen both with reverence and suspicion; reverence in as much as the judicial review is a creative element of interpretation, which serves as an omnipresent and potentially omnipotent check on the legislative and executive branches of government. But at the same time there is a danger that they may trespass into the powers given to the legislature and the executive.

 

One many say that if there is any limitation on judicial review other than constitutional and procedural19 that is a product of judicial self-restraint. As justice Dwivedi empathically observed, “Structural socio-political value choices involve a complex and complicated political process. This court is hardly fitted for performing that function. In the absence of any explicit Constitutional norms and for want of complete evidence, the court’s structural value choices will be largely subjective. Our personal predilections will unavoidably enter into the scale and give colour to our judgment. Subjectivism is calculated to undermine legal certainty, an essential element of rule of law.”20

 

The above observations also reveal another assumption to support an attitude of self-restraint, viz., the element subjectiveness in judicial decision on issues having socio-political significance. When one looks at the decisions of the Supreme Court on certain questions of fundamental issues of constitutional law one can see that there is a sharp division among the judges of the apex court on such basic questions of power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution, federal relations, powers of the President etc. This aptly demonstrates the observation of the judge. This would mean that though there has been expansion of powers of judicial review one cannot also say that this cannot be overturned.

 

Judicial self-restrain in relation to legislative power manifests itself in the form the there is a presumption of constitutionality when the validity of the statute is challenged. In the words of Fazl Ali, “…the presumption is always in favour of the constitutionality of an enactment, and the burden is upon him who attacks it to show that there has been a clear transgression of the constitutional principles”21

 

In applying the presumption of constitutionality the Courts sometimes apply an interpretational device called ‘reading down’. The essence of the device is that “if certain provisions of law construed in one way would make them consistent with the constitution, and another interpretation would render them unconstitutional, the court would lean in favour of the former construction.”22 But all this depends on the outlook and values of the judge.23

 

When it come judicial review of administrative action though the presumption of validity is not so strong in the case of administrative action as in the case of statutes. Still, when the legislature expressly leaves a matter to the discretion of an administrative authority the courts have adopted an attitude of restraint. They have said we cannot the question the legality of the exercise of discretionary power unless and until it is an abuse of discretionary power (which includes mala fide exercise of power, exercising the power for an improper motive, decision based on irrelevant considerations or in disregard of relevant consideration, and in some cases unreasonable exercise of power) and non-exercise of discretion ( which come when power is exercised without proper delegation and when it is acted under dictation).

 

The relevant considerations which should make the judicial choice in favour of activism or restraint are the policy and scheme of the statute, the object of conferring discretionary powers, the nature and scope of the discretion, and finally, the nature of the right and interests affected by the decision. Any impulsive move to activism without a serious consideration of these factors may only be viewed as undesirable. Judicial activism, being an exception, not the general rule, in relation to the control of discretionary power, needs strong reasons to justify it. In the absence of such strong support of reasons the interventionist strategy may provoke the other branches of Government may retaliate and impose further limitations on the scope of judicial review.

 

Conclusion:

 

Accountability is an essential part of the rule of law. It is essential for another reason, as in the earlier editions of Dicey,24 of course modified in later editions, referring to John Wilkes’s case,25 that “conferment of any discretion tends to arbitrariness and therefore there is something inconsistent with the rule of law.” But then, as time passed, it was realized that conferment of some discretion for the purpose of application to the facts of a given case is something you cannot do away with. The area of discretion should be the minimum possible, and set norms, standards or guidelines should regulate it, so that it does not tend to become arbitrary. Therefore, the rule of non-arbitrariness is something to be tested by the judiciary whenever the occasion arises.26

 

The growth of judicial review is the inevitable response of the judiciary to ensure proper check on the exercise of public power. Growing awareness of the rights in the people; the trend of judicial scrutiny of every significant governmental action and the readiness even of the executive to seek judicial determination of debatable or controversial issues, at times, may be, to avoid its accountability for the decision, have all resulted in the increasing significance of the role of the judiciary. There is a general perception that the judiciary in this country has been active in expansion of the field of judicial review into non-traditional areas, which earlier were considered beyond judicial purview.

 

The Judges have a duty to perform, which is even more onerous to keep the judicial ship afloat on even keel. It must avoid making any ad hoc decision without the foundation of a juristic principle, particularly, when the decision appears to break new grounds. The judgments must be logical, precise, clear, and sober, rendered with restraint in speech avoiding saying more than that, which is necessary in the case.27

 

It must always be remembered that a step taken in a new direction is fraught with the danger of being a likely step in a wrong direction. In order to be a path-breaking trend it must be a sure step in the right direction. Any step satisfying these requirements and setting a new trend to achieve justice can alone be a New Dimension of Justice and a true contribution to the growth and development of law meant to achieve the ideal of justice.

Challenges of National Integration

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National integration has been a very serious and prominent challenge in all the developing countries including India. For a proper analysis of the concept of national integration it is necessary to know the meaning of certain concepts. The first and foremost concept is the term integration itself which may be defined as “a process of becoming whole.”  In other words, “an integrated whole is one in which all structural aspects and parts, fit together with at least some minimal amount of unity or mutual compatibility.”  Furthermore, “integration is the name for the state of relationship between parts of the system.”  It “has to do with the interrelations of units.”  Thus, “an integrated society is one in which established institutions and rights and values associated with them are generally accepted.”  These definitions generally present the static character of integration with its main focus at maintenance of the system. But in reality while concerned with the process of becoming whole, integration is also directed towards an orderly change within the system.

Various Challenges to National Integration are:-

The term national integration tends to be obscure in the light of varying definitions of nation and nationalism. The minimum requisite for nationhood is considered to be the people living in a compact geographical area with general cultural unity. They form a nation by accepting a particular political order and forming a state. Language, race, religion and history are additional factors which generally strengthen the bond of nationhood. According to J. P. Narayan  nationhood is made up of tangible and intangible elements, the latter constituting much the larger part of it.

The most essential tangible elements of nationhood are:

 

  1. A well-defined territory
  2. Political unity represented by a constitution, common citizenship and a government
  3. A workable medium of communication.

The intangible elements are:

  1. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for every citizen to regard loyalty to the nation as being above sectional and group loyalties
  2. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for every group and section of the nation to subordinate its interest to national interests;
  3. An attitude of mind which makes it natural and normal for the nation to think of the interests of every citizen and of every group and section of the nation.

Problem of National Integration in Post-Independence India

 

The main challenges to national integration in post-independence India are

linguism, communalism, casteism and regionalism.

 

  • Language

 

India is a multi-linguistic nation with several well developed languages

which are rich in grammar, expression and literature and have their own distinct

script. Multi-linguism is, therefore, one of the primordial facts of the Indian

polity.

 

Despite the acceptance of Hindi as the official language of the Republic by

the Constituent Assembly of India and its further recognition by the Hindi-

speaking states, the language issue has remained unsettled. In post-independence

India the language issue took a different turn. Now instead of the Hindi-Urdu

conflict what emerged was a conflict between Hindi and English on the one hand

and Hindi and regional languages on the other hand, particularly those spoken in

the South India like Tamil and Telugu. Till 1960, the language issue mainly

revolved round Hindi and English. So long as the memory of the freedom struggle

and its commitments were fresh in the minds of leaders of different parts of India,

there was no sharp public reaction or mass mobilisation against Hindi. The non-

Hindi speaking people were taking interest in Hindi, especially in the Hindustānī

form of Hindi, even in the pre-independence period. The leaders from non-Hindi

areas had been emotionally committed to replacing English by an Indian

language. Moreover, after independence, for three successive elections the

Congress party had won overwhelming majority in most of the states. Congress

leadership convinced the anxious non-Hindi speaking people and their leadership

that the promotion of Hindi would not take place at their cost.

 

 

To make a compromise between the supporters and the opponents of Hindi

the ‘Three Language Formula’ was accepted as a middle path. However, the issue

was finally settled by the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967, and it was

decided that English will continue to be the Associate Official Language of the

Union for all the non-Hindi states till the time they themselves opt for Hindi.

 

 

 

 

  • Religion

 

Religion is a very crucial factor as far as the national integration of India is

concerned. There are six major religious communities in India accounting for a

substantial population in the country as a whole.   Historically, religion has never

played a predominant role in the governance of the state in India. Whenever

attempts were made to introduce religion as a principle of administration, it failed.

 

Still, religion directly or indirectly, influences our politics to some extent and in

its accentuated form, it leads to communalism and violence and then poses a

serious threat to national integration.

 

 

 

  • Communalism

 

A sense of blind loyalty towards the community that may go to the extent of subordinating one’s higher loyalty to his or her nation or society as a whole. Instead of having an attitude towards a particular religion enlightened enough so as to circumvent any possible feeling of orthodoxy, it leads to the inculcation of wrong orientations that have their manifestation in the form of fanaticism or religious orthodoxy. As such, communalism refers to the attitude of the people and their groups when they “place their loyalty to the community above loyalty to the body politic to which they belong, or else when they develop active hostility towards communities

living within the same body politic.”

 

 

  • Regionalism

Regionalism is one issue that has apparently caused the greatest threat to

national integration.  Regionalism  is  defined  as  politicisation  of  regional

sentiment. To have a conceptual understanding of the term regionalism, let us first

see the meaning of the term region.

 

Region generally means a large tract of land, a more or less defined portion

of the earth’s surface specifically distinguished by certain natural features and

climatic conditions. The essential point is that a region is characterised, more than

anything else, by a widely shared sentiment of ‘togetherness’ in the people,

In  India the  most  important factor responsible for the  growth of

regionalism has been regional imbalance and regional disparity. The unequal

development of different regions of India owes its genesis to the colonial past.

The British did not have much interest in India’s development, least be said of

equal development of all the regions.

 

internalised from a wide variety of sources  and, what is more, a ‘separateness from others.’ The concept of regionalism draws sustenance from the factors of

geography, topography, religion, language, culture, economic life, customs,

political traditions and shared historical experiences. The term regionalism has its

wider and narrower connotations. In the former sense, it covers the case of a

movement directed against ‘centralism’; in the latter sense, it refers to the

attachment of the people with interests of a local significance and in that respect it

becomes analogous to localism or sectionalism

Fundamental Rights

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Fundamental Rights

  • Discrimination not on grounds only of
    • Art 15: religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth
    • Art 16: religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence
  • Reservation
    • First Backward Classes Commission: 1953, Kaka Kalelkar
    • Second BCC: 1979, B P Mandal (by Morarji Desai govt)
    • Article 340
  • Reasonable Restrictions
    • Speech and Expression: sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence
    • Assembly: sovereignty and integrity of India and public order
    • Association: sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and morality
    • Movement: interest of general public and the protection of interests of any scheduled tribe
    • Residence: interest of general public and the protection of interests of any scheduled tribe
    • Profession: in the interest of the general public
  • Protection against self-incrimination does not extend to civil proceedings
  • Protection provided under normal detention in Art 22 not covers arrest under the orders of a court, civil arrest, arrest on failure to pay the income tax and deportation of an alien

 

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Evolution of Indian Constitution

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Although the systems of ancient India do have their reflections in the Constitutions of India, the direct sources of the Constitution lie in the administrative and legislative developments of the British period.

 

Regulating Act of 1773

  • This Act was based on the report of a committee headed by the British Prime Minister Lord North.
  • Governance of the East India Company was put under the British Parliamentary control.
  • The Governor of Bengal was nominated as Governor General for all the three Presidencies of Calcutta Bombay and Madras. Warren Hastings was the first such Governor General.
  • A Supreme Court was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata)
  • Governor General was empowered to make laws, regulations and ordinances with the consent of the Supreme Court.

 

Pitts India Act of 1784

  • It was enacted to improve upon the provisions of Regulating Act of 1773 to bring about better discipline in the Company’s system of administration.
  • A 6 member Board of Coordinators was set up which was headed by a minister of the British Government. All political responsibilities were given to this board.
  • Trade and commerce related issues were under the purview of the Court of the Directors of the company.
  • Provinces had to follow the instructions of the Central Government and Governor General was empowered to dismiss the failing provincial government.

 

Charter Act of 1793

  • Main provisions of the previous Acts were consolidated in this Act.
  • Provided for the payment of salaries of the members of the Board of Controllers from Indian revenue.
  • Courts were given the power to interpret rules and regulations

 

Charter Act of 1813

  • Trade monopoly of the East India Company came to an end.
  • Powers of the three Councils of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were enlarged; they were also subjected to greater control of the British Parliament.
  • The Christian Missionaries were allowed to spread their religion in India.
  • Local autonomous bodies were empowered to levy taxes.

 

Charter Act of 1833

  • The Governor General and his Council were given vast powers. This Council could legislate for the whole of India subject to the approval of the Board of Controllers.
  • The Council got full powers regarding revenue, and a single budget for the country was prepared by the Governor General.
  • The East India Company was reduced to an administrative and political entity and several Lords and Ministers were nominated as ex-officio members of the Board of Controllers.
  • For the first time the Governor-General’s Government was known as the ‘Government of India’ and his Council as the ‘Indian Council’.

 

Charter Act of 1853

  • This was the last of the Charter Acts and it made important changes in the system of Indian legislation.
  • This Act followed a report of then Governor General Dalhousie for improving the administration of the company.
  • A separate Governor for Bengal was to be appointed.
  • Legislative and administrative functions of the Council were separately identified.
  • Recruitment of the Company’s employees was to be done through competitive exams.
  • British Parliament was empowered to put Company’s governance of India to an end at any suitable time.

 

Government of India Act, 1858

  • British Crown decided to assume sovereignty over India from the East India Company in an apparent consequence of the Revolt of 1857, described as an armed sepoy mutiny by the British historians and remembered as the First War of Independence by the Indians.
  • The first statute for the governance of India, under the direct rule of the British Government, was the Government of India Act, 1858.
  • It Provide for absolute (British) imperial control over India without any popular participation in the administration of the country.
  • The powers of the crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members, known as the Council of India.
  • The country was divided into provinces headed by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor aided by his Executive Council.
  • The Provincial Governments had to function under the superintendence, direction and control of the Governor- General in all matters.
  • All authority for the governance of India was vested in the Governor- General in Council who was responsible to the Secretary of State.
  • The Secretary of State was ultimately responsible to the British Parliament.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1861

  • This is an important landmark in the constitutional history of India. By this Act, the powers of the Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members (known as the Council of India). The Secretary of State, who was responsible to the British Parliament, governed India through the Governor General, assisted by an Executive council.
  • This Act enabled the Governor General to associate representatives of the Indian people with the work of legislation by nominating them to his expanded council.
  • This Act provided that the Governor General’s Executive Council should include certain additional non-official members also while transacting legislative business as a Legislative Council. But this Legislative Council was neither representative nor deliberative in any sense.
  • It decentralized the legislative powers of the Governor General’s Council and vested them in the Governments of Bombay and Madras.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1892

  • The non-official members of the Indian Legislative Council were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Provincial Legislatives Council while the non-official members of the Provincial Councils were to be nominated by certain local bodies such as universities, districts boards, municipalities, zamindars etc.
  • The Councils were to have the power of discussing the Budget and addressing questions to the Executive.

 

Morley-Minto Reforms and the Indian Councils Act, 1909

  • Reforms recommended by the then Secretary of States for India (Lord Morley) and the Viceroy (Lord Minto) were implemented by the Indian Councils Act, 1909.
  • The maximum number of additional members of the Indian Legislative Council (Governor- General’s Council) was raised from 16 (under the Act of 1892) to 60 (excluding the Executive Councilors).
  • The size of Provincial Legislative Councils was enlarged by including elected non-official members so that the official majority was gone.
  • An element of election was introduced in the Legislative Council at the centre also but here the official majority was maintained.
  • The Legislative Councils were empowered to move resolutions on the Budget, and on any matter of public interest except certain specified subjects such as the Armed forces, Foreign Affairs and the Indian States.
  • It provided, for the first time, for separate representation of the Muslim community and thus sowed the seeds of separatism.

 

The Government of India Act, 1915

  • This act was passed to consolidate the provisions of the preceding Government of India Acts.

 

Montague-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act, 1919

  • The then Secretary of State for India Mr. E.S. Montague and the Governor General Lord Chelmsford formulated proposals for the Government of India Act, 1919.
  • Responsible Government in the Provinces was to be introduced, without impairing the responsibility of the Governor (through Governor General), for the administration of the province, by resorting to device known as ‘Diarchy’ or dual government.
  • The subjects of administration were to be divided into two categories Central and Provincial.
  • Central subjects were those which were exclusively kept under the control of the Central Government.
  • The provincial subjects were sub-divided into ‘transferred’ and ‘reserved’ subjects.
  • The ‘transferred subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the Legislative Council in which the proportion of elected members was raised to 70 percent.
  • The ‘ reserved subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor and his Executive Council with no responsibility to the Legislature.
  • The previous Central control over the provinces in the administrative, legislative and financial matters was relaxed. Sources of revenue were divided into two categories so that the provinces could run the administration with the revenue raised y the provinces themselves.
  • The provincial budget was separated from the central budget.
  • The provincial legislature was empowered to present its own budget and levy its own taxes relating to the provincial sources of revenue.
  • The Central Legislature, retained power to legislate for the whole country on any subject.
  • The control of the Governor General over provincial legislature was retained by providing that a Provincial Bill, even though assented to by the Governor, would become law only when assented to also by the Governor General.
  • The Governor was empowered to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the Governor General if it was related to some specified matters.
  • The Governor General in Council continued to remain responsible to the British Parliament through the Secretary of State for India.
  • The Indian Legislature was made more representative and, for the first time ‘bi-cameral.’
  • The Upper House was named the Council of State. This composed of 60 members of whom 34 were elected.
  • The Lower House was named the Legislative Assembly. This was composed of about 144 members of whom 104 were elected.
  • The electorates were arranged on a communal and sectional basis, developing the Morley-Minto device further.
  • The Governor General’s overriding powers in respect of Central legislation were retained as follows:
  • His prior sanction was required to introduce Bills relating to certain matters;
  • He had the power to veto or reserve for consideration of the Crown any Bill passed by the Indian Legislature;
  • He had the converse power of certifying Bill or any grant refused by the Legislature;
  • He could make Ordinances, in case of emergency.

 

Simon Commission

  • This commission, headed by Sir John Simon, constituted in 1927 to inquire into the working of the Act of 1919, placed its report in 1930. The report was examined by the British Parliament and the Government of India Bill was drafted accordingly.

 

The Government of India Act, 1935

  • The Act of 1935 prescribed a federation, taking the Provinces and the Indian States (native states) as units.
  • It was optional for the Indian States to join the Federation, and since they never joined, the Federation never came into being.
  • The Act divided legislative powers between the Centre and Provinces.
  • The executive authority of a Province was also exercised by a Governor on the behalf of the Crown and not as a subordinate of the Governor General.
  • The Governor was required to act with the advice of Ministers responsible to the legislature.
  • In certain matters, the Governor was required to act ‘in his discretion’ without ministerial advice and under the control and directions of the Governor General, and, through him, of the Secretary of State.
  • The executive authority of the Centre was vested in the Governor General (on behalf of the Crown).
  • The councilors of Council of Ministers responsible to the Legislature were not appointed although such provisions existed in the Act of 1935.
  • The Central Legislature was bi-cameral, comprising a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. In other provinces, the Legislature was uni-cameral.
  • Apart from the Governor General’s power of veto, a Bill passed by the Central Legislature was also subject to veto by the Crown.
  • The Governor General could prevent discussion in the Legislature and suspend the proceedings on any Bill if he was satisfied that it would affect the discharge of his special responsibilities.
  • The Governor General had independent powers of legislatures, concurrently with those of the Legislature.
  • On some subjects no bill or amendment could be introduced in the Legislature without the Governor General’s previous sanction.
  • A three-fold division in the Act of 1935 –There was Federal List over which the Federal Legislature had exclusive jurisdiction. There was a Concurrent List also over which both the Federal and the Provincial had competence.
  • The Governor General was empowered to authorize either the Federal or the Provincial Legislature to enact a law with respect to any matter which was not enumerated in the above noted Legislative Lists.
  • Dominion Status, which was promised by the Simon Commission in 1929, was not conferred by the Government of India Act, 1935.

 

Cripps Mission

  • In March, 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British cabinet came with a draft declaration on the proposals of the British Government.
  • These proposals were to be adopted at the end of the Second World War, provided Congress and the Muslim League could accept them.
  • According to the proposals-
  • The Constitution of India was to be framed by an elected Constituent Assembly by the Indian people.
  • The Constitution should give India Dominion Status.
  • There should be one Indian Union comprising all the Provinces and Indian States.
  • Any Province (or Indian State) not accepting the Constitution would be free to retain its constitutional position existing at that time and with such non-acceding Province British Government could enter into separate Constitutional arrangements.

 

Cabinet Mission

  • In March 1946, Lord Attlee sent a Cabinet Mission to India consisting of three Cabinet Ministers, namely Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. A.V. Alexander.
  • The object of Cabinet Mission was to help India achieve its independence as early as possible, and to set up a Constitutional Assembly.
  • The Cabinet Mission rejected the claim for a separate Constituent Assembly and a Separate for the Muslim.
  • According to Cabinet Mission Plan there was to be a Union of India, comprising both British India and the States, having jurisdiction over the subjects of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communication. All residuary powers were to be vested in the Provinces and the States.
  • The Union was to have an Executive and a Legislature consisting of representatives of the Provinces and the States.
  • Any decision involving a major communal issue in the legislature was to require a majority support of representatives of each of the two major communities present and voting.
  • The provinces could form groups with executives and legislatures, and each group could be competent to determine the provincial subjects.

 

The Mountbatten Plan

  • The plan for transfer of power to the Indians and partition of the country was laid down in the Mountbatten Plan.
  • It was given a formal shape by a statement made by the British Government on 3rd June, 1947.

 

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 of the British Parliament

  • In pursuance of this Act, the Government of India Act, 1935 was amended by the Adaptation Orders, both in India and Pakistan, for setting up an interim Constituent Assembly to draw up future Constitution of the country.
  • From the 15th August 1947 India ceased to be a Dependency, and the suzerainty of the British Crown over the Indian States and the treaty relations with Tribal Areas lapsed from that date.
  • The office of the Secretary of State for India was abolished.
  • The Governor General and the Governors lost extraordinary powers of legislations to compete with the legislature.
    • The Central Legislature Of India, composed of the Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, ceased to exist on August 14, 1947.
    • The Constituent Assembly itself was to function as the Central Legislature with complete sovereignty.

     

    Making of the constitution

    • 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy
    • 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly
    • 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India
    • 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer
    • August Offer
      • PM: Winston Churchill
      • While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the war on the ground that INC is not representative of the minorities, three offers were made
      • Expansion of Viceroy’s executive council with the inclusion of Indian representatives
      • An advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established
      • Two practical steps were decided to be taken in which it was to come at an agreement with the Indians on the form which the post representatives body should take and the methods by which it should come to a conclusion.
      • It further planned to draw out the principles and outlines of the Constitution itself
      • Congress rejected the offer
    • 1942: Cripps Mission
      • PM: Winston Churchill Sec of State: Leo Amery                                Viceroy: Linlithgow
      • On the framing of an independent constitution to be adopted after the WW II
      • Cripps proposals rejected by the ML which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states
    • 1946: Cabinet Mission
      • PM: Clement Attlee Viceroy: Lord Wavell
      • Members: Pethick Lawrence (sec of state for India), Stafford Cripps, A V Alexander
      • Simla Conference
      • May 16 plan
        • United dominion of india would be given independence
        • Muslim majority and Hindu majority provinces to be grouped
        • Central government to run foreign affairs, defence and communications while rest of the responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by the two groups
      • Interim cabinet was formed. ML joined the cabinet but decided to boycott the constituent assembly
    • 1946, Nov: Constituent Assembly formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan
    • First meeting of CA on December 9, 1946. SacchidanadaSinha was elected the temporary Presidetn
    • Dec 11, 1946: Rajendra Prasad and H C Mukharjee elected as the President and VP of the assembly respectively.
    • BN Rao was the constitutional advisor to the assembly
    • Dec 13, 1946: Objectives Resolution moved by JL Nehru
    • Jan 22, 1947: Objectives resolution adopted
    • June 3, 1947: Mountbatten plan. Partition of the country announced.
    • Jan 24, 1950: Final session of the CA. It however continued as a provisional body from Jan 26, 1950 till the formation of the new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951-52

    Major Committees of CA

    Committee Chairman
    Union Powers Committee JL Nehru
    Union Constitution Committee JL Nehru
    Committee for Negotiating with States JL Nehru
    Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad
    Rules of Procedure Committee Rajendra Prasad
    Provincial Constitution Committee Sardar Patel
    Committee on Fundamental Rights and  Minorities.

    Two sub committees ( FR , Minorities)

    		 Sardar Patel

    (J B Kriplani, H C Mukharjee)
    Drafting Committee B R Ambedkar
    • Drafting Committee was setup on Aug 29, 1947. It had seven members
      • B R Ambedkar
      • AlladiKrisnaswamyAyyer
      • N GopalaswamyAyyangar
      • K M Munshi
      • TT Krishnamchari
      • N Madhava Rau
      • Syed Mohammad Saadullah
    • Nov 26, 1949: Constitution was adopted
    • The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted

     

    Basic Structure

    The basic structure doctrine is an Indian judicial principle that the Constitution of India has certain basic features that cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the parliament. Key among these “basic features”, are the fundamental rights granted to individuals by the constitution. The doctrine thus forms the basis of a limited power of the Indian Supreme Court to review and strike down constitutional amendments enacted by the parliament which conflict with or seek to alter this “basic structure” of the constitution.

    In 1965, The “basic features” principle was first expounded by Justice J.R. Mudholkar in his dissent in the case of Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan.

    In 1973, the basic structure doctrine triumphed in Justice Hans Raj Khanna’s judgment in the landmark decision of KesavanandaBharati v. State of Kerala. Previously, the Supreme Court had held that the power of parliament to amend the constitution was unfettered. However, in this landmark ruling, the court adjudicated that while parliament has “wide” powers, it did not have the power to destroy or emasculate the basic elements or fundamental features of the constitution.

    In 1975, Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court used the basic structure doctrine to strike down the 39th amendment and paved the way for restoration of Indian democracy.

    In 1980, The Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act had been enacted by the government of Indira Gandhi in response to the Kesavananda judgment in an effort to reduce the power of the judicial review of constitutional amendments by the Supreme Court. In the Minerva Mills case, NaniPalkhivala successfully moved the Supreme Court to declare sections 4 & 55 of the 42nd amendment as unconstitutional. Chief Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud explained in the Minerva Mills judgment that since the power of Parliament to amend the constitution was limited, as had been previously held through the basic structure doctrine in the Kesavananda case, the parliament could not by amending the constitution convert this limited power into an unlimited power (as it had purported to do by the 42nd amendment). In addition, the court also ruled that the parliament’s “power to amend is not a power to destroy”.

    The basic structure doctrine applies only to constitutional amendments. It does not apply to ordinary acts of parliament, which must itself be in conformity with the constitution.

    In Kesavananda there were differing opinions even among the majority for what the “basic structure” of the constitution comprised.

    Chief Justice Sikri, writing for the majority, indicated that the basic structure consists of the following:

    • The supremacy of the constitution.
    • A republican and democratic form of government.
    • The secular character of the Constitution.
    • Maintenance of the separation of powers.
    • The federal character of the Constitution.

    Justices Shelat and Grover in their opinion added three features to the Chief Justice’s list:

    • The mandate to build a welfare state contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
    • Maintenance of the unity and integrity of India.
    • The sovereignty of the country.

    Justices Hegde and Mukherjea, in their opinion, provided a separate and shorter list:

    • The sovereignty of India.
    • The democratic character of the polity.
    • The unity of the country.
    • Essential features of individual freedoms.
    • The mandate to build a welfare state.

    Justice Jaganmohan Reddy preferred to look at the preamble, stating that the basic features of the constitution were laid out by that part of the document, and thus could be represented by:

    • A sovereign democratic republic.
    • The provision of social, economic and political justice.
    • Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
    • Equality of status and opportunity.

    The interpretation of the basic structure has since evolved in numerous other court rulings since theKesavananda judgment.

     

    Features

    • Lengthiest written Constitution: Originally our constitution contained 395 articles divided in 22 parts and 8 schedules. Constitution has been amended 98 times. Currently there are 25 Parts, 12 Schedules, and 448 Articles. These figures show our constitution as the most comprehensive constitution in the world. (British have no written constitution and Constitution of USA had originally only 7 articles)
    • Starts with a Preamble: It gives an insight into the Philosophy of the Constitution.
    • Drawn from different sources: fundamental rights from USA, bicameralism from UK, Fundamental duties from USSR etc,
    • Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility: making Law is quite flexible and easy in comparison to amending a law.
    • Sovereignty of the Country: managing internal and external affairs freely without any external forces.
    • Democratic state: governing power is derived from the people by means of elected representatives of the people.
    • Republic: India does not have a hereditary post of Head of the State. The Head of the state in India is President and he / she is elected.
    • Socialist State: Indian socialism is democratic socialism. The goals of the socialism are to be realized through democratic means.
    • Secular state: India is secular country. Here No religion is a state religion. The constitution provides equal treatment to all religions.
    • Parliamentary Form of Government: Westminster model of government. Presence of nominal and real executives, majority party rule, collective responsibility of executive to legislature, dissolution of lower house, prime minister has crucial and important role.
    • A blend of Federal and Unitary System: there are separate governments in the Union and States and there is division of power. Unitary features: Strong centre. Single Citizenship, single constitution for both the centre and states, emergency provisions, all India services. India is also quasi-federal as constitution describes India as union of states. States cannot unjoin as well as there is no agreement by states. We have union as well as state lists.
    • Integrated and independent Judiciary: The states have high courts but the verdicts of these courts are subject to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Constitution has made the High Courts subordinate to the Supreme Court.
    • Universal Adult Franchise: Every citizen who is above 18 years has a Voting Right without any discrimination.
    • Three tier government structure: union, state and panchayats.
    • Synthesis of parliamentary sovereignty and judicial supremacy: judicial review of Supreme Court by procedure established by law. Also, parliament can amend major portion of constitution.
    • Fundamental rights: to promote political democracy. Enforceable by courts for violation. They are Justiciable in nature.
    • Fundamental duties: to respect constitution; to promote national unity, integrity, sovereignty; to preserve rich cultural heritage and promote common brotherhood. They are not justiciable in nature.
    • Directive principles of state policy: socialistic, liberal and gandhian meant for promoting ideal social and economic democracy. To establish welfare state. It is the duty of state to apply these in governance. They are not justiciable.
    • Independent bodies: constitution not only provides legislative, executive and judicial organs of government (state and centre) but also has independent election commission, CAG, UPSC, SPSC with security of tenure, service conditions.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Provisions

    Emergency Provisions in the Constitution of India

    The Emergency Provisions are mentioned from Article 352 to Article 360.

    ?      Article 352: Proclamation of Emergency – due to external intrusion or war the President of India can declare a state of emergency through a Proclamation. This Article suggests that such a Proclamation can be revoked or a varied Proclamation can also be issued. However, the decision of the Cabinet ministers to issue such a proclamation must be sent to the President in written form prior to his issuance of the same. According to the Article, all such Proclamations should be presented to both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamations, if not accepted by a resolution, will be counted as ineffective after one month. If the Proclamation is not accepted after the passing of a second resolution, then it will become ineffective after the expiry of 6 months of the second resolution. It is also mentioned in the Article that not less than two-thirds of the members of any of the Parliamentary Houses should be required to pass a resolution. There are certain rules specified in this Article regarding the President revoking or issuing a varied Proclamation during Emergency.

    ?      Article 353: Effect of Proclamation of Emergency – this Article states that the Proclamation of Emergency includes extending the executive power of the union to the states in the form of directions. The Parliament, as per this Article, can confer the power to make laws, upon the officers or authorities of the Union.

    ?      Article 354: Application of provisions relating to distribution of revenues while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation – provisions made under Articles 268 to 279 can be modified or exceptions can be made by the President of India by an Order while the Proclamation period of emergency is going on. Information about all such Orders must be conveyed to both the Houses of Parliament.

    ?      Article 355: Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance – this Article states the fact that the Union or Center is solely responsible for defending the various states from all types of violence and aggressions erupting from outside and disturbances occurring within the nation’s territory.

    ?      Article 356: Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States – the President of India can take charge of a state if the reports submitted to him by the Governor suggest that the government of the state has become incapable of exercising the Constitutional powers. The President is also subjected to exercise the powers of the government of such state by Proclamation. The Proclamation issued under such circumstances become ineffective after 6 months from the date of issuance, if not revoked during this time period. All such Proclamations have to be presented to both the Houses of Indian Parliament and will expire after two months. The Legislative powers of such state shall also be exercised by the Parliament. In the Houses of Parliament there are certain rules and regulations regarding the expiry of the Proclamation and the time period normally depends upon the fact whether it has been revoked earlier or not.

    ?      Article 357: Exercise of legislative powers under Proclamation issued under article 356 – the powers of the Legislature shall be exercised by the Parliament during emergency. The Parliament has the right to delegate Legislative powers to the President of India or any such authority. The President of India, after the Proclamation of Article 356, can make laws and shall have access to the consolidated fund during the time period when the House of the People is not in operation.

    ?      Article 358: Suspension of provisions of article 19 during emergencies – any provision under Article 19 will not be effective during emergency and the states can make law and undertake executive action. However, only those laws and executive actions containing recital related to emergency during the Proclamation of Emergency are effective as per the Article.

    ?      Article 359: Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies – the President of India can suspend all ongoing proceedings in any court of the nation during emergencies by an Order. The President can also call upon all pending court proceedings in case of emergencies. All such orders declaring the suspension of court proceedings have to be submitted to both the Houses of Parliament.

    ?      Article 360: Provisions as to financial emergency – a declaration shall be made by the President of India through a Proclamation regarding the financial crisis of the nation if such situation arises. Such a Proclamation can be revoked and has to be presented in both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamation thus issued will become null and void after two months if the same is not approved through a resolution passed by the Houses of Parliament. In case the Houses are not in session the Article suggests certain specific guidelines regarding the Proclamation. This Article also includes provisions relating to the salary and allowance reduction of those who are employed with Union and state departments. A provision relating to money bills and other financial bills passed by the state Legislature is mentioned in the Article. This provision states that all such bills have to be considered by the President during financial instability.

     

    Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes

    The Constitution of India has listed the special provisions relating to certain classes in Part XVI. From Article 330 to Article 342.

    ?      Article 330: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People – this Article states that a certain number of seats should be reserved in the House of the People for both the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. However, clause b of the Article includes Schedule Tribes excluding those who live in the autonomous districts of Assam. Clause c of the Article includes the Schedule Tribes belonging to the autonomous Assam districts. It is also mentioned in this Article that the total number of such seats assigned to the Schedule Tribes of autonomous Assam districts should match the total number of seats allotted in the House of the People. The seats alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of a particular state or Union Territory should be proportional to the total number of seats reserved for such state or Union Territory in the house of the People.

    ?      Article 331: Representation of the Anglo-Indian Community in the House of the People – it is specified in this Article of the Indian Constitution that the President of India has the sole right to elect a maximum of 2 members belonging to the Anglo-Indian section to represent the entire community.

    ?      Article 332: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – This Article of the Constitution states that a definite number of seats in every state’s Legislative Assembly should be alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. The Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of the autonomous districts of Assam are also given seats in the Legislative Assembly. It is also specified that a person not belonging to the Schedule Tribes category of Assam state cannot contest the Legislation Assembly election from any of the constituencies of the districts of the state. Also, all areas outside the periphery of the districts of Assam should not hold any constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Assam state. The total seats alloted to the state Legislative Assembly of Assam should be in proportion of the total population and the share of the SC/ST in such population.

     

    As per Article332, the number of seats alloted to the SC/STs of a state should follow a proportion to the total number of seats assigned in the Assembly as the total population of the SC/STs in that state with respect to the total state population.

    In case of such states as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, as per the Constitution Act 1987, if all the seats of the Legislative Assembly after the first census of 2000, belong to the Schedule Tribes, then only one seat shall be alloted to other communities. Also, the total number of seats alloted to the Schedule Tribes shall not be less than the existing number of seats in the Assembly of the state.

    The Article suggests that the the total number of seats of Schedule Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura state should be proportional to the total number of existing seats in the Assembly. As per the Constitution Act 1992, the number of the Schedule Tribe members in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura shall not be less than the total number of seats already available in the Assembly.

     

    ?      Article 333: Representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – according to this Article of the Constitution of India if the Governor of any state thinks it necessary to elect one representative of the Anglo-Indian community for the Legislative Assembly of that state then he can do the same. Also, if the governor feels that Anglo-Indian community does not have sufficient representation in the state Legislative Assembly then also he can elect one member of that community for the Assembly.

    ?      Article 334: Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after 289A – This Article holds the fact that after 60 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution, certain provisions shall become ineffective. However, it is also specified that the Article will not be applied until and unless the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly gets dissolved because of some significant reason. The Provisions with which this Article deals with include reserving seats for Anglo-Indian community, Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly.

    ?      Article 335: Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts – The Article states that the various claims of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes shall be regarded accordingly. Relaxation of age, lower cut off marks and easier parameters of evaluation for the purpose of selecting SC/ST candidates to different posts and services will remain intact irrespective of the provisions mentioned in this Article.

    ?      Article 336: Special provision for Anglo-Indian community in certain services – as per this Article, for such posts of Union as postal and telegraph, customs and railway, the members of the Anglo-Indian community will be selected, for the first two years of the initiation of the Constitution, following the rules prevailing before 15th August, 1947. It is also specified that in every two years the total number of seats allotted to the Anglo-Indian community in different services and posts will go down by 10%. The Article states that these provisions will become ineffective after 10 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution. However, clause 2 of this Article clearly mentions that if a candidate of the concerned community is eligible for any post other than the ones mentioned above then he will be selected with immediate effect.

    ?      Article 337: Special provision with respect to educational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian community – the provisions of this Article deal with the fact that grants to the Anglo-Indian community shall be offered in the first three years of the enactment of the Constitution following the same rules made on 31st March 1948. It is also stated that the amount of such grants will reduce by 10% in every three succeeding years. It is mentioned that after 10 years of the initiation of the Constitution of India all such grants will cease to exist. Moreover, the Article states that only when at least 40% of the admissions in educational units belong to communities other than Anglo-Indians, such grants will be offered to the said community.

    ?      Article 338: National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – This Article covers the issues to be dealt with by the said Commission exclusively made for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. As per the Constitution of India, the Article holds that the Commission should include a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other members all of whom are elected by the President of India. The Commission, according to the Article, has the power to investigate all matters that are related to the safeguard of the Sc/STs. The commission can also exercise its power by summoning any person from any part of the nation to interrogate him regarding a particular issue of the SC/STs. The Commission shall also take necessary measures to improve the socio-economic status of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. A report specifying whether the safeguards of the ST/SCs are maintained properly shall be submitted to the President of India every year by the Commission.

    ?      Article 339: Control of the Union over the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes – the Article suggests that a Commission specifying the administration of Scheduled Areas and Welfare of Scheduled Tribes shall be formed by Order of the President after 10 years of the Indian Constitution’s enactment. The various procedures and powers of the commission are to be included in the said Order. Planning and execution of various schemes pertaining to the development of the Schedule Tribes included in the executive power of the Union is also mentioned in the Article.

    ?      Article 340: Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes – this Article specifies that the President of India can form a Commission by Order that will look into the overall condition of the people belonging to the backward classes. This Commission is also supposed to recommend any state or union the necessary steps through which the underprivileged classes can improve their social and economic status. On the basis of the investigation done, the Commission shall submit a report to the President of India. The President, in turn, shall present such report with a memorandum to both of the Houses of the Indian Parliament and will prescribe the necessary steps to be taken to develop the condition of the backward classes.

    ?      Article 341: Scheduled Castes – this Article states that the President of India after taking the advice of the Governor of any state or Union Territory, has the right to demarcate tribes, races or castes or a part of any group as Scheduled Castes, in accordance with the law of the Constitution. The president can do the same by issuing a public notification. However, the Parliament of India can, by law, accept or reject the list containing the Scheduled Caste groups.

    ?      Article 342: Scheduled Tribe – a group belonging to a tribe or an entire tribal community of a state or an Union Territory can be declared as Scheduled Tribe by the President of India through issuing a public notice. The President consults with the Governor of the concerned state or Union Territory before specifying a tribe as Scheduled Tribe. The Parliament of India can decide upon canceling or keeping the particular ST in the list of Scheduled Tribes. However, the public notification issued for declaration of the Scheduled Tribe can be saved by the Parliament.

     

    Other provisions

     

    Article 369 {Temporary power to Parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the State List as if they were matters in the Concurrent List}

    Article 370 {Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir}

    Article 371 {Special provision with respect to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat}

    Article 371A {Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland}

    Article 371B {Special provision with respect to the State of Assam}

    Article 371C {Special provision with respect to the State of Manipur}

    Article 371D {Special provisions with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh}

    Article 371E {Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh}

    Article 371F {Special provisions with respect to the State of Sikkim}

    Article 371G {Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram}

    Article 371H {Special provision with respect to the State of Arunachal Pradesh}

    Article 371I {Special provision with respect to the State of Goa}

    Article 372 {Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaptation}

    Article 372A {Power of the President to adapt laws}

    Article 373 {Power of President to make order in respect of persons under preventive detention in certain cases}

    Article 374 {Provisions as to Judges of the Federal Court and proceedings pending in the Federal Court or before His Majesty in Council}

    Article 375 {Courts, authorities and officers to continue to function subject to the provisions of the Constitution}

    Article 376 {Provisions as to Judges of High Courts}

    Article 377 {Provisions as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India}

    Article 378 {Provisions as to Public Commissions}

    Article 378A {Special provisions as to duration of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly}

     

    Short Notes for Important Articles and Points

                  Parts of the Constitution
      Part     Articles Areas
      I       1-4 The Union & its Territories
      II       5-11 Citizenship
      III     12-35 Fundamental Rights
      IV     36-51 Directive Principles of State Policy
      IV A       51A Fundamental Duties (42nd Amendment)
      V     52-151 The Union Government
      VI     152-237 The State Government
      VII       238 Dealt with states in Part B of the First Schedule. Repealed in 1956 by the
                  Seventh Amendment.
      VIII     239-241 Union Territories. Article 242 repealed.
      IX   243 A-O The Panchayats
      IX-A   243 P-ZG The Muncipalities
      X   244-244 A The Scheduled & Tribal Areas
      XI     245-263 Relations between the Union & the States
      XII   264-300A Finance, Property, Contracts & Suits
      XIII     301-307 Trade, Commerce &Intercouse within the territory of India
      XIV     308-323 Services under the Union & the States
      XIV A   323A-323B Administrative Tribunals (42nd Amendment 1976)
      XV     324-329 Elections
      XVI     330-342 Special Provisions (Reservations of SC, ST, Anglo Indian etc)
      XVII     343-351 Official Language
      XVIII     352-360 Emergency Provisions
      XIX     361-367 Miscellaneous Provisions (Immunity of President, Legislature etc)
      XX       368 Amendment of the Constitution
      XXI     369-392 Temporary, Transitional & Special Provision
      XXII     393-395 Short Title, Commencement, Authoritative
                   

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Schedules of the Constitution
      Schedule I       Deals with territories of the 28 states & 7 union territories  
      Schedule II     Salaries allowances of president, V.P, Speaker, Judges, CAG etc.  
      Schedule III     Various forms of Oaths & affirmation which various incumbents have to take.  
      Schedule IV     Seats allotted to various states & UTs in the RajyaSabha (Council of States)  
      Schedule V     Administration & Control of scheduled areas.  
      Schedule VI     Administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya & Mizoram  
      Schedule VII   Subjects in the three lists – Union, State & Concurrent  
      Schedule VIII   List of 22 regional languages  
      Schedule IX     Certain acts & regulations dealing with land reforms &zamidari system abolition.  
                ((Added by first constitutional amendment).  
      Schedule X     Disqualifications on grounds of defection. (52nd Amendment)  
      Schedule XI     29 subjects on which panchayats can legislate. (73rd Amendment)  
      Schedule XII   18 subjects on which municipalities have control. (74th Amendment)  
                  Indian Constitution Borrowed Features
      1.   British Constitution     Parliamentary form of Government, Rule of Law, Law making  
                    procedure, Single Citizenship; Institution of Speaker, doctrine of  
                    pleasure tenure of civil servants.  
      2.   American Constitution   Judicial System, Fundamental Rights  
      3.   Canadian Constitution   Federal System with a strong central authority; Residual powers,  
                    Centre State Relation.  
      4.   Irish Constitution     Directive Principles, Election of the President of India  
      5.   Australian Constitution   Concurrent list; Freedom of Trade & Service within country  
      6.   Weimar Constitution     Emergency Provision  
      7.   Soviet Constitution     Five Year Plans; Fundamental duties  
      8.   Govt of India Act 1935   Office of the governor, powers of the federal jury.  
      9.   South African     Amendment of Constitution.  
                  Important Cases of the Constitution
    1.   Berubari Case   Preamble not a part of the constitution
    2.   Golaknath Case   Supreme court held that the Parliament had no power to amend any of the
          1967   provisions of Part III (Fundamental rights) The Indira Gandhi government
                in 1971 carried out the 24th Amendment with a view to assert the right of
                the parliament to amend any part of the constitution.
    3.   KeshvanadaBharti   Preamble was a part of the constitution & can be amended by Parliament
          Case   under Article 368. Parliament can also amend the fundamental rights
                (Against Golaknath case) but ruled that the parliament cannot destroy the
                basic structure of the constitution.
    4.   Minerval Mills Case   The 42nd.amendment carried out in 1976 gave asserted that parliament had
          1980   unlimited powers to amend the constitution & tried to accord precedence to
                Directive principles over fundamental rights. But in the Minerva Mills
                Case the Supreme court struck down those provisions
    5.   Maneka Gandhi Vs   Right to live is not merely confined to physical existence but includes
          Union of India   within its ambit the right to live with human dignity

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Preamble

    We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens :

     

    Justice, social, economic and political;

     

    Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity;

     

    and to promote among them all

    Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

     

    In our constituent assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution.

     
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

        Reorganization of States
    1. 1956 Act 14 States & 6 Union territories formed.
        States – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, J&K, Kerala, M.P., Madras,
        Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P & West Bengal.
        UTs – Andaman & Nicobar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Laccadive, Minicoy &
        Amindivi Islands, Manipur & Tripura
    2. 1960 The states of Maharashtra & Gujarat created by bifurcating the state of Bombay.
    3. 1963 Nagaland formed
    4. 1966 Punjab & Haryana formed out of Punjab & hill areas merged with H.P (UT then).
    5. 1969 Meghalaya created out of Assam.
    6. 1971 Himachal Pradesh, Tripura & Manipur raised to the status of a state
    7. 1975 Sikkim admitted as a state.
    8. 1986 Mizormam& Arunachal Pradesh (UTs till then) given status of state
    9. 1987 Goa created by separating it from the UT of Daman & Diu.
    10. 2000 Chattisgarh, Jharkhand & Uttaranchal

     

      Various Political/Non Political Offices of India
    President Name  proposed  by  50  electors  &  security  deposit  of  Rs  15000.  Disputes  in
      connection with the election of President are decided by Supreme Court. Oath by
      Chief justice of India. MLAs & members of both house of the parliament vote in the
      election. The president submits his resignation to the Vice President. Impeachment
      can be initiated by either house of parliament (2/3 majority). Nominated members can
      also participate but they do not participate in the election of president. MLAs do not
      participate in impeachment. In case the office becomes vacant fresh elections within
      6 months. The president enjoys suspensive veto powers & it applies only to the non
      money  bills.  With  regards  to  constitutional  amendments  president  has  no  veto
      powers. President can promulgate ordinances when the parliament is in recess only
      on  matters  in  the  union  &  concurrent  list.  The  ordinances  must  be  approved  by
      parliament within 6 weeks. All money bills originate on the recommendation of the
      President. Appoints finance commission. If there is no party with clear cut majority
      the president can use his discretion. He cannot declare any emergency on his own.
      Can summon both houses separately.
    Vice President Name seconded by at least 25 members & security deposit of 15,000. More than 35
      years of age. Elected by the members of LokSabha&RajyaSabha at a joint meeting.
      Oath  before  the  president  or  some  other  person  appointed  by  him.  Can  act  as
      president for a maximum 6 months period. Not a member of Rajyasabha only an ex-
      officio chairman.
    Prime Minister Gets the same salary & allowances as MPs but additional sumptuary allowance of
      3000 per month.  If the prime minister is taken from RajyaSabha he cannot part in
      voting when a vote of no confidence is under consideration. In the event of his death
      the council of ministers stand automatically dissolved.
    Deputy PM Position not known to the constitution although 7 persons have occupies this post.
      Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Y.B Chavan, Devi
      Lal& L. K. Advanihave served the office.
    Council of Should be a member of either house or do so within 6 months. Vote of no confidence
    Ministers against any minister leads to resignation of entire council. The cabinet, state & deputy
      ministers get sumptuary allowance of 2000, 1000 & 600 respectively. Present the
      budget before the parliament. Collectively responsible to parliament but individual

     

     

     

      ministers responsible to President.
    LokSabha Strength  of  LokSabha  fixed  at  543  plus  2  nominated  members  of  Anglo-Indian
      community  in  1976.  Minimum  25  years  of  age.  The  security  deposit  has  been
      increased from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000. In case of SC/ST it has been increased from Rs
      250 to Rs 5000. 10 electors should propose. No candidate can contest elections from
      more than 2 constituencies. Oath before president or some person appointed by him.
      Can vacant seat by writing to speaker. Seat vacant if absents from meetings for 60
      days without intimation. The speaker continues in the house even after the dissolution
      of the LokSabha till a newly elected LokSabha meets. MPs are entitled to a monthly
      salary of Rs 12000 & pension of 3000 which increases according to the number of
      years served. The joint session is called if a bill passed is rejected by other house or
      no action is taken. Speaker presides over joint sessions.
    RajyaSabha 238 elected & 12 nominated. Minimum 30 years of age. Elected by members of state
      legislative assemblies on the basis of proportional representation through a single
      transferable vote. It is not subjected to dissolution. In the event of dissolution of Lok
      Sabha, any bill pendin in the RajyaSabha but not passed by LokSabha does not
      lapse.
    Supreme Court 5 years as high court judge or 10 years as advocate. Hold office till the age of 65.
    Judge Address their resignation to president. The salaries of chief justice & other judges are
      33000 & 30,000 respectively. Impeachment requires 2/3rd majority in the two houses
      of  the  parliament.  Original  Jurisdiction  (Centre-state  &  fundamental  rights),
      Appellate jurisdiction (Only if high court certifies or the high court has awarded
      death sentence after reversing judgement or after withdrawing case from lower court
      & Advisory jurisdiction.
    Governor Oath  before  chief  justice  of  high  court  of  that  state.  35  years  of  age.  Draws
      36000.Adresses first session of state legislature after elections. Appoint one sixth
      members of legislative council. Nominates one member of Anglo Indian community
      to the legislative assembly. Makes laws through ordinances. Can grant pardon but not
      in case of death sentence. Reserve a bill for president’s consideration. He is permitted
      to  act  without  the  advice  of  the  council  of  ministers  unlike  president.  Ordinance
      issued by him remains in force for a maximum 6 months. The constitution does not
      contain any provision for his impeachment.
    Advocate Person  who  is  qualified  to  be  a  judge  of  the  high  court.  Remunerations  as  the
    General governor may determine.
    Legislative 60 to 500 members according to population but Sikkim has only 32 members. 25
    Assembly years of age. Goa, Mizoram, Pondicherry have only 30 members.
    Legislative Its members are elected by legislative assembly (1/3rd) local bodies (1/3rd), teachers
    Council (1/12th),  university  graduates  (1/12th)  &  nominated  by  governor  (1/6th).  The
      maximum membership can be 1/3rd  that of Legislative Assembly but in no case less
      than 40 members. 30 years of age. The legislative council can delay an ordinary bill
      for 3 months & a money bill for 14 days. There is no provision for joint sitting here.
    High Court To become a judge – advocate for 10 years or held judicial office in Indian Territory
      for a period of at least 10 years. 62 years of age. Chief justice gets 30,000 & other
      judges 26000. The pension of the high court judges is charged to the Consolidated
      fund of India.
    Administrative Incorporated by 42nd  amendment through addition of articles 323A & 323B. CAT is
    Tribunals located at Delhi. The retirement of chairman & VC at 65 & others at 62. The decision
      of CAT can be challenged in a high court.

     

     

     

    Inter State Created on the recommendations of the Sarkaria commission although constitution
    Council provided for it. Appointed by president. Advises on disputes between various states.
      Comprises of  PM&  CMs  of  all  states  &  UTs.  PM  can nominate  6 ministers of
      cabinet rank. Meets atleast 3 times a year.
    Zonal Council Set up under state reorganization act 1956. 5 before & 6th  added in 1972 called NE
      council. Consists of Union minister nominated by president, CM of each state in the
      zone, two ministers from each state nominated by governor & one member per UT.
      The CM of the state where the zonal council meets is the ex-officio chairman.
    UPSC Chairman & 8 members. Members appointed for a 6 year term or till they attain 65
      years of age. President can issue orders for the removal of the members of the UPSC
      only after supreme court makes such recommendation on the basis of an enquiry.
      Members not eligible for employment by the government after retirement. The state
      can restrict the fundamental rights of civil servants.
    Comptroller & 6  years  or  till  the  age  of  65  years.  The  president  can  remove  CAG  only  after
    Auditor recommendation of the two houses of parliament. Salary of 30,000. He only conducts
    General audit. Submits report to President who in turn places it before parliament.
    Attorney Qualification  same  as  judge  of  supreme  court.  Appears  before  supreme  court  &
    General various high courts involving the Government of India.
    Election Two  commissioners  with  equivalent  power.  Period  of  5  years.  Job  also  includes
    Commission delimitation of constituency to ensure same number of people in each. The election
      commission of India appoints the ‘Returning officers’ for the state assembly elections
      to help conduct fair elections. Election of local bodies comes under state election
      commission.  The  state  election  commission  is  a  single  member  commission
      comprising SEC.
    Finance Qualified to be appointed as judges of the high court or special knowledge of finance
    Commission & accounts of government. Comprises chairman & four other members. Functions:-
      recommend  distribution  of  taxes  between  centre  &  states,  grant-in-aid  to  states,
      advice president on any matter.
    Planning Non-statutory body which formulates 5 year plans. The Commission works through
    Commission its  various  divisions,  of  which  there  are  three  kind:  General  Planning  Divisions,
      Special Planning Divisions, Programme Administration Divisions
    NDC Extra constitutional &extra legal body. Its recommendations are binding in nature as
      per convention.
    Minorities Seven members. The states of M.P, Orissa & Bihar are obliged to appoint a separate
    commission minister the welfare of SC/ST/OBC.
    NHRC Statutory body.
    Panchayat Panchayat is responsible to gram sabha, the general body of villagers comprising all
      adults. Members usually range from 5 to 31. Members have same requirements as
      MLAs except lower age of 21. Can legislate on 29 subjects which are listed in XI
      schedule
    Panchayat Genearlly  comprises  of  the  sarpanches  of  village  panchayats  under  the  block.  Its
    Samiti chairman called ‘Pradhan’ is elected from among its members. Responsible to gram
      panchayat as well as gram sabhas. Gets a share of cess of land revenue from the gram
      panchayat&ZillaParishad
    ZilaParishad Consists of representatives of panchayatsamiti, local members of state legislature,
      members  of  parliament,  members  representing  SC/ST/Women/cooperative  bodies.
      Zillaparishad  elects  its  chairman  called  ‘Pradhan’  form  amongst  its  members.
      Depends entirely on state government for grants.

     

     

     

      Constitution of India (Upto Part IV)
    Part I The Union and its Territory
    Article 1 Name and territory of the Union
    Article 2 Admission or establishment of new States
    Article 2a [Repealed] Sikkim to be associated with the Union
    Article 3 Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States
    Article 4 Laws made under articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the
      Fourth Schedule and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters
    Part II Citizenship
    Article 5 Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution
    Article 6 Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan
    Article 7 Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan
    Article 8 Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India
    Article 9 Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens
    Article 10 Continuance of the rights of citizenship
    Article 11 Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law
    Part III Fundamental Rights
    Article 12 Definition
    Article 13 Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights
    Article 14 Equality before law meaning ‘equality of treatment within a class’
    Article 15 Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
    Article 16 Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
    Article 17 Abolition of Untouchability
    Article 18 Abolition of titles
    Article 19 Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
    Article 20 Protection in respect of conviction for offenses
    Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty
    Article 21A Right to education.
    Article 22 Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases
    Article 23 Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
    Article 24 Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
    Article 25 Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion
    Article 26 Freedom to manage religious affairs
    Article 27 Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion
    Article 28 Freedom  as  to  attendance  at  religious  instruction  or  religious  worship  in  certain
      educational institutions
    Article 29 Protection of interests of minorities
    Article 30 Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions
    Article 31 [Repealed] Compulsory acquisition of property
    Article 31A Saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.
    Article 31B Validation of certain Acts and Regulations
    Article 31C Saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles
    Article 31D [Repealed] Saving of laws in respect of anti-national activities
    Article 32 Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this Part
    Article 32A [Repealed]
    Article 33 Power of Parliament to modify the rights conferred by this Part in their application to
      Forces, etc.

     

     

     

    Article 34 Restriction on rights conferred by this Part while marital law is in force in any area
    Article 35 Legislation to give effect to the provisions of this Part
    Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy
    Article 36 Definition
    Article 37 Application of the principles contained in this Part
    Article 38 State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people
    Article 39 Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State
    Article 39A A Equal justice and free legal aid
    Article 40 Organisation of village panchayats
    Article 41 Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases
    Article 42 Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
    Article 43 Living wage, etc., for workers
    Article 43A Participation of workers in management of industries
    Article 44 Uniform civil code for the citizen
    Article 45 Provision for free and compulsory education for children
    Article 46 Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
      and other weaker sections
    Article 47 Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve
      public health
    Article 48 Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry
    Article 48A Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life
    Article 49 Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance
    Article 50 Separation of judiciary from executive
    Article 51 Promotion of international peace and security
    Article 51A Fundamental Duties

     

    Parliamentary Committees

    1. Business Advisory Committee 15 members. Speaker is chairman
    2. Committee on Private Members Bills & 15   members.   Deputy   Chairman   is   chairman.
      Resolutions Classifies bills according to importance.
    3. Select Committees Constituted for considering different bills.
    4. Committee on Petitions 15 members.
    5. Rules Committee 15 members. Speaker is head. Rules of House
    6. Committee on Privileges 15 members. Violation of Privileges of M.P
    7. Committee on Subordinate Legislations  
    8. Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes 30 Members. 20 M.Ps & 10 R.S.
      & Scheduled Tribes  
    9. Committee on Government Assurances 15  members.  How  far  assurances  given  by  the
        ministers have been implemented
    10. Committee on Absence of Members Examines leave applications of members
    11. Estimates Committee 30   members.   Examines   Annual   Estimates   &
        suggests alternative policies
    12. Public Accounts Committee 22  members.  15  M.Ps&  7  R.S.  Assisted  by
        Comptroller & Auditor general. It acts as a watch
        dog of expenditure.
    13. Committee on Public Undertakings 15 members. 10 M.Ps & 5 R.S. Examines working
        of public undertakings

     

     

     

    14. Joint Committee on Salaries & Allowances 15 members. 10 nominated by speaker & 5 by the
        chairman of RajyaSabha.
    15. Joint Committee on Offices of Profit 15 members. 10 L.S & 5 R.S.
    16. Parliamentary Subject Committees 17 parliamentary committees were constituted. 11
        by Speaker &  6 by chairman of RajyaSabha

     

                          Parliamentary Terms
    1.   Question Hour     First hour of every sitting in the two houses of the parliament is devoted to
                      asking& answering questions known as Question hour. The questions
                      consist of starred (oral), unstarred (written) & short notice question.
    2.   Zero Hour     The hour after the question hour. There is no mention of zero hour in the
                      rules of the parliamentary procedure & the term was coined by press in the
                      early 1960’s.  Members raise matters which cannot brook any delay.
    3.   Adjournment Motion   Moved to draw the attention to a recent matter of urgent public importance.
                      Only if 50 members support it & speaker grants permission.
    4.   Calling Attention     A member with prior attention of the speaker may call the attention of a
            Notice     minister to a matter of urgent public importance.
    5.   Short Duration     Private members can also bring matters of urgent public importance to the
            Discussions     notice of the House. The notice must be signed by at least 3 members
    6.   Cut Motion     Motions to reduce the amount of demand for grants. They are of 3 types:
                      Disapproval of policy cut, Economy cut, Token Cut.
    7.   Guillotine     When the discussion cannot be completed within stipulated time, the
                      speaker can put the matter to vote even without concluding discussion.
    8.   Censure Motion     At least 50 members support it & speaker should admit it. If the motion is
                      passed in the LokSabha, the council of ministers have to resign.
    9.   By Elections     To fill up the seat rendered vacant due to death.
                          Lists
        Union List (99)   Defence, Foreign  affaris,  currency,  banking,  communication,  inter-state    
                  trade,   commerce,   atomic   energy,   railways,   highways,   aerodromes.    
                  [Originally 97 items – one deleted, 3 added]    
        State List (61)   Health,  sanitation,  public  order,  agriculture,  prisons,  local  government,    
                  liquor,  transportation,  relief  of  disabled,  sales  tax  &octroi,  taxes  on    
                  entertainment& wealth. [Originally 66 items out of which 5 transferred to    
                  concurrent list].    
        Concurrent list (52)   Criminal law, electricity, factories, forests, education, marriage & divorce,    
                  drugs, newspapers, books & printing press, social insurance, trade unions,    
                  preventive detention, stamp duties. [Originally 47 but 5 items transferred to    
                  this list from state list]    
                      Commissions/committees & their Purpose
      1.   S.K Dhar committee     Reorganization of states on linguistic basis  
      2.   JVP committee         Jawahar, Vallabh, PattabhiSitaramayya (same as above)  
      3.   Shah Commission     Punjab Reorganization Act  
      4.   Tarkunde Committee   Electoral Reforms. Voting age to be reduced to 18 years (61st  
                          amendment). Voter councils to be formed.  
      5.   Dinesh Goswami         Electoral Reforms. To save the security candidates should secure  
              Committe         at least 1/4th of valid votes.  

     

     

     

    6. BalwantRai Mehta Recommendations approved by NDC. Rajasthan first adopted 3
        tier structure, followed by Andhra Pradesh & Bihar.
    7. Ashok Mehta Committee Working of panchayati raj institutions.
    8. Rajamannar Commission Recommended abolition of IAS & the IPS

     

      Select Political Doctrines & Principles
    The Doctrine Of Idea that when the legislature wants to do something that it cannot do
    Colourability, within the constraints of the constitution, it colours the law with a
      substitute purpose which will still allow it to accomplish its original goal.
    Pith And Substance Interpretation used to determine under which head of power a given piece
      of legislation falls. The doctrine is primarily used when a law is
      challenged on the basis that one level of government (be it provincial or
      federal) has encroached upon the exclusive jurisdiction of another level of
      government.
    Doctrine of Severability Associated with declaration of law as unconstitutional & void by the
      courts.
    Principle of Harmonious Concerned with the relationship between the fundamental rights & the
    Construction directive principles.

     

    Miscellaneous Facts

     

    1. The idea of a constituent assembly to frame a constitution for India was first mooted by the Swaraja Party in 1928. Dr.SachhidanandSinha was the Provincial president of the assembly that drafted the Indian constitution later Rajendra Prasad took over. The constituent assembly set up 13 committees for framing the constitution. On the basis of the reports, a draft of the constitution was prepared by a seven member drafting committee under the chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. B.N. Rau acted as the constitutional advisor to the constituent assembly. The preamble was proposed before the drafting committee by J.L. Nehru.

     

    1. While dealing with the reorganization of princely states, the constitution provided a four-fold distribution of states, viz. A, B, C & D. Part A states comprised of nine erstwhile states under the government of British India. Part B comprised of five princely states with legislatures. Part C of five centrally administered areas & Part D comprised of Andamans& Nicobar.

     

    1. The citizenship act of 1955 was first amended in 1986 & later in 2003. In 2003 a new law was passed which permits PIO residing in 16 countries to have dual citizenship status. This will enable them to participate in economic activities & real estate. However they cannot participate in elections.

     

    1. The right to property (Article 31) eliminated from the list of fundamental rights by 44thamendment in 1978. Now it is a constitutional right.

     

    1. The writ of Prohibition is available during the period when the proceedings are pending & the final order is not made. Certiorari (meaning ‘to be informed’) can be issued only after the final order has been made.

     

     

    1. Right to education is granted by the 86th amendment carried out in 2002. Under this the government shall provide free & compulsory education to all children from the age of 6 to 14. The right to information has been granted to the citizens under the information act 2002.

     

    1. In 1976 the delimitation of constituencies was freezed on the basis of the 1971 census upto 2001. In 2002 the 84th amendment extended the freeze up to 2026.

     

    1. The Parliament can also legislate on subjects in the state list if (a) the RajyaSabha passes a resolution by 2/3rd majority (b.) if the legislatures of two or more states recommend to parliament (c) For the implementation of treaty with foreign powers (d) during emergency.

     

    1. The stages of bill introduction are first reading, publishing in gazette, second reading, referred to committee, committee submits its report with recommendations (amendments can be introduced here) & third reading involving formal voting to accept or reject the bill (No amendments possible here).

     

    1. The final decision whether a bill is a money bill or not rests with the speaker. RajyaSabha can delay money bill only by 14 days.

     

    1. Vote of Account is a provision to meet the expenses due the gap between the presentation & passage of the budget. Normally vote of account is taken as two months for a sum equivalent to one-sixth of the estimated expenditure of the whole financial year.

     

    1. The government is collectively responsible only to the LokSabha.

     

    1. In the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court & the high courts, the president is bound t act in accordance with the opinion of the Chief Justice of India who would tender his opinion after consulting his colleagues.

     

    1. The court appoints its officer & servants in consultation with the UPSC.

     

    1. Bihar, J&K, Karnataka, Maharashtra & U.P are the only states with bicameral legislature.

     

    1. Family Courts, LokAdalats (under State Legal Aid & Advice Boards) &NyayaPanchayat are other judicial bodies.

     

    1. The administrators are known as lieutenant governors (Daman & Pondicherry), Chief commissioners (Andamans& Chandigarh) & as administrators (Lakshadweep)

     

    1. In UTs with legislative assembly the right to legislate on subjects enumerated in the state list & concurrent list vests with the assembly but for other UTs parliament enacts the laws.

     

    1. The constitution has made special provision for the administration of scheduled areas in a state other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura& Mizoram. The right to declare any area as scheduled area rests with the President & is subject to legislation by the parliament.

     

    1. Comptroller & auditor general looks after the accounts of both the centre & the state.

     

     

     

     

     

    1. In case the law is passed by the state legislature & received the approval of the President before the enactment of law on the same subject by the Parliament, the former prevails.

     

    1. Sarkariacommissions recommendations included inter-governmental council formation, sparing use of article 356, governor post/All India services/NDC to continue.

     

    1. National Emergency: The proclamation of emergency should be approved by both houses within one month of the date of issue & passed by 2/3rd majority otherwise ceases to operate in one month. Once it has been approved it remains in force for a period of 6 months. The life of LokSabha can be extended upto one year at a time & up to the period not exceeding beyond six months after the proclamation ceases to operate. Fundamental rights except guaranteed in article 20 & 21 cannot be suspended. Emergency was form 1962-68 & 1971-78. However according to 44th amendment, national emergency cannot be declared on grounds of internal disturbances.

     

    1. Emergency due to constitutional failure in state: Ceases to be in operation after the expiry of two months unless approved by each house. After approval valid for 6 months. It can be extended by parliament for a further period of 6 months. To extend further election commission should certify & still maximum period is 3 years. Declared more than 100 times, first time in Punjab. The court can strike down emergency if found unconstitutional & revive the dissolved state assembly.

     

    1. Financial Emergency: Remains in force for a period of 2 months unless approved. After approval 6 months. The maximum period is 3 years. President can reduce salary of judges of all courts & ask all money bills passed by state legislature to be reserved.

     

    1. Initially the constitution recognized 14 regional languages which were Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Kashmiri. Sindhi was added through 21st In 1992 three additional languages – Konkani, Manipuri & Nepali were added by 71st amendment. In 2003 four more languages – Bodo, Maithili, Santhali&Dogri were added to the eighth schedule raising the number to 22.

     

    1. Special Provisions for J&K: Directive priniciples& fundamental duties do not apply. High court of J&K enjoys very limited powers & cannot declare any law unconstitutional or issue writs except for enforcement of fundamental rights. Residuary powers rest with the state government. The V & VI schedule of constitution regarding scheduled areas & scheduled tribes not applicable. Assembly consists of 100 members & legislative council 36 members. Urdu is official language. The constitution was adopted on November 17, 1957. No emergency except that due to war/external aggression can be automatically extended to the state.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Money comes to consolidated fund of India from revenues, fresh loans, repayment of loans. Money can be spent out of this fund only after approval of parliament. Expenses charged on this fund include debt charges of GOI, sums payable due to court award & salaries of CAG, Auditor general, judges etc.

     

    1. Contingency fund is at the disposal of President & was constituted in 1950 by parliament. Expenses should be subsequently authorized by parliament. State govt contingency fund is with governor.

     

    1. The security deposit for general elections is Rs 10,000 & for reserved seats 5,000.

     

    1. The 52nd amendment added tenth schedule to the constitution which dealt with anti-defection. The final decision rested with speaker regarding defection, though it can be challenged in court.

     

    1. 6 all India party & over 40 regional parties. National party if it secures more 6 per cent of the votes polled in any four or more states. In addition it must win at least four seats in the House of the People or should have at least 2 percent of the LokSabha seats from at least three different states (ie 11 MPs). Regional party only six percent in a single state or at least 3 seats in the Assembly.

     

    1. 73rd amendment gave constitutional status to panchayati raj. If panchayat is dissolved before 5 years, fresh elections should be held within 6 months.

     

    1. Amendment normally needs at least two-thirds of the LokSabha and RajyaSabha to pass it. When RajyaSabha disagrees with the proposals, the amenment bill is lost.

     

    1. Proportional representation with single transferable vote is followed in the elections of President, Vice President & Members of RajyaSabha.

     

    1. The government of India instituted Bharat Ratna& Padma Shri under Article 18 of the constitution.

     

    1. The procedure of election of the President can be modified through an amendment passed by two-thirds majority by both the houses & be ratified by legislatures of at least half of the states.

     

    1. P Singh resigned after loosing vote of no confidence in the LokSabha.

     

    1. Finance bill & appropriation bill are presented along with the budget. The recommendation of creation of new all India services is the exclusive power of RajyaSabha. A member of the panel of chairman announced by the speaker presides over loksabha if neither the speaker nor the depty speaker present.
    2. 30 seats are reserved for STs in the LokSabha.

     

    1. The concept of PIL originated in U.K. The number of judges of high court is determined by the President.

     

    1. The salary & emoluments of the president are exempt from income tax. This is not the case with chief justice of India & election commissioner.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Disputes regarding the age of the judge of a highcourt shall be decided by the president in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. A bench consisting of five or more judges is called a full bench of the supreme court.

     

    1. National commission for SC & the State Election Commission are not statutory body. Keeping the units of Indian union under control & serving as the agents of the central government is not the purpose of All India services.

     

    1. Only war & external aggression can lead to suspension of fundamental rights under article 19. Armed rebellion does not cause the suspension.

     

    1. Provisions regarding citizenship & provisional parliament were given immediate effect from 26th November 1949. Elections & fundamental rights came later on 26th January 1950.

     

    1. Only when president’s rule is imposed, the parliament gests the exclusive authority to legislate on a subject under state list.

     

    1. When the three lists come in conflict, List-I has priority over both List II & List III. Further List III has priority over List II. The expression ‘Judicial review’ is not explicitly stated in the constitution & is implied. President of India is an integral part of the parliament.

     

    1. The following enjoy the rank of a cabinet minister: deputy chairperson of planning commission, Leader of opposition in LokSabha, Speaker of LS, and Chairman of Finance Commission. The following are special voters in the elections to the loksabha& the assemblies – Presidnet, VP, Governors & Judges of the supreme court & high courts.

     

    1. LokSabha enjoys the powers to pass vote on account, votes of credit & exceptional grants.

     

    1. K has no written constitution. New Zealand was the first country to grant franchise to women.

     

     

    Essential Extra Reference

     

    • Important Amendments

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

      Annexure – I
      Other Articles of the Constitution
       
    Part V The Union
    Chapter I The Executive – The President & the Vice President
    Article 52 The President of India
    Article 53 Executive power of the Union
    Article 54 Election of President
    Article 55 Manner of election of President
    Article 56 Term of office of President
    Article 57 Eligibility for re-election
    Article 58 Qualifications for election as President
    Article 59 Conditions of President’s office
    Article 60 Oath or affirmation by the President
    Article 61 Procedure for impeachment of the President
    Article 62 Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of resident and the term of office
      or person elected to fill casual vacancy
    Article 63 The Vice-President Of India
    Article 64 The Vice-President to be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States
    Article 65 The Vice-President to act as President or to discharge his functions during casual
      vacancies in the office, or during the absence, of President
    Article 66 Election of Vice-President
    Article 67 Term of office of Vice-President
    Article 68 Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of Vice-President and the term
      of office of person elected to fill casual vacancy
    Article 69 Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President
    Article 70 Discharge of President’s functions in other contingencies
    Article 71 Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-President
    Article 72 Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences
      in certain cases
    Article 73 Extent of executive power of the Union
      Council of Ministers
    Article 74 Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
    Article 75 Other provisions as to Ministers
      Attorney General of India
    Article 76 Attorney-General for India
      Conduct of Government Business
    Article 77 Conduct of business of the Government of India
    Article 78 Duties of Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to the President,
      etc.
      Chapter II Parliament
    Article 79 Constitution of Parliament
    Article 80 Composition of the Council of States –
    Article 81 Composition of the House of the People
    Article 82 Readjustment after each census
    Article 83 Duration of Houses of Parliament
    Article 84 Qualification for membership of Parliament

     

     

     

    Article 85 Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution
    Article 86 Right of President to address and send messages to Houses
    Article 87 Special address by the President
    Article 88 Rights of Ministers and Attorney-General as respects Houses
      Officers of the Paliament
    Article 89 The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States
    Article 90 Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the office of Deputy Chairman
    Article 91 Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of the office of,
      or to act as, Chairman
    Article 92 The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a resolution for his
      removal from office is under consideration
    Article 93 The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People
    Article 94 Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy
      Speaker
    Article 95 Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or
      to act as Speaker
    Article 96 The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker not to preside while a resolution for his removal
      from office is under consideration
    Article 97 Salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman and the Speaker and
      Deputy Speaker
    Article 98 Secretariat of Parliament
      Conduct of Business
    Article 99 Oath or affirmation by members
    Article 100 Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum
      Disqualification of Members
    Article 101 Vacation of seats
    Article 102 Disqualifications for membership
    Article 103 Decision on questions as to disqualifications of members
    Article 104 Penalty for sitting and voting before making oath or affirmation under article 99 or
      when not qualified or when disqualified
      Powers, Priviledges& Immunities of Parliament & its Members
    Article 105 Powers, Privileges, etc., of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and
      committees thereof
    Article 106 Salaries and allowances of members
      Legislative Procedure
    Article 107 Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills
    Article 108 Joint sitting of both Houses in certain cases
    Article 109 Special procedure in respect of Money Bills
    Article 110 Definition of “Money Bills”
    Article 111 Assent to Bills
      Procedure in Financial Matters
    Article 112 Annual financial statement
    Article 113 Procedure in Parliament with respect to estimates (1) So much of the estimates as
      relates to expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India shall not be
      submitted to the vote of Parliament, but nothing in this clause shall be construed as
      preventing the discussion in either House of Parliament of any of those estimates.
    Article 114 Appropriation Bills

     

     

     

     

    Article 115 Supplementary, additional or excess grants
    Article 116 Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants
    Article 117 Special provisions as to financial Bills
    Article 118 Rules of procedure
      Procedure Generally
    Article 119 Regulation by law of procedure in Parliament in relation to financial business
    Article 120 Language to be used in Parliament
    Article 121 Restriction on discussion in Parliament
    Article 122 Courts not inquire into proceedings of Parliament
    Chapter III Legislative Powers of the President
    Article 123 Power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament
    Chapter IV The Union Judiciary
    Article 124 Establishment and Constitution of Supreme Court
    Article 125 Salaries, etc., of Judges
    Article 126 Appointment of acting Chief Justice
    Article 127 Appointment of ad hoc Judges
    Article 128 Attendance of retired Judges at sittings of the Supreme Court
    Article 129 Supreme Court to be a court of record
    Article 130 Seat of Supreme Court
    Article 131 Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
    Article 131A [Repealed] Executive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in regard to questions as to
      constitutional validity of Central laws
    Article 132 Appellate jurisdiction of Supreme Court in appeals from High Court in certain cases
    Article 133 Appellate jurisdiction of Supreme Court in appeals from High Courts in regard to
      civil matters
    Article 134 Appellate jurisdiction of Supreme Court in regard to criminal matters
    Article 134A Certificate for appeal to the Supreme Court
    Article 135 Jurisdiction and powers of the Federal Court under existing law to be exercisable by
      the Supreme Court
    Article 136 Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court
    Article 137 Review of judgements or orders by the Supreme Court
    Article 138 Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
    Article 139 Conferment on the Supreme Court of powers to issue certain writs
    Article 139A Transfer of certain cases
    Article 140 Ancillary powers of Supreme Court
    Article 141 Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts
    Article 142 Enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court and orders as to discovery, etc.
    Article 143 Power of President to consult Supreme Court
    Article 144 Civil and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court
    Article 144A [Repealed]
    Article 145 Rules of Court, etc.
    Article 146A Officers and servants and the expenses of the Supreme Court
    Article 147 Interpretation
    Chapter V Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
    Article 148 Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
    Article 149 Duties and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General
    Article 150 Form of accounts of the Union and of the States

     

     

     

    Article 151 Audit reports
    Part VI The States
    Chapter I General
    Article 152 Definition
    Chapter II The Executive – The Governor
    Article 153 Governors of States
    Article 154 Executive power of State
    Article 155 Appointment of Governor
    Article 156 Term of office of Governor
    Article 157 Qualifications for appointment as Governor
    Article 158 Conditions of Governor’s office
    Article 159 Oath or affirmation by the Governor
    Article 160 Discharge of the functions of the Governor in certain contingencies
    Article 161 Power of Governor to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute
      sentences in certain cases
    Article 162 Extent of executive power of State
      Council of Ministers
    Article 163 Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor
    Article 164 Other provisions as to Ministers
      Advocate General of the State
    Article 165 Advocate-General for the State
      Conduct of Government Business
    Article 166 Conduct of business of the Government of a State
    Article 167 Duties of Chief Minister as respects the furnishing of information to Governor, etc.
    Chapter III The State Legislature
    Article 168 Constitution of Legislatures in States
    Article 169 Abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in States
    Article 170 Composition of the Legislative Assemblies
    Article 171 Composition of the Legislative Council
    Article 172 Duration of States Legislatures
    Article 173 Qualification for membership of the State Legislature
    Article 174 Sessions of the State Legislature, prorogation and dissolution
    Article 175 Right of Governor to address and send messages to the House or Houses
    Article 176 Special address by the Governor
    Article 177 Rights of Ministers and Advocate
      Officers of the State Legislature
    Article 178 The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
    Article 179 Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy
      Speaker
    Article 180 Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or
      to act as, Speaker
    Article 181 The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker not to preside while a resolution for his removal
      from office is under consideration
    Article 182 The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council
    Article 183 Vacation and resignation, of and removal from, the offices of Chairman and Deputy
      Chairman
    Article 184 Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of the office of,

     

     

     

        or to act as, Chairman
    Article 185   The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a resolution for his
        removal from office is under consideration
    Article 186   Salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and the Chairman and
        Deputy Chairman
    Article 187   Secretariat of State Legislature
    Article 188   Oath or affirmation by members
        Conduct of Business
    Article 189   Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum
    Article 190   Vacation of seats
        Disqualification of Members
    Article 191   Disqualification for membership
    Article 192   Decision on question as to disqualifications of members
    Article 193   Penalty for sitting and voting before making oath or affirmation under article 188 or
        when not qualified or when disqualified
      Power, Privileges & Immunities of State Legislatures & their Members
    Article 194   Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Legislatures and of the members and
        committees thereof
    Article 195   Salaries and allowances of members
        Legislative Procedure
    Article 196   Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills
    Article 197   Restriction on powers of Legislative Council as to Bills other than Money Bills
    Article 198   Special procedure in respect of Money Bills
    Article 199   Definition of “Money Bills”
    Article 200   Assent to Bills
    Article 201   Bills reserved for consideration
        Procedure in Financial Matters
    Article 202   Annual financial statement
    Article 203   Procedure in Legislature with respect to estimates
    Article 204   Appropriation Bills
    Article 205   Supplementary, additional or excess grants
    Article 206   Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants
    Article 207   Special provisions as to financial Bills
        Procedure Generally
    Article 208   Rules of procedure
    Article 209   Regulation by law of procedure in the Legislature of the State in relation to financial
        business
    Article 210   Language to be used in the Legislature
    Article 211   Restriction on discussion in the Legislature
    Article 212   Courts not to inquire into proceedings of the Legislature
    Chapter IV   Legislative Power of the Governor
    Article 213   Power of Governor to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Legislature
    Chapter V   The High Courts in the States
    Article 214   High Courts for States
    Article 215   High Courts to be courts of record
    Article 216   Constitution of High Courts
    Article 217   Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court

     

     

     

    Article 218 Application of certain provisions relating to Supreme Court to High Courts
    Article 219 Oath or affirmation by Judges of High Courts
    Article 220 Restriction on practice after being a permanent Judge
    Article 221 Salaries, etc., of Judges
    Article 222 Transfer of a Judge from one High Court to another
    Article 223 Appointment of acting Chief Justice
    Article 224 Appointment of additional and acting Judges
    Article 224A Appointment of retired Judges at sittings of High Courts
    Article 225 Jurisdiction of existing High Courts
    Article 226 Power of High Courts to issue certain writs
    Article 226A [Repealed]  Constitutional validity of Central laws not to be considered in
      proceedings under article 226
    Article 227 Power of superintendence over all courts by the High Court
    Article 228 Transfer of certain cases to High Court
    Article 228A [Repealed] Special provisions as to disposal of questions relating to constitutional
      validity of State laws
    Article 229 Officers and servants and the expenses of High Courts
    Article 230 Extension of jurisdiction of High Courts to Union territories
    Article 231 Establishment of a common High Court for two or more States
    Chapter VI Subordinate Courts
    Article 233 Appointment of district judges
    Article 233A Validation of appointments of, and judgments, etc. delivered by, certain district
      judges
    Article 234 Recruitment of persons other than district judges to the judicial service
    Article 235 Control over subordinate courts
    Article 236 Interpretation
    Article 237 Application of the provisions of this Chapter to certain class or classes of magistrates
    Part VII [Repealed] The States in Part B of the First Schedule
    Part VIII The Union Territories
    Article 239 Administration of Union territories
    Article 239A Creation of local Legislatures or Council of Ministers or both for certain Union
      territories
    Article 239AA Special provisions with respect to Delhi
    Article 239AB Provision in case of failure of constitutional monarchy
    Article 239B Power of administrator to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Legislature
    Article 240 Power of President to make regulations for certain Union territories
    Article 241 High Courts for Union territories
    Article 242 [Repealed]
    Part IX The Panchayats
    Article 243 Definitions
    Article 243A Gram Sabha
    Article 243B Constitution of Panchayats
    Article 243C Composition of Panchayats
    Article 243D Reservation of seats
    Article 243E Duration of Panchayats, etc.
    Article 243F Disqualifications for membership
    Article 243G Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats

     

     

     

    Article 243H Powers to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Panchayats
    Article 243I Constitution of Finance Commission to review financial position
    Article 243J Audit of accounts of Panchayats
    Article 243K Elections to the Panchayats
    Article 243L Application to Union territories
    Article 243M Part not to apply to certain areas
    Article 243N Continuance of existing laws and Panchayats
    Article 243O Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters
    Part IXA The Municipalities
    Article 243P Definitions
    Article 243Q Constitution of Municipalities
    Article 243R Composition of Municipalities
    Article 243S Constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc.
    Article 243T Reservation of seats
    Article 243U Duration of Municipalities, etc.
    Article 243V Disqualifications for membership
    Article 243W Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities etc.
    Article 243X Power to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Municipalities
    Article 243Y Finance Commission
    Article 243Z Audit of accounts of Municipalities
    Article 243ZA Elections to the Municipalities
    Article 243ZB Application to Union territories
    Article 243ZC Part not to apply to certain areas
    Article 243ZD Committee for district planning
    Article 243ZE Committee for Metropolitan planning
    Article 243ZF Continuance of existing laws and Municipalities
    Article 243ZG Bar to interference by Courts in electoral matters
    Part X The Scheduled and Tribal Areas
    Article 244 Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas
    Article 244A Formation of an autonomous State comprising certain tribal areas in Assam and
      creation of local Legislature or Council of Ministers or both therefor
    Part XI Relations Between the Union and the States
    Chapter I Legislative Relations
    Article 245 Extent of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of States
    Article 246 Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of States
    Article 247 Power of Parliament to provide for the establishment of certain additional courts
    Article 248 Residuary powers of legislation
    Article 249 Power of Parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the State List in the
      National interest
    Article 250 Power of Parliament to legislate with respect to any matter in the State List if a
      Proclamation of Emergency is in operation
    Article 251 Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament under articles 249 and 250 and laws
      made by the legislatures of States
    Article 252 Power of Parliament to legislate for two or more States by consent and adoption of
      such legislation by any other State
    Article 253 Legislation for giving effect to international agreements
    Article 254 Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament and laws made by the Legislatures

     

     

     

      of States
    Article 255 Requirements as to recommendations and previous sanctions to be regarded as
      matters of procedure only
    Chapter II Administrative Relations
    Article 256 Obligation of States and the Union
    Article 257 Control of the Union over States in certain cases
    Article 257A Assistance to States by deployment of armed forces or other forces of the Union
    Article 258 Power of the Union to confer powers, etc., on States in certain cases
    Article 258A Power of the States to entrust functions to the Union
    Article 259 [Repealed] Armed Forces in States in Part B of the First Schedule
    Article 260 Jurisdiction of the Union in relation to territories outside India
    Article 261 Public acts, records and judicial proceedings
      Disputes relating to Waters
    Article 262 Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys
      Co-ordination between States
    Article 263 Provisions with respect to an inter-State Council
    Part XII Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
    Chapter I Finance
    Article 264 Interpretation
    Article 265 Taxes not to be imposed save by authority of law
    Article 266 Consolidated Funds and public accounts of India and of the States
    Article 267 Contingency Fund
    Article 268 Duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States
    Article 269 Taxes levied and collected by the Union but assigned to the States
    Article 270 Taxes levied and collected by the Union and distributed between the Union and the
      States
    Article 271 Surcharge on certain duties and taxes for purposes of the Union
    Article 272 [Omitted]
    Article 273 Grants in lieu of export duty on jute and jute products
    Article 274 Prior recommendation of President require to Bills affecting taxation in which States
      are interested
    Article 275 Grants from the Union to certain States
    Article 276 Taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments
    Article 277 Savings
    Article 278 [Repealed] Agreement with States in Part B of the First Schedule with regard to
      certain financial matters
    Article 279 Calculation of “net proceeds”, etc.
    Article 280 Finance Commission
    Article 281 Recommendations of the Finance Commission
      Miscellaneous Financial Provisions
    Article 282 Expenditure defrayable by the Union or a State out of its revenues
    Article 283 Custody, etc., of Consolidated Funds, Contingency Funds and moneys credited to the
      public accounts
    Article 284 Custody of suitors’ deposits and other moneys received by public servants and courts
    Article 285 Exemption of property of the Union from State taxation
    Article 286 Restriction as to imposition of tax on the sale or purchase of goods
    Article 287 Exemption from taxes on electricity

     

     

     

    Article 288 Exemption from taxation by States in respect of water or electricity in certain cases
    Article 289 Exemption of property and income of a State from Union taxation
    Article 290 Adjustment in respect of certain expenses and pensions
    Article 290A Annual payment to certain Devaswom Funds
    Article 291 [Repealed]
    Chapter II Borrowing
    Article 292 Borrowing by the Government of India
    Article 293 Borrowing by States
    Chapter III Property, Contacts, Rights, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits
    Article 294 Succession to property, assets, rights, liabilities and obligations in certain cases
    Article 295 Succession to property, assets, rights, liabilities and obligations in other cases
    Article 296 Property accruing by escheat or lapse or as Bona vacantia
    Article 297 Things of value within territorial waters or continental shelf and resources of the
      exclusive economic zone to vest in the Union
    Article 298 Power to carry on trade, etc.
    Article 299 Contracts
    Article 300 Suits and proceedings
    Chapter IV Right to Property
    Article 300A Persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law
    Part XIII Trade, Commerce and Intercourse Within the Territory of India
    Article 301 Freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse
    Article 302 Power of Parliament to impose restrictions on trade, commerce and intercourse
    Article 303 Restrictions on the legislative powers of the Union and of the States with regard to
      trade and commerce
    Article 304 Restriction on trade, commerce and intercourse among States
    Article 305 Saving of existing laws and laws providing for State monopolies
    Article 306 [Repealed]
    Article 307 Appointment of authority for carrying out the purposes of articles 301 to 304
    Part XIV Services Under the Union and the States
    Chapter I Services
    Article 308 Interpretation
    Article 309 Recruitment and conditions of service of persons serving the Union or a State
    Article 310 Tenure of office of persons serving the Union or a State
    Article 311 Dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under
      the Union or a State
    Article 312 All-India services
    Article 312A Power of Parliament to vary or revoke conditions of service of officers of certain
      services
    Article 313 Transitional provisions
    Article 314 [Repealed]
    Chapter II Public Service Commissions
    Article 315 Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States
    Article 316 Appointment and term of office of members
    Article 317 Removal and suspension of a member of a Public Service Commission
    Article 318 Power to make regulations as to conditions of service of members and staff of the
      Commission
    Article 319 Prohibition as to the holding of offices by members of Commission on ceasing to be

     

     

     

      such members
    Article 320 Functions of Public Service Commissions
    Article 321 Power to extend functions of Public Service Commissions
    Article 322 Expenses of Public Service Commissions
    Article 323 Reports of Public Service Commissions
    Part XIVA Tribunals
    Article 323A Administrative tribunals
    Article 323B Tribunals for other matters
    Part XV Elections
    Article 324 Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an election
      commission
    Article 325 No person to be ineligible for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special,
      electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex
    Article 326 Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be
      on the basis of adult suffrage
    Article 327 Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures
    Article 328 Power of Legislature of a State to make provision with respect to elections to such
      Legislature
    Article 329 Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters
    Article 329A [Repealed
    Part XVI Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes
    Article 330 Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the
      People
    Article 331 Representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the House of the People
    Article 332 Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative
      Assemblies of the States
    Article 333 Representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the
      States
    Article 334 Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after fifty years
    Article 335 Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts
    Article 336 Special provision for Anglo-Indian community in certain services
    Article 337 Special provision with respect to educational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian
      community
    Article 338 National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
    Article 338A National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
    Article 339 Control of the Union over the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of
      Scheduled Tribes
    Article 340 Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes
    Article 341 Scheduled Castes
    Article 342 Scheduled Tribes
    Part XVII Official Language
    Chapter I Language of the Union
    Article 343 Official language of the Union
    Article 344 Commission and Committee of Parliament on official language
    Chapter II Regional Languages
    Article 345 Official language or languages of a State
    Article 346 Official language for communication between one State and another or between a

     

     

     

      State and the Union
    Article 347 Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of the population of a
      State
    Chapter III Language of the Supreme Court, High Courts, etc.
    Article 348 Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts,
      Bills, etc.
    Article 349 Special procedure for enactment of certain laws relating to language
    Chapter IV Special Directives
    Article 350 Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances
    Article 350A Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage
    Article 350B Special Officer for linguistic minorities
    Article 351 Directive for development of the Hindi language
    Part XVIII Emergency Provisions
    Article 352 Proclamation of National Emergency
    Article 353 Effect of Proclamation of Emergency
    Article 354 Application of provisions relating to distribution of revenues while a Proclamation of
      Emergency is in operation
    Article 355 Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal
      disturbance
    Article 356 Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States
    Article 357 Exercise of legislative powers under Proclamation issued under article 356
    Article 358 Suspension of provisions of article 19 during emergencies
    Article 359 Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies
    Article 359A [Repealed] Application of this Part to the State of Punjab
    Article 360 Provisions as to financial emergency
    Part XIX Micsellaneous
    Article 361 Protection of President and Governors and Rajpramukhs
    Article 361A Protection of publication of proceedings of Parliament and State Legislatures
    Article 362 [Repealed] Rights and privileges of Rulers of Indian States
    Article 363 Bar to interference by courts in disputes arising out of certain treaties, agreements,
      etc.
    Article 363A Recognition granted to Rulers of Indian States to cease and Privy purses to be
      abolished
    Article 364 Special provisions as to major ports and aerodromes
    Article 365 Effect of failure to comply with, or to give effect to, directions given by the Union
    Article 366 Definitions
    Article 367 Interpretation
    Part XX Amendment of the Constitution
    Article 368 Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefor
    Part XXI Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
    Article 369 Temporary power to Parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the
      State List as if they were matters in the Concurrent List
    Article 370 Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir
    Article 371 Special provision with respect to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat
    Article 371A Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland
    Article 371B Special provision with respect to the State of Assam
    Article 371C Special provision with respect to the State of Manipur

     

     

     

    Article 371D Special provisions with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh
    Article 371E Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh
    Article 371F Special provisions with respect to the State of Sikkim
    Article 371G Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram
    Article 371H Special provision with respect to the State of Arunachal Pradesh
    Article 371I Special provision with respect to the State of Goa
    Article 372 Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaptation
    Article 372A Power of the President to adapt laws
    Article 373 Power of President to make order in respect of persons under preventive detention in
      certain cases
    Article 374 Provisions as to Judges of the Federal Court and proceedings pending in the Federal
      Court or before His Majesty in Council
    Article 375 Courts, authorities and officers to continue to function subject to the provisions of the
      Constitution
    Article 376 Provisions as to Judges of High Courts
    Article 377 Provisions as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
    Article 378 Provisions as to Public Commissions
    Article 378A Special provisions as to duration of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
    Article 379 [Article 379-391 Repealed]
    Article 392 Power of the President to remove difficulties
    Part XXII Short Title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindu and Repeals
    Article 393 Short title
    Article 394 Commencement
    Article 394A Authoritative text in the Hindi language
    Article 395 Repeals

     

     

     

     

    Citizenship

    Part II of the Indian Constitution consists of the following articles:

    • Article 5. Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution.
    • Article 6. Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan.
    • Article 7. Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan.
    • Article 8. Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India.
    • Article 9. Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens.
    • Article 10. Continuance of the rights of citizenship.
    • Article 11. Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law.

    Citizen is a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community. The citizenship is a state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, or national community. The major issues in Constituent assembly on citizenship For the constitution assembly, to arrive at a final draft for Citizenship was one of the most arduous tasks while framing the constitution.

    The problem was partition of India on one hand and India being recreated by uniting the princely states on the other. India’s partition into India and Pakistan caused millions of people cross the border. Partition on the basis of religion forced  The Hindus and Sikhs who were born in Pakistan side came to India and Muslims who were born in India migrated to Pakistan. Apart from that, there were people who had left their homeland India and started living abroad and now wanted to come back as the country was a free nation.

    Constitution as Part II. The problem of citizenship was basically as follows: The people who were born and living in Pakistan and migrated to India were to be provided Indian Citizenship. The people who were born and living in India and migrated to Pakistan were to be excluded and debarred from Indian Citizenship. People who migrated to Pakistan in 1947 but returned back to live in India permanently had to be provided Citizenship. The people who were born in India, but living abroad but came back, had to be provided citizenship.

    Article 5 : Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution. At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and- who was born in the territory of India; or either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India. Article5 refers to the Citizenship on January 26, 1950. This article provided that the ordinary resident in the territory of India since or before January 26, 1945 were deemed to be Indian Citizens

    Article 6.Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan. Notwithstanding anything in article 5, a person who has migrated to the territory of India from the territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the commencement of this Constitution if- he or either of his parents or any of his grand-parents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and (i) in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration, or (ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the Government of the Dominion of India on an application made by him there for to such officer before the commencement of this Constitution in the form and manner prescribed by that Government: Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in the territory of India for at least six months immediately preceding the date of his application. Article 6 deals with those persons who migrated to India from Pakistan. India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 means undivided India.

    These persons were divided into two categories.

    Category 1: Those who came before July 19, 1948

    Category 2: Those who came after July 19, 1948

    Those who came from Pakistan to India before July 19, 1948 would automatically become Indian Citizens. Those who came after July 19, 1948 would become Indian Citizens provided they had been registered in the form and manner as prescribed by the Government of India.

    Article 7: Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan. Notwithstanding anything in articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first day of March, 1947, migrated from the territory of India to the territory now included in Pakistan shall not be deemed to be a citizen of India: Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having so migrated to the territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the territory of India under a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law and every such person shall for the purposes of clause (b) of article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the territory of India after the nineteenth day of July, 1948. Article 7 deals with those persons who had migrated to Pakistan but returned to India from Pakistan with intention to live here permanently. Please note that this article deals with the “permit system”. The permit system was introduced in July 19, 1948. This system provided that a person who is desiring to return back to India with an intention to permanently reside was required to get a separate permit

    Article 8: Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India. Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grand-parents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time being residing on an application made by him therefor to such diplomatic or consular representative, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the Dominion of India or the Government of India. Article 8 deals with those persons who were living abroad. The article provides that any person who was born or his parents /grandparents were born in undivided India but living abroad and wants to return to India would need to be registered at the as Citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in that country.

    Article 9: Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens. No person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of article 5, or be deemed to be a citizen of India by virtue of article 6 or article 8, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State. Under article 9 of the constitution, any person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign country, even if qualified for Indian Citizenship under any of the provisions of the constitution will not be a Citizen of India.

    Article 10: Continuance of the rights of citizenship. Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the foregoing provisions of this Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that may be made by Parliament, continue to be such citizen.

    Article 11: Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law. Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. The nature of provisions from Article 5 to 9 show that the objective of the constituent assembly was not to make a permanent law for citizenship. Ours is a Republic Country and various offices are to be occupied by the persons who are elected by the citizens. So, keeping this in view, it was necessary for the Constituent Assembly to make some provisions which could precisely determine that who is a Citizen of Independent Indian Dominion and who is not, at the time of the commencement of the constitution. Further, the constituent also gave plenary power to the parliament of India to deal with the question of nationality. Article 10 and more precisely Article 11 give the power to the parliament to make law in this connection as and when it suits to the demands of the circumstances. The power in parliament vested by Article 11 embraced not only acquisition but also the termination or any other matter related to Citizenship. Using the power vested in parliament by Article 11 of the Constitution of India, a comprehensive law “The Citizenship Act, 1955” was passed by the parliament. This act has been amended from time to time to make space for provisions as and when required.

    OCI

    An Overseas Citizen of India is a lifetime visa status. It is the closest thing to dual citizenship that India offers.

    Who can be an OCI?

    (This list was expanded as of 9 January 2015)

    1. A person who used to be an Indian citizen
    2. A person with at least one parent, grandparent,or great-grandparent who is/was an Indian citizen
    3. A person married to an Indian citizen or an existing OCI for at least two continuous years

    The following groups of people cannot have OCI status:

    • Anyone who was ever a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh
    • Anyone whose parents or grandparents were citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, or Sri Lanka
    • Anyone who served in a foreign military or worked in a foreign defense department

    What are the benefits of being an OCI?

    • Lifelong multiple entry visa to India
    • You never have to report to the FRRO regardless of the length of your stay
    • You can eventually become a citizen of India if you remain an OCI for 5 years and live in India for at least 1 year(short breaks are now allowed)
    • You can use special counters during immigration
    • You don’t need a student visa to study in India
    • You don’t need an employment visa to get a job
    • You can open a special bank account in India, just like an NRI
    • You can make investments in India
    • You can buy non-farm property and exercise property ownership rights
    • Your can use your OCI card to apply for a driver’s license, open a bank account, or get a PAN card
    • You get the same economic, financial, and education benefits as NRIs (e.g. reserved admission quotas), and you can adopt children like an NRI
    • You pay the Indian resident fee when visiting a national parks, monuments, museums or wildlife sanctuary (of course it is ultimately up to the discretion of the man issuing tickets)

    What are the drawbacks?

    • You may not purchase agricultural land or farm houses
    • You may not vote
    • You may not hold a government job
    • You may not be elected to a political position
    • You may not travel to restricted areas without permission

    How do you become an OCI?

    You can apply through the Indian embassy in your country of residence or within India at the local FRRO.

    Here is a sample of documentation you will need (see your local consulate for a specific list):

    • Proof of present citizenship
    • Proof of former Indian citizenship (for you or your relative)
    • Proof of renunciation of Indian citizenship (if applicable)
    • Proof of relationship to an Indian citizen

    The entire process can take several months in some cases. Fees vary from nationality to nationality. If you apply in India, the fee is Rs. 15,000 for an adult or Rs. 8,000 for a minor. You can convert a PIO card to an OCI card if you qualify, and the fees are very nominal.

    PIO (Person of Indian Origin) used to be a 15 year visa for non-Indian citizens, but it has since been removed.

    Fundamental Rights

    The Constitution of India guarantees certain Fundamental Rights to the Citizens of India.

    The Indian constitution contains a chapter on fundamental rights. Part III (Art. 12-35) contains fundamental rights of Indian citizens. The fundamental rights are called fundamental because they are basic to the development of human personality.

    The Indian fundamental rights, contrasted with such rights contained in the U. S. bill of rights, present several peculiarities. First, the fundamental rights in India are far more elaborate than in the U. S. A. Thus, for example, the U. S. bill of rights (first ten amendments) only names some rights. The Supreme Court, through the process of judicial review decides the limitations on these rights. In India, determination of limitations on fundamental rights is not left to judicial interpretation. The constitution itself contains (clauses 2-6 in Art. 19) such limitations. The limitations contemplated by the constitution are-

    • public order,
    • security of the state and
    • sovereignty and integrity of India.

    In the face of these limitations, the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution cannot be said to be absolute.

    However, whenever the state restricts fundamental rights by legislation, the courts have the right to examine whether the limitations imposed are “reasonable or not.” The courts are free to strike down any law imposing unreasonable restriction on the enjoyment of fundamental rights. The courts in India enjoy a limited degree of judicial review with respect to fundamental rights.

    Yet, in view of these limitations, some critics argue that the Indian constitution gives fundamental rights with one hand and takes them away with the other. It should also be pointed out that provision of preventive detention under Art. 22 is a gross violation of the individual liberty under Art. 21. The power of the state to detain persons without trial is not to be found in any other democratic country like the U. S. A. Further, in case of proclamation of emergency under Art. 352, fundamental rights guaranteed under Art. 19 remain suspended by virtue of Arts 358 and 359.

    Again, the Indian constitution is based on the theory of Parliamentary sovereignty and not constitutional sovereignty, as is the case in the U. S. A. Consequently, the Parliament may easily tamper with Indian fundamental rights. The capacity of the judiciary to afford protection to the fundamental rights is very limited. The Supreme Court verdict that the fundamental rights are not amendable was subsequently reversed. In the KeshavanandBharati case, Supreme Court held that the Parliament may amend the entire constitution. It cannot only alter any basic feature of the constitution.

    The processes of amendment given in Art 368 are far easier than the one given in Art 5 of the U.S. constitution. Consequently, the Union Parliament with a qualified majority may now easily amend any fundamental right contained in Part III of the constitution.

    Kinds of fundamental rights

    The Indian constitution originally provided 7 categories of fundamental rights. But one fundamental right, that to property was removed from the list of fundamental rights by 44th amendment. Right to property now is an ordinary legal right. Thus there are now 6 categories of fundamental rights. These are:

     (1) Right to equality (Arts. 14-18).

    In this category there are five rights

    • Equality Before Law:-Equality before law is well defined under the Article 14 of the Constitution which ensures that every citizen shall be likewise protected by the laws of the country. It means that the State will not distinguish any of the Indian citizens on the basis of their gender, caste, creed, religion or even the place of birth. The state cannot refuse equality before the law and equal defense of the law to any person within the territory of India. In other words, this means that no person or groups of people can demand for any special privileges. This right not only applies to the citizens of India but also to all the people within the territory of India. Equality means that equals should be treated equally.
    • Abolition Of Discrimination On Grounds Of Caste, Race, Sex Or Religion:-The right of Social Equality and Equal Access to Public Areas is clearly mentioned under the Article 15 of the Constitution of India stating that no person shall be shown favoritism on the basis of color, caste, creed language, etc. Every person shall have equal admittance to public places like public wells, bathing ghats, museums, temples etc. However, the State has the right to make any special arrangement for women and children or for the development of any socially or educationally backward class or scheduled castes or scheduled tribes. This article applies only to citizens of India.
    • Equality in public employment, Article 16 of the Constitution of India clearly mentions that the State shall treat everyone equally in the matters of employment. No citizen shall be discriminated on the basis of race, caste, religion, creed, descent or place of birth in respect of any employment or office under the State. Every citizen of India can apply for government jobs. However, there are some exceptions to this right. The Parliament may pass a law mentioning that specific jobs can only be filled by candidates who are residing in a particular area. This requirement is mainly for those posts that necessitate the knowledge of the locality and language of the area. Apart from this, the State may also set aside some posts for members of backward classes, scheduled castes or scheduled tribes which are not properly represented in the services under the State to uplift the weaker sections of the society. Also, a law may be passed which may entail that the holder of an office of any religious institution shall also be a person professing that specific religion. Though, this right shall not be granted to the overseas citizens of India as directed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003.
    • Abolition of untouchability, Article 17 of the Constitution of India abolishes the practice of untouchability in India. Practice of untouchability is declared as a crime and anyone doing so is punishable by law. The Untouchability Offences Act of 1955 (and now Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976) states punishments for not allowing a person to enter a place of worship or from taking water from a well or tank.
    • Abolition of titles. Article 18 of the Constitution of India prohibits the State from granting any titles. Citizens of India are not allowed to accept titles from a foreign State. Titles like RaiBahadurs and Khan Bahadurs given by the British government have also been abolished. Nevertheless, academic and military distinctions can be conferred upon the citizens of India. The awards of ‘Bharat Ratna’ and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ cannot be used by the beneficiary as a title and is not prohibited by the Constitution of India. From 15 December 1995, the Supreme Court has sustained the validity of such awards

     (2) Rights to freedom.

    (Arts. 19-22) these now include six freedoms-

    • Freedoms of speech and expression,
    • Freedom of assembly without arms of association,
    • Freedom of movement,
    • Freedom of residence and
    • Freedom of profession oroccupation.

    Each one of these six freedoms is subject to some restrictions. For rights can never be absolute. Individual rights must be reconciled with the interests of the community. It is logical that equal rights for all must mean limited rights for any. Hence, the state may impose ‘reasonable restrictions’ upon the exercise of any of these rights.

    Restrictions

    Firstly, the state may impose restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression on eight grounds. These are:

    1. defamation,
    2. contempt of court,
    3. decency or morality,
    4. security of the state,
    5. friendly relations with other states,
    6. incitement of offence and,
    7. sovereignty and
    8. integrity of India.

    Secondly, the freedom to assemble is subject to two restrictions. The assembly must be peaceable and the members of assembly must not bear arms. However the Sikhs are allowed to carry ‘Kirpan’ as part of their religious creed. In the U.S.A. right to bear arms is fundamental right. In India, this right is denied in the interest of public order.

    Thirdly, the right to form associations or unions does not entitle persons to enter into criminal conspiracy either against individuals, groups or against the state.

    Fourthly, the right to move freely or to reside and settle in any part of India, does not cover trespass into homes or restricted areas. State also may restrict this freedom to protect the aboriginal tribes.

    Finally, the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business are also subject to reasonable restrictions. Thus professions or, trade or, business must not be harmful to the interest of the community. The state may also prescribe qualifications for particular profession or, technical occupation. The state may itself carry on trade or business to the exclusion of citizens.

    Power of Courts to enforce freedom of citizens of India

    Every Indian citizen has the power to move the High Court or the Supreme Court for protecting and securing his personal freedom. The Courts are empowered to issue writs in the nature of habeas corpus. The courts can order the presence of detained or imprisoned person and set him free in case there is no legal justification for his detainment or imprisonment.

    Rights to Freedom during National Emergency

    The rights to freedom under Article 19 of Indian constitution are suspended during the period of National Emergency declared by the President of India.

    Further, during the period when the National emergency is in operation, the President is empowered to suspend the right of citizens to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of their personal freedom.

    Conclusion

    Each one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution of India is hedged by many restrictions. They are not absolute. This led to the criticism that Indian freedom is a myth and not reality for what has been given with one hand has been taken away with the other.

    This criticism is unfair. For fundamental rights can nowhere be absolute. For logically, one can be absolutely free only when all others are absolute, slaves Individual freedom to be real must be social and hence must be limited.

    There is a difference in the scheme of limitations on fundamental rights in the U.S. constitution and in the constitution of India. In the U.S.A. the restrictions are not mentioned in the constitution itself. This is left to judicial interpretations. In India on the other hand, the restrictions are mentioned in the constitution itself. It is not left to the vagaries of judicial interpretation.

    On the whole fundamental rights everywhere are restricted or, limited. As Mr. Justice Mukherji observed in A. K. Gopalan vs. State of Madras case” There cannot be any such thing as absolute or uncontrolled liberty wholly freed from restraints.”

     

    These freedoms are however not without limitations.

    (3) Rights against exploitation (Arts. 24 and 25)

    Include prohibition of traffic in human beings and prohibition of child labour.

    (4)  Rights to freedom of religion (Arts. 25-28)

    Include  freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Citizens are free to profess and practice any religion. These provisions make India a secular state.

     (5) Cultural and Educational rights (Arts. 29-30)

    Include right to protection of language, script and culture given to the minorities. The minorities are also given the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their own.

    (6)   Right to constitutional remedies (Arts. 32-35)

    Provides for enforcement of fundamental rights through the judicial process.Dr BR Ambedkar  expressed it to be the heart and soal of Indian constitution.

    Thus the constitution contains an elaborate scheme of fundamental rights. But the fundamental rights in India are not absolute. They are hedged by many limitations. Indeed, fundamental rights cannot be absolute anywhere in the world. Countries differ only in their degree of limitations on fundamental rights.

    Preamble

    The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which describes the nature of the Indian State and the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi describes the Preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution. Thakur DassBhargawa says Preamble is the most precious part and the soul of the constitution.

    The Preamble reads:

    We, the People of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and to secure to all its citizens;

    Justice, social, economic, political;

    Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

    Equality of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all;

    Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation ;

    In our Constituent Assembly this, twenty sixth day of November 1949 do hereby Adopt, Enact and Give to ourselves this Constitution.

    The words ‘Socialist ‘Secular” and ‘Integrity were initially not there in the Preamble. These were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) of the Constitution.

    Preamble: Features:

    I. The Source of Authority:

    Popular Sovereignty:

    The Preamble categorically accepts the principle of Popular Sovereignty. It begins with the words: ‘We the people of India’. These words testify to the fact that the people of India are’ the ultimate source of all authority. The Government derives its power from them.

    II. Nature of State:

    The Preamble describes five cardinal features of the Indian state:

    (1) India is a Sovereign State:

    The Preamble proclaims that India is a sovereign state. Such a proclamation denotes the end of rule over India. It testifies to the fact that India is no longer a dependency or colony or possession of British Crown. As a sovereign independent state, India is free both internally and externally to take her own decisions and implement these for her people and territories.

    (2) India is a Socialist State:

    In 1976, the Preamble was amended to include the word ‘Socialism’. It is now regarded as a prime feature of the State. It reflects the fact that India is committed to secure social, economic and political justice for all its people. India stands for ending all forms of exploitation as well as for securing equitable distribution of income, resources and wealth. This has to be secured by peaceful, constitutional and democratic means. The term ‘India is a Socialist state’ really means, ‘India is a democratic socialist state.’

    (3) India is a Secular State:

    By the 42nd Amendment, the term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the Preamble. Its inclusion simply made the secular nature of the Indian Constitution more explicit. As a state India gives special status to no religion. There is no such thing as a state religion of India. India guarantees equal freedom to all religions. All religions enjoy equality of status and respect.

    (4) India is a Democratic State:

    The Preamble declares India to be a Democratic State. The Constitution of India provides for a democratic system. The authority of the government rests upon the sovereignty of the people. The people enjoy equal political rights. The people freely participate in the democratic process of self rule.

    They elect their government. For all its acts, the government is responsible before the people. The people can change their government through elections. The government enjoys limited powers. It always acts under the Constitution which represents the supreme will of the people.

    (5) India is a Republic:

    The Preamble declares India to be a Republic. Negatively, this means that India is not ruled by a monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it means that India has an elected head of state who wields power for a fixed term. President of India is the elected sovereign head of the state. He holds a tenure of 5 years. Any Indian citizen can get elected as the President of India.

    III. Four Objectives of the Indian State:

    The Preamble lists four cardinal objectives which are to be “secured by the state for all its citizens”.

    These are:

    (1) Justice:

    India seeks to secure social, economic and political justice for its people.

    (i) Social Justice:

    Social Justice means the absence of socially privileged classes in the society and no discrimination against any citizen on grounds of caste, creed, colour, religion, sex or place of birth. India stands for eliminating all forms of exploitations from the society.

    (ii) Economic Justice:

    Economic Justice means no discrimination between man and man on the basis of income, wealth and economic status. It stands for equitable distribution of wealth, economic equality, end of monopolistic control over means of production and distribution, decentralisation of economic resources, and securing of adequate opportunities to all for earning their livelihoods.

    (iii) Political Justice:

    Political Justice means equal, free and fair opportunities to the people for participation in the political process. It stands for the grant of equal political rights to all the people without any discrimination. The Constitution of India provides for a liberal democracy in which all the people have the right and freedom to participate.

    (2) Liberty:

    The Preamble declares liberty to be the second cardinal objective to be secured. It includes liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The grant of Fundamental Rights (Part III) including the right to freedom is designed to secure this objective. Liberty of faith and worship is designed to strengthen the spirit of secularism.

    (3) Equality:

    The Preamble declares Equality as the third objective of the Constitution. Equality means two basic things:

    (i) Equality of status i.e. natural equality of all persons as equal and free citizens of India enjoying equality before law.

    (ii) Equality of opportunity i.e. adequate opportunities for all to develop. For securing the equality of status and opportunity, the Constitution of India grants and guarantees the fundamental Right to Equality.

    (4) Fraternity:

    Promotion of Fraternity among the people is the fourth objective is to promote Fraternity among all the people. Fraternity means the inculcation of a strong feeling of spiritual and psychological unity among the people. It is designed to secure dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the nation.

    IV. Date of Adoption and Enactment:

    In its final paragraph, the Preamble specifies the important historical fact that the Constitution was adopted on 26 November, 1949. It was on this day that the Constitution received the signatures of the President of the Constituent Assembly and was declared passed.

    V. Self-made Constitution:

    The Constitution of India is an adopted, enacted and self-made constitution. It was adopted and enacted by the Constituent Assembly acting as the elected representative body of the people of India. The Preamble states the philosophical foundations of the Constitution India and enumerates its objectives.

    It constitutes a Key for the interpretation of the Constitution. It is a part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Through, it’s Preamble, the Constitution a commits itself to Democracy, Republicanism, Socialism, Secularism, Liberalism and Welfare State. The Preamble states the objectives which the Constitution is committed to secure for all the people of India.

     

     

    Part IV-A was added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. It encompasses Part IV, Article 51A enu­merating Ten Fundamental Duties of the Citizens of India.

    There is no provision in the Constitution for direct enforcement of any of these Duties nor for any sanction to prevent their violation.But it may be expected that in determining the Consti­tutionality of any law, if a Court finds that it seeks to give effect to any of these duties, it may consider such law to ‘be reasonable’ in relation to Article 14 or 19, and thus save such law from unconstitutionality.

    Directive Principles Of State Policy

    An important feature of the constitution is the Directive Principles of State Policy. Although the Directive Principles are asserted to be “fundamental in the governance of the country,” they are not legally enforceable. Instead, they are guidelines for creating a social order characterized by social, economic, and political justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as enunciated in the constitution’s preamble.

    Article 37 of the Constitution declares that the DPSP “shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws.” It is not a mere coincidence that the apparent distinction that is drawn by scholars between the ICCPR rights and ESC rights holds good for the distinction that is drawn in the Indian context between fundamental rights and DPSP. Thus the bar to justiciability of the DPSP is spelled out in some sense in the Constitution itself.

     

Historical Underpinning and Evolution

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Evolution of Indian Constitution

Although the systems of ancient India do have their reflections in the Constitutions of India, the direct sources of the Constitution lie in the administrative and legislative developments of the British period.

 

Regulating Act of 1773

  • This Act was based on the report of a committee headed by the British Prime Minister Lord North.
  • Governance of the East India Company was put under the British Parliamentary control.
  • The Governor of Bengal was nominated as Governor General for all the three Presidencies of Calcutta Bombay and Madras. Warren Hastings was the first such Governor General.
  • A Supreme Court was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata)
  • Governor General was empowered to make laws, regulations and ordinances with the consent of the Supreme Court.

 

Pitts India Act of 1784

  • It was enacted to improve upon the provisions of Regulating Act of 1773 to bring about better discipline in the Company’s system of administration.
  • A 6 member Board of Coordinators was set up which was headed by a minister of the British Government. All political responsibilities were given to this board.
  • Trade and commerce related issues were under the purview of the Court of the Directors of the company.
  • Provinces had to follow the instructions of the Central Government and Governor General was empowered to dismiss the failing provincial government.

 

Charter Act of 1793

  • Main provisions of the previous Acts were consolidated in this Act.
  • Provided for the payment of salaries of the members of the Board of Controllers from Indian revenue.
  • Courts were given the power to interpret rules and regulations

 

Charter Act of 1813

  • Trade monopoly of the East India Company came to an end.
  • Powers of the three Councils of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were enlarged; they were also subjected to greater control of the British Parliament.
  • The Christian Missionaries were allowed to spread their religion in India.
  • Local autonomous bodies were empowered to levy taxes.

 

Charter Act of 1833

  • The Governor General and his Council were given vast powers. This Council could legislate for the whole of India subject to the approval of the Board of Controllers.
  • The Council got full powers regarding revenue, and a single budget for the country was prepared by the Governor General.
  • The East India Company was reduced to an administrative and political entity and several Lords and Ministers were nominated as ex-officio members of the Board of Controllers.
  • For the first time the Governor-General’s Government was known as the ‘Government of India’ and his Council as the ‘Indian Council’.

 

Charter Act of 1853

  • This was the last of the Charter Acts and it made important changes in the system of Indian legislation.
  • This Act followed a report of then Governor General Dalhousie for improving the administration of the company.
  • A separate Governor for Bengal was to be appointed.
  • Legislative and administrative functions of the Council were separately identified.
  • Recruitment of the Company’s employees was to be done through competitive exams.
  • British Parliament was empowered to put Company’s governance of India to an end at any suitable time.

 

Government of India Act, 1858

  • British Crown decided to assume sovereignty over India from the East India Company in an apparent consequence of the Revolt of 1857, described as an armed sepoy mutiny by the British historians and remembered as the First War of Independence by the Indians.
  • The first statute for the governance of India, under the direct rule of the British Government, was the Government of India Act, 1858.
  • It Provide for absolute (British) imperial control over India without any popular participation in the administration of the country.
  • The powers of the crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members, known as the Council of India.
  • The country was divided into provinces headed by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor aided by his Executive Council.
  • The Provincial Governments had to function under the superintendence, direction and control of the Governor- General in all matters.
  • All authority for the governance of India was vested in the Governor- General in Council who was responsible to the Secretary of State.
  • The Secretary of State was ultimately responsible to the British Parliament.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1861

  • This is an important landmark in the constitutional history of India. By this Act, the powers of the Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council of fifteen members (known as the Council of India). The Secretary of State, who was responsible to the British Parliament, governed India through the Governor General, assisted by an Executive council.
  • This Act enabled the Governor General to associate representatives of the Indian people with the work of legislation by nominating them to his expanded council.
  • This Act provided that the Governor General’s Executive Council should include certain additional non-official members also while transacting legislative business as a Legislative Council. But this Legislative Council was neither representative nor deliberative in any sense.
  • It decentralized the legislative powers of the Governor General’s Council and vested them in the Governments of Bombay and Madras.

 

Indian Councils Act, 1892

  • The non-official members of the Indian Legislative Council were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Provincial Legislatives Council while the non-official members of the Provincial Councils were to be nominated by certain local bodies such as universities, districts boards, municipalities, zamindars etc.
  • The Councils were to have the power of discussing the Budget and addressing questions to the Executive.

 

Morley-Minto Reforms and the Indian Councils Act, 1909

  • Reforms recommended by the then Secretary of States for India (Lord Morley) and the Viceroy (Lord Minto) were implemented by the Indian Councils Act, 1909.
  • The maximum number of additional members of the Indian Legislative Council (Governor- General’s Council) was raised from 16 (under the Act of 1892) to 60 (excluding the Executive Councilors).
  • The size of Provincial Legislative Councils was enlarged by including elected non-official members so that the official majority was gone.
  • An element of election was introduced in the Legislative Council at the centre also but here the official majority was maintained.
  • The Legislative Councils were empowered to move resolutions on the Budget, and on any matter of public interest except certain specified subjects such as the Armed forces, Foreign Affairs and the Indian States.
  • It provided, for the first time, for separate representation of the Muslim community and thus sowed the seeds of separatism.

 

The Government of India Act, 1915

  • This act was passed to consolidate the provisions of the preceding Government of India Acts.

 

Montague-Chelmsford Report and the Government of India Act, 1919

  • The then Secretary of State for India Mr. E.S. Montague and the Governor General Lord Chelmsford formulated proposals for the Government of India Act, 1919.
  • Responsible Government in the Provinces was to be introduced, without impairing the responsibility of the Governor (through Governor General), for the administration of the province, by resorting to device known as ‘Diarchy’ or dual government.
  • The subjects of administration were to be divided into two categories Central and Provincial.
  • Central subjects were those which were exclusively kept under the control of the Central Government.
  • The provincial subjects were sub-divided into ‘transferred’ and ‘reserved’ subjects.
  • The ‘transferred subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the Legislative Council in which the proportion of elected members was raised to 70 percent.
  • The ‘ reserved subjects’ were to be administered by the Governor and his Executive Council with no responsibility to the Legislature.
  • The previous Central control over the provinces in the administrative, legislative and financial matters was relaxed. Sources of revenue were divided into two categories so that the provinces could run the administration with the revenue raised y the provinces themselves.
  • The provincial budget was separated from the central budget.
  • The provincial legislature was empowered to present its own budget and levy its own taxes relating to the provincial sources of revenue.
  • The Central Legislature, retained power to legislate for the whole country on any subject.
  • The control of the Governor General over provincial legislature was retained by providing that a Provincial Bill, even though assented to by the Governor, would become law only when assented to also by the Governor General.
  • The Governor was empowered to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the Governor General if it was related to some specified matters.
  • The Governor General in Council continued to remain responsible to the British Parliament through the Secretary of State for India.
  • The Indian Legislature was made more representative and, for the first time ‘bi-cameral.’
  • The Upper House was named the Council of State. This composed of 60 members of whom 34 were elected.
  • The Lower House was named the Legislative Assembly. This was composed of about 144 members of whom 104 were elected.
  • The electorates were arranged on a communal and sectional basis, developing the Morley-Minto device further.
  • The Governor General’s overriding powers in respect of Central legislation were retained as follows:
  • His prior sanction was required to introduce Bills relating to certain matters;
  • He had the power to veto or reserve for consideration of the Crown any Bill passed by the Indian Legislature;
  • He had the converse power of certifying Bill or any grant refused by the Legislature;
  • He could make Ordinances, in case of emergency.

 

Simon Commission

  • This commission, headed by Sir John Simon, constituted in 1927 to inquire into the working of the Act of 1919, placed its report in 1930. The report was examined by the British Parliament and the Government of India Bill was drafted accordingly.

 

The Government of India Act, 1935

  • The Act of 1935 prescribed a federation, taking the Provinces and the Indian States (native states) as units.
  • It was optional for the Indian States to join the Federation, and since they never joined, the Federation never came into being.
  • The Act divided legislative powers between the Centre and Provinces.
  • The executive authority of a Province was also exercised by a Governor on the behalf of the Crown and not as a subordinate of the Governor General.
  • The Governor was required to act with the advice of Ministers responsible to the legislature.
  • In certain matters, the Governor was required to act ‘in his discretion’ without ministerial advice and under the control and directions of the Governor General, and, through him, of the Secretary of State.
  • The executive authority of the Centre was vested in the Governor General (on behalf of the Crown).
  • The councilors of Council of Ministers responsible to the Legislature were not appointed although such provisions existed in the Act of 1935.
  • The Central Legislature was bi-cameral, comprising a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. In other provinces, the Legislature was uni-cameral.
  • Apart from the Governor General’s power of veto, a Bill passed by the Central Legislature was also subject to veto by the Crown.
  • The Governor General could prevent discussion in the Legislature and suspend the proceedings on any Bill if he was satisfied that it would affect the discharge of his special responsibilities.
  • The Governor General had independent powers of legislatures, concurrently with those of the Legislature.
  • On some subjects no bill or amendment could be introduced in the Legislature without the Governor General’s previous sanction.
  • A three-fold division in the Act of 1935 –There was Federal List over which the Federal Legislature had exclusive jurisdiction. There was a Concurrent List also over which both the Federal and the Provincial had competence.
  • The Governor General was empowered to authorize either the Federal or the Provincial Legislature to enact a law with respect to any matter which was not enumerated in the above noted Legislative Lists.
  • Dominion Status, which was promised by the Simon Commission in 1929, was not conferred by the Government of India Act, 1935.

 

Cripps Mission

  • In March, 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British cabinet came with a draft declaration on the proposals of the British Government.
  • These proposals were to be adopted at the end of the Second World War, provided Congress and the Muslim League could accept them.
  • According to the proposals-
  • The Constitution of India was to be framed by an elected Constituent Assembly by the Indian people.
  • The Constitution should give India Dominion Status.
  • There should be one Indian Union comprising all the Provinces and Indian States.
  • Any Province (or Indian State) not accepting the Constitution would be free to retain its constitutional position existing at that time and with such non-acceding Province British Government could enter into separate Constitutional arrangements.

 

Cabinet Mission

  • In March 1946, Lord Attlee sent a Cabinet Mission to India consisting of three Cabinet Ministers, namely Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. A.V. Alexander.
  • The object of Cabinet Mission was to help India achieve its independence as early as possible, and to set up a Constitutional Assembly.
  • The Cabinet Mission rejected the claim for a separate Constituent Assembly and a Separate for the Muslim.
  • According to Cabinet Mission Plan there was to be a Union of India, comprising both British India and the States, having jurisdiction over the subjects of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communication. All residuary powers were to be vested in the Provinces and the States.
  • The Union was to have an Executive and a Legislature consisting of representatives of the Provinces and the States.
  • Any decision involving a major communal issue in the legislature was to require a majority support of representatives of each of the two major communities present and voting.
  • The provinces could form groups with executives and legislatures, and each group could be competent to determine the provincial subjects.

 

The Mountbatten Plan

  • The plan for transfer of power to the Indians and partition of the country was laid down in the Mountbatten Plan.
  • It was given a formal shape by a statement made by the British Government on 3rd June, 1947.

 

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 of the British Parliament

  • In pursuance of this Act, the Government of India Act, 1935 was amended by the Adaptation Orders, both in India and Pakistan, for setting up an interim Constituent Assembly to draw up future Constitution of the country.
  • From the 15th August 1947 India ceased to be a Dependency, and the suzerainty of the British Crown over the Indian States and the treaty relations with Tribal Areas lapsed from that date.
  • The office of the Secretary of State for India was abolished.
  • The Governor General and the Governors lost extraordinary powers of legislations to compete with the legislature.
  • The Central Legislature Of India, composed of the Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, ceased to exist on August 14, 1947.
  • The Constituent Assembly itself was to function as the Central Legislature with complete sovereignty.

 

Making of the constitution

  • 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy
  • 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly
  • 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India
  • 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer
  • August Offer
    • PM: Winston Churchill
    • While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the war on the ground that INC is not representative of the minorities, three offers were made
    • Expansion of Viceroy’s executive council with the inclusion of Indian representatives
    • An advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established
    • Two practical steps were decided to be taken in which it was to come at an agreement with the Indians on the form which the post representatives body should take and the methods by which it should come to a conclusion.
    • It further planned to draw out the principles and outlines of the Constitution itself
    • Congress rejected the offer
  • 1942: Cripps Mission
    • PM: Winston Churchill Sec of State: Leo Amery                                Viceroy: Linlithgow
    • On the framing of an independent constitution to be adopted after the WW II
    • Cripps proposals rejected by the ML which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states
  • 1946: Cabinet Mission
    • PM: Clement Attlee Viceroy: Lord Wavell
    • Members: Pethick Lawrence (sec of state for India), Stafford Cripps, A V Alexander
    • Simla Conference
    • May 16 plan
      • United dominion of india would be given independence
      • Muslim majority and Hindu majority provinces to be grouped
      • Central government to run foreign affairs, defence and communications while rest of the responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by the two groups
    • Interim cabinet was formed. ML joined the cabinet but decided to boycott the constituent assembly
  • 1946, Nov: Constituent Assembly formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan
  • First meeting of CA on December 9, 1946. Sacchidanada Sinha was elected the temporary Presidetn
  • Dec 11, 1946: Rajendra Prasad and H C Mukharjee elected as the President and VP of the assembly respectively.
  • BN Rao was the constitutional advisor to the assembly
  • Dec 13, 1946: Objectives Resolution moved by JL Nehru
  • Jan 22, 1947: Objectives resolution adopted
  • June 3, 1947: Mountbatten plan. Partition of the country announced.
  • Jan 24, 1950: Final session of the CA. It however continued as a provisional body from Jan 26, 1950 till the formation of the new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951-52

Major Committees of CA

Committee Chairman
Union Powers Committee JL Nehru
Union Constitution Committee JL Nehru
Committee for Negotiating with States JL Nehru
Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad
Rules of Procedure Committee Rajendra Prasad
Provincial Constitution Committee Sardar Patel
Committee on Fundamental Rights and  Minorities.

Two sub committees ( FR , Minorities)

 Sardar Patel

(J B Kriplani, H C Mukharjee)
Drafting Committee B R Ambedkar
  • Drafting Committee was setup on Aug 29, 1947. It had seven members
    • B R Ambedkar
    • Alladi Krisnaswamy Ayyer
    • N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
    • K M Munshi
    • TT Krishnamchari
    • N Madhava Rau
    • Syed Mohammad Saadullah
  • Nov 26, 1949: Constitution was adopted
  • The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted
Features
  • Lengthiest written Constitution: Originally our constitution contained 395 articles divided in 22 parts and 8 schedules. Constitution has been amended 98 times. Currently there are 25 Parts, 12 Schedules, and 448 Articles. These figures show our constitution as the most comprehensive constitution in the world. (British have no written constitution and Constitution of USA had originally only 7 articles)
  • Starts with a Preamble: It gives an insight into the Philosophy of the Constitution.
  • Drawn from different sources: fundamental rights from USA, bicameralism from UK, Fundamental duties from USSR etc,
  • Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility: making Law is quite flexible and easy in comparison to amending a law.
  • Sovereignty of the Country: managing internal and external affairs freely without any external forces.
  • Democratic state: governing power is derived from the people by means of elected representatives of the people.
  • Republic: India does not have a hereditary post of Head of the State. The Head of the state in India is President and he / she is elected.
  • Socialist State: Indian socialism is democratic socialism. The goals of the socialism are to be realized through democratic means.
  • Secular state: India is secular country. Here No religion is a state religion. The constitution provides equal treatment to all religions.
  • Parliamentary Form of Government: Westminster model of government. Presence of nominal and real executives, majority party rule, collective responsibility of executive to legislature, dissolution of lower house, prime minister has crucial and important role.
  • A blend of Federal and Unitary System: there are separate governments in the Union and States and there is division of power. Unitary features: Strong centre. Single Citizenship, single constitution for both the centre and states, emergency provisions, all India services. India is also quasi-federal as constitution describes India as union of states. States cannot unjoin as well as there is no agreement by states. We have union as well as state lists.
  • Integrated and independent Judiciary: The states have high courts but the verdicts of these courts are subject to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Constitution has made the High Courts subordinate to the Supreme Court.
  • Universal Adult Franchise: Every citizen who is above 18 years has a Voting Right without any discrimination.
  • Three tier government structure: union, state and panchayats.
  • Synthesis of parliamentary sovereignty and judicial supremacy: judicial review of Supreme Court by procedure established by law. Also, parliament can amend major portion of constitution.
  • Fundamental rights: to promote political democracy. Enforceable by courts for violation. They are Justiciable in nature.
  • Fundamental duties: to respect constitution; to promote national unity, integrity, sovereignty; to preserve rich cultural heritage and promote common brotherhood. They are not justiciable in nature.
  • Directive principles of state policy: socialistic, liberal and gandhian meant for promoting ideal social and economic democracy. To establish welfare state. It is the duty of state to apply these in governance. They are not justiciable.
  • Independent bodies: constitution not only provides legislative, executive and judicial organs of government (state and centre) but also has independent election commission, CAG, UPSC, SPSC with security of tenure, service conditions.

 

Parliamentary Form of Government

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Parliamentary form of Government is the system of government in which there exists an intimate and harmonious relationship between the executive and the legislative departments, and the stability and efficacy of the executive department depend on the legislature.Its a system of government in which the power to make and execute laws is held by a parliament.

Although the parliamentary government is broadly defined in the above way, in such a system the supremacy of the legislature has now been replaced by the supremacy of the Cabinet. Hence, such form of government is also called Cabinet Government.

In a Parliamentary form of government, the head of the state is usually a different person than the head of the government. A Monarch or a President is usually the head of the state. However, he or she is the head of state, but not the head of government. The functions of the head of the state is chiefly formal or ceremonial. The council of ministers or the cabinet exercises the real executive powers and authority to run the Government. In many countries, the Prime Minister is the the head of the council of ministers.

The Parliamentary or the Cabinet system originated in England. This form of government exists in countries like Britain, India and Canada. This Parliamentary form of government is also called Responsible government.

Features

 

The features of Parliamentary form of Government has been discussed below:

 

  1. Existence of a Titular or Constitutional Ruler: The first characteristic feature of the parliamentary system is the existence of a Titular of Constitutional Ruler. Legally the administration of all the affairs of the state is conducted by the head of the state. In reality, however, the administration is carried by the Council of Ministers. The Monarch or the President, as the case may be, is the head of the state, but not the head of the government.

 

  1. Absence of Separation of Powers: In the parliamentary system the principle of separation of powers is not adopted. Here the three departments of government work in close, intimate contact, sharing some of the powers and functions of one another.

 

  1. Main Role of the Lower House in Ministry-formation: In the parliamentary government the lower house of the legislature, i.e., the popular chamber plays a vital role in the formation of the ministry. The leader of the party or alliance which wins the majority in this house is appointed the Prime Minister or Chancellor. The constitutional ruler appoints the other members of the ministry on his advice.

 

  1. Responsibility to the Legislature: In such a system the Cabinet or Ministry has to remain responsible to the legislature for all its activities and policies. In countries having bi-cameral legislatures, the Cabinet remains responsible to the lower house composed of the people’s representatives.

 

  1. Collective Responsibility: The ministerial responsibility to the legislature may again be of two kinds:

 

Individual responsibility, andCollective responsibility.

Individual responsibility means that the minister in charge of a department must be answerable for the activities of his department. But when the ministers remain jointly or collectively responsible to the legislature for the policies and activities of the government, it is called ‘collective responsibility’. Since no individual minister can unilaterally perform any business of government without the consent of the Cabinet, the entire Ministry or Cabinet has to remain accountable for the errors of the minister concerned.

 

  1. Intimate relationship between the Legislature and the Executive: In the parliamentary system an intimate relationship exists between the executive and the legislative departments. So they can easily control each other. The leaders of the majority party or alliance in the legislature become the members of the Cabinet or Ministry. Naturally, the ministers can easily extend their influence on the legislature. Consequently, the programs and policies of the Cabinet are backed by a majority inside the legislature.

 

  1. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leadership of the Prime Minister is another major feature of the parliamentary system. The leader of the majority party in the legislature becomes the Prime Minister. Though, in theory, he is ‘primus inter pares’, i.e. ‘first among equals’, in reality, he possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. As the undisputed leader of the majority party or alliance in the legislature he plays the most vital role in the determination and execution of government policies. Indeed, the success of parliamentary democracy depends, to a great extent, on the personality, efficiency and charisma of the Prime Minister.

 

  1. Existence of a Strong Opposition: The existence of one or more strong and well-organized opposition party or parties is the hall-mark of the parliamentary system. By criticizing the errors of the government, the opposition can compel it to adopt welfare measures and prevent it from becoming despotic. Judged from this angle, the opposition can be called the life-force of parliamentary democracy.

 

  1. Cabinet Dictatorship: In the parliamentary system of government the cabinet has to perform manifold functions.

 

It is the Cabinet which:

 

formulates well-considered policies of the Government after reviewing both the national and international issues,takes necessary, arrangements for passing laws to implement the policies formulated by it,determines the matters to be included in the agenda of the central legislature,controls and directs the administrative departments so that laws, Government orders, etc. are to be implemented properly,co-ordinates the activities of different departments of the Government,prepares the draft budget in consultation with the Prime Minister and takes necessary initiative to get it passed in the legislature,formulates economic policies and takes necessary steps for implementing the same,advice’s the constitutional head to take necessary action during emergency or unforeseen situation, etc.In this way the Cabinet acts as ‘the keystone of the political arch’ or has become the ‘steering wheel of the ship of the state’. In fact, in the parliamentary system of government as the cabinet members are the leaders of the majoity party or alliance in the legislature. Some critics think that the Parliament is controlled by the Cabinet under the leadership of the Prime Minister giving rise to some sort of “Cabinet dictatorship”.

 

Advantages :

 

The Parliamentary form of Government offers a lot of: advantages. The close cooperation between the executive and the legislative organs leades to smooth functioning of government and avoids unnecessary confrontation between them. These two organs work as mutually complementary to each other.

 

The responsibility of the government ensures an open administration. The executive, conscious of its responsibility to remain responsible for all its actions and to answer the question of the legislature relating to administration to their satisfaction always tries to remain alert, because this influences its electoral prospects. The more the mistake the less the chance of popular support in the election.

 

The system is flexible. Flexibility is an asset in any system as it provides room for adjustment. The parliamentary form of government is highly adaptive to changing situation. For example in times of grave emergency the leadership can be changed without any hassles, to tackle the situations as it happened during II World War in England. Mr. Chamberlain made way for Mr. Winston Churchil to handle the war. Even the election can be deferred till normalcy is restored. Such flexibility in the system does not exist in Presidential form of government which is highly rigid.

 

Under this system it is easier to locate responsibility for the lapses in administration. There is a vast body of civil servants who constitute the permanent executive. In fact they help the political masters to formulate policies of administration and their implementation. But it is the political leadership or the cabinet who takes the responsibility for everything in administration. Therefore it is said that the bureaucracy thrives under the cloak of ministerial responsibility.

 

A great merit of the system, as painted by Lord Bryce, if its swiftness in decision making. The executive can take any decision and quickly implement that without any hindrance. Since the party in power enjoys majority support in the legislature it can act freely without the fear of being let down.

 

Disadvantages:

 

However no system is completely foolproof. Advantages and disadvantages are part of any system irrespective of its soundness. Under this system the liberty of the people are at a stake as the executive and legislative organs of the government work in close collaboration. This greatly affects the principle of separation of powers. In view of the legislative support and the formidable power at its disposal the cabinet virtually becomes dictatorial. It becomes whimsical in exercising its power without caring for liberty of the people.

 

Politicization of administration is another demerit of the system. Political consideration in policy formulation and implementation outweigh popular interest. In other words people’s interest suffers at the cost of political considerations. The leadership of the party by virtue of powers it enjoys mobilizes the administration to strengthen the party prospects in the election.

 

The same can be said of the opposition parties who oppose the party in power for political considerations. They hardly show interest in the activities of the government and offer constructive criticism.

 

Prof. Dicey points out another serious lacuna in the system. According to him the executive under a parliamentary system fails to take quick decision at the time of any crisis or war. The members of the cabinet always are not unanimous on all problems. The Prime Minister discusses with his colleagues in the cabinet and ultimately prevails over them to take unanimous decision. This is different from the Presidential system where he takes the decision himself and implements that.

 

This system is unsuitable in countries with more than two parties. Usually in a multi party system the electorate fail to support a particular party in the election as a result of that there is hardly any party which gets majority votes. This leads to instability, chaos and confusion in selecting a party or a leader to form the government. As we observe the large number of political parties in India have contributed to political instability. Countries like Great Britain do not demonstrate such state of affairs as dual party system is the true basis of parliamentary democracy.

 

A criticism leveled against the Parliamentary system is that the government is run by the novice, ‘without any administrative training, skill or background. They are elected from social field and therefore depend heavily on the civil servants for formulation and implementation of policies. The bureaucrats under the system assume greater authority and consolidate their own position to use their political masters as mere tools.

Our constitution provides for parliamentary form of government. We have borrowed the constitutional features of several democratic countries. But our parliamentary model is predominantly based on the British system. The Head of Government in our system, the Prime Minister, can hold office only so long as he commands the confidence  of  the  Lok  Sabha.  Confidence  of  the  House  is  reflected  in existence/continuance of majority support – whether it be of a single party or of a coalition of parties. This feature can, and does, cause instability in governance. In Presidential democracies, the Head of Government, the President is directly elected by the people and cannot be removed from office except in circumstances of high crimes  and  misdemeanour  established  through  impeachment  process.  Hence, Presidential democracies provide stable governance. In our parliamentary system, we have had changes of government through mid term elections or political realignments. Changes in government undoubtedly bring about disruptions in implementation of policies, development programmes and schemes.

 

 

Administrative Setup and Administrative Culture in Rajasthan.

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Within a state there is generally a four-tier structure of ad- ministration – division, district, taluka/tehsil/block, and village. The district has been so far the most important unit of administration. Some of the states have introduced the system of Panchayati Raj, generally a three-tier structure of local self- government in rural areas at the vil- lage, block and district levels. Two recent constitutional amendments have bestowed on the local bodies in rural and urban areas constitutional status and specific functions including education, covering education upto secondary level, technical training and vocational education, adult and non-formal education. These amendments will strengthen decentralised management of educa- tion at the grass-root level.

 

 

For the administrative ease rajasthan has been devided into following seven devisions:-

 

1          Ajmer Division

2          Bharatpur Division

3          Bikaner Division

4          Jaipur Division

5          Jodhpur Division

6          Kota Division

7          Udaipur Division

 

 

 

Districts of Rajasthan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citizen’s Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitment of the Organisation towards its Citizens in respects of Standard of Services, Information, Choice and Consultation, Non-discrimination and Accessibility, Grievance Redress, Courtesy and Value for Money.

The main objective of the exercise to issue the Citizen’s Charter of an organisation is to improve the quality of public services. This is done by letting people know the mandate of the concerned Ministry/ Department/ Organisation, how one can get in touch with its officials, what to expect by way of services and how to seek a remedy if something goes wrong. The Citizen’s Charter does not by itself create new legal rights, but it surely helps in enforcing existing rights. This website provides the details of Citizen’s Charter of various Ministries/ Departments/ Organistions of the Government of India.

The basic objective of the Citizen’s Charter is to empower the citizen in relation to public service delivery. The six principles of the Citizen’s Charter movement as originally framed were:

 

(i) Quality: Improving the quality of services;

 

(ii) Choice: Wherever possible;

 

(iii) Standards: Specifying what to expect and how to act if standards are not met;

 

(iv) Value : For the taxpayers’ money;

 

(v) Accountability: Individuals and Organisations; and

 

(vi) Transparency: Rules/Procedures/Schemes/Grievances.

 

These were later elaborated by the Labour Government as the nine principles of Service Delivery (1998), which are as follows:-

 

  1. Set standards of service

 

  1. Be Open and provide full information

 

  1. Consult and involve

 

  1. Encourage access and the promotion of choice

 

  1. Treat all fairly

 

  1. Put things right when they go wrong

 

  1. Use resources effectively

 

  1. Innovate and improve

 

  1. Work with other providers

Government of Rajasthan(Administrative Reforms and Coordination Department, Jaipur, Rajasthan) manages the citizen charters in the state Following departments have issued there separate charters, which could be accessed from their websites.

 

  1. Registration and Stamps Department, Rajasthan, Ajmer

 

  1. Food and Civil Supplies Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Revenue Department

 

  1. Local Bodies

 

  1. Transport Department

 

  1. Medical & Health & Associate Hospitals

 

  1. SMS Medical College & Hospital, Jaipur

 

  1. Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Ajmer

 

  1. Psychiatry Centre & Mental Hospital, Jaipur

 

  1. Sir Padampat Mother & Child Health Institute , Jaipur

 

  1. Chest & T.B. Hospital, Jaipur

 

  1. Mahila Chikitsalaya, Jaipur

 

  1. Zenana, Hospital, Jaipur

 

  1. Medical & Health Services (E.S.I) Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Police Department

 

  1. Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, Jaipur

 

  1. Labour Deprtment

 

  1. Factories & Boilers Department

 

  1. Land & Buildings Taxes Department

 

  1. Commercial Taxes Department

 

  1. Bureau of Anticorruption, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Command Area Development & Water Utilization Department

 

  1. Mines & Geology Department

 

  1. Literacy & Adult Education Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Irrigation Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Animal Husbandry Department

 

  1. Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd, Jaipur (Jaipur DISCOM)

 

  1. State Insurance & General Provident Fund Department

 

  1. Home Guard & Civil Aviation Department

 

  1. Colonization Department

 

  1. Jaipur Development Authority

 

  1. Women & Child Development Department

 

  1. Secondary Education Department

 

  1. Citizen’s Charter for Divisional Commissioners’ Office

 

  1. Higher Education, Jaipur

 

  1. Panchayati Raj Department

 

  1. Technical Education Department

 

  1. Public Works Department

 

  1. Agriculture Marketing Department

 

  1. Settlement Department

 

  1. Rural Development Department

 

  1. Directorate of Water Shed Development & Soil Conservation Department

 

  1. Fisheries Department

 

  1. Cooperative Department

 

  1. Employment Department

 

  1. Agriculture Marketing Board

 

  1. Public Health Engineering Department

 

  1. Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Ltd., Jaipur

 

  1. Industries Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Rajasthan Finance Corporation (RFC)

 

  1. Small Savings Department

 

  1. Vidut Nirikshanalaya Rajasthan, Jaipur (Electrical Inspector, Rajasthan, Jaipur)

 

  1. Agriculture Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Forest Department

 

  1. Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner

 

  1. Director, Prosecution, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Jail Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Tourism, Art and Culture Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Devasthan Department, Rajasthan, Udaipur

 

  1. Excise Department, Rajasthan, Udaipur

 

  1. Director, Horticulture Department, Rajasthan, Jaipur

 

  1. Town Planning Department, Jaipur (JLN Marg).

 

 

The Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services Act, 2011

The Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services Act, 2011 guarantees the delivery of 108 services in 53 areas concerning 15 departments. The time period kept for the delivery of services ranges from one day in the case of removal of animal carcasses from public places to two days for driving licences, 75 days for land use conversion and a maximum of 90 days for sanction of old age pension. Issue of birth/death certificates has been promised in 7-15 days and new ration card in seven days.

 

Right To Information

RTI stands for Right To Information and has been given the status of a fundamental right under Article 19(1) of the Constitution. Article 19 (1) under which every citizen has freedom of speech and expression and have the right to know how the government works, what role does it play, what are its functions and so on.

Right to Information Act empowers every citizen to seek any information, take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records, take certified samples of material.

Constitutional Development & Indian Constitution

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Making of the constitution

  • 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy
  • 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly
  • 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India
  • 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer
  • August Offer
    • PM: Winston Churchill
    • While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the war on the ground that INC is not representative of the minorities, three offers were made
    • Expansion of Viceroy’s executive council with the inclusion of Indian representatives
    • An advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established
    • Two practical steps were decided to be taken in which it was to come at an agreement with the Indians on the form which the post representatives body should take and the methods by which it should come to a conclusion.
    • It further planned to draw out the principles and outlines of the Constitution itself
    • Congress rejected the offer
  • 1942: Cripps Mission
    • PM: Winston Churchill Sec of State: Leo Amery                                Viceroy: Linlithgow
    • On the framing of an independent constitution to be adopted after the WW II
    • Cripps proposals rejected by the ML which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states
  • 1946: Cabinet Mission
    • PM: Clement Attlee Viceroy: Lord Wavell
    • Members: Pethick Lawrence (sec of state for India), Stafford Cripps, A V Alexander
    • Simla Conference
    • May 16 plan
      • United dominion of india would be given independence
      • Muslim majority and Hindu majority provinces to be grouped
      • Central government to run foreign affairs, defence and communications while rest of the responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by the two groups
    • Interim cabinet was formed. ML joined the cabinet but decided to boycott the constituent assembly
  • 1946, Nov: Constituent Assembly formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan
  • First meeting of CA on December 9, 1946. Sacchidanada Sinha was elected the temporary Presidetn
  • Dec 11, 1946: Rajendra Prasad and H C Mukharjee elected as the President and VP of the assembly respectively.
  • BN Rao was the constitutional advisor to the assembly
  • Dec 13, 1946: Objectives Resolution moved by JL Nehru
  • Jan 22, 1947: Objectives resolution adopted
  • June 3, 1947: Mountbatten plan. Partition of the country announced.
  • Jan 24, 1950: Final session of the CA. It however continued as a provisional body from Jan 26, 1950 till the formation of the new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951-52

Major Committees of CA

Committee Chairman
Union Powers Committee JL Nehru
Union Constitution Committee JL Nehru
Committee for Negotiating with States JL Nehru
Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad
Rules of Procedure Committee Rajendra Prasad
Provincial Constitution Committee Sardar Patel
Committee on Fundamental Rights and  Minorities.

Two sub committees ( FR , Minorities)

 Sardar Patel

(J B Kriplani, H C Mukharjee)
Drafting Committee B R Ambedkar
  • Drafting Committee was setup on Aug 29, 1947. It had seven members
    • B R Ambedkar
    • Alladi Krisnaswamy Ayyer
    • N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
    • K M Munshi
    • TT Krishnamchari
    • N Madhava Rau
    • Syed Mohammad Saadullah
  • Nov 26, 1949: Constitution was adopted
  • The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted

 

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Union and State Executive

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Governor

  • Same person can be appointed the governor of two or more states
  • Appointed by the President
  • May resign by writing to the President
  • Qualification
    • Citizen of India
    • 35 years of age
  • Art 161: Pardon for any offence against a law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends
  • Constitution does not state the procedure or the grounds for the removal of the Governor

Council of Ministers

  • The advice tendered by the CoM cannot be enquired in a court
  • Number of ministers in the CoM (including the PM) cannot exceed 15 pc of the total number of members of LS (91st amendment, 2003)
  • If a person is disqualified under the 10th schedule (defection), he cannot become a minister
  • Art 75(3): Collective responsibility

Attorney General

  • Article 76
  • Should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the SC
  • Right of audience in all courts in the territory of India
  • Has the right to take part in the proceedings of either houses, without the right to vote.

Parliament

  • Consists of the President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
  • Six months should not intervene between consecutive sessions
  • The president shall address a joint sitting of both the houses at the first session of every year and at the first session after the general elections
  • The Chairman and Speaker can vote only in case of equality of votes
  • Quorum: One-tenth of the total number of members of the House
  • MPs resign by addressing their resignation to the Speaker of the Chairman
  • If a member is continuously absent for 60 days without permission for all the meetings of the House, his seat is declared vacant
  • Article 102: grounds for disqualification.
    • 5 grounds
  • Decision on questions as to disqualification of members shall be referred to the President and his decision shall be final. The President, in giving his decision, shall act in accordance with the advice of the Election Commission
  • Joint sitting: If passed by one house and rejected by the other, disagreement between houses on the amendments to the bill, more than six months has passed and the other house has not passed the bill
  • Joint sitting does not apply to Money Bills

Council of States

  • Elected members: 238 from state and union territories
    • Allocation of seats given in the 4th schedule
  • Nominated members: 12
    • From field of Literature, science, art and social service
  • Elected members of the states to be elected by respective Legislative Assembly by proportional representation by means of single transferrable vote
  • Representatives of UTs to be chosen as Parliament may by law prescribe
  • 1/3 members retire every 2 years
  • At least 30 years of age
  • Deputy Chairman can resign by addressing to the Chairman

Most RS seats: UP>Maharashtra>TN=AP>Bihar=WB>Karnataka

States with only one RS seat: Arunachal, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

States with least RS seats: Above 8<HP=Uttaranchal<J&K<Haryana=CG

UTs: Delhi-3, Puducherry-1, Rest-zero

House of People

  • 530 members from states by direct elections
  • 20 from UTs chosen in a manner prescribed by the Parliament
  • 2 nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community if it is not represented
  • Ratio of LS seats allocated to a state and its population should be same across states
    • This may not be followed if the population of the state is less than 6 million
  • Population kept as frozen till the census taken after 2026
    • For LS constituency allotment to states: 1971 census data used
    • For defining boundaries of constituencies: 2001 census data used
  • At least 25 years of age
  • Speaker can resign by addressing to the Dy Speaker. The latter can resign by addressing to the Speaker
  • When LS is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the LS after its dissolution
  • Whenever the Deputy Speaker is appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman

Most LS seats: UP>Maharashtra>AP=WB>Bihar>TN

States with one LS seat: Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim

Least LS seats: Above 3<Manipur=Meghalaya=Goa=AP=Tripura<HP<Uttaranchal<J&K

UTs: Delhi(7), Puducherry(2), Rest -1

Reserved for SC: UP – 17, WB – 10

Reserved for ST: MP – 6, Jharkhand, Orissa – 5, CG, Gujarat, Maharashtra – 4

 

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