INDIAN POLITY - WordPress.com...the Company into the hands of the British Government; Acts that facilitated constitutional development during British rule Regulating Act, 1773 Amending

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The Constitution of India was drawn up by aConstituent Assembly. The Assembly met for thefirst time on December 9, 1946. It was not a trulyrepresentative body as its members were indirectlyelected by those who were themselves elected ona narrow franchise. The Assembly constituted aDrafting Committee, under the chairmanship ofDr.B.R.Ambedkar, to frame a constitution forIndia. Indian Constitution was adopted onNovember 26, 1949 and it came into effect onJanuary 26, 1950. It is the longest writtenConstitution in the world containing 395 Articles,22 Parts and 12 Schedules. During 60 years of itsexistence, Indian Constitution has undergoneseveral amendments and demand to review itcompletely has also been raised. But, inspite of allthese changes, the 'basic structure' of the IndianConstitution remains intact.

Development of the Indian ConstitutionBritish rule in India ended on 15th August

1947 and India emerged as an independent andsovereign republic. Certain features of IndianPolity or Constitution can be understood better

with a brief review of the constitutional set upin the preceding periods. As modern politicalinstitutions originated and developed in Indiamainly during the British rule, the origin andgrowth of the Indian Constitution has its rootsin the British period of Indian history. TheBritish came to India in the 17th century astraders. From 1773 onwards, various Acts werepassed by the British Government for the gov-ernance of India.

MAIN PROVISIONS OFIMPORTANT ACTS PASSED IN

BRITISH INDIA

Regulating Act, 1773(i) First attempt by the British Parliament to

regulate the affairs of the East India Com-pany;

(ii) Centralised the administration ofCompany's territories in India;

(iii) Governor of Bengal was designated as theGovernor General of Bengal and Councilof 4 members was appointed for Bengal;

(iv) Bombay and Madras Presidencies weresubordinated to Bengal Presidency;

(v) Supreme Court was set up at Calcutta;and

(viii) Company's servants were forbidden fromaccepting bribes or doing private trade.

Amending Act, 1781:It settled the question of jurisdiction of the

Supreme Court

Pitt's India Act, 1784(i) It was the first effective substitution of Par-

liamentary Control over East India Com-pany as it transferred the Indian affairs ofthe Company into the hands of the BritishGovernment;

Acts that facilitated constitutional developmentduring British rule� Regulating Act, 1773� Amending Act, 1781� Pitt's India Act, 1784� Act of 1786� Charter Act, 1793� Charter Act, 1813� Charter Act, 1833� Charter Act, 1853� Government of India Act, 1858� Indian Councils Act, 1861� Indian Councils Act, 1892� Indian Councils Act, 1909� Government of India Act, 1919� Government of India Act, 1935� Indian Independence Act, 1947

INDIAN POLITY

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(ii) Abolished dual system of governance.(iii) Board of Control consisting of 6 Parlia-

mentary Commissioners was constitutedto control civil, military and revenue af-fairs of India;

(iv) Court of Directors had to comply with theorders and directions of the Board;

(v) Strength of Governor-General's Councilreduced to 3;

(vi) Control of Governor-General-in-Councilon Bombay and Madras Presidency wasenlarged and made more effective.

Act of 1786:Governor-General became the Commander-

in-Chief of Indian Forces.

Charter Act, 1793(i) East India Company's monopoly over trade

was extended for 20 more years(ii) Expenses and salaries of the Board of Con-

trol to be charged on Indian Revenue; and(iii) Governor-General could over-ride his

Council.

Charter Act, 1813(i) East India Company was deprived of its

trade monopoly in India except in tea andopium trade with China;

(ii) All Englishmen could trade with Indiasubject to certain restrictions;

(iii) Rules and procedures were made for useof Indian revenue; and

(iv) A sum of Rs. 1 lakh was earmarkedannually for education.

Charter Act, 1833(i) Governor-General of Bengal became the

Governor-General of India;(ii) Company was asked to close its business

at the earliest;(iii) It put an end on Company's trade mo-

nopoly even in tea and opium with China;(iv) Government of Madras and Bombay was

deprived of legislative powers;(v) A fourth member (Law Member) was added

to the Council of Governor-General;(vi) Government Service was thrown open to

the people of India;(viii) All laws made by Governor General-in-

Council, henceforth came to be known asActs and not regulations;

(viii) Provision was made for appointment of LawCommission for codification of laws; and

(ix) Slavery was abolished.

Charter Act, 1853(i) For the first time a separate legislative

machinery consisting of 12-member Legis-lative Council was created;

(ii) Law Member was made a full member ofthe Executive Council of the Governor-General. Six additional members wereadded for legislative purposes; and

(iii) Recruitment of Civil Services was based onopen annual competitive examination.

Government of India Act, 1858(i) Rule of company in India ended and that

of the Crown began;(ii) System of double government ended as

both the Court of Directors as well as theBoard of Control was abolished;

(iii) Secretary of State for India was appointed.He was assisted by a 15-member Council(India Council). He was to exercise thepowers of the Crown;

(iv) Secretary of State was to be a member ofthe British Cabinet;

(v) Secretary of State governed India throughthe Governor General;

(vi) Governor-General was to be called theViceroy and was the direct representativeof the Crown in India; and

(vii) A unitary and highly-centralised adminis-trative structure was created.

WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE TERMS'DIARCHY' AND 'DEVOLUTION RULES'?

In Indian administration, these terms were usedfor the first time in the Government of India Act, 1919(Montague-Chelmsford Reforms)

Diarchy: It meant Dual Government The Provincialsubjects of administration were to be divided into twocategories -- "Transferred" and "Reserved". The trans-ferred subjects were to be administrated by the Gov-ernor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the Leg-islative Council. The reserved subjects were to beadministered by the Governor and his Executive Coun-cil without any responsibility towards the Legislature.

Devolution Rules: Through these Rules, subjectsof administration were divided into two categories --"Central" and "Provincial". Subjects of all-India im-portance (like Railways, Finance) were brought un-der the category of Central, while matters relating tothe administration of the provinces were classifiedas provincial.


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Indian Councils Act, 1861(i) Policy of Association of Indians in legisla-

tion started;(ii) Portfolio system was introduced;

(iii) For legislation; Executive Council of Vice-roy was enlarged by 6 to 12 memberscomposed of half non-official members.Thus foundation of Indian Legislature waslaid down;

(iv) Legislative powers of the Presidency Gov-ernments, abolished in 1833, wererestored; and

(v) Viceroy could issue ordinances in case ofemergency.

Indian Councils Act, 1892:It was the beginning of representative sys-

tem in India.(i) Though the majority of official members

was retained, the non-official members ofthe Indian Legislative Council were hence-forth to be nominated by the Bengal Cham-ber of Commerce and the Provincial Leg-islative Councils.

(ii) Non-official members of the ProvincialCouncil were to be nominated by certainlocal bodies such as universities, districtboards, municipalities, etc.; and

(iii) Councils were given the power to discussbudget and to question the Executive.

Indian Councils Act, 1909:Also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms

(i) Introduced, for the first time, an elementof elections to the Legislative Councils;

(ii) In Provincial Legislative Councils, non-official members were to be in majority;and

(iii) This Act introduced the system of separateelectorates (for Muslims).

Government of India Act, 1919:Popularly known as Montague-Chelmsford

Reforms(i) The idea of "Responsible Government"

was stressed;(ii) Office of the High Commissioner of India

was created in London;(iii) Indian Legislature became "bicameral" for

the first time;

(iv) Communal representation was extendedto Sikhs;

(v) Secretary of State for India was now to bepaid from British revenue; and

(vi) Diarchy was introduced in provinces bydividing subjects of administration betweenofficial members and elected members.

Government of India Act, 1935(i) It provided for the establishment of an All-

India Federation consisting of the BritishProvinces and the Princely States. Thejoining of Princely States was voluntary.The Federation never came into being.

(ii) Diarchy was introduced at the Centre.Diarchy in Provinces was replaced by'Provincial Autonomy' and they weregranted separate legal identity. Respon-sible governments were set up in Statesunder Prime (Chief) Ministers elected byLegislatures;

(iii) Governor was given special responsibili-ties (or discretion) in several matters;

SOURCES OF INDIANCONSTITUTION

1. Seminal Sources:� Constituent Assembly Debates� Reports of Committees of the Constituent Assembly� Nehru Report� Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress� Objectives Resolution� Government of India Act, 1935� Impact of various Constitutions2. Developmental Sources:� Amendments of the Constitution� Judicial Decisions� Parliamentary Statutes� Commentaries of Constitutional Experts� Rules, Regulations, Ordinances, etc.� Constitutional Practices

(iv) Three-fold division of powers was done-Federal, Provincial and Concurrent Lists.Residuary powers were to be with theGovernor-General;

(v) The India Council of Secretary of State forIndia was abolished;

(vi) Principle of separate electorate was ex-tended further to include Anglo-Indians,Indian Christians and Europeans also; and

(vii) A Federal Court was to be constitutedwith a Chief Justice and 10 other Judges.This was set up in 1937.


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Indian Independence Act, 1947:This Act did not lay down any provision for

the administration of India but merely stated thatfrom the "appointed date (Aug. 15, 1947), inplace of India as defined in the Government ofIndia Act, 1935, there would be two independentDominions to be known as "India" and Paki-stan", and the Constituent Assembly of eachDominion would have unlimited powers to frameand adopt any Constitution, and to repeal anyAct of the British Parliament."

SOURCES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTIONThe sources of Indian Constitution include

the imaginative aspirations of the nationalistleaders, the actual working of the Governmentof India Act, 1935, and the experience gainedfrom the actual working of some of the Consti-tutions of important countries of the world.Moreover, its sources include not only the sourcesupon which the founding fathers of our Con-stitution drew but also the developmental sourcessuch as the judicial decisions, constitutionalamendments, constitutional practices and soon. The sources of the Indian Constitution canthus be divided into the following two catego-ries:

1. Seminal SourcesConstituent Assembly Debates: Constitu-

ent Assembly was constituted under the Cabi-net Mission Plan to frame the Indian Constitu-tion. Its members included distinguished law-yers, intellectuals and patriots who took twoyears, eleven months and eighteen days toprepare the Constitution. During the course ofthis period, debates on all the aspects of theConstitution were held in a free and fair man-ner. These debates produced an intelligent opin-ion in the light of which every word of theConstitution was screened carefully and intel-ligently.

Reports of Committees of the ConstituentAssembly: The Constituent Assembly appointedvarious types of committees to make reports ondifferent aspects. Some of the most importantcommittees included Union Powers Commit-tees, Union Constitution Committee, ProvincialConstitution Committee, etc. Advisory Commit-ted on the rights of citizens, minorities and tribal

and excluded areas ad hoc Committee regard-ing the Supreme Court Committee on financialrelations between the Union and States. Thereports of these committees were thoroughlydiscussed in the Drafting Committee. It was onthe basis of the reports made by such commit-tees that the draft of the Constitution wasprepared.

Nehru Report: The British Government hadannounced the formation of the Simon Commis-sion for making a report on the working of heGovernment of India Act, 1919 and suggestconstitutional measures required for the efficientadministration of Indian. The Congress decidedto boycott this Commission because no Indianwas taken on it. Instead it announced the forma-tion of a committee under the leadership ofMotilal Nehru to make recommendations aboutthe desired constitutional set up for India. TheCommittee made certain recommendations whichare known as the Nehru Report. The mainClauses of this Report were : (i) grant of Empire;(ii) Creation of a federal structure for India (iii)bicameralism at the Centre; (iv) Parliamentaryand responsible Government in Provinces; (v)guarantee of Fundamental Right; and (vi) estab-lishment of Supreme Court as the final court ofappeal.

Lahore Session of the Congress: The Con-gress at its Lahore session held in 1929 resolvedto make India a Republic.

Objectives Resolution: Jawharlal Lal Nehrumoved in the Constituent Assembly the Objec-tives Resolution embodying the aspirations ofnationalist India. The Objectives Resolution clearlyspelled out making India a sovereign republic

ON WHAT POINTS THE INDIAN CONSTITUTIONIS INFLUENCED BY THE ACT OF 1935?

The Indian Constitution has been influenced by theGovernment of India Act, 1935 on the following points:

(i) Federal set-up;(ii) Distribution of powers in three lists;(iii) Provincial autonomy;(iv) Office of the Governor;(v) Bicameral legislature;(vi) President's or Governor's power to issue ordinances; and(vii) Structure of the Supreme Court.


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where the ultimate supreme power should bevested with the people. It stated that the peoplewould get social, economic and political justice,liberties of all types and equality. Upliftment of thebackward people and areas would be ensuredand the structure of the country would be federal.

Government of India Act 1935: At the timethe Constitution for free India was being framed,India was governed by the Government of IndiaAct, 1935. The fathers of the Indian Constitu-tion drew heavily on the experience and theprovisions of this Act. According to Jennings -"The Constitution derives directly from the Gov-ernment of India Act, 1935 from which, in fact,many of its provision are copied textually."

Impact of Various Constitutions: The found-ing fathers of the Indian Constitution were wiseenough to borrow from the experience gainedin the working of various other Constitutions.It is on this account that the Constitution ofIndia is regarded as a bag of borrowing from thevarious working Constitutions.(1) British Constitution: The British Constitu-

tion (Mother of all Constitution) had itsimpact in the following respects; (i) Consti-tutional head of State (ii) Lower House ofParliament (Lok Sabha) is more powerfulthan the Upper House; (iii) Responsibility ofCouncil of Ministers towards Parliament;(iv) Parliamentary system of Government ;and (v) Prevalence of Rule of Law.

(2) US Constitution: The Constitution of theUnited States had its impact in followingrespects: (i) Preamble of the Constitution(ii) Provision of Fundamental Rights;(iii) Functions of the Vice-President. (iv)Amendment of the Constitution; (v) Natureand functions of he Supreme Court; and (vi)Independence of Judiciary.

(3) Australian Constitution: Australian Consti-tution gave us a long list of concurrentpowers and the procedure for solving dead-lock over concurrent subjects between theCentre and the States.

(4) Irish Constitution: The Irish Constitutiongave us the Directive Principles of StatePolicy and the method of nominating mem-bers of the Rajya Sabha.

(5) Weimer Constitution of Germany: TheWeimer Constitution of Germany had its

impact upon the powers of the President aswell as on provisions related to Emergency.

(6) Canadian Constitution: Indian Constitu-tion borrowed the provisions of a strongnation; the name of Union of India; andvesting residuary powers with the Union;from Canada.

(7) South African Constitution: The procedureof amendment with a two-thirds majority inParliament and the election of the membersof the Rajya Sabha on the basis of propor-tional representation by the State Legisla-tures have been borrowed from the Consti-tution of South Africa.

2. Development SourcesIndian Constitution is not a static document.

It has grown with the changing needs. Thusamendments, judicial decisions, political prac-tices, parliamentary statutes, rules, regulationsand ordinances are the developmental sourcesof the Constitution.

Amendments of the Constitution: During thecourse of 60 years the Constitution has beenamended about 94 times and a few other amend-ments are in the pipeline. In this way, the presentshape of the Constitution is quite different from theoriginal document. The 42nd Amendment made itclear that the Indian Constitution is more flexiblethan rigid. This Amendment is often termed as 'themini Constitution of India' due to enormous changesit effected to the Indian Constitution.

Judicial Decisions: The judicial decisionsgiven by the Supreme Court on important issueshave added new dimensions to the Constitu-tion. It is in the light of such decisions thatfurther constitutional amendments are made inthe Constitution. Some of the most importantjudicial decisions are:

(i) Gopalan vs. State of Madras;(ii) State of Madras vs. Champakam;

(iii) Golak Nath vs. State of Punjab; and(iv) Keshavanand Bharti vs. Kerala State.

Parliamentary Statutes: Parliament has alsomade various statues for furnishing details of thevarious Articles contained in the Constitution. Itis the Constitution which itself empowers theParliament to enact laws on certain Articles fordetails. These statues are considered as constitu-tional laws. Without their existence, a detailedstudy of the Constitution is not possible.


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Commentaries of Constitutional Experts:While interpreting the Constitution, the viewsof the distinguished constitutional experts,whether Indian or foreign, enjoy special impor-tance. The most notable constitutional expertsare Jennings, Gledhill, Alexandrowit, D.D. Basu,Palkhiwala, V.N. Shukla, etc. Their views arenot given legal recognition but due regard ispaid to them by the judges. Moreover, truesignificance of any provision of the Constitutioncan be understood in the light of their views.

Rules, Regulations, Ordinances, etc.: EachHouse of the Parliament is empowered to makerules for its efficient working. The President has alsogot the right to make rules for fixing the constitu-tional subjects. President of India is also empow-ered to make rules with respect to the condition ofservices of the members of the Union Public ServiceCommission. He can also frame rules to establishpeace and efficient administration of the UnionTerritories. Above all, the President has also thepower to issue ordinances when Parliament is notin session. All these rules, regulations and ordi-nances serve as sources of the Constitution.

Constitutional Practices: Although theConstitution of India is the most detailed in theworld, still certain practices independent of theConstitution have developed in India.

A few examples of such a practice can beenumerated as follows:

� The Central Government takes before handthe advice of the State Government in theappointment of its Governor.

� Governor can be recalled by the CentralGovernment on the advice of the State Gov-ernment concerned.

� Governor should not belong to the state towhich he is appointed.

� One of the judges of the Supreme Courtmust belong to the minority community.

� The senior most judge of the Supreme Courtshould be appointed as the Chief Justice ofIndia.

� The leader of the majority party in Loksabha is appointed as the Prime Minister.

FRAMING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTIONIt was under the Cabinet Mission Plan of

1946 that the Constituent Assembly was consti-tuted to frame a Constitution for India. The

Constituent Assembly, which had been electedfor undivided India and held its first sitting onDec. 9, 1946, reassembled on Aug. 14, 1947, asthe sovereign Constituent Assembly for theDominion of India. As a result of the partitionunder the Plan of June 3, 1947, a separateConstituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan.The representatives of Bengal, Punjab, Sind,North-Western Frontier Province, Baluchistanand the Sylhet district of Assam (which hadjoined Pakistan by a referendum) ceased to bemembers of the Constituent Assembly of India,and there was a fresh election in the newProvinces of West Bengal and East Punjab.(Hence, when the Constituent Assembly reas-sembled on Oct. 31,1947) the membership of theHouse was reduced to 299. Of these 284 wereactually present on Nov. 26, 1949, andappended their signatures to the Constitutionthat was finally passed. President of the Con-stitution Assembly was Dr. Rajandra Prasad.

Acceptance of the Constitution: On Aug.29, 1947, the Constituent Assembly appointeda Drafting Committee under the chairmanshipof Dr. Ambedkar. This committee came outwith a draft Constitution of India in Feb. 1948.

MEMBERS OF THEDRAFTING COMMITTEE

1. Dr. B.R.Ambedkar (Chairman)2. N. Gopalaswamy Ayyanagar3. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar4. K.M. Munshi5. Mohd. Saadullah,6. B.L. Mitter (later replaced by N. Madhava Rao)7. Dr. D.P.Khaitan (replaced on death by T.T.

Krishnamachari)

HOW THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIAWAS CONSTITUTED?

The Constituent Assembly of India was electedthrough indirect election by the members of the Provin-cial Legislative Assembly (Lower House only), accordingto the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Delega-tion. The essentials of this scheme were as follows:(i) The Provinces elected 292 members; while the In-

dian States were allotted a maximum of 93 seats.(ii) The seats in each province were distributed among

the three main committees Muslim, Sikh, and Gen-eral, in proportion to their respective population.

(iii) Members of each community in the Provincial Leg-islative Assembly elected their own representativesby the method of proportional representation withsingle transferable vote.

(iv) The method of selection in the case of representativesof Indian States was to be determined by nomination.


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The Constituent Assembly next met in Nov.1948 to consider the provisions of the DraftCommittee, clause by clause. The second read-ing of the clauses was completed by Oct. 17,1949, and the third reading on Nov. 26, 1949,when the Constitution received the signatureof the President of the Assembly and wasdeclared as passed. While certain provisions ofthe constitution - those relating to citizenship,elections, provisional Parliament, etc. weregiven immediate effect, the rest of the Consti-tution came into force on Jan. 26, 1950 becausethe Congress had been celebrating Indepen-dence Day on January 26 every year since1930. The Constituent Assembly itself becamethe first provisional parliament. The first elec-tions to parliament were held in 1952.

PHILOSOPHY OF INDIANCONSTITUTION

On January 22, 1947 the Constituent Assem-bly adopted the Objectives Resolution draftedby Jawaharlal Nehru. The Objective Resolutioncontained the fundamental propositions of theConstitution and set forth the political ideasthat should guide its deliberations. The mainprinciples of the resolution were:1. India is to be an independent, sovereign

republic.2. It is to be a democratic union with an equal

level of self-government in all the constituentparts;

3. All power and the authority of the UnionGovernment and governments of the con-stituent parts is derived from the people;

4. The Constitution must strive to obtain andguarantee to the people justice based uponsocial, economic and political equality ofopportunity and equality before law;

5. There should be freedom of thought, ex-pression, belief, faith, worship, vocation,association and action;

6. The Constitution must provide just rights forminorities, and people from backward and tribalareas, etc. so that they can be equal participantsof social, economic and political justice

7. The Constitution should secure for India, adue place in the community of nations.The philosophy of a Constitution consists of

the ideals for which the constitution stands and

the policies which the Constitution enjoins uponthe rulers of the Community to follow. TheConstitution of India reflects the impact of ourideology in the following spheres:(i) Democracy: We have borrowed the modern

form of democracy from the West. Underthis system, democracy means the periodicresponsibilities of the Government to go tothe people. For this purpose; elections havebeen held every five-year to elect a Govern-ment by the people. However, democracycovers even the economic and social aspectsof life. This aspect of democracy is well-reflected in the Directive Principles of StatePolicy. They are aimed at human welfare,co-operation, international brotherhood andso on.

(ii) Secularism: Secularism is the hallmark ofthe Indian Constitution. People professingdifferent religions have the freedom of reli-gious worship of their own choice. All thereligions have been treated alike. The factappreciated in India was that all religionslove humanity and uphold truth. All thesocial reformers and political leaders of mod-ern Indian have advocated religious toler-ance, religious freedom and equal respect forall the religions. This very principle has beenadopted in the Constitution of India whereall religions enjoy equal respect. However,the word 'secularism' was nowhere men-tioned in the Constitution as adopted in1949. The word 'secularism' has now beenadded to the Preamble to the Constitutionthrough the 42nd Amendment passed in1976.

(iii) Socialism: Socialism is not new to India.Vedanta philosophy has socialism in it. Thenational struggle for freedom had this aimalso in view. Jawaharlal Nehru referred tohimself as a socialist and republican. Almostall the parties in India profess to promotedemocratic socialism. These principles areincluded in the Directive Principles of StatePolicy. However, to lay emphasis on thisaspect, the word 'socialism' was specificallyadded to the Preamble to the Constitutionthrough the 42nd Amendment.

(iv) Decentralization: India has always prac-tised decentralisation through thePanchayat system. Mahatma Gandhi also


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advocated decentralisation. It is on thisaccount that he is regarded as a philo-sophical anarchist. We have introducedthe Panchayati Raj system in India toachieve the objective of decentralisation.The concept of cottage industries as laiddown in the Directive Principles of StatePolicy also refers to decentralisation.

(v) Mixed Economy: Co-existence is a salientfeature of our ideology. Co-existence hasmanifested itself through a mixed systemof economy. In this system we have al-lowed both the private and public sectorsof economy to work simultaneously. Largescale and essential industries have beenput in the public sector.

(vi) Humanism: Humanism is a salient featureof Indian ideology. Indian ideology regardsthe whole humanity as one big family. Itbelieves in resolving international disputesthrough mutual negotiations. This is whatwe find in the Directive Principles of StatePolicy.

(vii) Spiritualism: Spiritualism refers to whatinspires and promotes the people to betheir best selves. It creates a feeling ofsacrifice, peace, non-violence, tolerance andcooperation. It is the basic feature of Indianphilosophy. We have tried to achieve thisthrough equality in all spheres of life. Thisleads to social welfare.

(viii) Liberalism: Liberalism does not refer tothe Western concept of liberalism. It refers,in the Indian context, to self government,secularism, nationalism, economic reforms,constitutional approach, and representa-tive institutions etc. all these concepts wereadvocated by the modern Indian leaders.All these elements have been incorporatedin the Indian Constitution by virtue ofwhich we want to establish a Welfare Statein India. Everything has to be achievedthrough constitutional means.

(ix) Sarvodaya: Sarvodaya refers to the wel-fare of all. It is different from the welfareof the majority. It seeks to achieve thewelfare of all without exception. It isreferred to as Ram Rajya. The concept ofSarvodaya was developed by MahatmaGandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and J..Narayan under which the material, spiri-tual, moral and mental developement of

everyone is sought to be achieved. ThePreamble to the Indian Constitution andthe Directive Principles of State Policyrepresent this ideal.

(x) Gandhism: Gandhism represents an ethicaland moral India. Gandhi set a new exampleof fighting foreign rule through non-violence.He taught the importance of non-violenceand truth. He advocated untouchability,cottage industry, prohibition, adult educa-tion and the uplift of villages. He wanted asociety free of exploitation and decentralisedin character. All these Gandhian principleshave found an honourable place in theConstitution of India.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'INDIAN'AND 'AMERICAN' JUDICIAL REVIEW?

Based on the principle of Judicial Review, the Ameri-can Supreme Court has acquired the power to so inter-pret the Constitution that it has come to be known asthe third chamber of the Constitution, whereas, in Indiathe Supreme Court does not enjoy the power of addingto the Constitution but it can only strike down any act orany legislation on the ground that it is contrary to thebasic framework of the Constitution or violative of theprocedure established by law.

As the Indian Constitution stands today, the judi-ciary in India has the right to review legislative enact-ments and executive acts provided they are broughtbefore the courts except for a few specific acts like thediscretionary powers of the governors, the privilegesand immunities of the members of the legislatures,etc. In pronouncing its verdict on legislative acts andexecutive actions the Supreme Court primarily basesitself on what is known as the basic framework of theConstitution-a phrase which has never been spelt outso that others could know the ingredients that go intothe making of the basic frame work of the Constitution.However, it is clear from the constitution as it is todaythat the Parliament has the right to amend the constitu-tion as long as it does not erode the basic frame workof the constitution. Thus, making additions or deletingsome Articles of the constitution is the power of theParliament but not that of the Supreme Court as in thecase of the U.S.

NATURE AND FEATURES OF INDIANCONSTITUTION

Every constitution aims to build up a gov-ernmental structure based upon certain basicprinciples. And these principles are more or lesswell established. Although some of these prin-ciples are common to most constitution, thereare others which vary from constitution toconstitution. The constitution of India is not anexception to this rule and it has its own basicprinciples. India, a union of states, is a sover-eign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic.The constitution of a country is the basic or


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supreme law. Indian constitution is federal instructure but with unitary features. It is alengthy and legalistic document, but reasonablyflexible. Its major features include.

Popular SovereigntyIndian Constitution proclaims the sovereignty

of the people in its Preamble itself. The idea isreaffirmed in several places in the Constitution,particularly in the chapter dealing with elections.Article 326 declares that "the elections to the Houseof people and the Legislative Assembly of everystate shall be on the basis of adult suffrage". As aresult, the Governments at the Centre and in theStates derive their authority from the people whochoose their representatives for Parliament and theState Legislatures at regular intervals. Further,those who wield the executive power of the gov-ernment are responsible to the legislature andthrough them to the people. Thus, in the affairs ofthe State, it is the will of the people that prevailsultimately and not the will of a few individuals.This is the principle of popular sovereignty.

Rule of LawAccording to this axiom, people are ruled by

law but not by men, that is, the basic truism thatno man is infallible. The axiom is vital todemocracy. More important is the inherentmeaning that the 'law' is the sovereign in de-mocracy. The chief ingredient of law is customwhich is nothing, but the habitual practices andbeliefs of common people over long years. In the

final analysis, rule of law means the sovereigntyof the common man's collective wisdom. Apartfrom this crucial meaning, rule of law means afew more things like(a) there is no room for arbitrariness;(b) each individual enjoys some fundamental

rights; and(c) the highest judiciary is the final authority in

maintaining the sanctity of the law of the land.It is this spirit that make Article 14 (all are

equal before law and all enjoy equal protection oflaws) meaningful, like providing legal assistanceto the needy, promotion of Lok Adalats and theventure of the Supreme court known as "publicinterest litigation". Also, as per today's law of theland, any litigant can appeal to the presidingjudicial authority to argue the case by himself orseek legal assistance with the help of the judiciary.

Judicial ReviewThe right of the judiciary to review executive

acts and legal enactments when they are not inconformity with the established law of the landand its procedures is known as judicial review.

SocialismIncreasing intervention as well as participa-

tion by the State in the economic field has beena distinguishing feature of the twentieth cen-tury. There is hardly any country today inwhich the State is not actively engaged in avariety of economic activities. In varying de-grees, governments everywhere are involved ineconomic, industrial, commercial management.This is broadly described as the influence ofsocialist ideas on State activity. Even before theadoption of a new Constitution, the Govern-ment of independent India had made clear itspolicy to enter the economic field in a veryactive manner. The Industrial Policy Resolutionof 1948 gives ample evidence of this. It envis-aged a greater role for the State in the economicdevelopment of the country. Certain industriessuch as atomic energy, manufacturing of armsand ammunition were declared to be the solemonopoly of the State. The right of the State tonationalise any major industry and bring itwithin the public sector was also clearly stated.The Directive Principles of State Policy, how-ever, unmistakably set out the socialist objectiveof the Constitution; although one might pointout that they do not go far enough to establisha full fledged socialist order.

WHY THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ADOPTEDTHE PRINCIPLE OF ADULT FRANCHISE?

In spite of the ignorance and illiteracy of large sec-tions of the Indian people, the constitution Assemblyadopted the principle of adult franchise with faith in thecommon man and the ultimate success of democraticrule. The Assembly was of the opinion that democraticgovernment on the basis of adult suffrage would alone"bring enlightenment and promote well-being." All that theConstitution provides is that every adult citizen of Indiashall have right to vote. This becomes significant whenviewed in the background that for quite a long time, thewomen in many parts of Europe did not enjoy any suchright. In addition, under the Government of India Act, 1935,hardly 15 per cent Indian citizens had this right. Accordingto some thinkers this is the boldest step which has beentaken by our constitution fathers. This shows that theyhad full faith in the capacity of the people of India to usetheir right properly. Some critics of course felt that it waspremature to give to the people of India this right whenthere was poverty and illiteracy and the masses were yetpolitically not mature. But constitution fathers took a boldstep and resolved to go ahead and wanted to make abeginning in this direction right earnestly.


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Socialism in Constitutional AmendmentsSuccessive amendments to the Constitution

of India clearly show that the direction is moretowards the realisation of socialist than thedemocratic ideal. The constitution was amendedseveral times with a view to realising thisobjective. Among those amendments, specialmention may be made of the First, Fourth,Seventeenth, Twenty fifth, Twenty ninth, Thirtyfourth and Forty second Amendments. Almostall of these gave precedent to the DirectivePrinciples over Fundamental Rights in the imple-mentation of certain legislative enactments. TheForty second Amendment (1976) went a stepfurther and amended the permeable of the

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF A SECULARDEMOCRACY?

The distinguishing features of a secular democracyas contemplated by the Constitution of India are:

(i) The State will not identify itself with or be con-trolled by any religion

(ii) While the State guarantees to everyone the right toprofess whatever religion one chooses to follow (whichincludes also the right to be an antagonist or an atheist),it will not accord an preferential treatment to any of them

(iii) No discrimination will be shown by the Stateagainst any person on account of his religion or faith

(iv) The right of every citizen, subject to any generalcondition, to enter any office under the state will beequal to that of the fellow citizens. Political equalitywhich entitles any Indian citizen to seek the highestoffice under the State is the heart and soul of secular-ism as envisaged by Constitution.

Constitution to include specifically the term"socialist" which was absent in the original formin which it was enacted.

SecuralismIndian Constitution aims to establish a secu-

lar state. This does not mean that the State inIndia is anti-religious. India has declared itsidentity as a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Demo-cratic, Republic." The attributes of Socialist andSecular were added in 1976 by the 42nd Amend-ment to the Constitution. The bulky documentdoes not attempt to define secularism. However,a definition is derived from the fundamentalright that proclaims that "The State shall notdiscriminate against any citizen on grounds ofreligion, race, caste, sex place of birth or any oneof them.' The Indian State has no religion of itsown. The fundamental right of speech andfreedom also means the right to preaching and

HOW THE CONSTITUTION ENSURES INDEPEN-DENCE OF THE JUDICIARY?

In its bid to establish complete independence of thejudiciary, the Indian Constitution has first erected a wallof separation between the executive and the judiciary.After effecting such separation, it has created conditionsthat are conducive to making the judiciary independent.Thus, rigid qualifications are laid down for the appoint-ment of Judges and provision has been made for com-pulsory consultation of the Chief justice of India in theappointment of every judge of the Supreme Court andthe High Courts. Conditions of service of a Judge can-not be altered to his/her disadvantage, once he/she isappointed. Judges are given high salaries and their con-duct is made a subject beyond the scope of discussionin the legislature. They can be removed from office onlyfor proved misbehaviour. For this purpose, both thehouses of Parliament will have to pass resolutionsagainst the Judge supported by a two third majority ofthose who sit and vote and atleast an absolute majorityof the total membership of the house.

proselytising religion. This is made clearer inArticles 25-28, "Subject to public order, mortal-ity and health... all persons are equally entitledto freedom of conscience and the right to pro-fess, practice and propagate religion". Everyreligious denomination or any section thereofshall have the right to establish and maintaininstitutions for religious and charitable pur-poses, to maintain its own affairs in matters ofreligion. No person shall be compelled to payany taxes for promotion of any particular reli-gion. No religious instructions shall be providedin any educational institutions wholly main-tained out of the State funds.

Judicial IndependenceThe framers of Indian Constitution were

aware that democratic freedom was meaning-less in the absence of an independent machineryto safeguard it. No subordinate or agent of the

WHY THE FRAMERS OF INDIAN CONSTITUTIONCHOSE 'FEDERALISM'?

The framers of Indian Constitution turned to feder-alism as a solution of a number of problems theyconfronted in their attempt to frame a constitution of anew united India. Particularly, they wanted to preserveboth the "infinite variety and the innate unity" that ani-mated the length and breadth of India. The choice offederalism as a constitutional form and as the basisof a national government in India was not a suddendevelopment upon the transfer of power on 15th Au-gust, 1947. It was there for many years and, in a lim-ited form, it was already in operation in British India.For the resolution of the constitutional problem of amulti-racial, multi-lingual and multi-communal countrylike India with a vast area and a huge population, fed-


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government could be trusted to be just andimpartial in judging the merits of a conflict inwhich the government itself was a party. Simi-larly, a judiciary, subordinate either to the Centeror the State could not be trusted as an impartialarbiter of conflicts and controversies between theCenter and the State. These were compellingreasons for the creation of an independent judi-ciary as an integral part of the Constitution andfor the adoption of judicial independence as abasic principle of the Constitution.

FederalismFederalism is one of the most important

aspects of modern constitutions. It is establishedall over the world perhaps, as the only form ofpolitical organization suited to communities witha diversified pattern of objectives, interests andtraditions, who seek to join together in thepursuit of common objectives and interests andthe cultivation of common traditions. The basicobjective of federalism is thus unity in diversity,devolution in authority and decentralisation inadministration. Its fundamental characteristic isthe division of powers between two sets ofgovernments - a Central Government and StateGovernment - each independent of the other inits own sphere of activity.

Federal vs. Unitary FeaturesIndia has two governments functioning at

the national and state levels with a clear cutdistribution of powers. Both the State and theUnion Government, draw their authority fromthe Constitution. The supremacy of the Repub-lic lies not with either the Union Government orthe State Governments but with the Constitu-tion. To uphold the legal supremacy of theConstitution, the power to interpret the consti-tution has been vested in the judiciary. Thus, theIndian Constitution has four federal features:(a) clear division of powers between the two

governments;

(b) dual system of government;(c) supremacy of the Constitution; and(d) authority of the judiciary to interpret the

constitution.The word 'federation' has not been used

anywhere in the Constitution. In fact, India hasbeen described as a Union of States. The prov-inces and the princely States were not sovereignentities before they joined the federation. Thestates are not 'inviolable' or 'indestructible' as inthe USA. Parliament can by law change or alterthe areas and boundaries of any State. No statehas the right to secede from the Union. All theconstituent States of the Union are not equal.The Union Territories do not enjoy the samestatus as the States. Unlike the American Con-stitution, the Indian Constitution does not pro-vide for any safeguards for the protection of therights of States. Except Jammu & Kashmir, nostate has its own Constitution as in the U.S.Whereas the consent of the States is vital for anamendment of the American Constitution, theconsent of the States in India is necessary onlyin regard to a few specific matters.

Parliamentary GovernmentThe framers of our Constitution preferred

parliamentary system of government. Our infantdemocracy could ill-afford any confrontationbetween executive and the legislature if theywere separate and independent of each other.The President of India is the constitutional headof the Union Executive, but he exercises theexecutive power, vested in him, in accordancewith the advice of the Union Council of Minis-

WHAT ARE THE 'UNITARY' FEATURES OFINDIAN CONSTITUTION?

There are some unitary features in Indian Consti-tution. They may be enlisted as below:

(a) Right of the Governor to reserve a Bill for Presidentialassent;

(2) Role and functions of the State Governors;(3) Emergency provisions of the Constitution regarding

proclamation of national emergency, financialemergency and President's rule;

(4) Provisions of the Constitution enabling Parliament tolegislate for the States;

(5) Uniform All-India Services;(6) Single and uniform citizenship;(7) Uniform and integrated judicial system; and(8) Constitutional scheme of distribution of legislative,

administrative and financial powers between theUnion and the States also has a strong unitary bias.

eralism was only a natural choice. Nevertheless, theframers were cautious to ensure that the unity theysought to establish through federalism was of an abid-ing nature and in case of a future conflict betweenthat unity and the diversity preserved under the Con-stitution; the former should prevail over the other. Inother words, it was their intention to create an inde-structible Union and the supremacy of the Union overthe states in a number of matters vitally affecting theinterest of the nation.


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ters. The real executive power thus vests with theCouncil of Ministers with the Prime Minister asthe head. The Council of ministers is collectivelyresponsible to the Lok Sabha. The same is true ofthe relationship between the Governors and theCouncil of Ministers in the States. The parliamen-tary system of government both at the Centreand in the State is based on adult suffragewhereby all citizens of India who are not lessthan 18 years of age and not otherwise disquali-fied by the Constitution or any law, have theright to vote. It is a bold political experiment inview of the vastness of the country, its largepopulation, poverty and illiteracy. Though somecurrent practices have vitiated the process ofelection, adult franchise has not shaped people'spolitical perceptions.

Why the Indian Constitution is lengthy?It is the most lengthy and legalistic constitu-

tional document any country has so far adopted.One reason is that the Constitution has drawnfrom a variety of sources. The other is that theconstitution-makers ensured that no element ofuncertainty was left. It codifies in detail therelationship between the Union and the Statesand the State's interests and contains both justi-ciable and non-justiciable rights as well as fun-damental duties. As the Constitution is not onlya legal document, but an instrument of socialchange, it has to be a detailed document in orderto ensure that it stands the test of any situationin future. Also, care has been taken to ensure thatthe Constitution is not subverted or perverted byany future government, thus, there are numer-ous in-built constitutional safeguards. Anotherreason for the length of the Constitution is that,there are temporary, transitional and specialprovisions for the state of Jammu and Kashmirand it also take care of the regional problems inStates like Gujarat, Maharashtra, AndhraPradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.The legalistic nature of the Constitution is alsopartly because of heavy borrowings from theGovernment of India Act of 1935.

Rigidity vs. FlexibilitySome eminent constitutionalists are of the

view that the Indian constitution is rigid. But,then how it has been possible to amend the

constitution over 90 times. Indian constitutionis more flexible than the American constitution,which requires ratification of amendments bythree-fourths of the States. In Indian constitu-tion, only amending of a few provisions requiresratification of amendments by three fourths ofthe states. In our constitution only amending ofa few provisions requires ratification by half ofthe State Legislatures. While most of the provi-sions of the Constitution can be amended bytwo thirds majority of each of the Houses ofParliament and many of the provisions can bealtered or modified by a simple majority. Also,the constitution can be supplemented by simplelegislations like the Citizenship Act, NationalSecurity Act, and the Untouchability Act etc.Moreover, the scope for the growth of conven-tions to supplement the Constitution makes itmore flexible. Conventions govern the privilegesand rights of the legislature, the functioning ofthe cabinet system, the status of the CabinetSecretariat, etc.

Single Citizenship

In a federation there is usually double citizen-ship. A citizen belongs to the State in which heis born and also enjoys the citizenship rights of thefederation, to which his state has joined as a unit.This is one of the basic principles of federalism,that the states in a federation are units of federa-tion, but do not give up their individual entity. Butin India, there is single citizenship. Citizens belongto the Indian Union and not to any state. Provisionfor single citizenship for the whole of India wasperhaps intentional. The constitution fathers didnot like that regionalism and other disintegratingtendencies which had already raised their uglyheads and were endangering the very securityand integrity of country, should be further encour-aged by providing double citizenship. Provisionfor double citizenship would have naturally stoodon the way of emotional and national integration.The people in the State would have thought morein terms of the State than the country as a whole.Single citizenship has undoubtedly forged a senseof unity among the people of India and image ofUnited India is reflected by this provision.


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INDIAN CONSTITUTION:AT A GLANCE

Part I : Union and its TerritoryArticle 1: Name & territory of Union.Art. 2: Admission of new Sates.Art. 2A: (Repealed).Art. 3: Formation of new States & alteration ofareas, boundaries or names of existing States.Art. 4: Laws made under article 2 and 3 toprovide for the amendment of the First and theFourth Schedules and supplemental, incidentaland consequential matters.

Part II : CitizenshipArt. 5 : Citizenship at the commencement of theConstitution.Art. 6 : Citizenship right of certain persons whomigrated to India from Pakistan.Art. 7 : Rights of citizenship of certain migrantsto Pakistan.Art. 8: Rights of citizenship of persons of Indianorigin residing outside India.Art. 9 : Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenshipof a foreign state not to be citizens.Art. 10: Continuance of the rights of citizenship.Art. 11: Parliament to regulate the right ofcitizenship by law.Part III : Fundamental RightsArt. 12 : General Definition (For the word " theState").Art. 13 : Laws inconsistent with or in derogationof the fundamental rights.Right to EqualityArt. 14 : Equality before law.Art. 15 : No discrimination on grounds ofreligion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.Art. 16 : Equality of opportunity in matters ofpublic employment.Art. 17 : Abolition of Untouchability.Art. 18 : Abolition of titles.

Right to FreedomArt. 19 : Protection of certain rights regardingfreedom of speech etc.Art. 20 : Protection in respect of conviction foroffences.

Art. 21 : Protection of life & personal liberty.Art. 22 : Protection against arrest and detentionin certain cases.Art. 23 : Prohibition of traffic in human beingsand forced labour.Art. 24 : Prohibition of employment of childrenin factories etc.

Right to Freedom of ReligionArt. 25 : Freedom of conscience & free profession,practice & propagation of religion.Art. 26 : Freedom to manage religious affairs.Art. 27 : Freedom as to payment of taxes forpromotion of any particular religion.Art. 28 : Freedom as to attendance at religiousinstruction or religious worship in certaineducational institutions.

Cultural and Educational RightsArt. 29 : Protection of minorities' interests.Art. 30 : Right of minorities to establish andadminister education of institutions.Art. 31 : [Repealed].

Saving of Certain LawsArt. 31 A : Saving of laws providing foracquisition of estates etc.Art. 31 B : Validation of certain Acts andRegulations.Art. 31 C : Saving of laws giving effect to certaindirective principles.Art. 31 D : [Repealed].

Right to Constitutional RemediesArt. 32 : Remedies for enforcement of rightconferred by this Part.Art. 32 A : [Repealed].Art. 33 : Power of Parliament to modify therights conferred by this Part in their applicationto forces, etc.Art. 34 : Restriction of rights conferred by thispart while martial law in any area.Art. 35 : Legislation to give effect to the provisionof this part.

Part IV : Directive Principles of State PolicyArt. 36 : DefinitionArt. 37 : Application of the principles containedin this Part.


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Art. 38 : State to secure a social order for thepromotion of welfare of the people.Art. 39 : Certain principles of policy to befollowed by the State.Art. 39 A : Equal justice & free legal aid.Art. 40 : Organisation of village panchayats.Art. 41: Rights to work, to education & to publicassistance in certain cases.Art. 42 : Provision for just & humane conditionsof work and maternity relief.Art. 43 : Living wage etc. for workers.Art. 43 A : Participation of workers in manage-ment of industries.Art. 44 : Uniform Civil Code for the citizens.Art. 45 : Provision for free & compulsory edu-cation for children.Art. 46 : Promotion of educational & eco.interests of SCs, STs & OBCs.Art. 47 : Duty of the State to raise the level ofnutrition & the standard of living & to improvepublic health.Art. 48 : Organisation of agriculture & animalhusbandry.Art. 48 A : Protection & improvement of envi-ronment, forests & wild life.Art. 49 : Protection of monuments & places &objects of national importance.Art. 50 : Separation of judiciary.Art. 51 : Promotion of international peace.

Part IV A : Fundamental DutiesArt. 51A: Ten Fundamental Duties were incor-porated through the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Part V : The Union

Chapter I : The Executive

President and Vice- PresidentArt. 52 : The President of India.Art. 53 : Executive power of the Union.Art. 54 : Election of President.Art. 55 : Manner of election of President.Art. 56 : Term of office of President.Art. 57 : Eligibility for re-election.Art. 58 : Qualification for President.Art. 59 : Conditions of President's office.Art. 60 : Oath or affirmation of President.Art. 61: Impeachment procedure of the President.

Art. 62 : Time of holding election to fill vacancyin the office of President & the term of office ofperson elected to fill casual vacancy.Art. 63 : The Vice-President of India.Art. 64 : The Vice- President to be ex- officiochairman of the Council of States.Art. 65 : The Vice-President to act as Presidentor to discharge his functions during casualvacancies in the office, or during the absence ofPresident.Art. 66 : Election of Vice-President.Art. 67 : Term of office of Vice-President.Art. 68 : Time of holding election to fill vacancyin the office of Vice-President and the term ofoffice of person elected to fill casual vacancy.Art. 70 : Discharge of President's function inother contigencies.Art. 71 : Matters relating to/connected with,the election of President or Vice- President.Art. 72 : Power of President to grant pardon,etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sen-tences in certain cases.Art. 73 : Extent of executive power of Union.

Council of MinistersArt. 74 : Council of Ministers to aid and advisePresident.Art. 75 : Other provisions as to Ministers.

Attorney - General for India

Art. 76 : Attorney - General for India.

Conduct of Government BusinessArt. 77 : Conduct of business of the Governmentof India.Art. 78 : Duties of P. M. as respects the furnish-ing of information to the President.

Chapter II : ParliamentArt. 79 : Constitution of Parliament.Art. 80 : Composition of Council of states.Art. 81 : Composition of the House of thePeople.Art. 82 : Readjustment after each Census.Art. 83 : Duration of Houses of Parliament.Art. 84 : Qualification for the membership of theParliament.Art. 85 : Session of Parliament, prorogation anddissolution.


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Art. 86 : Right of President to address and sendmassages to houses.Art. 87 : Special address by the President.Art. 88 : Rights of Ministers and Attorney-General as respects Houses.

Officers of ParliamentArt. 89: The Chairman and Deputy Chairmanof the Council of States.Art. 90 : Vacation and resignation of , andremoval from, the office of Deputy Chairman.Art. 91 : Power of the Deputy Chairman orother person to perform the duties of the officeof, or to act as, Chairman.Art. 92 : Chairman or the Dy. Chairman not topreside while a resolution for his removal fromoffice is under consideration.Art. 93 : The Speaker and Deputy Speaker ofthe House of the People.Art. 94 : Vacation and resignation of, andremoval from the offices of Speaker and DeputySpeaker.Art. 95 : Power of the Deputy Speaker or personto perform the duties of the office of, or to actas Speaker.Art. 96 : Speaker or Deputy Speaker not topreside while a resolution for his removal fromoffice is under consideration.Art. 97 : Salaries and allowances of the Chair-man and Deputy Chairman and the Speakerand Deputy Speaker.Art. 98 : Secretariat of Parliament.

Conduct of BusinessArt. 99 : Oath or affirmation by members.Art. 100 : Voting in Houses, power of Housesto act notwithstanding vacancies & quorum.

Disqualification of MembersArt. 101 : Vacation of seats.Art. 102 : Disqualifications for membership.Art. 103 : Decision on questions as todisqualifications of members.Art. 104 : Penalty for sitting and voting beforemaking oath or affirmation under article 99 orwhen not qualified or when disqualified.Art. 105 : Power, privileges, etc., of the Housesof Parliament and of the members andcommittees there of.Art. 106 : Salaries & allowances of MPs.

Legislative ProcedureArt. 107 : Provisions as to introduction andpassing of bills.Art. 108: Joint sitting of both houses in certaincases.Art. 109 : Special procedure in respect to moneybills.Art. 110 : Definition of " Money Bills".Art. 111 : Assent to Bills.

Procedure in Financial MattersArt. 112 : Annual financial statement.Art. 113 : Procedure in Parliament with respectto estimates.Art. 114 : Appropriation Bills.Art. 115 : Supplementary, additional or excessgrants.Art. 116 : Votes on account, votes of credit andexceptional grants.Art. 117 : Special provisions as to Financial Bills.Art. 118 : Rules of procedure.Art. 119 : Regulation by law of procedure inParliament in relation to financial business.Art. 120 : Language used in Parliament.Art. 121 : Restriction on discussion in Parliament.Art. 122 : Courts not to inquire into proceedingof Parliament.

Chapter III : Legislative Powers of thePresidentArt. 123 : Power of President to promulgateOrdinances during recess of parliament.

Chapter IV : The Union JudiciaryArt. 124 : Establishment and Constitution ofSupreme Court.Art. 125 : Salaries, etc., of Judges.Art. 126 : Acting C. Justice.Art. 127 : Appointment of ad hoc Judges.Art. 128 : Attendance of retired Judges at sittingof the Supreme Court.Art. 129 : S. Court to be a court of record.Art. 130 : Seat of Supreme Court.Art. 131: Original jurisdiction of the S. CourtArt. 131 A : [Repealed].Art. 132 : Appellate jurisdiction of S. Court.Art. 133 : Appellate jurisdiction of SupremeCourt in appeals from High Courts in regard tocivil matters.


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Art. 134 : Appellate jurisdiction of SupremeCourt in regard to criminal matters.Art. 134 A : Certificate for appeal to the SupremeCourt.Art. 135 : Jurisdiction and powers of the FederalCourt under existing law to be exercisable bythe Supreme Court.Art. 136 : Special leave to appeal by the SupremeCourt.Art. 137 : Review of judgments or orders by theSupreme Court.Art. 138 : Enlargement of the jurisdiction of theSupreme Court.Art. 139 : Conferment on the Supreme Court ofpowers to issue certain writs.Art. 139 A : Transfer of certain cases.Art. 140 : Ancillary powers of S. Court.Art. 141 : Law declared by Supreme Court tobe binding on all courts.Art. 142 : Enforcement of decrees and ordersof S. Court and orders as to discovery.Art. 143 : Power of President to consult SupremeCourt.Art. 144 : Civil and judicial authorities to act inaid of the Supreme Court.Art. 144 A : [Repealed].Art. 145 : Rules of Court, etc.Art. 146 : Officers and servants and the expensesof the Supreme Court.Art. 147 : Interpret.Chapter V : Comptroller and Auditor Generalof India (CAG)Art. 148 : CAG- of India.Art. 149 : Duties and powers of the CAG.Art. 150 : Form of accounts of the Union andof the States.Art. 151 : Audit reports.

Part VI : The States

Chapter IArt. 152 : Definition.

Chapter II : The ExecutiveThe GovernorArt. 153 : Governors of States.Art. 154 : Executive power of State.Art. 155 : Appointment of Governor.Art. 156 : Term of office of Governor.Art. 157 : Qualifications for appointment asGovernor.

Art. 158 : Conditions of Governor's office.Art. 159 : Oath of affirmation by Governor.Art. 160 : Discharge of the functions of thseGovernor in certain contingencies.Art. 161 : Power of Governor to grant pardons,etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentencesin certain cases.Art. 162 : Extent of executive power of State.

Council of MinistersArt. 163 : Council of Ministers to aid and adviseGovernor.Art. 164 : Other provisions as to Ministers.

The Advocate - General for the StateArt. 165 : Advocate - General.

Conduct of Government BusinessArt. 166 : Conduct of business of the Govern-ment of a State.Art. 167 : Duties of Chief Minister as respectsthe furnishing of information to Governor, etc.

Chapter III : The State LegislatureArt. 168 : Cont. of Legislatures in States.Art. 169 : Abolition or creation of LegislativeCouncil in States.Art. 170 : Composition of Legislative Assem-blies.Art. 171 : Composition of Legis. Councils.Art. 172 : Duration of State Legislatures.Art. 173 : Qualification for membership of theState Legislature.Art. 174 : Sessions of the State Legislature,prorogation and dissolution.Art. 175 : Right of Governor to address andsend messages to the House or Houses.Art. 176 : Special address by the Governor.Art. 177 : Rights of Ministers and AdvocateGeneral as respects the Houses.

Officers of the State

LegislatureArt. 178 : The Speaker and Deputy Speaker ofthe Legislative Assembly.Art. 179 : Vacation and resignation of, andremoval from, the offices of Speaker and DeputySpeaker.Art. 180 : Power of the Deputy Speaker or otherperson to perform the duties of the office of, orto act as, Speaker.


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Art. 181 : The Speaker or the Deputy Speakernot to preside while a resolution for his removalfrom office is under consideration.Art. 182 : The Chairman and Deputy Chairmanof the Legislative Council.Art. 183 : Vacation and resignation of, andremoval from, the offices of Chairman andDeputy Chairman.Art. 184 : Power of the Deputy Chairman orother person to perform the duties of the officeof, or to act as, Chairman.Art. 185 : The Chairman or the Deputy Chair-man of the Legislative Council not to presidewhile a resolution for his removal from office isunder consideration.Art. 186 : Salaries and allowances of the Speakerand Deputy Speaker and the Chairman andDeputy Chairman.Art. 187 : Secretariate of State Legislature.

Conduct of BusinessArt. 188 : Oath or affirmation by members.Art. 189 : Voting in Houses, power of Housesto act notwithstanding vacancies & quorum.

Disqualifications of MembersArt. 190 : Vacation of seats.Art. 191 : Disqualification for membership.Art. 192 : Decision on questions as to disquali-fications of members.Art. 193 : Penalty for sitting and voting beforemaking oath or affirmation under article 188 orwhen not qualified or when disqualified.Art. 194 : Powers, privileges, etc, of the Housesof Legislatures and of the members and commit-tees thereof.Art. 195 : Salaries & allowances of members.

Legislative ProcedureArt. 196 : Provisions as to introduction andpassing of Bills.Art. 197 : Restriction on powers of LegislativeCouncil as to Bills other than Money Bills.Art. 198 : Special procedure in respect of MoneyBills.Art. 199 : Definition of " Money Bills".Art. 200 : Assent to Bills.Art. 201 : Bills reserved for consideration.

Procedure in Financial MattersArt. 202 : Annual financial statement.Art. 203 : Procedure in Legislature with respectto estimates.Art. 204 : Appropriation Bills.Art. 205 : Supplementary, additional or excessgrants.Art. 206 : Votes on account, votes of credit andexceptional grants.Art. 207 : Special provisions as to Financial Bills.

Procedure GenerallyArt. 208 : Rules of procedure.Art. 209 : Regulation by law of procedure in theLegislature of the State in relation to financialbusiness.Art. 210 : Language to be used in the Legisla-ture.Art. 211 : Restriction on discussion in theLegislature.Art. 212 : Courts not to inquire into proceedingof the Legislature.

Chapter IV : Legislative Power of theGovernorArt. 213 : Power of Governor to promulgateordinances during recess to Legislature.

Chapter V : The High Courts in the StatesArt. 214 : High Courts for States.Art. 215 : High Courts to be Courts of record.Art. 216 : Constitution of High Courts.Art. 217 : Appointment and conditions of theoffice of a Judge of High court.Art. 218 : Application of certain provisionsrelating to Supreme Court to High Courts.Art. 219 : Oath or affirmation by Judges of HighCourt.Art. 220 : Restriction on practice after being aPermanent Judge.Art. 221 : Salaries, etc., of Judges.Art. 222 : Transfer of a Judge from one HighCourt to another.Art. 223 : Acting Chief Justice.Art. 224 : Appointment of additional and actingJudges.Art. 224 A : Appointment of retired Judges atsitting of High Courts.


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Art. 225 : Jurisdiction of existing High Courts.Art. 226 : Power of High Courts to issue certainwrits.Art. 226 A : [Repealed].Art. 227 : Power of superintendence over allcourts by the High Court.Art. 228 : Transfer of cases to High Courts.Art. 228 A : [Repealed].Art. 229 : Officers and servants and the ex-penses of High Courts.Art. 230 : Extension of jurisdiction of HighCourts to union territories.Art.231 : Establishment of a common HighCourt for two or more states.Chapter VI : Subordinate CourtsArt. 233 : Appointment of district Judges.Art. 233 A : Validation of appointments of, andjudgments, etc., delivered by, certain districtjudges.Art. 234 : Recruitment of persons other thandistrict judges to the Judicial service.Art. 235 : Control over subordinate courtsArt. 236 : Interpretation.Art. 237 : Application of the provisions of thisChapter to certain class or classes of magis-trates.

Part VII : The States in Part B of the FirstSchedule [Repealed]

Art. 238 : [Repealed].

Part VIII : Union TerritoriesArt. 239 : Administration of U. Territories.Art. 239 A : Creation of local Legislatures orCouncil of Ministries or both for certain Uniontertiaries.Art. 239 B : Power of administrator to promul-gate Ordinances in recess of Legislature.Art. 240 : Power of President to make regula-tions for certain Union territories.Art. 241 : High Courts for Union territoriesArt. 242 : [Repealed].

Part IX : The Panchayats

Art. 243 : Definitions.Art. 243A : Gram Sabha.Art. 243 B : Constitution of Panchayats.Art. 243 C : Composition of Panchayats.Art. 243D : Reservation of seats.

Art. 243 E : Duration of Panchayats etc.Art. 243 F : Disqualifications for members.Art. 243 G : Powers, authority and responsibili-ties of Panchayats.Art. 243 H : Powers to impose taxes by, andFunds of, the Panchayats.Art. 243 I : Constitution of Finance Commissionto review financial position.Art. 243 J : Audit of accounts of Panchayats.Art. 243 K : Elections to the Panchayats.Art. 243 L : Application to Union territories.Art. 243 M : Part not to apply to certain areas.Art. 243 N : Continuance of existing laws andPanchayats.Art. 243 O : Bar to interference by courts inelectoral matters.

Part IX A : The MunicipalitiesArt. 243 P : Definitions.Art. 243 Q : Constitution of Municipalities.Art. 243 R : Composition of Municipalities.Art. 243 S : Constitution and composition ofWards, Committees, etc.Art. 243 T : Reservation of seats.Art. 243 U : Duration of Municipalities, etc.Art. 243 V : Disqualifications for members.Art. 243 W : Powers, authority and responsibili-ties of Municipalities, etc.Art. 243 X : Power to impose taxes by, andFunds of, the Municipalities.Art. 243 Y : Finance commission.Art. 243 Z : Accounts of Municipalities.Art. 243 ZA : Municipalities Elections.Art. 243 ZB : Application to U. territories.Art. 243 ZC: Not to apply to certain areas.Art. 243 ZD : Committee for district planning.Art. 243 ZE : Committee for Metropolitan plan-ning.Art. 243 ZF : Continuance of existing laws andMunicipalities.Art. 243 ZG : Bar to interference by Courts inelectoral matters.

Part X : Scheduled & Tribal AreasArt. 244 : Administration of Scheduled areasand Tribal Areas.Art. 244 A : Formation of an autonomous Statecomprising certain tribal areas in Assam andcreation of local Legislature or Council of Min-isters or both therefore.


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Part XI : Relations Between the Union andthe States

Chapter I : Legislative

Relations

Distribution of Legislative PowersArt. 245 : Extent of laws made by Parliamentand by the Legislatures of States.Art. 246 : Subject- matter of laws made byParliament and by the Legislatures of States.Art. 247 : Power of Parliament to provide forthe establishment of certain additional courts.Art. 248 : Residuary powers of legislation.Art. 249 : Power of Parliament to legislate withrespect to a matter in the State List in thenational interest.Art. 250 : Power of Parliament to legislate withrespect to any matter in the State List if Emer-gency is in operation.Art. 251 : Inconsistency between laws made byParliament under articles 249 and 250 and lawsmade by the Legislatures of States.Art. 252 : Power of Parliament to legislate fortwo or more States by consent and adoption ofsuch legislation by any other State.Art. 253 : Legislation for giving effect to inter-national agreements.Art. 254 : Inconsistency between laws made byParliament and laws made by the Legislaturesof States.Art. 255 : Requirements as to recommendationsand previous sanctions to be regarded as mat-ters of procedure only.

Chapter II : Administrative RelationsArt. 256 : Obligation of States and the Union.Art. 257 : Control of the Union over States incertain cases.Art. 257 A : [Repealed].Art. 258 : Power of the Union to confer powers,etc, on States in certain cases.Art. 258 A : Power of the States to entrustfunctions to the Union.Art. 259 : [Repealed].Art. 260 : Jurisdiction of the union in relation toterritories outside India.Art. 261 : Public acts, records and judicialproceedings.

Disputes relating to WatersArt. 262 : Adjudication of disputes relating to

waters of inter-State rivers.Co- Ordination between StatesArt. 263: Provisions with respect to an inter-State Council.

Part XII : Finance, Property, Contracts andSuits

Chapter I : FinanceArt. 264 : Interpretation.Art. 265 : Taxes not to be imposed save byauthority of law.Art. 266 : Consolidated Funds and public ac-counts of India and of the States.Art. 267 : Contingency Fund.

Distribution of Revenues between theUnion and the StatesArt. 268 : Duties levied by the union butcollected and appropriated by the States.Art. 269 : Taxes levied and collected by theUnion but assigned to the States.Art. 270 : Taxes levied and collected by theUnion and distributed between the Union andthe States.Art. 271 : Surcharge on certain dutiesand taxes for purposes of the Union.Art. 272 : Taxes which are levied and collectedby the Union and may be distributed betweenthe Union and the States.Art. 273 : Grants in lieu of export duty on juteand jute product.Art. 274 : Prior recommendation of presidentrequire to bills affecting taxation in which statesare interested.Art. 275 : Grants from union to certain states.Art. 276 : Taxes on professions, trades, callingsand employments.Art. 277 : Savings.Art. 278 : [Repealed].Art. 279 : Calculation of "net proceeds", etc.Art. 280 : Finance Commission.Art. 281 : Exemption to property and incomeof State from Union taxation.

Miscellaneous Financial ProvisionsArt. 282 : Expenditure defrayable by the Unionor a State out of its revenues.


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Art. 283: Custody, etc., of Consolidated funds,contingency Funds and moneys credited to thepublic accounts.Art. 284: Custody of suitors, deposits and othermoneys received by public servants & courtsArt. 285: Exemption of property of the Unionfrom State taxation.Art. 286: Restrictions as to imposition of tax onthe sale or purchase of goods.Art. 287: Exemption from electricity taxes.Art. 288: Exemption from taxation by States inrespect of water or electricity in certain cases.Art. 289: Exemption to property and income ofState from Union taxation.Art. 290: Adjustment in respect of certain ex-penses and pensions.Art. 290 A : Annual payment to certainDevaswon Funds.Art. 291: [Repealed].

Chapter II : BorrowingArt. 292: Borrowing by Govt. of India.Art. 293: Borrowing by States.

Chapter III : Property, Contracts, Rights,Liabilities, Obligations & SuitsArt. 294: Succession to property, assets, rightsliabilities and obligations in certain cases.Art. 295: Succession to property, assets, rights,liabilities and obligations in other cases.Art. 296: Property accruing by escheat or lapseor as Bona Vacantia.Art. 297: Things of value within territorialwaters or continental shelf and resources of theexclusive economic zone.Art. 298: Power to carry on trade, etc.Art. 299: Contracts.Art. 300: Suits and proceedings.

Chapter IV : Right to PropertyArt. 300 A: Persons not to be deprived ofproperty save by authority of law.

Part XIII : Trade, Commerce & Intercoursewithin the Territory of IndiaArt. 301: Freedom of trade, commerce etc.Art. 302: Power of Parliament to impose restric-tions on trade, commerce etc.Art. 303: Restrictions on the Legislative powersof the Union and of the States with regard totrade and commerce.

Art. 304: Restrictions on trade, commerce andintercourse among States.Art. 305: Saving of existing laws and lawsproviding for State monopolies.Art. 306: [Repealed].Art. 307: Appointment of authority for thepurposes of articles 301 to 304.

Part XIV : Services under Union & States

Chapter I : ServicesArt. 308: Interpretation.Art. 309: Recruitment and conditions of serviceof persons serving the Union or a State.Art. 310: Tenure of office of persons serving theunion or a state.Art. 311: Dismissal, removal or reduction inrank of persons employed in civil capacitiesunder the Union or a State.Art. 312: All - India services.Art. 312 A: Power of Parliament to vary torevoke conditions of service of officers of certainservices.Art. 313: Transitional provisions.Art. 314: [Repealed].

Chapter II : Public Service CommissionsArt. 315: Public Service Commission for theUnion and for the states.Art. 316: Appointment and term of office.Art. 317: Removal and suspension of a memberof a Public Service Commission.Art. 318: Power to make regulations as toconditions of service of members and staff of theCommission.Art. 319: Prohibition as to the holding of officesby members of Commission on ceasing to besuch members.Art. 320: Functions of Public Service Commis-sions.Art. 321: Power to extend functions of publicservice commissions.Art. 322: Expenses of Public Service Commis-sions.

Part XIV A : TribunalsArt. 323 A: Administrative tribunals.Art. 323 B: Tribunals for other matters.


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Part XV : ElectionsArt. 324: Superintendence, direction and con-trol of elections to be vested in an ElectionCommission.Art. 325: No person to be ineligible for inclusionin, or to claim to be included in a special,electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, casteor sex.Art. 326: Elections to the House of the Peopleand to the Legislative Assemblies of States to beon the basis of adult suffrage.Art. 327: Power of Parliament to make provi-sion for elections to Legislatures.Art. 328: Power of Legislature of a State to makeprovision with respect to elections to such Leg-islature.Art. 329: Bar to interference by courts in elec-toral matters.Art. 329 A: [Repealed].

Part XVI : Special Provisions Relating toCertain ClassesArt. 330: Reservation of seats for SCs and STsin the House of the People.Art. 331: Representation of the Anglo-Indiancommunity in the House of the People.Art. 332: Reservation of seats for SCs and STsin Legislative Assemblies of the States.Art. 333: Representation of the Anglo-Indiancommunity in the Legislative Assemblies of theStates.Art. 334: Reservation of seats and special rep-resentation to cease after [fifty years].Art. 335: Claims of SCs and STs to services andposts.Art. 336: Special provision for Anglo-Indiancommunity in certain services.Art. 337: Special provision with respect toeducational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian community.Art. 338: Special Officer for SCs, STs, etc.Art. 339: Control of the Union over the admin-istration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare ofSTs.Art. 340: Appointment of a Commission toinvestigate backward classes.Art. 341: Scheduled Castes.Art. 342: Scheduled Tribes.

Part XVII : Official Language

Chapter I : Language UnionArt. 343: Official language of the Union.Art. 344: Commission and Committee of Parlia-ment on official language.Art. 345: Official languages of a State.Art. 346: Official language for communicationbetween one State and another or between aState and the Union.Art. 347: Special provision relating to languagespoken by a section of the population of a State.

Chapter III : Language of the SC, HighCourts etc.Art. 348: Language to be used in the SupremeCourt and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills,etc.Art. 349: Special procedure for enactment ofcertain laws relating to language.

Chapter IV : Special DirectivesArt. 350: Language to be used in representa-tions for redress of grievances.Art. 350 A: Facilities for instruction in mothertongue at primary stage.Art. 350 B: Special officer for linguistic minori-ties.Art. 351: Directive for development of the Hindilanguage.

Part XVIII : Emergency ProvisionsArt. 352: Proclamation of Emergency.Art. 353: Effect of proclamation of Emergency.Art. 354: Application of provisions relating todistribution of revenues while a Proclamation ofEmergency in operation.Art. 355: Duty of the Union to protect Statesagainst external aggression and internal distur-bance.Art. 356: Provisions in case of failure of consti-tutional machinery in States.Art. 357: Exercise of legislative powers underProclamation issued under article 356.Art. 358: Suspension of provisions of article 19during emergencies.Art. 359: Suspension of the enforcement of therights.Art. 359 A: [Repealed].


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Part XIX : MiscellaneousArt. 361: Protection of President and Governorsand Raj pramukhs.Art. 361 A: Protection of publication of pro-ceedings of Parliament and State Legislatures.Art. 362: [Repealed].Art. 363: Bar to interference by courts in dis-putes arising out of certain treaties, agreements,etc.Art. 363 A: Recognition granted to Rulers ofIndian States to cease and Privy purses to beabolished.Art. 364: Special provisions as to major portsand aerodromes.Art. 365: Effect of failure to comply with, or togive effect to, directions given by the unionArt. 366: Definitions.Art. 367: Interpretation.

Part XX : Constitutional AmendmentArt. 368: Power of Parliament to amend theConstitution and procedure therefore.

Part XXI : Temporary, Transitional andSpecial ProvisionsArt. 369: Temporary power to Parliament tomake laws to matters in State List.Art. 370: Temporary provisions with respect tothe State of Jammu and Kashmir.Art. 371: Special provision with respect to theStates of Maharashtra and Gujarat.Art. 371 A: Special provision with respect to theState of Nagaland.Art. 371 B: Special provision with respect to theState of Assam.Art. 371 C: Special provision with respect to theState of Manipur.Art. 371 D: Special provisions with respect tothe State of Andhra Pradesh.Art. 371 E: Establishment of Central Universityin Andhra Pradesh.Art. 371 F: Special provisions with respect to theState of Sikkim.Art. 371 G: Special provision with respect to theState of Mizoram.Art. 371 H : Special provision with respect tothe State of Arunachal Pradesh.Art. 371 I: Special provision with respect to theState of Goa.

Art. 372: Continuance in force of existing lawsand their adaptation.Art. 372 A : President's legal power.Art. 373: Power of President to make order inrespect of persons under preventive detention incertain cases.Art. 374: Provisions as to Judges of the FederalCourt and proceedings pending in the FederalCourt or before his Majesty in Council.Art. 375: Courts authorities and officers tocontinue to function subject to the provisions ofthe Constitution.Art. 376: Provisions for High Court Judges.Art. 377: Provisions as to Comptroller and Audi-tor General of India.Art. 378: Provisions for Public Service Commis-sions.Art. 378 A: Special provisions as to duration ofAndhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.Art. 379-391: [Repealed].Art. 392: Power of the President to removedifficulties.

Part XXII : Short Title, Commencement,TextArt. 393: Short title.Art. 394: Commencement.Art. 394 A: Authoritative text in the Hindilanguage.Art. 395: Repeals.

SCHEDULES

FIRST SCHEDULEI. -The States.II. -The Union territories.

SECOND SCHEDULEPART A-- Provisions as to the President and theGovernors of States.PART B-[Repealed.]PART C-Provisions as to the Speaker and theDeputy Speaker of the House of the Peopleand the Chairman and the Deputy Chairmanof the Council of States and the Speakerand the Deputy Speaker of the LegislativeAssembly and the Chairman and the DeputyChairman of the Legislative Council of a State.PART D- Provisions as to the Judges of theSupreme Court and of the High Courts.


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PART E- Provisions as to the Comptroller andAuditor-General of India.

THIRD SCHEDULE

Forms of Oaths or Affirmations.FOURTH SCHEDULE : Allocation of seats inthe Council of States.FIFTH SCHEDULE : Provisions as to the Ad-ministration and Control of Scheduled Areasand Scheduled Tribes.PART A-General.PART B-Administration and Control of ScheduledAreas and Scheduled Tribes.PART C- Scheduled Areas.PART D-Amendment of the Schedule.SIXTH SCHEDULE : Provisions as to the Ad-ministration of Tribal Areas in the States ofAssam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.SEVENTH SCHEDULE : List I - Union List,List II- State List, List III- Concurrent ListEIGHTH SCHEDULE : Languages.NINTH SCHEDULE : Validation of certainActs and Regulations.TENTH SCHEDULE : Provisions as to disquali-fication on ground of defection.ELEVENTH SCHEDULE : Powers, authorityand responsibilities of Panchayats.TWELFTH SCHEDULE : Powers, authorityand responsibilities of Municipalities, etc.

PREAMBLE

The PREAMBLE to the Indian Constitution (asamended in 1976) reads:WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having sol-emnly resolved to constitute India into aSOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMO-CRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all itscitizens:JUSTICE, social, economic, and politicalLIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faithand worship;EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;and to promote among them allFRATERNITY assuring the dignity of theindividual and the unity and integrity of theNation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY thistwenty-sixth day of November, 1949, dohereby ADOPT, ENACT and GIVE TO OUR-SELVES this Constitution.

Objectives of Indian ConstitutionThe preamble sets out the main objectives of

the Constitution; the objective which the Consti-tution-makers intended to be realised through it.It is the key to open the mind of the Constitution-makers. The preamble is a legitimate aid in theconstruction of the provisions of the Constitu-tion. Generally, for purposes of interpretation,the preamble of the Constitution stands in thesame position as the preamble of an Act.

Purposes of the PreambleThe framers of the Constitution of India set

out two purposes in the preamble.1. First, to constitute India into a Sovereign

Democratic Republic. It is Republic becausethe head of the State is not a hereditarymonarch. It is Democratic because the Con-stitution rests on the people's will, and theinstitutions set up under it shall seek to giveeffect to democratic principles. It is Sover-eign because the Constitution does notrecognise the legal supremacy of anothercountry over India. Her membership of theCommonwealth of the Nations is not incon-sistent with her independent and sovereignstatus. The words 'socialist' and 'secular'were added in the Preamble by the Forty-

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THEPREAMBLE?

The preamble specifies the source of authority, thesystem of government, the objectives to be attained bythe political system and the date of the adoption andenactment of the Constitution. Though the Preambleis not enforceable in a court of law and generally, notconsidered a part of the Constitution, it provides a keyto the understanding and interpretation of the Consti-tution; it has, therefore, been described as the soul ofthe Constitution. In case of doubt the Supreme Courthas referred to the Preamble to elucidate vague as-pects of the Constitution.

second Amendment. The addition of 'social-ist' indicates the incorporation of the phi-losophy of 'socialism' in the Constitutionwhich aims at elimination of inequality inincome and status and standards of life andmay enable the courts to lean more andmore in favour of nationalisation and Stateownership of an industry. It is yet to be seen


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how the new economic policy adopted bythe Narsimha Rao Government since 1991oriented towards free market andprivatisation is to be viewed in the courts.The word 'secular' simply recognises theconcept of secularism as manifested in theguarantee of freedom of religion as a funda-mental right in the Constitution.

2. Second, to secure to citizens justice - social,economic, and political; liberty of thought,expression, faith, and worship; equality ofstatus and opportunity; and to promoteamong the people of India fraternity, assur-ing dignity of the individual and the unityand integrity of the nation. Although theexpressions, 'justice', 'liberty', 'equality', and'fraternity', may not be susceptible to exactdefinitions, yet they are not mere platitudes.They are given content by theenacting provisions of the Constitutionparticularly by Part III of the funda-mentalrights and Part IV, the Directive Principlesof State Policy.

EXPLANATIONOF PREAMBLE

Sovereign RepublicThe Preamble begins with the words, "We,

the people of India....", thus clearly indicatingthe source of all authority under the Constitu-tion. The Preamble establishes the ultimate sov-ereignty of the people of India on whose author-ity the Constitution rests. It points out theConstitution of India has been ordained by thepeople of India through their representatives inConstituent Assembly.

In the present times, the term 'sovereignty'may be losing rigid connotations of "supremeand absolute power acknowledging no supe-rior" -no modern state can be considered sover-eign in that sense. However, through the wordsof the Preamble, what is sought to be establishedis the oneness of the people of India (not thepeople of different states but of one nation), thatthe sovereignty vests in the collectivity, and thatthe people of India are not subordinate to anyexternal authority. With the enactment of theConstitution, India was no longer a 'dominion'it was a 'republic'.

A republic derives its powers directly orindirectly from the people and "is administeredby persons holding their offices during pleasure,for a limited period, or during good behaviour"(Madison). India is a republic in that sense. FromJanuary 26, 1950 when the Constitution com-menced, India ceased to owe allegiance to theBritish crown. India has a President as head ofthe Union, elected indirectly for a fixed term bythe people's representatives. All citizens are equalin law, there is no privileged class, every citizenhas the right to try for any public office irrespec-tive of caste, race, sex or religion.

Despite declaring itself a republic Indiaremained a member of the Commonwealth ofNations. Indeed the group of nationsaccommodated India's status as a sovereignindependent republic owing no allegiance to theBritish Crown: the 'British Commonwealth ofNations' became simply 'Commonwealth ofNations'. The King or Queen would be the'symbolic' head of he Commonwealth as far asIndia was concerned, and the decisions at theconferences of the Commonwealth will not bebinding on Indians. India's conduct would bebased on 'free will'. The decision to remain in theCommonwealth was in keeping with the ideal ofpromoting international cooperation and peace- a concept expressed in our Constitution.

DemocracyThe term 'democracy' has assumed different

connotations for different people. But commonto all forms of democracies in the participation

IS PREAMBLE A PART OF THE CONSTITUTION?The preamble of an Act is not recognised as part of

the Act because it is not enacted and adopted by theenacting body in the same manner as the acting provi-sions. The preamble of Indian Constitution was, how-ever, enacted and adopted by the same procedure asthe rest of the Constitution. This difference was notbrought to the notice of the Supreme Court in BerubariUnion and Exchange of Enclaves case where it observedthat "the preamble is not part of the constitution". Laterwhen the constituent history of the preamble was broughtto the notice of the Court in Keshavananda Bharti v. Stateof Kerala it held that "the preamble of the Constitutionwas part of the Constitution and the observations to thecontrary in Berubari Union case were not correct".

The recognition of the preamble as an integral partof the Constitution makes the preamble a valuable aidin the construction of the provisions of the Constitutionbecause unlike the preamble to an Act, the preambleof the Constitution occupies the same position as otherenacting words or provisions of the Constitution.


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of the people directly or indirectly. India hasadopted the representative parliamentarydemocracy. The Constitution makes no provisionfor direct control by the people through suchdevices as 'referendum' and 'initiative'. However,the people of India exercise their sovereigntythrough a Parliament at the Centre and alegislature in each State elected on the basis ofuniversal adult franchise. The Executive isresponsible to the popular house of the Legislature.

Beyond political democracy, the Preamblealso envisages social and economic democracy.Equality in the political sphere gives each adultcitizen the power to vote freely. Equality mustalso pervade society and economic conditions,as far as possible. Dr. Ambedkar consideredsocial and economic democracy to be the realgoals to strive for. Jawharlal Lal Nehru too feltthat political structure would weaken anddisintegrate if socio-economic problems likepoverty and gross inequalities are not tackledand removed. A vote, after all, does notmean much to a starving person. It is inthis context that the Preamble speaks of justice,equality, liberty and fraternity.

SocialismWhile the original Constitution did not mention

any particular ideology, it did give expression tothe resolve of securing to the citizens economicjustice and equality of opportunity. This is theessence of socialism. The word 'socialist' wasintroduced in the Preamble by the 42ndAmendment. The term, however, is not defined inthe Constitution. It may be pointed out that thesocialism envisaged in India does not meanabolition of private property or nationalisation ofall means of production. Thus a 'mixed economy'was envisaged, along with provision of equalopportunity, abolition of vested interests, andelimination of inequality in income and status andstandards of living. In the present context ofeconomic liberalisation, however, the socialistcredentials of our State may well be questioned.

SecularismThe term 'secular' was inserted in the

Preamble only in 1976, but the state envisagedby the Constitution was always a secular state- it could not have been otherwise in a country

of such a vast size and diversity of culture andreligions. Indeed, the fraternity and unity of thecountry could be built only on a secular basis.

The term 'secular', has not been defined inthe Constitution but its operative meaning maybe drawn from the different provisions of theConstitution. Discrimination on the basis ofreligion is forbidden to the State. Equality isassured to all irrespective of religion. Freedomof faith, belief and worship is allowed to all. TheState is to be impartial towards all religions.Furthermore, the state does not uphold anyparticular religion as the state religion, butprotects all religions equally.

JusticeThe Preamble speaks of social, economic and

political justice. The concept of justice goesbeyond its narrow legal connotation.Significantly the words 'social' and 'economic'occur before the word 'political'.

Social justice implies that discrimination onthe basis of birth, caste, race, sex or religion shouldcease. To that end all citizens should enjoy equalopportunities in the matter of public appointment.It is the good of all people that the Governmentmust strive to achieve. The concept of a welfarestate as envisaged in the Directive Principles is anembodiment of guidelines for ensuring the socialjustice expected in the Preamble.

Economic justice implies that the gap betweenthe rich and the poor is bridged, and theexploitation ceases. Removal of poverty is to beachieved not by taking away assets from thosewho have but by ensuring a more equitabledistribution of national wealth and resourcesamong those who contribute to its creation. Thusthe Directive Principles call upon the state to tryand secure ownership and control over resourcesto subserve common good, reduce concentrationof wealth, ensure equal pay for equal work, andsee that people, especially women and children,are not abused or forced by economic want intowork unsuitable for their age or strength.

Political justice implies that all citizens shouldhave equal opportunity to participate in thepolitical system. One person-one vote is ensuredirrespective not only of caste, sex or religion, butalso of proprietary or educational qualifications.It is the basis of the political democracyenvisaged in the Constitution.


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LibertyDemocracy is closely connected with the

idea of liberty; certain minimal rights must beenjoyed by every person in a community for afree and civilised existence. These basic rightsare spelt out by the Preamble as freedom ofthought, expression, belief, faith and worship.The chapter on Fundamental Rights guaranteesthese freedoms explicitly, subject to certainregulations; after all, liberty is not to degenerateinto licence if democracy is to survive.

EqualityRights have no meaning if they cannot be

enjoyed equally by all members of thecommunity. To ensure that it is possible for allto enjoy these rights, social and economicequality is sought to be achieved. TheFundamental Rights enjoin the State not todiscriminate between citizen and citizen simplyon the basis of caste, race, sex or religion. Publicplaces are open to all citizens, titles of honourstand abolished, untouchability is abolished,among other things. The rule of law is to prevail:all citizens are equal before law and enjoy equalprotection of the laws of the land. Politicalequality is provided by the principle of universaladult franchise and by allowing, at least inprinciple, any citizen the opportunity toparticipate in the process of governance.Economically, the same ability and work entitlespersons to the same salary. Exploitation ofindividual or group is to be removed.

FraternityA democratic system would function in a

healthy manner only if there is a spirit ofbrotherhood of oneness, among the people ofthe land. India being a land of immense diver-sity is all the more in need of this spirit of unity- the sense of belonging to one nation. Theprinciple of common citizenship is directedtowards strengthening this sense of 'unity andintegrity' of the nation. Fraternity is also soughtto be promoted by ensuring equal rights to all.Fraternity, said DR. Ambedkar, "is the principlewhich gives unity and solidarity to social life".It is the feeling that will protect the unity ofIndia against external attack or disintegrationthrough internal unrest born of social, politicaland economic causes.

Fraternity, how ever is not possible unless thedignity of each individual is preserved and re-spected. Maintaining this dignity requires theguarantee of certain minimal justiciable rights toeach individual. The ensure that an individual isfree from want and misery - without whichfreedom, ideas of self-respect and dignity aremeaningless- the Directive Principles have beenframed calling upon the State to form its policiesto benefit all citizens equally in the matter ofproviding adequate means of livelihood. TheState is also asked to provide just and humaneconditions of work and create conditions inwhich a decent standard of life and full enjoy-ment of leisure and social and cultural opportu-nities become possible for all the people of thisland. It is in keeping with the principle ofindividual dignity that the practice of untouch-ability has been abolished by the Constitution.

In the context of fraternity, it may also bementioned that India's Constitution goes be-yond national boundaries, and speaks of theideal of universal brotherhood, an internationalfraternity with all nations and peoples coexist-ing in peace and amity.

THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY

Part I of the Indian Constitution comprisesfour Articles concerned with the territory ofIndia. Article 1 stipulates that India, that isBharat, shall be a Union of States. The States andterritories of India are to be specified in the FirstSchedule. It is to be noted that the expression,'Union of India' includes only the states whichare members of the federal system and share adistribution of powers with the Union while the'territory of India' includes the entire area overwhich the sovereignty of India extends.

The Indian federation was not the result ofan agreement between independent States. Bythe Indian Independence Act 1947, the princi-pal states were given the option of joining Indiaor Pakistan or remaining independent. Theintegration of the princely states was managedwell by Sardar Patel. It may be recalled that inthe original Constitution there were four cat-egories of States and Territories - part A whichincluded the nine erstwhile provinces of BritishIndia, Part B comprising the five Princely States


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with legislatures, Part C which includes fivecentrally administered states, and Part D men-tioning the territory of Andaman and NicobarIslands. But since the Seventh Amendment Act,1956, all the States (except for Jammu & Kash-mir) belong to one class and all the constitutionalprovisions relating the states apply to all of themin the same manner. However, it may be pointedout in this connection that certain special provi-sions applicable to Maharashtra, Gujarat,,Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh,Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Goaoverride the general provisions pertaining to theStates as a class. As for the administration ofcertain Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas withinthe States, the provisions are specially listed inthe Fifth and Sixth Schedules.

into the Union or establish new States on suchterms as it thinks fit. It will be noted that thereare two powers given to Parliament by Article2 namely : (i) the power to admit into the Unionnew States and(ii) the power to establish new States.

The first refers to the admission of dulyorganised political communities and second tothe admission or formation of a State wherenone existed before. It will be recalled that theterritory acquired by the Union becomes IndianTerritory by virtue of clause (3) (c) of Article 1.No Parliamentary sanction is required for acqui-sition of territory. But a territory acquired by theGovernment of India, though factually becomesterritory of India from the date of its acquisition,the formal or legal assimilation is brought aboutonly by Parliamentary legislation made eitherunder this article when the acquired territory isestablished as a new State of the Union, orwhen the acquired territory is merged into anexisting State Under Article 3 of the Constitu-tion.

The admission or establishment of a newState will be on such terms and conditions asParliament may think fit. There is nothing in theConstitution which would entitle a new State,after its formation or admission into the Union,to claim complete equality of status with a stateexisting at the commencement of the Constitu-tion, or formed thereafter under Article 3 of theConstitution. The analogy of the AustralianConstitution where complete equality of statuswith other States and to all "State rights " areguaranteed is inapplicable to the Indian Consti-tution, because Section 6 of the Constitution ofAustralia expressly provides that the expression"State" shall include such colonies or territoriesas may be "admitted into or established" by theCommonwealth as States. In India, on the otherhand, Article 2 gives complete discretion toParliament to admit or establish new States onsuch terms and conditions as "it thinks fit".

Formation of new States and alteration ofareas, boundaries or names of existing States -

Parliament may by law -(a) form a new State by separation of territory

from any State or by uniting two or moreStates or parts of States or by uniting anyterritory to a part of any State;

'INDIAN TERRITORY' IS OF HOW MANYTYPES?

The territory of India falls under three categories :(i)State territories, (ii) the Union territories and (iii) territo-ries which may be acquired by the Government of In-dia. No Parliamentary legislation is required to acquirea foreign territory. It is the inherent attribute of a sover-eign State to acquire new territories. Article 1(3) (c), inincluding the acquired territory as part of the Indian ter-ritory, merely states a factual situation and does notconfer a power on Parliament to acquire foreign terri-tory. The Union Territories are centrally administeredaccording to provisions contained in Part VII of the Con-stitution. They are governed by the President throughan Administrator appointed by him.

At present there are 28 states in India. Since 1987,there are seven Union Territories : Delhi, Andamanand Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and NagarHaveli, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry and Chandigarh.

Article 1 of the Constitution says that India isa Union of States, and the States and the territoriesthereof are specified in the First Schedule. Noneof the constituent units of the Indian Union wassovereign and independent in the sense theAmerican colonies or the Swiss Cantons werebefore they formed their federal unions. TheConstituent Assembly of India, deriving its powerfrom the sovereign people, was unfettered by anyprevious commitment in evolving a constitutionalpattern suitable to the genius and requirements ofthe Indian people as a whole. The Constitutioncontemplated changes of the territorial limits ofthe constituent States and there was no guaranteeabout their territorial integrity.

Admission or establishment of new States:Article 2 enables Parliament by law to admit


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(b) increase the area of any State;(c) diminish the area of any State;(d) alter the name of any State;

The Constitution contemplated changes ofthe territorial limits of the constituent States andthere was no guarantee about their territorialintegrity. The new States may be established indifferent ways laid down in the article, namely: (i) by separation of territories from any State (ii)by uniting two or more States, (iii) by unitingparts of States and (iv) by uniting any territoryto a part of any State.

The law referred to in Articles 2 and 3 mayalter or amend the First Schedule of the Consti-tution which sets out the names of the Statesand description of territories thereof, and theFourth Schedule allotting seats in the Council ofState in the Union Parliament. The law so mademay also make supplemental, incidental andconsequential provisions which would includeprovisions relating to the setting up of thelegislative, executive and judicial organs of theState essential to effective State administrationunder the Constitution, expenditure and distri-bution of revenue, apportionment of assets andliabilities, provision as to services, applicationand adaptation of laws, transfer of proceedingsand other related matters. No State can, there-fore, be formed, admitted or set up by law underArticle 4 by Parliament which has not effectivelegislative, executive or judicial organs.

What is the role of States in alteration oftheir areas, boundaries or names?

In regard to a Bill under Article 3 of IndianConstitution, there are two conditions. Firstly,no Bill shall be introduced in either House ofParliament except on the recommendation ofthe President. Secondly, where the proposalcontained in the Bill affects the area, boundariesor name of any of the States, the Bill has to bereferred by the President to the Legislature ofthe State for expressing its views thereon. Theperiod within which the State Legislature mustexpress its views has to be specified by thePresident, but he may extend the time so speci-fied. If the period specified or extended expiresand no views of the State Legislature are re-ceived, the second condition laid down in theprovision is fulfilled. Also, it is not necessary tomake fresh reference to the State Legislature

every time an amendment of the proposal con-tained in the Bill is proposed and accepted inaccordance with the rules of procedure of Par-liament so long as the amendment is germaneto the subject-matter of the original proposal oris not a direct negation thereof.

Rorganisations of States

The grouping of the states at independencewas done more on the basis of historical andpolitical principles than social, cultural or lin-guistic divisions. There was not enough time toundertake a proper reorganisation of the unitsat the time of making the Constitution. Article2 empowers Parliament to admit into the Union,or establish, new States on such terms andconditions as it thinks fit. By Article 3, Parlia-ment has the power by law to form a new Statefrom the territory of any State or by uniting twoor more states, increase or decrease the area ofany State, or alter the boundaries or the nameof any State. The only conditions laid down forthe making of such a law are that (i) such a billmust be introduced only on the recommenda-tion of the President is to refer it to be theconcerned State Legislature which would ex-press its views within a specified period. ThePresident is not, however, bound by the viewsof the State Legislature. However, in the case ofJammu and Kashmir, the consent of the StateLegislature is required before a bill on suchalterations is introduced in Parliament. Article4 stipulates that any such law may make supple-mental, incidental or other consequential provi-sions and may amend the First and FourthSchedules without going through the Constitu-tional Amendment process. A simple majorityand ordinary legislature procedure is enoughfor Parliament to form new States or alterexisting State boundaries.

It may be noted that these Article does notapply to cession of territory to a foreign state.Any treaty or agreement involving ceding In-dian Territory to an outside authority requiresa constitutional amendment to be implemented.

First States Reorganization CommissionThe Government appointed a commission

under S.K. Dhar to examine the feasibility ofreorganisation of States on linguistic basis. The


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S.K.Dhar Commission preferred reorganisationfor administrative convenience rather than ona linguistic basis. A Congress Committee underJawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and PattabhiSitaramayya (the JVP Committee) too did notfavour a linguistic base. However, in 1953 thefirst linguistic state came into being in AndhraPradesh, created by separating the Telugu speak-ing areas from the State of Madras. This fol-lowed a prolonged agitating and the death ofPotti Sriamulu after a 56- day hunger strike. Asthere were several more demands for States ona linguistic basis, a commission was set upunder justice F.Fazl Ali with H.N. Kunzru andK.M. Panikkar, as members to study the de-mand. This commission is known as the FirstStates Reorganization Commission. It submittedits report in 1955. Its suggestions were acceptedwith modifications and the States ReorganisationAct was passed in 1956. As a result, the fourfolddistribution of States was replaced by 14 Statesand six Union Territories (Andaman and NicobarIslands, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Laccadive,Minicoy and Amandivi, Manipur and Tripura)vide the Seventh Constitution Amendment.

Acquired TerritoriesBesides, the States and Union Territories, the

territories of India include any area acquired byIndia by purchase, treaty, cession or conquest.These are to be administered by the Governmentof India subject to legislation by Parliament.Thus, the French settlement of Pondicherrywhich was ceded to India by the French Gov-ernment in 1954 was being administered as anacquired territory till 1962 when it was consti-tuted as a Union Territory. The Portugueseterritories of Goa, Daman and Diu were ac-quired by annexation and administered as ac-quired territory till they were incorporated asUnion Territory in 1961. Goa was given thestatus of a State in 1987. Sikkim was admittedas a full-fledged State of the Indian Union aftera referendum in that country favoured its be-coming a constituent unit of India.

It does not matter how the acquisition hasbeen brought about. It may be by conquest, itmay be by cession following treaty, it may be byoccupation of territory hitherto unoccupied by arecognised ruler, or it may be under the terms of

an agreement between two States. In cases wherethe only fact available is the de facto exercise ofcomplete sovereignty by one State in a particulararea, the sovereignty of that State over that areaand the area being regarded as part of theterritory of that State would prima facie. Follow.But this would apply normally only to caseswhere sovereignty and control was exercised byunilateral action. Where, however, the exerciseof power and authority and the right to admin-ister is referable to an agreement between twoStates, the question whether the territory hasbecome integrated with andbecome part of the territory of the State exercis-ing de facto control, depends wholly on the termsupon which the new government was invited orpermitted to exercise such control and authority.

The precedents are clear that no cession ofIndian territory can take place without a consti-tutional amendment. However, an agreement torefer the dispute regarding boundary line dividingtwo neighbouring countries and the very fact ofreferring such a dispute implies that the executivemay do such acts as are necessary for perma-nently fixing the boundary. A settlement of a

WHAT IS AN 'ACQUIREDTERRITORY'?

A territory can be said to have been acquired whenthe Indian Union acquires sovereignty over such terri-tory. The expression 'acquired' should be taken to bea reference to 'acquisition' as understood in publicinternational law. If there was any public notification,assertion or declaration by which the Government ofIndia had declared or treated a territory as part andparcel of India, the courts would be bound torecognise an 'acquisition' as having taken place, withthe consequence that the territory would be part of theterritory of the Union within Articles 1(3) (c). A state-ment by the Government of India that it did not con-sider a particular area to have been acquired by it isbinding on the Court.

boundary dispute cannot, therefore, be held to be,a cession of territory. It contemplates a suitableboundary, and it is so fixed. The case is one inwhich each contending State ex facie is uncertainof its own right and therefore, consents to theappointment of arbitral machinery. Such a case isplainly distinguishable from a case of cession ofterritory known to be home territory.


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Article 7 provides for those who had mi-grated to Pakistan but who had returned toIndia from Pakistan with the intention of per-manently residing in India. Such a provisionhad to be made because the Government ofIndia, in dealing with persons who left India forPakistan and who subsequently returned fromPakistan to India, allowed them to come andsettle permanently under what is called a "per-mit system'". This permit system was introducedfrom July 19, 1948.

The Citizenship Act, 1955A comprehensive law dealing with citizens

was passed by Parliament in 1955 in accor-dance with the powers vested in it by Article 11of the Constitution. The provisions of the Actmay be broadly divided into three parts, acqui-sition of citizenship, termination of citizenshipand supplemental provisions.

Acquisition of CitizenshipThe Act provides five modes of acquiring the

citizenship of India. These are:

CITIZENSHIP

The provisions of citizenship are covered byArticles 5 to 11 of Indian Constitution and areembodied in Part II of the Constitution. Article5 refers to citizenship not in any general sensebut to citizenship on the date of the commence-ment of the Constitution. It was not the object of thisArticle to lay down a permanent law of citizenshipfor the country. That business was left to theParliament of India. Accordingly, atthe commencement of the Constitution, every personwho had his domicile in the territory of India and(a) who was born in India, or(b) either of whose parents was born in India,

or(c) who had been ordinarily resident in India for

not less than five years immediately preced-ing the commencement of the Constitution,was to be considered a citizen of India.Persons of Indian origin who had been resid-

ing outside India at the commencement of theConstitution were given the free choice of becom-ing Indian citizens under the above provisions ifthey so desired. The only condition that they hadto fulfill in his connection was to get themselvesregistered as Indian citizens by the diplomatic orconsular representatives of India in the countrywhere they were residing (Art. 8).

Articles 6 and 7 deal with two categories ofpersons, namely, those who were residents inIndia but had migrated to Pakistan and thosewho were residents in Pakistan but had mi-grated to India. Those who migrated fromPakistan to India were divided into two catego-ries:(a) those who came before July 19, 1948 and(b) those who came after that date.

According to article 6 those who came be-fore July 19, would automatically become citi-zens on the commencement of the Constitution,and those who came after July 19 wouldbecome such provided they had been registeredin the form and manner prescribed for thispurpose by the Government of India. These twoarticles thus provided for all cases of massmigration from Pakistan to India without mak-ing any distinction between one communityand another, although the partition of the coun-try itself was based upon such as a distinction.

WHY THE ISSUE OF INDIAN CITIZENSHIP WASNOT PERMANENTLY SETTLED BY THE

CONSTITUTION?

There is hardly any constitution in which an attempthas been made to embody a detailed nationality law.But since India's Constitution is of a republican char-acter and provision is made throughout the Constitu-tion for election to various offices under the State byand from among the citizens, it was thought essentialto have some provisions which precisely determinedwho was an Indian citizen at the commencement of theConstitution. Otherwise, there could have arisen diffi-culties in connection with the holding of particular of-fices and even with the starting of representative insti-tutions in the country under the republican Constitu-tion. This is why Parliament has been given plenarypower to deal with the question of nationality and enactany law in this connection that it deems suited to theconditions of the country. Such Parliamentary powerembraces not only the question of acquisition of citi-zenship but also its termination as well as any othermatter relating to citizenship (Art. 11) Also under Article9 of the Constitution, and person who voluntarily ac-quires the citizenship of any foreign State, even if quali-fied for Indian citizenship under any provision of theConstitution, may not be a citizen of India.

(1) By Birth: Every person born in India on orafter January 26, 1950, shall be a citizen of


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India by birth. There are two exceptions, tothis rule, namely, children born to foreigndiplomatic personnel in India and those ofenemy aliens whose birth occurs in a placethen under occupation by the enemy.

(2) By Descent : A person born outside India onor after January 26, 1950, shall be citizen ofIndia by descent if his father or mother is acitizen of India at the time of his birth.Children of those who are citizens of Indiaby descent, as also children of non-citizenswho are in service under a government inIndia, may also take advantage of this pro-vision and become Indian citizens by de-scent, if they so desire, through registration.

(3) By Registration : Any person who is notalready an Indian citizen by virtue of theprovisions of the Constitution or those of thisAct can acquire citizenship by registration ifthat person belongs to any one of the follow-ing five categories :

(a) Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarilyresident in India and who have been soresident for at least six months immediatelybefore making an application forregistration.

(b) Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarilyresident in any country or place outsideundivided India;

(c) Women who are, or have been, married tocitizens of India;

(d) Minor children of persons who are citizensof India; and

(e) Persons of full age and capacity who arecitizen of the Common wealth countries orthe Republic of Ireland.

(4) By Naturalisation : Any person who does notcome under any of the categories mentionedabove can acquire Indian citizenship bynaturalisation if his application for the samehas been accepted by the Government of Indiaand certificate is granted to him to that effect.An applicant for a naturalisation certificatehas to satisfy the following conditions:

(a) He is not a citizen of a country whichprohibits Indians becoming citizens of thatcountry by naturalisation;

(b) He has renounced the citizenship of thecountry to which he belonged;

(c) He has either resided in India or has been inthe service of a government in India, nor-mally, for one year immediately prior to thedate of application;

(d) During the seven years proceeding the abovementioned one year, he has resided in India orbeen in the service of a government in Indiafor a period amounting in the aggregate to notless than four years;

(e) He is of good character;(f) He has an adequate knowledge of a lan-

guage specified in the Constitution;(g) If granted a certificate, he intends to reside

in India or enter into, or continue in serviceunder a government in India.The Act provides, however, for a conspicu-

ous exemption under which any or all of theabove conditions may be waived in favour of aperson who has rendered distinguished serviceto the cause of science, philosophy, art, litera-ture, world peace or human progress generally.Every person to whom a certificate ofnaturalisation is granted has to take an oath ofallegiance solemnly affirming that he will beartrue faith and allegiance to the Constitution ofIndia as by law established, and that he willfaithfully observe the laws of India and fulfill hisduties as a citizen of India.(5) By Incorporation of Territory : If any terri-

tory becomes part of India, the Governmentof India, by order, may specify the personswho shall be citizen of India by reason oftheir connection with that territory.

Termination of Citizenship

The Act envisages three situations underwhich a citizen of India may lose his Indiannationality. These are:(1) By Renunciation: If any citizen of India

who is also a national of another countryrenounces his Indian citizenship through adeclaration in the prescribed manner, heceases to be an Indian citizen of registrationof such declaration. When a male personceases to be a citizen of India, every minorchild of his also ceases to be a citizen ofIndia. However, such a child may withinone year after attaining full age, becomesIndian citizen by making a declaration of hisintention to resume Indian citizenship.


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(2) By Termination: Any person who acquiredIndian citizenship by naturalisation, regis-tration or otherwise,, of he or she voluntarilyacquired the citizenship of another countryat any time between January 26, 1950, thedate of commencement of the Constitution,and December 30, 1955, the date of com-mencement of this Act, shall have ceased tobe a citizen of India from the date of suchacquisition.

(3) By Deprivation: The Central Government isempowered to deprive a citizen of his citi-zenship by issuing an order under 10 of theAct. But, this power of the Government maynot be used in case of every citizen; it appliesonly to those who acquired Indian citizen-ship by naturalisation or by virtue only ofclause (c) of Article 5 of the Constitution orby registration. The possible grounds of suchdeprivation are : obtaining of a citizenshipcertificate by means of fraud, false represen-tation, concealment of any material fact;disloyalty of disaffection towards the Con-stitution shown by act or speech; assistingan enemy with whom India is at war;sentence to imprisonment in any country fora term of not less than two years within thefirst five years after the acquisition of Indiancitizenship and continuous residence out-side Indian for a period of seven yearswithout expressing in a prescribed mannerhis intention to retain his Indian citizenship.The Act also provides for reasonable safe-guards in order to see that a proper proce-dure is followed in every case of deprivationof citizenship.

Single CitizenshipThe most important aspect of the constitu-

tional provisions dealing with citizenship is thatit has established a unified or single system ofcitizenship law for the whole country. A citizenof India is accepted legally as a citizen in everypart of the territory of India with almost all thebenefits and privileges that attend such a status.This is in striking contrast to the system ofdouble citizenship that prevails in some federalstates. Before the inauguration of the Constitu-tion, there were two broad divisions amongIndian citizens, British Indian subjects and statesubjects. Since there were over 500 Indian

States, the State subjects themselves were fur-ther subdivided into as many groups of citizensas there were states. Thus, the term Indiancitizenship had little precise legal significanceexcept that the Indian people as a whole cameunder the overall jurisdictions of the BritishGovernment that ruled India. The abolition ofsuch distinctions makes the essential unity ofthe nation a reality. A single citizenship for theentire country removes much of the artificialState barriers that prevailed in pre Indepen-dence days and facilities the freedom of tradeand commerce throughout the territory ofIndia.

There is, however one barrier still that hin-ders that full realisation of the ideal of a singlecitizenship established under the Constitution.This is the existence of what are known as"domiciliary rule" in the different states in India.The term "domicile" is difficult to define. Ac-cording to the rules prevailing today, in thedifferent States in India, domicile requirementsvary from three to fifteen years' continuousresidence within the State in addition to otherconditions. Thus, the status of domicile is givenonly to a permanent resident of the State. Onthe basis of such a distinction, there exist prac-tices in different States which amount to grossdiscrimination as between citizen and citizen.The also engender provincialism and parochial-ism which tend to disrupt the unity to thenation. Domiciliary rules which govern eligibil-ity to public services in most of the State illus-trate this point. Such rules are applied in someState not only to determine eligibility for ap-pointment to public services but also to regulateadmission to higher educational institutions, theawards of contracts and rights in respect offisheries, ferries, toll-bridges, forests and exciseshops. The conditions to be satisfied for acquir-ing a domicile in some of the states are of suchan extremely rigorous nature that it is almostimpossible for any person to satisfy them.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

The success or failure of a democracy de-pends largely on the extent to which civilliberties are enjoyed by the citizens in general.A democracy aims at the maximum develop-ment of the individual's personality, and thepersonality of the individual is inseparably


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bound with his liberty. Only a free society canensure the all-round progress of its memberswhich ultimately helps the achievement ofhuman welfare. Thus, every democracy paysspecial attention to securing this bare objectiveto the maximum extent without, at the sametime, endangering the security of the stateitself. A common device that is adopted bymost of them for this purpose is to incorporatea list of fundamental rights in their constitu-tions and guarantee them from violation byexecutive and legislative authorities.

The Indian constitution contains the basicprinciple that every individual is entitled toenjoy certain rights as a human being and theenjoyment of such rights does not depend uponthe will of any majority or minority. No majorityhas the right to abrogate such rights. In fact, thelegitimacy of the majority to rule is derived fromthe existence of these rights. These rights in-clude all the basic liberties such as freedom ofspeech, movement and association, equalitybefore law and equal protection of laws, free-dom of religious belief and cultural and educa-tional freedoms. The constitution has classifiedthese rights into seven categories and one ofthem is the right to constitutional remedieswhich entitles every aggrieved person to ap-proach even the Supreme Court of India torestore to him any fundamental right that mayhave been violated. It is, thus, a basic affirma-tion of the Constitution that the political systemthat it establishes should provide conditionsfavourable for the maximum development ofthe individual's personality. The framers of theConstitution were conscious of the fact that inthe absence of the enjoyment of the abovementioned rights, such development of thepersonality was impossible and democracywould sound an empty word. Having spentmost of their lives under a foreign rule andhaving fought relentlessly for the enjoyment ofthese rights by themselves, it was only naturalthat they should have wanted to embody themin the Constitution they framed for the estab-lishment of a democratic political order. Theyhoped to build this political order on the firmfoundation of the freedom of political competi-tion. The prime importance of these rights isthat while the will of the majority decides how

these freedoms are to be implemented, theexistence of the freedoms themselves is notsubject to that will. On the contrary, thesefreedoms set the conditions under which thewill of the majority is to be formed andexercised.

It must be stressed, however, that the fun-damental freedoms guaranteed to the indi-vidual under the Constitution are not absolute.Individual rights, however, basic they are, can-not override national security and general wel-fare. For, in the absence of national security andgeneral welfare, individual rights themselvesare not secure. Freedom of speech does notmean freedom to abuse another; freedom ofmovement does not mean freedom of physicalattack on others. The Constitution has madeexpress provisions dealing with such limitationsof fundamental rights so that those who seek toenjoy the rights may also realise the obligationattending them.

Public and Private Rights

The rights which were thus selected by theConstituent Assembly fall broadly into twocategories-public and private-but both have thesame purpose in view, namely, to put an endto arbitrary rule. Among the public or politicalrights were the right often to choose their rulers,the right to hold them responsible for theirconduct, the right to share in law-making andthe right to bear arms. Among the private rightswere the right to personal freedom, the right tofreedom of religious belief, the right to thoughtand expression, and the right to quality and tothe possession and use of property.

Right to Equality (Arts. 14,15,16,17 & 18)Article 14 declares that "the State shall not

deny to any person equality before the law orequal protection of the laws within the territoryof India". Thus, Article 14 stands for the estab-lishment of a situation under which there iscomplete absence of any arbitrary discrimina-tion by the laws themselves or in their admin-istration. The Right to Equality affords protec-tion not only against discriminatory laws passedby legislatures but also prevents arbitrary dis-cretion being vested in the executive. In themodern State, the executive is armed with vast


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Ypowers, in the matter of enforcing bylaws, rulesand regulations as well as in the performanceof a number of other functions. The equalityclause prevents such powers being exercised ina discriminatory manner.

Article 14 prevents discriminatory practicesonly by the State and not by individuals. Forinstance, if a private employer like the owner ofa private business concern discriminates in choos-ing his employees or treats his employees, un-equally, the person discriminated against willhave no judicial remedy.

What is the difference between "equalitybefore the law" & "equal protection of laws"?

The phrase "equality before the law" occursin almost all written constitutions that guaran-tee fundamental rights. Equality before the lawis an expression of English Common Law while"equal protection of laws": owes its origin tothe American Constitution. Both the phrasesaim to establish what is called the "equality tostatus and of opportunity" as embodied in thePreamble of the Constitution. While equalitybefore the law is a somewhat negative concept

implying the absence of any special privilegein favour of any individual and the equalsubjection of all classes to the ordinary law,equal protection of laws is a more positiveconcept employing equality of treatment underequal circumstances.

Prohibition of Discrimination on CertainGrounds (Art. 15)

Not content with a mere general declarationof the right to equality, and fully conscious ofthe types of discrimination prevalent in thecountry, the framers of Indian Constitutionwent a step further in Article 15, which is moreillustrative in character than introducing any-thing substantially new. Yet, there is one strik-ing feature in it which brings within its scope,although in a limited way, the actions of theprivate individuals. According to the Article,"the State shall not discriminate against anycitizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste,sex, place of birth or any of them. Further, onthe basis of any of these grounds a citizencannot be denied access to shops, public restau-rants or the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats,roads and places of public resort maintainedwholly or partly out of State funds or dedicatedto the use of the general public."

Article 15 has, however, two notable excep-tions in its application. The first of these permitsthe State to make special provision for thebenefit of women and children. The second,allows the State to make any special provisionfor the advancement of any socially and educa-tionally backward classes of citizens or for theScheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Thespecial treatment noted out to women andchildren is in the larger and long range interestof the community itself. It also recognises thesocial customs and background of the countryas a whole. The second exception was not in theoriginal Constitution but was later on added toit as a result of the First Amendment of theConstitution in 1951.

Equality of Opportunity in matters of PublicEmployment (Art. 16)

Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunityin matters of public employment. In the first partof the Article, the general rule is laid down that

WHAT ARE 'JUSTICIABLE' AND 'NON-JUSTICIABLE' RIGHTS?

The real problem that confronted the framers of In-dian Constitution was how to limit their selection ofrights to certain categories only. What rights were fun-damental and what are not, and why? If the rights oflife, liberty and property were fundamental, what aboutright to employment and education? Has not the tradi-tional concept of fundamental rights in its individualis-tic setting undergone a change in the modern era ofthe welfare State? The framers had no doubt about theanswers to these questions. They were quite consciousof the change in the character of the modern state.They knew that the age of the American Bill of Rightswhich believed in the "perfectibility of man and the ma-lignancy of Government" had gone for ever. And yet, itwas a task of utmost difficulty. This was because theState in India was not yet in a position to guarantee theright to employment or education. It was a matter ofphysical impossibility, not the lack of will. Hence, theydivided these rights into two categories, justiciable andnon-justiciable. Justiciable rights are those which canbe enforced by a court of law. Part III of the Constitutionwhich is entitled "Fundamental Rights" contains justi-ciable rights like the right of life, liberty and property.Part IV, "The Directive principles of State Policy, con-tains non-justiciable rights such as right to employ-ment and education. The citizen has no judicial rem-edy if he is denied the enjoyment of these rights.


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there shall be equal opportunity for all citizens,wherever they are living in matters of employmentunder the State, thereby the universality of Indiancitizenship is emphasized. According to this, theState is prohibited from showing any discriminationagainst any citizen on grounds of religion, caste,race, sex, descent, place of birth or residence. Thenext clauses are in the nature of exceptions.According to the first, residence qualificationsmay be made necessary in the case of appointmentsunder the State for particular positions. But insteadof leaving it to individual States to make any rulesthey like in this regard, the power is vested inParliament to prescribe the requirement as toresidence within the State. This is intended tomake the qualifying test uniform throughout India.The second exception is in favour of reservationof positions in public employment for anybackward class of citizens. This is meant to helpthose who had very little share so far in publicemployment. The determination of a backwardcommunity is a matter that is left to each StateGovernment. The third exception seeks to take outof the scope of the general principle themanagement of the affairs of any religious ordenominational institution under any special lawproviding for the same.

Abolition of Untouchability (Art. 17)Article 17 abolishes "untouchability" and its

practice in any form is made an offence punish-able under the law. No article in the Constitu-tion was adopted with such unanimity and sogreat an acclamation and enthusiasm as thisarticle. The custom of untouchability had notonly thrown millions of the Indian populationinto abysmal gloom and despair, shame anddisgrace, but it had also eaten into the veryvitals of the nation. There would be no bettersign of the determination to eradicate the evilthan incorporating this Article into the chapteron Fundamental Rights in the Constitution.

The Untouchability Offences Act wasamended in 1976 making its penal clauses morestringent. The Act has been also renamed as theProtection of Civil Rights Act. One significantnew provision of the Act is that a personconvicted of an untouchability offence will bedisqualified for contesting the elections. It wasfor the first time that such a provision becamea law in the history of elections in India.

Abolition of Titles (Art. 18)In the creation of a society which seeks to

establish political, social and economic equalityand thereby aspires to become truly democratic,there is no room for some individuals to holdtitles thus creating artificial distinctions amongmembers of the same society. Recognition oftitles and the consequent creation of a hierarchyof aristocracy had been denounced as an anti-democratic practice as early as the eighteenthcentury by both the American and the Frenchrevolutions. In India, the practice of the BritishGovernment conferring a number of titles everyyear mostly on their political supporters andGovernment officers, had already created apeculiar class of nobility among the people. Itwas difficult, on principle, for independentIndia to recognise and accept these titles apartfrom considerations of the merit of those whoheld them. Article 18, therefore, abolished alltitles and the State is prohibited from conferringtitles on any person. The only exception madeto the strict rule of non-recognition of titles isthat provided in favour of academic or militarydistinctions.

Right to Freedom (Art.19)Personal Liberty is the most fundamental of

fundamental rights. Articles 19 to 22 deal withdifferent aspects of this basic right. Takentogether, these four articles form a charter ofpersonal liberties, which provides the backboneof the chapter on Fundamental Rights. Ofthese, Article 19 is the most important and itmay rightly be called the key-article embodyingthe "basic freedoms" under the Constitution,guaranteed to all citizens. These are the rights:1) To freedom of speech and expression.2) To assemble peaceably and without arms.3) To form associations or unions;4) To move freely throughout the territory of

India;5) To reside and settle in any part of the

territory of India and6) To practice any profession, or to carry on

any occupation, trade or business.It is impossible to exaggerate the importance

of these freedoms in any democratic society.Indeed, the very test of a democratic society is


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the extent to which these freedoms are enjoyedby the citizens in general. These freedoms as awhole constitute the liberty of the individual.

What restrictions are put on the freedom ofspeech and expression?

There are eight restrictions on the freedomof speech and expression. These are in respectof the:1. Sovereignty and integrity of India2. Security of the State3. Friendly relations with foreign State4. Public order5. Decency or morality6. Contempt of court7. Defamation8. Incitement to violence

Freedom of the Press

There had been much criticism, both withinConstituent Assembly and outside, of the omis-sion of a specific reference to freedom of thePress and the failure to guarantee it along withthe freedom of speech. The omission wasconsidered a serious lapse on the part of theDrafting Committee by the protagonists of "FreePress" as a separate right. Nevertheless, theDrafting Committee did not think, it necessaryto incorporate right of this nature in the chapterof Fundamental Rights.

Speaking on behalf of the Committee, Dr.Ambedkar said that the Press was merely an-other way of expression of an individual or acitizen. The press has no special rights whichare not to be given or which are not to beexercised by the citizen in his individual capac-ity. The editor of a Press or the managers of thePress are all citizens and, therefore, when theychoose to write in newspapers, they are merelyexercising their right of expression. Therefore,no special mention is necessary of the freedomof the Press. The word "expression" that is usedin Article 19(1) (a) in addition to "speech" iscomprehensive enough to cover the freedom ofPress.

Other rights covered under the Right toFreedom (Art.19)

Right to Assemble [Art. 19 (1) (b) and 19

(3)]: One of the basic protections of free speechis the right of free assembly. In fact, freedomof assembly and freedom of speech go hand inhand. The framers of the Constitution knewthat the right to peaceably assemble, publicdebate and discussion, for political activitiesand such other purposes was essential to makethe freedom of speech and expression real.Hence, the constitutional guarantee to assemblepeaceably and without arms. The right toassembly can be restricted only in the interest ofpublic order and the restrictions ought to bereasonable.

Right to Form Associations and Unions[Art, 19 (1) (c) and 19(4)]: The right guaranteedto form association or unions is more or less acharter for all working people in this country.The right to form associations or union can berestricted only in the interest of public order ormorality. There can be no association or unionfor an illegal or conspiratorial purpose. Nor canthere be an association to further immorality.The right to form associations or unions how-ever, is not available to every citizen in the samemeasure. A member of the public services,although he is a citizen cannot claim the rightto the extent that a private citizen can. Beinga Government servant, he is bound by hisservice rules and he cannot challenge his servicerules on the ground that they stand in his wayof fully enjoying the right to form associations.

Right to Free Movement and to Residence[Art. 19(1) (d), (e) and 19 (5)]: The right to movefreely throughout the territory of India, to resideand settle in any part of it are guaranteed undersub-clauses (d) and (e) respectively of clause (1)of Article 19. The importance of the freedomof movement and residence cannot be exagger-ated. In fact, the enjoyment of the freedomsguaranteed under the other rights dependslargely on the freedom of movement unham-pered and uncircumscribed. The state's powerto place reasonable restrictions of these free-doms is limited.

Freedom of Profession, Occupation, Tradeor Business [Art 19 (1) (g) and 19 (6)]: Article19 (1) (g) guarantees the freedom to practiceany profession or to carry on any occupation,trade or business. A doubt was expressed in theConstituent Assembly whether these were fun-


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damental rights at all. Perhaps the only otherConstitutions which have given them the statusof fundamental rights are those of Ireland andSwitzerland. It seems that the framers of theIndian Constitution had been influenced by thecomplex social system that prevailed in India, inseeking to guarantee rights such as these. It hasbeen the bane of India's social life that profes-sions were inherited rather than acquired. Asociety dominated by Caste, and professionsbased upon Caste or religion, have little to offerfor the building up of a community enlivenedby social mobility and dynamism. Such asociety is often intolerant to persons who changethe traditional professions of their ancestors andis eager to maintain a petrified social order. Aconstitutional guarantee of the right to take upthe profession, calling, trade or business of one'schoice is indeed a significant aid to the buildingup of a dynamic and democratic society.

Protection in Respect of Conviction forOffences (Art-20)

Article 20, affords protection against arbi-trary and excessive punishment to any personwho commits an offence. There are four suchguaranteed protections:(1) A person can be convicted of an offence only

if he has violated a law in force at the timewhen he is alleged to have committed theoffence;

(2) No person can be subjected to greater pen-alty than what might have been given to himunder the law that was prevalent when hecommitted the offence;

(3) No person can be prosecuted and punishedfor the same offence more than once.

(4) No person accused of an offence can becompelled to be a witness against himself.

Protection of Life and Personal Liberty(Art -21)

Article 21, is one of the shortest in theconstitution over which there took place one ofthe longest and most through going discussionsin the Constituent Assembly. It enacts that noperson shall be deprived of his life or personalliberty except according to procedure estab-lished by law.

Article 21, gives protection to life and per-

sonal liberty to the extent therein mentioned. Itdoes not recognise the right to life and personalliberty as an absolute right but limits the scopeof the right itself. The absolute right is, by thedefinition in the article, qualified by the risk ofits being taken away in accordance with theprocedure established by law. It is this circum-scribed right which is substantively protected byArticle 21, as against the executive as well as thelegislature,, for the Constitution has conditionedits deprivation by the necessity for a procedureestablished by law made by the legislature.While sub-clauses 2 to 6 of Article 19 have puta limit on the fundamental right of a citizen,Article 21 along with Article 22 puts a limit onthe power of the State given under Article 246,read with the legislative lists. Under the Con-stitution, life and personal liberty are balancedby restrictions on the rights of the citizens as laiddown in Article 19, and by the checks put uponthe State by Article 21 and 22.

Right to Education (Art-21 A)This right was inserted in the list of fundamen-

tal rights by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002. Itprovides that the State shall provide free andcompulsory education to all children of the age ofsix to fourteen years in such manner as the Statemay, by law, determine.

Protection against Arrest and Detention(Art - 22)

Article 22 guarantees three rights. First, itguarantees the right of every person who isarrested to be informed of the cause of his arrest,secondly, his right to consult, and to be de-fended by a lawyer of his choice. Thirdly, everyperson arrested and detained in custody shall beproduced before the nearest Magistrate withina period of twenty-four hours and shall be keptin continued custody only with his authority.All these rights are without any qualificationsand are, therefore, in absolute terms.

There are however two exceptions to theuniversal application of the rights guaranteedunder the first two clauses of Article 22. Theserelate to.1)Any person who is an enemy alien, or2)Any person who is arrested or detained under

any law providing for preventive detention.


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India owned freedom from foreign rule as aresult of great sacrifices by thousands of patriots.Many of them died in British jails in the courseof the struggle for independence, many othersspent years of their lives in prison. Naturally,freedom and liberty are gift too precious to all ofthem who lived to see India free. And theywanted to safe guard these rights and facilitatetheir enjoyment as best as possible. Against thisbackground it is easy to understand and appre-ciate the deep rooted feeling against what hap-pened to be personal freedom during the emer-gency. At the same time, it must be rememberedthat democratic freedom in India is still tooyoung and tender a plant to be capable ofdefending itself easily against overt or covertonslaughts that may be directed against it byelements which have no regard either for demo-cratic liberties or orderly progress. Vigilance isstill required to protect the country's hard wonfreedom and national unity from forces of sub-version and violent revolution.

Right against Exploitation (Art. 23 & 24)Article 23 and 24 deal with the right against

exploitation. Article 23 which prohibits trafficin human beings and beggar; and similar formsof forced labour. This provision in Indian Con-stitution is comparable to the Thirteenth Amend-ment of the American Constitution abolishingslavery or involuntary servitude. At the time ofthe adoption of the Constitution there washardly anything like slavery or the widespreadpractice of forced labour in any part of India.The National Freedom Movement since thetwentieth century had been a rallying forceagainst such practices. However, there weremany areas of the country where "untouch-ables" were being exploited in several ways bythe higher castes and richer classes.

According to Article 24, no child below theage of 14 years shall be employed to work in anyfactory or mine or engaged in any other hazard-ous employment. This Article is now intimatelyrelated to a Fundamental Rights as well asFundamental Duties which call upon the Stateto enforce Universal Compulsory and Free Pri-mary Education to all children in the country upto the age of 14 years. This comes of therealisation that children should prepare duringthis period for the task of the future as useful

and responsible citizens. Employment of chil-dren is an uncivilized and even inhuman prac-tice. It is exploitation. It stunts their growth,corrupts their moral fibre and often drives themto delinquency. Naturally, it must be prohibitedand incentives to divert them from employmentshould be provided.

Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25to 28)

It is a paradox that while almost everyreligion stands for and preaches the universalbrotherhood of man; religion has been a con-stant source of conflict in human history. Theidea of guaranteed fundamental rights itselfwas a device directed towards the avoidance ofsuch a contingency. The right to freedom ofspeech and expression, and the right to formassociations and unions are also rights whichguarantee religious speech and expression andthe right to form religious associations andunions. But the Constituent Assembly was notsatisfied with such provisions alone in its bid toinfuse complete confidence in the religious mi-norities. It went a step further and adopted aseparate group of articles dealing solely with theright of freedom of religion. The freedomsprovided in Articles 25, 26, 27, and 28 areconceived in most generous terms to the com-plete satisfaction of religious minorities.

Article 26, is in fact, a corollary to Article 25and guarantees the freedom to manage religiousaffairs. According to this, every religious de-nomination is given the right (a) to establishand maintain institutions for religious and chari-table purposes, (b) to manage its own affairs inmatters of religion, (c) to own and acquiremovable and immovable property, and (d) toadminister such property in accordance withlaw. Article 27 provides an additional protec-tion to religious activity by exempting fundsappropriated towards the promotion or main-tenance of any particular religion from thepayment of taxes.

It further may be noted that the provisionsof the Indian Constitution regarding the right toreligious liberty cover all the freedoms relatingto religion set forth in the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, which was adopted by theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations at thePalais de Chaillot, Paris, on December 10, 1948.This document states, "Everyone has the right


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to freedom of though, conscience and religion,this right includes freedom to change his reli-gion or belief, and freedom either alone or incommunity with others and in public or private,to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,practice, worship and observance." Since theUN General Assembly has proclaimed this Dec-laration of Human Rights as a common stan-dard of achievement for all peoples and allnations, Indians may well be proud that at leastin the matter of religious freedom their Consti-tution represents a world ideal.

Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles29 and 30)

Under Article 29 and 30, certain cultural andeducational rights are guaranteed. Section (1) ofArticle 29, guarantees the right of any section of thecitizen residing in any part of the country havinga distinct language, script or culture of its own, toconserve the same. Section (2) prohibits anydiscrimination based only on religion, race, caste,language or any of them in the matter of admissionto State or State-aided educational institutions.

Section (1) of Article 30 provides that "allminorities, whether based on religion or lan-guage, shall have the right to establish andadminister educational institutions of theirchoice". According to section (2) the State shallnot, in granting aid to educational institutions,discriminate against any educational institutionon the ground that it is under the managementof minority community, whether based on reli-gion or language.

Article 30 is a charter of educational rights.It guarantees in absolute terms the right oflinguistic and religious minorities to establishand administer educational institutions of theirchoice and, at the same time, claim grants-in-aidwithout any discrimination based upon religionor language. The fact that the Constitution doesnot impose any express restriction in the scopeof the enjoyment of this right, unlike most of therights included in the chapter on FundamentalRights, shows that the framers intended to makeits scope unfettered. This does not, however,mean that the State cannot impose reasonablerestrictions of the regulatory character for main-taining standards of education. This point hasbeen made abundantly clear in judicial pro-nouncements.

Special significance of Religious,Educational and Cultural Rights

Taking the right guaranteed under religious,educational and cultural fields as a whole, itmust be noted that these are couched in themost comprehensive language, and the maxi-mum possible freedom is guaranteed to theminorities, religious and linguistic. The specialsignificance of these provisions is that while theimpact of other rights in Part-III of the Constitu-

WHAT ARE THE RESTRICTIONS ON THEFREEDOM OF RELIGION?

Although the freedom of religion guaranteed by Ar-ticle 25 of Indian Constitution is wide in scope, it is farfrom being absolute. It is subject to public order, mo-rality and health, and to the other provision of Part III ofthe Constitution Article 25(1). This freedom also shallnot affect the operation of any existing law, or preventthe State from making any law:

(a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial,political or other secular activity which may be associ-ated with religious practice, and

(b) regulating for social welfare and reform or thethrowing open of Hindu religious institutions of a pub-lic character to all classes and sections of Hindus.

Other provisions related to SecularismIn conformity with the principle of the

Secular State, the Constitution of India estab-lishes a single common citizenship. The Stateshall not discriminate against any citizen ongrounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, placeof birth or any of them Article 15(1). Inparticular, no citizen shall, on grounds only ofreligion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or anyof them, be subject to any disability, restrictionor condition with regard to : (a) access toshops, public restaurants, hotels and places ofpublic entertainment, or (b) the use of wells,tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places ofpublic resort maintained wholly or partly outof State funds or dedicated to the use of thegeneral public Article 15 (2). The educationalfacilities provided by the State are to be en-joyed equally by all the citizens. No citizenshall be denied admission into any educationalinstitution funded by the State or receiving aidout of State funds on grounds only of religion,race, caster, language or any of them [Article29 (2)].


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tion is on the people of India as a whole,irrespective of religion, caste, race, or language,that of these rights is only on the minorities.The democratic basis of the Constitution wouldbe lost if the minorities were not given adequateprotection to preserve their religious believes,and institutions of education and culture, theConstitution may then be branded as an instru-ment for the furtherance of the majority com-munity and the language of the majority.Naturally, resentment against such a positionwould manifest all over the country. Moreover,such a position would have discredited thefoundation of the national movement againstforeign rule, in which every religious and lin-guistic minority in India was represented andsolemn promises had been made by representa-tive of the majority community to safeguard thelegitimate interests of the minorities against allforms of tyranny in a free India.

Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art. 32)

A declaration of fundamental rights is mean-ingless unless there is an effective machinery forthe enforcement of the rights. Hence the fram-ers of the Constitution were in favour of adopt-ing special provisions guaranteeing the right toconstitutional remedies. This, again, is in tunewith the nature in general of the various pro-visions embodied in the chapter on Fundamen-tal Rights. Article 32 has four sections.

� The first section is general in scope and saysthat "the right to move the Supreme Courtby appropriate proceedings for the enforce-ment of the rights conferred by this Part isguaranteed".

� The second section deals, in more specificterms, with the power of the Supreme Courtto issue writs including writs in the natureof habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition,quo warranto and certiorari for the enforce-ment of any of the rights.

� The third section empowers Parliament toconfer the power of issuing writs or orderson any other court without prejudice to thepower of the Supreme Court in this respect.So far, Parliament has not passed any lawconferring the power of issuing writs on anycourts.

� The last section deals with the conditionsunder which this right can be suspended.As the guardian of fundamental rights the

Supreme Court has two types of jurisdiction,original and appellate. Under its original juris-diction, any person who complains that hisfundamental rights have been violated withinthe territory of India may move the SupremeCourt seeking an appropriate remedy. The factthat they may have a remedy in any of the HighCourts does not preclude him from going di-rectly to the Supreme Court.

WritsHabeas corpus - 'You may have the body'

(a person unlawfully detained is sought to be setat liberty)

Mandamus: 'We order' (commanding aperson or a body to do that which it is his, orits duty)

Prohibition: Issued primarily to prevent aninferior court from exceeding its jurisdiction

Certiorari: Orders the removal of a suit froman inferior court to a superior court

Quo warranto: Restrains a person fromacting in a office to which he is not entitled

Habeas CorpusHabeas corpus is a Latin term which literally

means "You may have the body". Under thelaw of England, as a result of long usage, theterm came to signify a prerogative writ, aremedy with which a person unlawfully de-tained is sought to be set at liberty. It ismentioned as early as the fourteenth century inEngland and was formalized in the Habeascorpus Act of 1679. The privilege of the use ofthis writ was regarded as a foundation ofhuman freedom and the British citizen insistedupon the privilege wherever he went whetherfor business or colonization. This is how it founda place in the Constitution of the United Stateswhen the British colonies in America won theirindependence and established a new State underthat Constitution.

In India, under the Constitution, the powerto issue writ of habeas corpus is vested only inthe Supreme Court and High Courts. The writis a direction of the Court to a person who is


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detaining another, commanding him to bring thebody of the person in his custody at a specifiedtime to a specified place for a specified purpose.

A writ of habeas corpus has only one pur-pose: to set at liberty a person who is confinedwithout legal justification; to secure release fromconfinement of a person unlawfully detained.The writ does not punish the wrong-doer. If thedetention is proved unlawful, the person whosecures liberty through the writ may proceedagainst the wrong - doer in any appropriatemanner. The writ is issued not only againstauthorities of the State but also to private indi-viduals or organisations if necessary.

MandamusThe Latin word 'mandamus' means 'we or-

der'. The writ of 'mandamus' is an order of theHigh Court or the Supreme Court commandinga person or a body to do that which it is his, orits duty to do. Usually, it is an order directingthe performance of ministerial acts. A ministerialact is one which a person or body is obliged bylaw to perform under given circumstances. Forinstance, a licensing officer is obliged to issue alicense to an applicant if the latter fulfills all theconditions laid down for the issue of such license.Similarly, an appointing authority should issue aletter of appointment to a candidate if all theformalities of selection are over and if the can-didate is declared fit for the appointment. Butdespite the fulfillment of such conditions, if theofficer or the authority concerned refuses or failsto issue the appointment letter, the aggrievedperson has a right to seek the remedy through awrit of 'mandamus'. There are three essentialconditions for the issue of writ of 'mandamus'.� First, the applicant must show that he has

a real and special interest in the subjectmatter and a specific legal right to enforce.

� Secondly, he must show that there resides in hima legal right to the performance sought, and;

� Finally, that there is no other equally effec-tive, convenient and beneficial remedy.

ProhibitionA writ of prohibition is issued primarily to

prevent an inferior court from exceeding itsjurisdiction or acting contrary to the rule ofnatural justice, for example, to restrain a judge

from hearing a case in which he is personallyinterested. The term 'inferior courts' compre-hends special tribunals, commissions, magis-trates and officers who exercise judicial powers,affecting the property or right of the citizen andact in a summary way or in a new coursedifferent from the common law. It is wellestablished that the writ lies only against a bodyexercising public functions of a judicial or quasi-judicial character and cannot in the nature ofthings be utilised to restrain legislative powers.

CertiorariCertiorari is an ancient prerogative writ

which order the removal of a suit from aninferior court to a superior court. It may be usedbefore a trial to prevent an excess or abuse ofjurisdiction and to remove the case for trial to ahigher court. It is invoked also after trial to quashan order which has been without jurisdiction orin defiance of the rules of natural justice.

Often a writ of Certiorari is sought alongwith prohibition, so that not merely may aninvalid act be reviewed by a superior court(certiorari), but its operation may also be re-strained (prohibition). While prohibition andcertiorari are so intimately related to each other,prohibition is the converse of mandamus. Theformer is invoked to prevent a court or otherauthority form doing something which it hasnot the power to do, while the latter is calledin aid to require it to do something which it isbound to do.

Quo WarrantoThe writ of quo warranto is a common law

process of great antiquity. According to this,the High Courts or the Supreme Court maygrant an injuction to restrain a person fromacting in a office to which he is not entitled andmay also declare the office to be vacant. Whatthe court has to consider in an application fora writ of quo warranto is whether there hasbeen usurpation of an office of a public natureand office is substantive in character, i.e., officeindependent in title. It is a remedy given by lawat the discretion of the Court and is not issuedas a matter of course. An application for theissue of a writ of quo warranto is maintainableonly in respect of offices of public nature whichare the creation of statute and not againstprivate institutions.


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DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATEPOLICY

Part IV of the Indian Constitution whichdeals with the Directive Principles of StatePolicy, is directly connected with the Preamble.The Preamble gives us the fundamental prin-ciples on which the Constitution has beenfounded and the Directive Principles of StatePolicy lay down the fundamental principlesaccording to which the Constitution is to beoperated. Though the Directive Principles arenot enforceable in a Court, they are fundamen-tal in the governance of the country and it is theduty of the State to apply these principles inmaking laws. The provisions contained in thisPart, shall not be enforceable by any court, butthe principles the in laid down are neverthelessfundamental in the governance of the countryand it shall be the duty of the State to applythese principles in making laws.

Part IV (Articles 37 to 51) contains whatmay be described as the active obligations of theState. The State shall secure a social order inwhich social, economic and political justiceshall inform all the institutions of national life.Wealth and its source of production shall not beconcentrated in the hands of the few but shallbe distributed so as to subserve the commongood, and there shall be adequate means oflivelihood for all and equal pay for equal work.The State shall endeavour to secure the healthand strength of workers, the right to his rightto education is subject to the limits of economiccapacity and development of the State.

What are the different categories ofDPSPs?

The Directive Principles covering Article 38to 51 of the Indian Constitution can be classifiedin the following categories:(a) Socialistic Principles : (i) Adequate means

of livelihood for all citizens; (ii) fair distribu-tion of wealth and material resources amongall classes and to prevent concentration ofwealth in a few hands; (iii) equal pay forequal work for men as well as women; and(iv) to secure just and humane conditions ofwork and maternity relief.

(b) Gandhian Principles : (i) To organise villagepanchayats and to endowing them with

such powers and authority as may be nec-essary to enable them toe function as unitsof self-government; (ii) to promote cottageindustries on individual or co-operative ba-sis in rural areas; (iii) the safeguard andpromote the educational and economic in-terests or the scheduled castes and sched-uled tribes; (iv) to bring about the prohibi-tion and consumption of intoxicating liquor;and (v) to organise agriculture and animalhusbandry on modern and scientific linesand in particular prohibit slaughter of cows.

(c) Liberal Principles : (i) To secure uniformand liberal code of law for all citizens ofIndia; (ii) to separate the judiciary from theexecutive; (iii) to raise the standard of nutri-tion and standard of living of the people; (iv)to protect monuments of historical and na-tional interest; (v) equal justice and free legalaid to economically backward classes; (vi)participation of workers in management oforganisations engaged in any industry; and(vii) promotion and improvement of envi-ronment and safeguarding of forests andwild life.

(d) Provisions relating to be InternationalPeace and Security : (i) To promote interna-tional peace and security ; and to maintainjust and honourable relations between na-tions; (iii) to foster respect for internationallaw and treaty obligations; (iv) to encouragesettlement of disputes by arbitration.

WHAT IS SUPERIOR - FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTSOR DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES?

It is now universally recognised that the differencebetween the fundamental rights and the directive prin-ciples lies in this that the fundamental rights are pri-marily aimed at assuring political freedom to the citi-zens by protecting them against excessive State actionwhile the directive principles are aimed at securingsocial and economic freedom by appropriate action.The fundamental rights are intended to foster the idealof a political democracy and to prevent the establish-ment of authoritarian rule but they are of no value un-less they can be enforced by resort to courts, so theyare made justiciable. However, notwithstanding theirgreat importance the directive principles cannot in theirnature of things be enforced in a court of law. It isunimaginable that any court can compel a legislatureto make a law. If the court can compel Parliament tomake laws then parliamentary democracy would soonbe reduced to a oligarchy of judges. It is for this rea-


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DPSPs explained

State to secure a social order for the pro-motion of welfare of the people: The Stateshall strive to promote the welfare of the peopleby securing and protecting as effectively as itmay a social order in which justice, social,economic and political, shall inform all theinstitutions of the national life.

Certain principles of policy to be followed bythe State: The State shall, in particular, direct itspolicy towards securing -(a) that the citizens, men and women equally,

have the right to an adequate means oflivelihood.

(b) that the ownership and control of the mate-rial resources of the community are so distrib-uted as best to subserve the common good;

(c) that the operation of the economic systemdoes not result in the concentration of wealthand means of production to the commondetriment;

(d) that there is equal pay for equal work forboth men and women;

(e) that the health and strength of workers, menand women, and the tender age of childrenare not abused and that citizens are notforced by economic necessity to enter voca-tions unsuited to their age or strength;

(f) that children are given opportunities andfacilities to develop in a healthy manner and

in conditions of freedom and dignity andthat childhood and youth are protectedagainst exploitation and against moral andmaterial abandonment.This article specifically requires the State to

ensure for its people adequate means of liveli-hood, fair distribution of wealth, equal pay forequal work and protection of children andlabour. Article 39 (b) and (c) together with otherprovisions of the Constitution contain the mainobjectives, namely, the building of a welfaresociety and an equalitarian social order in theIndian Union. When the Constitution-makersenvisaged development in social , economic andpolitical fields, they did not desire that it shouldbe a society where a citizen will have the dignityof the individual.

Equal justice and free legal aid: The Stateshall secure that the operation of the legalsystem promotes justice, on a basis of equalopportunity, and shall, in particular, providefree legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemesor in another way, to ensure that opportunitiesfor securing justice are not denied to any citizenby reason of economic or other disabilities.

Organisation of village panchayats: TheState shall take steps to organise villagepanchayats and down them with such powersand authority as may be necessary to enablethem to function as units of self-government.Under this article, the State is expected to takesteps to organize village panchayats and endowthem with such powers and authority as maybe necessary to enable them to function as unitsof self-government. But, this directive is to beread with the directive contained in Article 50which lays down the principle of separation ofthe executive from the judiciary. The organisationof village panchayats must be carried out inpractice consistently with Article 50 so as tomaintain the fundamental principle of the ruleof law. Power of the people, which is the soulof a republic, stands subverted if decentralisationand devolution desiderated in Article 40 isignored by the executive in action even afterholding elections to the floor-level of adminis-trative bodies.

Right to work, to education and to publicassistance in certain cases: The State shall,within the limits of its economic capacity and

son that the Constitution says that the directive prin-ciples shall not be enforceable by courts. However, itdoes not mean that the directive principles are lessimportant than the fundamental rights for the simplereason that they are not judicially enforceable. Article37 of the Constitution emphatically states that direc-tive principles are nevertheless fundamental in the gov-ernance of the country and it shall be the duty of theState to apply these principles in making principles ininterpreting the Constitution and the laws. The direc-tive principles thus be interpreted in he light of thedirective principles and the latter should the Constitu-tion must be ever present in the minds of the judgeswhen interpreting statues which concern themselvesdirectly or indirectly with matters set out in the direc-tive principles. In Bandhaua Mukti Morcha v. Union ofIndia52, the Court has also held that thought he direc-tive principles are unenforceable by the courts andthe courts cannot direct the legislature or executive toenforce them, the State to enforce the law, particularlywhen non-enforcement of law leads to denial of a fun-damental right.


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development, make effective provision for se-curing the right to work, to education and topublic assistance in cases of unemployment, oldage, sickness and disablement, and in othercases of undeserved want. The State is directedby this article to ensure to the people within thelimits of its economic capacity and develop-ment: (i) employment, (ii) education, and (iii)public assistance in cases of unemployment, oldage, sickness and disablement and in other casesof undeserved want.

Provision for just and humane conditions ofwork and maternity relief: The State shall makeprovision for securing just and humane condi-tions of work and for maternity relief. Thesedirectives, like those contained in Article 38,relate to economic rights.

Living wage etc. for workers - The State shallendeavour to secure, by suitable legislation oreconomic organisation or in any other way, toall workers, agricultural, industrial or other-wise, work, a living wage, conditions of workensuring a decent standard of life and fullenjoyment of leisure and social and culturalopportunities and, in particular State shall en-deavour to promote cottage industries on an orco-operative basis in rural areas.

This article requires the State to strive tosecure to the worker work, a living age, condi-tions of work ensuring a decant standard of lifeand full enjoyment leisure and social and cul-tural opportunities. The last portion of thearticle lays emphasis on the promotion of cot-tage industries on an 'individual or co-oprativebasis in rural areas'. Article 43 read with Article38 requires the State to provide work but notnecessarily a job in State civil service or asecurity against the termination of such servicefor good cause.

Important cases related to fixation of mini-mum wages of labourers are -

� Bijay Cotton Mills Ltd. v. State of Ajmer� Standard Vaccum Refining Co. of India v.

WorkmenParticipation of workers in management of

industries: The state shall take steps, by suitablelegislation or in any other way, to secure theparticipation of workers in the management ofundertakings, establishment or other

organisations engaged in any industry. In up-holding the right of workers to be heard in thewinding up proceedings of a company, thecourt drew support from this article.

Uniform civil code for the citizens: TheState shall endeavour to secure for the citizensa uniform civil code throughout territory ofIndia. This article requires on the State to takesteps for establishing a uniform civil codethroughout the territory of India. Two objec-tions were put forward in the ConstituentAssembly against the making of a uniform civilcode applying throughout India: firstly, it wouldinfringe the fundamental right to freedom ofreligion mentioned in Article 25 and secondly,it would be a tyranny to the minority. The firstobjection is misconceived. The directive con-tained in Article 44 in no way infringes thefreedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25.Clause (2) of that article specifically saves secu-lar activities associated with religious practicesfrom the guarantee of religious freedom con-tained in clause (1) of Article 25.

Promotion of educational and economicinterests of Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes and other weaker sections: The Stateshall promote with special care the educationaland economic interests of the weaker sections ofthe people, and, in particular, of the ScheduledCastes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shallprotect them from social injustice and all formsof exploitation. In States of Madras v.Champakam Dorairajan', the Supreme Courtrefused to let the Fundamental Right declaredin Article 29(2) to be whittled down by thisarticle. The Court asserted the supremacy of thefundamental rights over the Directive Principlesof State Policy.

Duty of the State to raise the level ofnutrition and the standard of living and toimprove public health: The State shall regardthe raising of the level of nutrition and thestandard of living of its people and improve-ment of public health as among its primaryduties and, in particular, the State shall endeav-our to bring about prolongation of the con-sumption except for medicinal purposes of in-toxicating drinks and of drugs which are inju-rious to health. No one has a legal right to sellliquor. From the earliest times it has been found


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exdpedient to control the use and traffic inliquor, and this control embraces both regula-tory and prohibitory measures. This doctrinehas been recognised by the Directive Principlesof State Policy in this article.

Organisation of agriculture and animalhusbandary: The State shall endeavour toorganise agriculture and animal husbandry onmodern and scientific lines and shall, in particu-lar, take steps for preserving and improving thebreeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cowsand calves and other milch and draught cattle.The protection recommended by this part of thedirective is confined only to cows and calvesand to those animals which are presently orpotentially capable of yielding milk or of doingwork as draught cattle, but does, not from thevery nature of the purpose for which it isobviously recommended, extend to cattle, suchthought at one time were milch or draughtcattle have ceased to be such.

Protection and improvement of environ-ment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife: The State shall endeavour to protect andimprove the environment and to safeguard theforests and wild life of the country. The Envi-ronment (Protection Act, 1986 and the Wild Life(Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 1986 areamong the steps taken under this article.

Protection of monuments and places andobjects of national importance: It shall be theobligation of the State to protect every monu-ment or place or object of artistic or historicinterest, (declared by or under law made byParliament) to be of national importance, fromspoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal,disposal or export, as the case may be.

Separation of judiciary from executive:The State shall take steps to separate the judi-ciary from the executive in the public servicesof the State. The Constitution has not indeedrecognised the doctrine of separation of powersin its absolute rigidity but the functions of thedifferent parts of the branches have been suffi-ciently differentiated and consequently it canvery well be said that our Constitution does notcontemplate assumption, by one organ or partof the State of functions that essentially belongto another. Broadly stated, Article 45 providesthat there shall be a separate judicial service freefrom executive control.

Promotion of international peace and secu-rity: The State shall endeavour to(a) promote international peace and security.;(b) maintain just and honourable relations be-

tween nations;

(c) foster respect for international law and treatobligations in the dealings of organisedpeoples with one another; and

(d) encourage settlement of international dis-putes by arbitration

Fundamental Rights vs. DirectivePrinciples of State Policy

It should be remembered that the Preamble,the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Prin-ciples are all integral parts of the same constitu-tional edifice. They are all equally important andhave to be read with each other. The emphasisin the entire scheme of the Constitution underthe headings of the Preamble, the FundamentalRights and the Directive Principles is on buildingan egalitarian society and on the concept ofsocio-economic justice. Inasmuch as the Direc-tive Principles, though declared to be fundamen-tal as guiding principles for making and admin-istering laws, were not made enforceable incourts of law, they represented subtle compro-mise between what the framers, as the leaders ofthe freedom struggle, looked upon as the ideal orthe goal and what, as realists, they found to beimmediately feasible. The Fundamental Rightsand the Directive Principles together constitutedthe soul of the Constitution.

It is now clearly understood that there is noessential dichotomy between Rights and Dutiesor between the Fundamentally Rights and the

Directive in Other Parts of IndianConstitution (Not in Part IV)

The following Directives are also non-justiciable:� Art. 350 A: Enjoins every State and every local

authority within the State to provide adequate facili-ties for instruction in the mother tongue at primarystage to children of linguistic minorities.

� Art 351 A: Enjoins the Union to promote the spreadof Hindi language so that if may serve as a me-dium of expression of all the elements of thecomposite culture of India.

� Art 355 A: Claims of Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes shall be taken into consider-ation, consistently with the maintenance of effi-ciency of administration, in the making of appoint-ments to services and posts in connection withaffairs of Union or of a State.


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Directive Principles. They complement andsupplement each other (Kesavananda Bharti v.State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 146). If the Funda-mental Rights represent the don'ts for the Gov-ernment and the legislature, the Directive Prin-ciples represent the do's. There is no conflict.

Again, while speaking on the constitutionFourth Amendment in the Lok Sabha, Nehrudeclared that the responsibility for the economicand social welfare policies of the nation shouldlie with Parliament and not with the courts. Inso far as the decisions of courts had shown thatthere was some inherent contradiction betweenthe Fundamental Rights and the Directive Prin-ciples, it was for Parliament to remove thecontradiction and "make Fundamental Rightssubserve the Directive Principles of State Policy."

A distinction is sometimes sought to be madebetween what may be called 'positive rights'and 'negative rights'. Broadly speaking, whilePart III deals with areas of individual freedomand the extent to which the State can restrainit, Part IV deals with positive duties cast uponthe State to attain the ideal of social andeconomic justice. Even among the fundamentalrights, however, there are some positive injunc-tions which seek to protect the interests of thesociety and the rights of the poor citizens fromencroachment by entrenched sections. Thus,article 17 abolished untouchability and makesits practice in any form an offence punishableby law. Article 15 inter alia provides that nocitizen shall be discriminated against in the useof public places like shops, wells, roads, eatinghouses etc. on account of his religion, race,caste, sex or place of birth. Article 23 prohibitsanother great social evil, that of forced labour.The whole effort has been to ensure that thefundamental rights of the citizens do not degen-erate into the liberties of the few against theinterests of the many.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

The fundamental duties which were addedby the Forty-second Amendment of the Consti-tution in 1976, in addition to creating andpromoting a culture, also strengthen the handsof the legislature in enforcing these duties vis-a-vis the fundamental rights. Even though PartIV A, laying down certain duties of the Indian

citizens, is one of the most valuable parts of theConstitution. It is also the most neglected.

While the Fundamental Rights provisionscovered the rights of the individual and theDirective Principles the duties of the State, therewere until 1976 no provisions in our Constitu-tion laying down the duties of the individual.For every right, there is a corresponding duty.Duty is an inalienable part of right; the tworepresent the two sides of the same coin. Whatis duty for one is another's right and vice versa.If all men have a right to life, a duty is also castupon all men to respect human life and not toinjure another person.

Ten Fundamental Duties were incorporatedin the Constitution under Art. 51 A through the42nd Amendment in 1976 on the recommenda-tion of Swaran Singh Committee. Eleventh dutywas added by 86th Amendment in 2002. Theseconsist of:1. abiding by the Constitution and national

flag respectively;2. to cherish and follow noble ideas of our

freedom struggle;3. to maintain integrity;4. to render national service when called upon

to do so;5. to promote common brotherhood and har-

mony;6. to preserve the rich heritage of our compos-

ite culture;7. to protect and improve our environment;8. to develop scientific temper and humanism;9. to abjure violence and;

10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres oflife.

11. to provide opportunities for education tochild/ward aged 6-14 years.The fundamental duties are not justiciable

like Fundamental Rights. However, a person isliable to punishment if he deliberately violatesthem. Like the duties of the State under theDirective Principles, the duties of citizens alsocannot be enforced by courts. There is noprovision in the Constitution for ensuring theircompliance or for punishing their violation. Butthe courts can certainly take them into consid-eration while construing a law amenable tomore than one interpretation. Article 51 A (g)regarding protection of environment has par-


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ticularly come up before the courts. In theultimate analysis, the only way to bring aboutadherence to fundamental duties is throughpublic opinion and education in citizenshipvalues and duties, and building adequate aware-ness and a congenial climate wherein everycitizen feels proud and bound to perform hisconstitutional duties to the nation and pay hisdebt to society.

PRESIDENT OF INDIAIn the parliamentary set up of Government,

the Executive is responsible for legislation. TheBritish model of parliamentary form was foundto be most viable for Indian set up. In this systemof parliamentary democracy, President, who isindirectly elected, is also the Head of the State.The executive powers of the Union Governmentare vested in the President. The President is alsothe Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.There is no constitutional bar on the number oftime a person can be elected as President. Theconvention of two-terms, which was started inNehruvian period, did not last too long andfrom the last few Presidents Indians have re-sorted to one-term convention. The President isnot a member of either House of Parliament orfor that matter a State Legislature. The term ofthe office is five years though there are provi-sions that it can be terminated in between. Itcan be terminated on four infra mentionedgrounds : (1) by resignation in writing to theVice President of India, (2) by impeachment forviolation of the Constitution; (3) by death, and(4) invalidation of President's election by theSupreme Court of India.

What qualifications are required for theoffice of the President of India?

In order to be qualified for election as thePresident of India, a person must ---(a) be a citizen of India;(b) have completed the age of thirty-five years;(c) be qualified for election as a member of the

House of the People; and(d) must not hold and office of profit under the

Government of India or the Government ofany State or under any local or other author-ity subject to the control of any of the saidGovernments [Art. 58]

But a sitting President or Vice-President of theUnion or the Governor of any State or a Ministereither for the Union or for any State is notdisqualified for election as President [Art 58]

Election of The PresidentThe President is elected by an electoral col-

lege consisting of elected members of both Housesof Parliament and the State Legislative Assem-blies. In this provision, the term "State" includesthe National Capital Territory of Delhi and theUnion Territory of Pondicherry. Indirect elec-tion is resorted to because President is supposedto be a nominal titular Head of the State actingon the advice of Council of Ministers headed bythe Prime Minister. Members of the State Leg-islative Councils are excluded from participat-ing in President's election. In the Electoral Col-lege each member has one vote though the valueof each vote is different from one State to theother. Likewise, the value of vote of the Memberof Parliament also differs from the value of voteof the members of a Legislative Assembly. Theelection does take account of the fact that Stateshave their uniform representation and parity ismaintained between the Union and the States.This is also culminated into the fact that federalethos is further strengthened.

Why indirect election of President was sup-ported by the framers of Indian Constitution?

Indirect election of President gives recognitionto the status of the States in the federal system. Thesystem of indirect election was criticised by someas falling short of the democratic ideal underlyinguniversal franchise, but indirect election of Presi-dent was supported by the framers of the Consti-tution the following grounds:(i) Direct election by an electorate of some one

billion of people would mean a tremendousloss of time, energy and money

(ii) Under the system of responsible Governmentintroduced by the Constitution, real powerwould vest in the ministry; so, it would beanomalous to elect the President directly bythe people without giving him real powers.

Term of Office of PresidentThe President's term of office is five years

from the date on which he enters upon hisoffice; but he is eligible for re-election [Arts 56-


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57]. The President may resign his office bywriting under his hand addressed to the VicePresident of India,

He can also be removed from his office forviolation of the Constitution, by the process ofimpeachment [Art. 56]. The only ground forimpeachment specified in Art. 61(1) is 'violationof the Constitution'.

Procedure for impeachment of thePresident

An impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedurein Parliament. Either House may prefer the chargeof violation of the Constitution before the otherHouse which shall then either investigate the chargeitself or cause the charge to be investigated. But thecharge cannot be preferred by a House unless-(a) a resolution containing the proposal is moved

after a 14 days' notice in writing signed bynot less than 1/4 of the total number ofmembers of that House; and

(b) the resolution is then passed by majority ofnot less than 2/3 of the total membership ofthe House.The President shall have a right to appear and

to be represented at such investigation. If, as a resultof the investigation, a resolution is passed by not lessthan 2/3 of the total membership of the Housebefore which the charge has been preferred declar-ing that the charge has been sustained, suchresolution shall have the effect of removing thePresident from his office with effect from the dateon which such resolution is passed [Art. 61].

Since the Constitution provides the mode andground for removing the President he cannotremoved otherwise than by impeachment inaccordance with the terms of Arts. 56 and 61.

Conditions of President's OfficeThe President shall not be a member of either

House of Parliament or of a House of thelegislature of any State, and if a member ofeither House of Parliament or a House of theLegislature of any State be elected President, heshall be deemed to have vacated his seat in thatHouse on the date on which he enters upon hisoffice as President shall not hold any other officeof profit [Art 59 (1)].

Powers & Functions of The PresidentThe Constitution says that the "executive

WHAT EFFECT THE 44TH AMENDMENT HAD ONTHE PRESIDENT?

After 44th Amendment, except in certain marginalcases referred to by the Supreme Court, the Presi-dent shall have no power to act in his discretion anycase. He must act according to the advice given tohim by the Council of Ministers, headed by the PrimeMinisters, so that refusal to act according to such ad-vice will render him liable to impeachment for viola-tion of the Constitution. This is subject to thePresident's new power to send the advance receivedfrom the Council of Ministers, in a particular case, backto them for their reconsiderations; and if the Councilof Ministers adheres to their previous advice, the Presi-dent shall have no option but to act in accordancewith such advice. The power to return for reconsidera-tion can be exercised only once, on the same matter.

power of the Union shall be vested in thePresident" [Art. 53]. The President of India shallthus be the head of the 'executive power' of theUnion. Before we take up an analysis of thedifferent powers of the Indian President, weshould note the constitutional limitations underwhich he is to exercise his executive powers. Itmay be said that the powers of the Presidentwill be the powers of his Ministers, in the samemanner as the prerogatives of the English Crownhave become the 'privileges of the people' (Dicey)An inquiry into the powers of the Union Gov-ernment, therefore, presupposes an inquiry intothe provision of the Constitution which vestpowers and functions in the President.

The Indian Constitution, by its various pro-visions, vests the following powers in the handsof the President under the expression 'executivepower', subject to certain limitations.

1. Executive Powers: The executive powerof the Union is vested in the President. Theexecutive power does not only mean the execu-tion of laws passed by the legislative but also thepowers to carry on the business of the Govern-ment, However, it is evident that President isnot free to use his powers, rather he acts(binding) on the advises of the Council ofMinisters. In this regard, the 42nd Amendmentis a mile-stone. The 44th Amendment, how-ever, did loosen the grip to some extent as itgave the President of India the right to return


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a bill for reconsideration of the Cabinet and isbound to give his consent when returned. Inbroad perspective, one can say that administra-tive powers of the President include administra-tive powers and military powers. Administra-tively, the President may not discharge anyfunction as there are ministries responsible forsuch an act. This way President becomes aformal head and action is taken in his name.

In the matter of administration, not being areal head of the Executive like the AmericanPresident, the Indian President shall not haveany administrative function to discharge norshall he have that power of control and super-vision over the Departments of the Governmentas the American President possesses. But thoughthe various departments of Government of theUnion will be carried on under the control andresponsibility of the respective Ministers incharge, the President will remain the formalhead of administration, and as such, all execu-tive action of the Union must be expressed to betaken in the name of the President. The onlymode of ascertaining whether an order or in-strument is made by the Government of Indiawill be to see whether it is expressed in the nameof the President and authenticated in suchmanner as may be prescribed by rules to bemade by the President [Art. 77]. For the samereason, all contacts and assurance of propermade on behalf of the Government of Indiamust be expressed to be made by the Presidentand executed in such manner as the Presidentmay direct or authorise [Art. 299].

Again, though he may not be the 'real' headof the administration, all officers of the Unionshall be his 'subordinate' [Art. 53(1)] and heshall have a right to be informed of the affairsof the Union. [Art. 78(b)]. The administrativepower also includes the power to appoint andremove the high dignitaries of the State.

Under Indian Constitution, the Presidentshall have the power to appoint -

(i) The Prime Minister of India.(ii) Other Ministers of the Union.

(iii) The Attorney - General for India.(iv) The Comptroller and Auditor General of

India.

(v) The judges of the Supreme Court.(vi) The judges of the High Courts of the

States.(vii) The Governor of a State(viii) A commission to investigate interference

with water-supplies.(ix) The Finance Commission.(x) The Union Public Service Commission and

joint Commissions for a group of States.(xi) the Chief Election Commissioner and other

members of the Election Commission(xii) A Special Officer for the Schedule Castes

and Tribes.(xiii) A Commission to report on the adminis-

tration of Scheduled Areas.(xiv) A Commission to investigate into the con-

dition of backward classes(xv) A Commission on Official Language(xvi) Special Officer for linguistic minorities.

In making some of the appointments, thePresident is required by the Constitution toconsult persons other than his ministers as well.Thus, in appointing the Judges of the SupremeCourt, the President shall consult the ChiefJustice as he may deem necessary [Art. 124(2)].These conditions will be referred to in the properplaces, in connection with the different offices.

The President shall also have the power toremove

(i) his Ministers, individually;(ii) the Attorney-General for India;

(iii) the Governor of a State;(iv) the Chairman or a member of the Public

Service Commission of the Union or of aState, on the report of the Supreme Court;

(v) a judge of the Supreme Court or of a HighCourt or the Election Commissioner, on anaddress of Parliament.

2. Legislative Powers: With regard to thelegislative powers of the President, the Consti-tution of India is largely different from theAmerican Constitution. The separating line ofexecutive and legislation is not as strong as incase of the U.S.A. In India, President is bothExecutive Head and also the part of legislature.The President has power to summon and pro-rogue Parliament. He can also dissolve the LokSabha before the expiry of five year term. ThePresident also enjoys the power to summon ajoint sitting of both House of Parliament in case


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of difference between the two. The Presidentalso addresses the opening session of a newlyelected Parliament. He can also address itjointly in between. The President also enjoysthe power to nominate certain member of theParliament. In Rajya Sabha 12 members arenominated and 2 members from Anglo-Indiancommunities are nominated to the Lok Sabha ifthe community has not been adequately repre-sented in his opinion in the House. Certain Billsdo require a previous sanction of the Presidentlike money bill, the bill involving expenditurefrom the Consolidated Fund India, bill for theformation of a new state, bill relating to lan-guage, and the bill affecting the taxation ofstate. The bill passed by the parliament cannotbecome an Act before it has president's assent.He can, after his comments, return the billlimited in case of money bill. Thus legislativepowers of the Indian President may be summa-rized as follows:(a) Summoning, Prorogation, Dissolution: Like

the English Crown, our President shall havethe power to summon or prorogue theHouses of Parliament and to dissolve thelower House. He shall also have the powerto summon a joint sitting of both Houses ofParliament in case of a deadlock betweenthem. [Arts. 85, 108].

(b) The Opening Address: The President shalladdress both Houses of Parliament assembledtogether, at the first session after each gen-eral election to the House of the People andat the commencement of the first session ofeach year, and "inform Parliament of thecauses of its summons" [Art. 87]. The prac-tice during the last four decades shows thatthe President's Opening Address is beingused for purposes similar to those for whichthe 'Speech from the Throne' is used inEngland viz. to announce the programme ofthe Cabinet for the session and to raisedebate as to the political outlook and mattersof general policy or administration. EachHouse is empowered by the Constitution tomake rules for allotting time "for discussionof the matters referred to in such addressand for the precedence of such discussionover other business of the House."

(c) The Right to Address and to send Mes-

sages: Besides the right to address a jointsitting of both Houses at the commencementof the first session, the President shall alsohave the right to address either House ortheir joint sitting, at any time, and to requirethe attendance of members for this purpose[Art. 86(1)] This right is no doubt borrowedfrom the English Constitution, but there it isnot exercised by the Crown except on cer-emonial occasions.Apart from the right to address, the Indian

President shall have the right to send messagesto either House of Parliament either in regardto any pending Bill or to any other matter, andthe House must then consider the message"with all convenient despatch" [Art. 86(2)].Since the time of George III, the English Crownhas ceased to take any part in legislation or toinfluence it and messages are now sent only onformal matters. The American President, on theother hand, possesses the right to recommendlegislative measures to Congress by messagesthought Congress is not bound to accept them.The Indian President shall have the power tosend messages not only on legislative mattersbut also 'otherwise'. Since the head of the IndianExecutive is represented in Parliament by hisMinisters, the power given to the President tosend message regarding legislation may appearto be superfluous, unless the President has thefreedom to send message differing from theMinisterial policy, in which case again it willopen a door for friction between the Presidentand the Cabinet.

It is to be noted that during the first fifty-fiveyears of the working of our Constitution, thePresident has not sent any message to Parlia-ment nor addressed it on any occasion otherthan after each general election and at theopening of the first session each year.(d) Nominating Members to the Houses:

Though the main composition of the twoHouses of Parliament is elective, either director indirect, the President has been given thepower to nominate certain members to boththe Houses upon the supposition that ad-equate representation of certain interestswill not be possible through the competitivesystem of election. Thus, (i) In the Council


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of States, 12 members are to be nominatedby the President from persons having specialknowledge or practical experience of litera-ture, science, art and social service [Art.80(1)]. (ii) The President is also empoweredto nominate not more than two members tothe House of the People from the Anglo-Indian community, if he is of opinion thatthe Anglo-Indian community is not ad-equately represented in that House [Art.331].

(e) Laying Reports, etc., before Parliament:The President is brought into contact withParliament also through his power and studyto cause certain reports and statements to belaid before Parliament, so that Parliamentmay have the opportunity of taking actionupon them. Thus, it is the duty of thePresident to cause to be laid before Parlia-ment - (a) the Annual Financial Statement(Budget) and the Supplementary Statement,if any; (b) the report of the Auditor-Generalrelating to the accounts of the Governmentof India; (c) the recommendations made bythe Finance Commission, together with anexplanatory memorandum of the actiontaken thereon; (d) the report of the UnionPublic Service Commission, explaining thereasons where any advice of the Commis-sion has not been accepted; (e) the report ofthe Special Officer for Scheduled Castes andTribes; (f) the report of the Commission onBackward Classes; (g) the report of theSpecial Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

(f) Previous sanction to legislation: The Con-stitution requires the previous sanction orrecommendation of the President for intro-ducing legislation on some matters, though,of course, the Courts are debarred frominvalidating any legislation on the groundthat the previous sanction was not obtained,where the President has eventually assentedto the legislation [Art. 255]. These mattersare:

(g) Assent to legislation and Veto: (A) Vetoover Union Legislation.A Bill will not be an Act of the Indian

Parliament unless and until it receives the assentof the President. When a Bill is presented to the

President, after its passage in both Houses ofParliament, the President shall be entitled totake any of the following three steps.(i) He may declare his assent to the Bill; or(ii) He may declare that he withholds his assent

to the Bill; or(iii)He may, in the case of Bills other than

Money Bills, return the Bill for reconsidera-tion of the Houses, with or without a mes-sage suggesting amendments. A Money Billcannot be returned for reconsideration.In case of (iii), if the Bill is passed again by

both Houses of Parliament with or withoutamendment and again presented to the Presi-dent, it would be obligatory upon him to declarehis assent to it [Art. 111]

Nature of the Veto Power

Generally speaking, the object of arming theExecutive with this power is to prevent hastyand ill-considered action by the Legislature. Butthe necessity for such power is removed or atleast lessened when the Executive itself initiatesand conducts legislation or is responsible forlegislation, as under the Parliamentary or Cabi-net system of Government. As a matter of fact,though a theoretical power of veto is possessedby the Crown in England, it has never been usedsince the time of Queen Anne.

Where, however, the Executive and theLegislature are separate and independent fromeach other, the Executive, not being itself re-sponsible for the legislation, should properlyhave some control to prevent undesirable legis-lation. Thus, in the United States, the President'spower of veto has been supported on variousgrounds, such as (a) to enable the President toprotect his own office from aggressive legisla-tion; (b) to prevent a particular legislation frombeing placed on the statue book which thePresident considers to be unconstitutional (forthought the Supreme Court possesses the powerto nullify a statue on the ground of unconstitu-tionally, it can exercise that power only in thecase of clear violation of the Constitution, re-gardless of any question of policy, and only ifa proper proceeding is brought before it afterthe statue comes into effect); (c) to check legis-lation which he deems to be practically inexpe-


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dient or, which he thinks does not represent thewill of the American people.

From the standpoint of effect on the legisla-tion, executive vetos have been classified asabsolute, qualified, suspeasive and pocket vetos.� Absolute Veto: The English Crown pos-

sesses the prerogative of absolute veto, andif it refuses assent to any bill, it cannotbecome law, notwithstanding any vote ofParliament. But this veto power of the Crown,

then overridden. But, if it fails to obtain thattwo-thirds majority, the veto stands and theBill fails to become law. In the result, thequalified veto serves as a means to theExecutive to point out the defects of thelegislation and to obtain a reconsiderationby the Legislation but ultimately the extraor-dinary majority of the Legislature prevails.The qualified veto is thus a useful device inthe United States where the Executive hasno power of control over the Legislature, byprorogation, dissolution or otherwise.

� Suspensive Veto: A veto is suspensive whenthe executive veto can be overridden by theLegislature by an ordinary majority. To thistype belongs the veto power of the FrenchPresident. If, upon reconsideration, Parlia-ment passes the Bill again by a simple ma-jority, the President has no option but topromulgate it.

� Pocket Veto: There is a fourth type of vetocalled the 'pocket veto' which is possessed bythe American President. When a Bill is pre-sented to him. He may neither sign the Billnor return the Bill for reconsideration within10 days. He may simply let the Bill lie on hisdesk until the ten-day limit has expired. But,if in the meantime, Congress has adjourned(i.e., before expiry of the period of ten daysfrom presentation of the Bill to the Presi-dent), the Bill fails to become a law. Thismethod is known as the 'pocket veto', for, bysimply withholding a Bill presented to thePresident during the last few days of thesession of Congress the President can pre-vent the Bill to become law.

(B) Disallowance of State Legislation: Besidesthe power to veto Union Legislation, thePresident of India shall also have the powerof disallowance or return for reconsiderationof a Bill of the State Legislature, which mayhave been reserved for his consideration bythe Governor of the State [Art. 201].Reservation of a State Bill for the assent of the

President is a discretionary power of the Gover-nor of a State. In the case of any Bill presentedto the Governor for his assent after it has beenpassed by both Houses of the Legislature of theState, the Governor may, instead of giving hisassent or withholding his assent, reserve the Billfor the Consideration of the President.

HOW MANY TYPES OF 'VETO POWER'ARE THERE?

From the standpoint of effect on the legislation,executive vetoes have been classified as absolute,qualified, suspensive and pocket veto.

Absolute Veto: Refusal of assent to any bill. Thebill cannot become law, notwithstanding any vote ofParliament

Qualified Veto: A veto is 'qualified' when it can beoverridden by a higher majority of the Legislatureand the Bill can be enacted as law with such major-ity vote, overriding the executive veto.

Suspensive Veto: A veto is suspensive when theexecutive veto can be overridden by the Legislatureby an ordinary majority.

Pocket Veto: By simply withholding a Bill duringthe last few days of the session of the Legislature,the Executive can prevent the Bill to become law.

has become obsolete since 1700, owing to thedevelopment of the Cabinet system, underwhich all public legislation is initiated andconducted in the legislature by the Cabinet,judged by practice and usage, thus, there isat present no executive power of veto inEngland.

� Qualified Veto: A veto is 'qualified' whenit can be overridden by an extraordinarymajority of the Legislature and the Bill canbe enacted as law with such majority vote,overriding the executive veto. The veto of theAmerican President is of this class. When aBill is presented to the President, he may, ifhe does not assent to it, return the Bill within10 days with a statement o of this objection,to that branch of Congress in which itoriginated. Each House of Congress thenreconsiders the Bill and if it is adopted againin each House, by a two-thirds vote of themembers present, - the Bill becomes a law,notwithstanding the absence of thePresident's signature. The qualified veto is


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3. Power of Issuing Ordinance (Art -123):The President has a very strong position in thesense that he has the power of issuing ordi-nance. In case there is a matter of urgency anda law is needed for a particular situation, thePresident can issue ordinance. The 38th Amend-ment in this regard is a mile stone in the sensethat his assent is important. The 38th Amend-ment passed in July 1975 put beyond judicialscrutiny the "satisfaction" of the President indeclaring emergency. The ordinance can bepromulgated by the President when the Housesof Parliament are not in session. The ordinancewill have the same effect of the law of the land.

4. Judicial Powers: The President enjoysjudicial powers as well. He has the power togrant pardons, reprieves, suspension, remissionor condonation of a punishment or sentence bycourt martial. The power of pardon of thePresident pertains to such offences that relate toviolation of acts under the Union List. ThePresident's pardon could be sought for anydeath sentence.

5. Emergency Powers: The President alsoenjoy emergency power. This is importantbecause in a federal structure the grip of theUnion on the State is not so tight and hence theConstitution framers did provide for the exigen-cies which may require a tight grip of the Unionon the State. Emergency can be declared dueto external aggression or armed rebellion orinternal disturbance. President of India enjoysnominal power as he basically acts on theadvices of the Council of Minister. Article 356is much in controversy because it gives powersto the President for the extension of his rule inthe State. "If the President on receipt of reportform the Governor of a State or otherwise, issatisfied that a situation has arisen in which theGovernment of the State cannot be carriedon....; the President may extend his rule to theState. Article 360 deals with financial emer-gency "If the President is satisfied that a situa-tion has arisen whereby the financial stability orcredit of India or of any part of the territory isthreatened ... the President can declare financialemergency. The 38th Amendment (clause 5)has furthered the strength of the President inthis regard as his decision is final and cannot bechallenged in the Court of law.

The extraordinary powers of the Presidentare of three kinds:(a) Firstly, the President is given the power to

make a "Proclamation of Emergency" on theground of threat to the security of India or anypart thereof, by war, external aggression orarmed rebellion. The Object of this Proclama-tion is to maintain the security of India and itseffect is, inter alia, assumption of wider controlby the Union over the affairs of the States orany of them as may be affected by armedrebellion or external aggression.

(b) Secondly, the President is empowered tomake a Proclamation that the Governmentof a Sate cannot be carried on in accordancewith the provisions of the Constitution. Thebreak-down of the constitutional machinerymay take place either as a result of a politicaldeadlock or the failure by a State to carry outthe directions of the Union [Arts. 356, 365].By means of a Proclamation of this kind, thepresident may assume to himself any of thegovernmental powers of the State and toParliament the powers of the Legislature ofthe State.

(c) Thirdly, the president is empowered to de-clare that a situation has arisen whereby"the financial stability or credit of India orof any part thereof is threatened" [Art. 360].The object of such Proclamation is to main-tain the financial stability of India by con-trolling the expenditure of the States and byreducing the salaries of the public servants,and by giving directions to the States toobserve canons of financial propriety, asmay be necessary.6. Other Powers: The President also enjoys

the power of appointment and removal of highdignitaries of the State including Prime Minis-ter. The President is the Commander -in-Chiefof Armed Forces and appoints Service Chiefs ofArmy, Navy and Airforce. The exercise of hismilitary powers, however, is regulated by lawsmade by Parliament. The President also hasdiplomatic powers as he appoints and receivesambassadors. The treaties with other countriesare also signed in his name.(a) The President has the constitutional author-

ity to make rules and regulations relating tovarious matters, such as, how his orders and


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instruments shall be authenticated; the pay-ing into custody of and withdrawal ofmoney from, the public accounts of India; thenumber of members of the Union PublicService Commission, their tenure and condi-tions of service; recruitment and conditionsof service of persona serving the Union andthe secretarial staff of Parliament; the prohi-bition of simultaneous membership of Parlia-ment and of the Legislature of a State; theprocedure relating to the joint sittings of theHouses of Parliament in consultation with theChariman and the Speaker of the two Houses;the manner of enforcing the orders of theSupreme Court; the allocation among Statesof emoluments payable to a Governor ap-pointed for two or more States; the dischargeof the functions of a Governor in any contin-gency not provided for in the Constitution;specifying Scheduled Castes and Tribes; speci-fying matters on which it shall not be neces-sary for the Government of India to consultthe Union Public Service Commission.

(b) He has the power to give instructions to aGovernor to promulgate an Ordinance if aBill containing the same provisions requiresthe previous sanction of the President underthe Constitution [Art. 213(1), Proviso].

(c) He has the power to refer any question ofpublic important for the opinion of the Su-preme Court and already eight such refer-ences have been made since 1950 [Art. 143;see Chap. 19 under 'Advisory Jurisdiction'].

(d) He has the power to appoint certain commis-sion for the purpose of reporting on specificmatters, such as, Commissions to report on theadministration of Scheduled Areas and wel-fare of Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes;the Finance Commission; Commission onOfficial Language; an Inter-State Council.

(e) He has some special powers relating to'Union Territories', or territories which aredirectly administered by the Union. Not onlyis the administration of such Territories to becarried on by the President through anAdministrator, responsible to the Presidentalone, but the President has the final legis-lative power (to make regulations) relatingto the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; the

Lakshadweep; Dadra and Nagar Haveli; 22and may even repeal or amend any lawmade by Parliament as may be applicable tosuch Territories [Art, 240].

(f) The President shall have certain special powersin respect of the administration of ScheduledArea and Tribes, and Tribal Areas in Assam:

� Subject to amendment by Parliament, thePresident shall have the power, by order, todeclare an area, to be a Scheduled Area ordeclare that an area shall cease to be aScheduled Area, alter the boundaries ofScheduled Areas, and the like [Fifth Sch.,Para. 6].

� A Tribes Council may be established by thedirection of the President in any State hav-ing Scheduled Areas and also in Stateshaving Scheduled Tribes therein but noScheduled Areas [Fifth Sch., Para.4]

� All regulations made by the Governor of aState for the peace and good government ofthe Scheduled Areas of the State must besubmitted forthwith to the President anduntil assented to by him, such regulationsshall have no effect [Fifth Sch., Para. 5(4)].

� The President may, at any time, require theGovernor of a State to make a report regardingthe administration of the Scheduled Areas inthat State and give directions as to the admin-istration of such Areas [Sch. V, Para. 3]

(g) The President has certain special powersand responsibilities as regards ScheduledCastes and Tribes:

� Subject to modification by Parliament, thePresident has the power to draw up andnotify the lists of Scheduled Castes and Tribesin each State and Union Territory. Consola-tion with the Governor is required in the caseof the list relating to a State. [Arts. 341-342].

� The President shall appoint a Special Officerto investigate and report on the working of thesafeguards provided in the Constitution forthe Scheduled Castes and Tribes. [Art. 338].

� The President may at any time and shall atthe expiration of ten years from the com-mencement of the Constitution, appoint aCommission for the welfare of the Sched-uled Tribes in the States [Art. 339].


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Vacancy in Office of the President

A vacancy in the office of the President maybe caused in any of the following ways—

(i) On the expiry of his term of five years(ii) By his death

(iii) By his resignation.(iv) On his removal by impeachment.(v) Otherwise, e.g. on the setting aside of his

election as President [Art. 65(1)].(a) When the vacancy is going to be caused by

the expiration of the term of the sittingPresident, an election to fill the vacancymust be completed before the expiration ofthe term [Art. 62(1)]. But in order to preventan 'interregnum', owing to any possible delayin such completion, it is provided that theoutgoing President must continue to holdoffice, notwithstanding that his term hasexpired, until his successor enters upon hisoffice [Art. 56(1)(c)]. (There is no scope forthe Vice-President getting a chance to act asPresident in this case.)

(b) In case of a vacancy arising by reason of anycause other than the expiry of the term of theincumbent in office, an election to fill thevacancy must be held as soon as possibleafter, and in no case later than, six monthsfrom the date of occurrence of the vacancy.Immediately after such vacancy arises, say,by the death of the President, and until anew President is elected, as above, it is theVice-President who shall act as President[Art. 65(1)]. It is needless to point out that

the new President who is elected shall beentitled to the full term of five years from thedate he enters upon his office.

(c) Apart from a permanent vacancy, the Presi-dent may be temporarily unable to dischargehis functions, owing to his absence fromIndia, illness or any other cause, in whichcase the Vice-President shall discharge hisfunctions until the date on which the Presi-dent resumes his duties. [Art. 65(2)].

VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

The Constitution provides for a Vice-Presidentwhose role in the Government is comparativelyinsignificant. Going through the provisions deal-ing with his office, one can easily see a strikingsimilarity between the role of the Vice-Presidentof India and that of his counter part in the UnitedStates. The American Vice-President is sometimescalled "His Superfluous Highness" to characterisehis comparative insignificance in the administra-tion. But, there is a provision in the AmericanConstitution which makes the Vice-Presidentpotentially important. According to this, if thePresident dies in office, or is removed from office,the Vice-President takes over the President's officeand continues in that capacity for the full lengthof the unexpired term. But, under the IndiaConstitution, if the President dies or resigned oris otherwise incapacitated and, as a result, thePresidential office become vacant, the Vice-Presi-dent will act as President only for a maximumperiod of six months.

The main function of the Vice-President likethat of his American prototype is to preside overWHAT EFFECT THE 44TH AMENDMENT HAD ON

THE PRESIDENT

After 44th Amendment, except in certain marginalcases refered by the Supreme Court, the Presidentshall have no power to act in his discretion any cae.He must act according to the advice given to him bythe Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minis-ters, so that refusla to act according to such advicewill render him liable to impeachment for violation ofthe Constitution. This is subject to the President'snew power to send the advance received from theCouncil of Minister's in a particular case, back to themfor their reconsiderations; and if the Council of Minis-ters adheres to their previous advice, the Presidentshall have to option but to act in accordance withsuch advice. The power to return for reconsiderationcan be excercised only once, on the same matter.

HOW THE VICE PRESIDENT IS ELECTED? WHATARE THE QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED?

The Vice-President is elected by the members ofboth Houses of Parliament at joint meeting. The elec-tion is conducted in accordance with the system of pro-portional representation by means of the single trans-ferable vote. The voting is by secret ballot.

Any Indian citizen who has completed the age of 35years and who is qualified for election as a member ofthe Council of States is eligible for election as Vice-President. But no person who holds an office of profitunder the Government of India or any State or local orother authority in India is eligible for the purpose. TheVice-President cannot be a member of either House ofParliament or a member of any State Legislature.


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the Council of States. He is its ex-officio Chair-man. The Vice-President takes over the office ofthe President normally, under four situations:death of the President, resignation of the Presi-dent, removal of the President from his officethrough impeachment or otherwise, and finally,when the President is unable to discharge hisfunctions owing to absence, illness or any othercause,. The last of these clearly provides for anytemporary period of incapacity which makesthe President incapable of discharging his re-sponsibilities.

During the period, when the Vice-Presidentis acting for the President, he will have all thepowers and immunities of the President. Heis also entitled for such salary and allowancesand privileges as may be determined by Parlia-ment by law for the purpose. At present,according to the Second Schedule of the Con-stitution, the Vice-President is entitled to thesame emoluments, allowances and privileges asthe President while he discharges the functionsof, or is acting as the President.

Removal of the Vice-PresidentThe Vice-President can be removed from

office by a resolution of the Council of Statespassed by a majority of all the then members ofthe Council and agreed to by the House of thePeople. But, this procedure does not seem to besufficient, if at the time such removal is sought,the Vice- President is acting for the President.If he is to be removed from office while he actsin the latter capacity, the provisions ought to beexactly the same as are applicable to the im-peachment of the President.

Functions of the Vice-PresidentThe Vice-President is the highest dignitary of

India, coming next after the President. Nofunctions are, however, attached to the office ofthe Vice-President as such. The normal functionof the Vice-President is to act as the ex-officioChairman of the Council of States. But if thereoccurs any vacancy in the office of the Presidentby reason of his death, resignation, removal orotherwise, the Vice-President shall act as Presi-dent until a new President is elected and entersupon his office [Art. 65(1)].

The Vice-President shall discharge the func-tion of the President during the temporaryabsence of the President, illness or any othercause by reason of which he is unable todischarge his functions [Art. 65(2)]. No machin-ery having been prescribed by the Constitutionto determine when the President is unable todischarge his duties owing to absence fromIndia or a like cause, it becomes a somewhatdelicate matter as to who should move in thematter on any particular occasion. It is to benoted that this provision of the Constitution hasnot been put into use prior to 20th June, 1960,though President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad hadbeen absent from India for a considerable periodduring his foreign tour in the year 1958. It wasduring the 15-days visit of Dr. Rajendra Prasadto the Soviet Union in June 1960, that for thefirst time, the Vice-President, Dr. Radhakrishnanwas given the opportunity of acting as thePresident owing to the 'inability' of the Presidentto discharge his duties.

The second occasion took place in May,1961, when President Rajendra Prasad becameseriously ill and incapable of discharging hisfunctions. After a few days of crisis, the Presi-dent himself suggested that the Vice-Presidentshould discharge the functions of the Presidentuntil he resumed his duties. It appears that thepower to determine when the President is un-able to discharge his duties or when he shouldresume his duties has been understood to belongto the President himself. In the even of occur-rence of vacancy in the office of both thePresident and the Vice - President by reason ofdeath, resignation, removal etc. the Chief justiceof India or in his absence the senior most judgeof the Supreme Court available shall dischargethe functions until a new President is elected. In1969 when on the death of Dr. Zakir Hussain,the Vice-President Shri V.V. Giri resigned; theChief Justice Shri Hidayatullah discharged thefunctions.

When the Vice-President acts as, or dis-charges the functions of the President, he shallcease to perform the duties of the Chairman ofthe council of States and then the Deputy Chair-man of the Council of States shall act as its


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chairman and he (Deputy Chairman) will get thesalary of the Chairman of the Council of States.

Doubts and disputes relating to or con-nected with the election of President or Vice-President

Determination of doubts and disputes relat-ing to the election of a President or Vice-President is dealt with in Art 71, as follows:(a) Such disputes shall be decided by the Su-

preme Court whose jurisdiction shall be ex-clusive and final.

(b) No such dispute can be raised on the groundof any vacancy in the Electoral Collegewhich elected the President or Vice-Presi-dent.

(c) If the election of a President or the Vice-President is declared void by the SupremeCourt, acts done buy him prior to the dateof such decision of the Supreme Court shallnot be invalidated.

(d) Barring the decision of such disputes, othermatters relating to the election of Presidentor Vice-President may be regulated by lawmade by Parliament.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Cardinal Principles of ParliamentaryDemocracy:-

1. Head of state is not the real executive. Forall practical purpose Prime Minister is thereal executive who is the head of thegovernment.

2. He along with his Council of Ministers isaccountable to the Lower House of theParliament.

3. Council of Ministers is drawn fromlegislature itself. It is not an outside body.

Formation of Council of Ministers

Council of Ministers is formed as soon asPrime Minister is sworn in. PM alone canconstitute Council of Ministers.

Categories of Ministers

Constitution does not categorize membersof the Council of Ministers. It is done by the PrimeMinister following the British conventions. In fact,there are three categories of ministers in India.

But it is the prerogative of PM to decide howmany categories to be included. These threecategories of ministers are as follows:-

Cabinet Ministers - They are senior rankministers if allotted a portfolio. They always heada ministry. They constitute the cabinet and enjoythe right to attend cabinet meeting. They areassisted by Minister of State or Deputy indischarging official functions.

Minister of States - They are second rankministers. They are normally not givenindependent charge. They assist CabinetMinisters. PM in his discretion can giveindependent change to Minister of States. He doesnot enjoy right to attend cabinet meeting. But hecan be invited to attend cabinet meetings.

Deputy Ministers - They are junior in rank.They are never given independent charges. Theycannot be invited to participate in the cabinetmeeting.

Parliamentary Secretaries - They are notmember of CoM. They are appointed by PM.Basically; they are Member of Parliament andfrom the ruling party. They are appointed toassist the ministry in discharging functions in theParliament. They take oath of office and secrecyconducted by PM.

Strength of Council of Ministers

91st Amendment Act 2003 amended Art. 75and inserted Art 75 (1A) which provides that“strength of Union CoM shall not exceed 15% ofthe total strength of the Lok Sabha.

CABINET VS COUNCIL OFMINISTERS

Council of Ministers

(1) It is a composite body because it containsCabinet Ministers, Minister of State andDeputy Minister.

(2) It is a large body and rarely meets as acomposite body.

Cabinet

(1) It includes only Cabinet Ministers.(2) It is a body within Council of Ministers.


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(3) It meets regularly and deliberates & takespolicy decision including proposedlegislation.

(4) It is the highest decision making body of thecountry that runs administration.

(5) Decisions of cabinet automatically becomethat of Council of Ministers.

(6) Prime Minister, Finance Minister, HomeMinister and Defence Minister always remainpart of the cabinet.

Collective Responsibility of CoM

Art 75 (3) of the Constitution provides forcollective responsibility of CoM to the LowerHouse of the Parliament. Collective responsibilityof CoM to the Lok Sabha means that they enjoythe majority support of the House. If any decisionof CoM is defeated in Lok Sabha, decision maypertain to a single ministry but entire CoM shallhave to resign.

It means each and every decision taken bythe government is collectively approved by theCabinet. Generally, it becomes the collectivedecision of the CoM and all ministers defend itboth within & outside the Parliament. If adecision taken by an individual minister isdefeated in the Lok Sabha, before it wascollectively approved by the cabinet then theindividual minister has to resign and not thewhole CoM. Thus, CoM stands or falls togetheror sinks or swims together.

Collective responsibility ensures that thereis no difference in CoM once a collective decisionhas been taken. There may be differences ofopinions in the cabinet at the time of deliberationof policy issue but once a collective decision hasbeen taken then all the ministers shall endorsecollective decision. Ministers don’t haveindividual opinion contrary to collective decisionthat he can express within or outside theParliament. If a minister has a contrary view tocollective decision then he has to change his viewand support the collective decision or resign. Hecan’t oppose the collective decision and at thesame time continue to be a member of the CoM.

Individual Responsibility of Ministers

Under Article 75 (2) of the Constitution,

ministers are also individually responsible to thePresident. This means ministers hold office duringthe pleasure of the President. They can beremoved from CoM without assigning anyreason. However, they can only be removed afterPM advised the President to do so.

Article 75 (2) - The Ministers shall hold officeduring the pleasure of the President.

Individual responsibility is essential toenforce collective responsibility of CoM. Forexample, minister disagrees collective decisionbut refuses to resign. In that case PM may advicethe President to drop the minister so as to assurecollective responsibility of CoM.

PRIME MINISTER

Powers & Functions of the Prime Minister

1. In Relation to the Council of Ministers

(a) The Prime Minister recommends personswho can be appointed as ministers bythe President.

(b) He allocates and also can change theportfolios among the ministers accordingto his will.

(c) If a difference in opinion arises betweenthe Prime Minister and any of hisministers, he can ask the minister toresign or can advice President to dismisshim.

(d) Prime Minister presides over the meetingof the Council of Ministers and he alsoinfluences the decision of the meeting.

(e) He guides, directs, controls andcoordinates the activities of all theministers.

(f) By resigning from office, the PrimeMinister can bring about the collapse ofthe council of Ministers.

2. In Relation to the President

(a) Prime Minister is the principal channelof communication between the Presidentand the Council of Ministers. Hecommunicates with the Presidentregarding all decisions of the Council ofMinisters relating to administration of


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the affairs of the Union and proposalsfor legislation.

(b) He furnishes such information relatingto administration of the affairs of theUnion and proposals for legislation asthe President may call for and if thePresident so requires, Prime Ministersubmits for the consideration of thecouncil of ministers any matter on whicha decision has been taken by a ministerbut which has not been considered bythe council.

(c) Regarding the appointment of importantofficials like Attorney General of India,Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia, Chairman and members of theUPSC, Election Commissioners,Chairman and members of the FinanceCommission, etc. the Prime Ministeradvises the President.

3. In Relation to Parliament

(a) The Prime Minister is the leader of thelower House i.e. the Lok Sabha. Headvises the President with regard tosummoning and proroguing of thesessions of the Parliament.

(b) He can recommend dissolution of theLok Sabha to President at any time.

(c) He announces government policies onthe floor of the house.

4. Position of the Prime Minister

Prime Minister is described as primus interpares (first among equals). Also called interstellarminories (little moon among stars). He is the‘Keystone of The Cabinet Arch”. Prime Ministeris generally a Member of Parliament and electedaccording to the same procedure similar to allMPs. He is PM only because he is the leader ofthe majority party in the Lok Sabha.

However, in actual practice, he is more thanhis colleagues. Under Article 74, Council ofMinister, is headed by PM. When PM resigns ordies, entire CoM goes out of office. But when anindividual minister resigns or dies there is onlyvacancy in CoM. Besides PM alone can constituteCoM but without PM, CoM can’t exist andfunction. Thus he is central to the survival &death of CoM.

It is the PM who selects members of CoMand distribute portfolio among them. He canreshuffle CoM the way he likes. It is PM who co-ordinates the functions of various ministries. Healone enjoys right to call for files or informationfrom any ministry to other ministry.

PM convenes the cabinet meeting anddecides on the agenda of such meetings. He alsogives general direction for the administration ofthe country. He is the chief spokesman of CoMboth in & outside the Parliament. It is hisprerogative to announce important policydecisions.

He is also the link between President andCoM. Ministers individually can also call uponthe President but not as a matter of right. It isthe PM who periodically calls upon the Presidentand apprises him about administration of thecountry. PM is also the chief link between CoMand the Parliament. He can participate in anyissue relating to any ministry during discussionheld in Parliament. A minister normallyparticipates on issues relating to his ownministry.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIA

The Attorney-General of India is the firstLaw Officer of the Government of India. TheAttorney-General is appointed by the Presidentand he holds office during the pleasure of thePresident. In order to be appointed as theAttorney General of India, a person must havequalified to be appointed as a Judge of theSupreme Court.

Though the Attorney - General of India isnot (as in England) a member of the Cabinet, heshall also have the right to speak in the Housesof Parliament or in any Committee thereof, butshall have no right to vote [Art. 88]. By virtueof his office, he is entitled to the privileges of amember of parliament [Art. 105(4)]. In theperformance of his official duties, the Attorney-General shall have a right of audience in allCourts in the territory of India. He representsthe Union & the States before the courts but isalso allowed to take up private practice pro-vided the other party is not the state. Becauseof this he is not paid salary but a retainer to be


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determined by the president. In England, theAttorney-General is a member of the cabinet butin India he is not. It is a political appointment,and therefore, whenever there is a change in theparty in power, the Attorney - General resignsform his past to enable the new government toappoint a nominee of its choice. The Attorney- General is assisted by two Solicitors - Generaland four Additional Solicitors - General. TheAttorney - General gets a retainer equivalent tothe salary of a judge of the Supreme Court.

purse and it is his duty to see that not a farthingis spent out of the Consolidated Fund of Indiaor of a State without the authority of theappropriate Legislature. In short, he shall be theimpartial head of the audit and accounts systemof India. In order to discharge this duty prop-erty, it is highly essential that this office shouldbe independent of any control of the executive.

Position of the CAG

The independence of the Comptroller andAuditor-General has been sought to be secured bythe following provisions of the Constitution ---1. Though appointed by the President, the

Comptroller and Auditor-General may beremoved only on an address from bothHouses of Parliament, on the grounds of (i)'proved misbehaviour', or (ii) 'incapacity'.He is thus excepted from the general rule thatall civil servants of the Union hold their officeat the pleasure of the President [Art. 310 (1)].

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY -GENERAL OF INDIA?

Duties of the Attorney - General of India are:

� To give advice on such legal matters and to performsuch other duties of a legal character as may, fromtime to time, be referred or assigned to him by thePresident; and

� To discharge the functions conferred on him by theConstitution or any other law for the time being inforce [Art. 76].

COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR -GENERAL OF INDIA

The Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia is appointed by the President. He holdsoffice until he attains the age of sixty five yearsor at the expiry of the six-year term, whicheveris earlier. He is the guardian of the public purse.His duties are to keep the accounts of the Unionand the States and to ensure that nothing isspent out of the Consolidated Fund of India orof the States without the sanction of the Parlia-ment or the respective State Legislatures. Hesubmits an audit report of the Union to thePresident who shall lay it before the Parliamentand the audit reports of the States to therespective Governors who shall lay it before therespective state Legislatures. In case of UnionTerritories, the Comptroller and Auditor-Gen-eral submits audit reports to Lt. Governors wherethe Union territories have Legislative Assembliesof their own. The accounts of the other UnionTerritories are audited by him as part of theaccount of the Union of India.

As observed by Ambedkar, the Comptrollerand Auditor-General of India shall be the "mostimportant officer under the Constitution ofIndia". For, he is to be the guardian of the public

2. His salary and conditions of service shall notbe liable to variation to his disadvantagesduring his term of office. Under this power,Parliament has enacted the Comptrollerand Auditor-General's (Conditions of Ser-vice) Act 1971 which, as amended, pro-vides as follows;

WHAT ARE THE PROVISIONS TO SECURECAG'S INDEPENDENCE?

Because of the importance of the office of theComptroller and Auditor - General, the Constitutionof India contains provisions to ensure the impartial-ity of the office and to make it independent of theExecutive. These are as follows:

� He can be removed from his office only on groundof prove misbehaviour or incapacity in a mannera Judge of the Supreme Court is removed i.e.,each House of the Parliament passing an reso-lution supported by two-thirds of the memberspresent and voting and by a majority of the House.

� His salary and conditions of service cannot bechanged to his disadvantage during his term ofoffice except under a financial emergency.

� His salary is charge on the Consolidated Fund ofIndia and is not subject to the vote of the Parlia-ment.

� After retirement he is disqualified for appointmenteither under the Union or the State.

� He is paid a salary equivalent to that of a Judgeof the Supreme Court.


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(i) The term of office of the Comptroller andAuditor-General shall be 6 years from thedate on which he assumes office. But---(a) He shall vacate office on attaining the

age 65 years, if earlier than the expiryof the 6-year term;

(b) He may, at any time, resign his office,by writing under his hand, addressed tothe President of India;

(c) He may be removed by impeachment[Arts. 148(1); 124(4)]

(ii) His salary shall be equal to that of a judgeof the Supreme Court.

(iii) On retirement, he shall be eligible to anannual pension of Rs. 15,000.

(iv) In other matters, his conditions of serviceshall be determined by the Rules applicableto a member of the I.A.S., holding the rankof a Secretary to the Government of India.

(v) He shall be disqualified for any furtherGovernment 'office' after retirement - so thathe shall have no inducement to please theExecutive of the Union or of any State.

(vi) The salaries, etc., of the Comptroller andAuditor-General and his staff and theadministrative expenses of his office shallbe charged upon the Consolidated Fundof India and shall thus be non-votable[Art. 148].

Duties of CAGThe Comptroller and Auditor-General shall

perform such duties and exercise such powersin relation to the accounts of the Union andof the States as may be prescribed by Parlia-ment. In exercise of this power, Parliamenthas enacted the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral's (Duties Powers and Conditions ofService) Act, 1971, which, as amended in1976, relieves him of his pre-Constitutionduty to compile the accounts of the Union;and the States may enact similar legislationwith the prior approval of the President,- toseparate accounts from audit also at the Statelevel, and to relieve the Comptroller andAuditor-General of his responsibility in thematter of preparation of accounts, either ofthe States or of the Union.

Provisions of this Act relating to the dutiesof the Comptroller and Auditor-General are---

(a) To audit and report on all expenditure fromthe Consolidated Fund of India and of eachState and each Union Territory having aLegislative Assembly as to whether suchexpenditure has been in accordance withthe law;

(b) Similarly, to audit and report on all expen-diture from the Contingency Funds andPublic Accounts of the Union and of theStates;

(c) To audit and report on all trading, manufac-turing, profit and loss accounts, etc., kept byany Department of the Union or a State;

(d) To audit the receipts and expenditure of theUnion and of each State to satisfy himselfthat the rules and procedures in that behalfare designed to secure an effective check onthe assessment, collection and proper alloca-tion of revenue;

(e) To audit and report on the receipts andexpenditure of (i) all bodies and authorities'substantially financed' from the Union orState revenues; (ii) Government companies;(iii) other corporations or bodies, when sorequired by the laws relating to such corpo-rations or bodies.

THE PARLIAMENT

Union legislature is called the Parliamentwhich is bicameral including the Lok Sabha andthe Rajya Sabha, i.e. lower and upper houserespectively. The Lok Sabha is inclusive of themembers directly elected by the people andRajya Sabha represents the States of IndianFederation. Bicameralism was resorted to witha view that there should be parity between thedirect representatives of the people and therepresentation of the States from where theywere coming.

The Lok SabhaThe Lok Sabha is the popular chamber of

the Indian Parliament with a maximum strengthof 545 members and this is so from the Thirty-first Amendment onwards when it was in-creased from 525 members to 545 membersbody. Of the total members, not more than 525represent states and 20 is the number of seatsreserved for Union Territories. Another provi-sion is of two members to be nominated by the


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President from Anglo -Indian communities, if inthe President's opinion, it does not have a fairrepresentation in the Lok Sabha. The electionof the members of Lok Sabha is out of the pre-divided constituencies and while demarcatingthem the two guide lines have been followed,i.e. there is uniformity of representation be-tween the States and between the differentconstituencies in the State. With this regard, theStates have been allotted seats and its popula-tion is, as far as practical the same for all States.Also, the number of people residing in oneconstituency, as far as possible, hold similarwithin a State. The forty-second Amendmenthas laid down that 1971 census will serve as thebasis of allocation of seats to each State and thiswill remain so till 2000 A.D. Recently, the UnionCabinet has extended this cap upto 2026 AD.This also puts a halt on gerrymandering i.e.altering the boundary of constituencies of vestedinterest.

The term of Lok Sabha is for five years.However, it can be dissolved earlier. On theother hand, the term of Lok Sabha can beincreased in a situation of emergency. Theconvention is of Lok Sabha meeting not lessthan twice every year and there must not be gapbetween two meeting exceeding six months.The time of meeting is decided by the President,who also has the choice of venue where themeeting can be held. The President also enjoysthe power to dissolve or prorogue the House.The quorum of meeting to be held is in tenth ofthe total strength of the House.

A person to be able for contesting electionfor the membership of Lok Sabha must not beless than 25 years of age and should not holda position of profit.

The Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha consists of a maximum of250 members including members nominated aswell as elected. The number of elected membersis not to exceed 238 representing the States andthe Union Territories. The President nominates12 members having exceptional qualities andexperiences in diverse fields like art, literature,science, and social service. India Upper Houseis different from the U.S. counterpart as this

House is not functioning truly for giving bal-anced representation to the smaller States. Themembers are elected indirectly by the membersof the Legislative Assemblies of the States inaccordance with the system of proportional rep-resentation by means of a single transferablevote.

The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body andcannot be dissolved. However, one-third of themembers retire at the end of every second year.This way the members enjoy a six-years term inthe House.

A member must have the basic requirementof being an Indian and not less than 30 yearsof age. The member must also not hold anyoffice of profit, if he is chosen. If a memberremains absent from the House for more than60 days, the seat may be declared vacant.

Functions of The Parliament

The functions and the powers of the Par-liament are extensive and appear in Constitu-tion at different places. The Parliament hasextensive power to make laws on the itemsgiven in the Union List as well as in theConcurrent List. The items included in theUnion List include Defence, External Affairs,Communications, Currency, Citizenship etc.These are the items whose uniformity across thelength and breadth of the country is essential forthe solid foundation of the national existence.The Concurrent List includes items such asmarriage, divorce, trade, criminal law proce-

ARE THE POWERS OF LOK SABHA AND RAJYASABHA SAME?

The Constitution has given equal power to Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha except in certain matters like those forthe executive and the money bills. This is primarly be-cause of the parliamentary system of government whichintentionally has made Rajya Sabha less influential thanthe Lok Sabha that is having members who are directlyelected by the people. There is no denying the fact thatthe Rajya Sabha has the right of information. It doesfrom time to time criticise actions and policies of thegovernment but it cannot cause a fall of the Govern-ments as the defeat of the Government in the RajyaSabha does not lead to the resignation of the Council ofMinisters. However, Rajya Sabha does enjoy the exclu-sive powers with regard to creation of All-India Servicesand in respect of legislation on State List in the nationalinterest.


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dure, etc. These are the items on which unifor-mity is desirable but not essential. The powersof the Parliament are far reaching as it can alsolegislate on the matters included in the StateList. However, as enshrined in Article 249, aprior approval of the Upper House is essentialfor the purpose. Article 250 mentions that theParliament can legislate for the whole or anypart of India or any matter mentioned in theState List during the period of Emergency. TheParliament also holds the power to elect andimpeach the President and Vice-President ofIndia. The Parliament can also impeach thejudges of Supreme Court and High Courts ongrounds of incapacity.

Financial Functions: The Parliament has aspecial function to have a grip on the financesof the country. No tax can be levied or moneycan be spent without the consent of the Parlia-ment. It has one exception as the expenditureof Consolidated Fund of India is not put to voteof the Parliament. The financial business ofParliament is complex and parliament can notdevote time and energies for the purpose ofsatisfactory discharges of responsibility of finan-cial control. Thus financial committees havebeen set-up to enable Parliament to dischargethis function efficiently. The committees for thepurpose include Estimates Committee, the Pub-lic Accounts committee and the Committee onPublic Undertakings. The Estimates Committeesuggests economics in expenditure in variousdepartments of Government. The Public Ac-counts Committee examines the appropriationaccounts in the light of audit report of theAuditor General of India and draws attentionof the Parliament to the irregularity, if any. TheCommittee on Public Undertakings examinesthe working of the public undertakings estab-lished by the working and powers of thesecommittees.

Amendment of the Constitution: Amendingthe Constitution is another major function of theParliament. There has been controversy regard-ing the power of Parliament with regard toaccess to any part of the Constitution for amend-ment purpose. Various judgements of SupremeCourt have put a restriction on the unlimitedamending power of the Parliament for amend-ment purpose. The Parliament in no way can

amend the Constitution that it affects adverselythe basic structure of the Constitution, however,is ambiguous and not spelt out in the constitutionand the judiciary this way has arranged forimmense power so as to decide from time to timeif legislation by the Parliament is adversely affect-ing the Constitution or not.

Control over Executive: The performance ofthe Parliament with regard to control on execu-tive is enormous. The Council of Ministers iscollectively responsible to the Lok Sabha andmust resign in case a 'no confidence motion' ispassed against the minister. Individually, theministers are responsible for the proper workingof the ministries under their charge and collec-tively for the general policies of the Govern-ment. The Parliament through procedures pro-vided by the House like asking questions, callingattentions, adjournment motions, etc, keeps aconstant vigil on the working of the administra-tion and the lapses of the Government.

Parliamentary Privileges and ImmunitiesParliamentary privileges i.e. exceptional right

or advantages are granted to the members oflegislatures all over the world. Thus, in most ofthe democratic countries, the legislatures andtheir members enjoy certain privileges so as tofunction effectively. Privilege though part of thelaw of the land, is to a certain extent anexemption from the ordinary law. It would notbe wrong to say that privilege is to Parliamentwhat prerogative is to the Crown. Just asprerogatives can be exercised by the Crownwithout help or hindrance from Parliament orthe judges, the privileges can be exercised by theHouse of the Parliament without help or hin-drance from the judges.

Prerogative vs. PrivilegePrerogative is the authority of the Crown

whereas privilege is the discretionary authorityof each House of Parliament. Privilege is anancillary power which is essential to maintainthe authority of the legislature, and the func-tions, privileges and disciplinary powers of alegislative body are closely connected. How-ever, the distinction between privileges andfunctions is not always clear, and it is conve-


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nient to retain the term 'privilege' to signifycertain fundamental rights of the legislaturewhich are generally accepted as necessary forthe exercise of its constitutional functions. Theprivileges are the necessary complement of thefunctions, and disciplinary powers of the legis-lature. The privileges of a legislative assemblywould be 'entirely in effectual to enable it todischarge its functions, if it had no power topunish offender, to impose disciplinary regula-tions upon its members, or to enforce obedienceto its commands. Thus, necessity is the justifi-cation for the privileges of Parliament.

Constitutional provisions relating toParliamentary Privileges

Some of the privileges of Parliament, and of itsmembers and committees, are specified in theConstitution and there are certain statutes and therules of procedure of the House; others continueto be based on the precedents of the House ofCommons. These privileges are available to all thelegislatures in the states as well. The main articlesof the Constitution of India dealing with theprivileges of Parliament are 105 and 122 and thecorresponding articles for the states are 194 and212. Article 105 (1) of the Constitution of India

against him in any court in respect of anythingsaid or any vote given by him in Parliament or anycommittee thereof, and that no person would beliable in respect of the publication of any report,paper votes or proceedings by or under theauthority or either House of Parliament. Clause3 ordains that in other respects the powers,privileges and immunities of each House ofParliament, and of the members and committeesthereof, would be such as may from time to timebe defined by Parliament by law, and until sodefined, would be those of the House of Commonsof the Parliament of the United Kingdom and ofits members and committees, at the commence-ment of the Constitution of India. Accordingto clause of this article, the provisions of clauses1,2, and 3 would apply to persons who byvirtue of the Constitution have the right tospeak in or take part in the proceedings of aHouse of Parliament or a committee thereof,as they apply to the members of Parliament.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEESThere are different types of parliamentary

committees which can be classified as follows:� Consultative committees for different minis-

tries which provide a forum for discussion onthe policies and the working of the ministry.

� Select or Joint Select Committees on indi-vidual bills for investigation or inquiry.

� Parliament may appoint a committee forspecific purpose of studying a particularsubject matter for example, a committee forthe welfare of Scheduled caste and sched-uled tribes.

� There are committees to inquire into the vari-ous matters like the Committee of Petitionsand the Committee of Privileges, the Commit-tee to Scrutinize or the Committee of Govern-ment assurance and Committee on Subordi-nate Legislation.

� There are also committees of administrativecharacter relating to the business of Housesuch as Committee on absence of Membersfrom the sittings of the House, BusinessAdvisory Committee and Rules Committee.

� A few committees are concerned with thefacilities of a Member of Parliament like theHouse Committee and Library committee.

WHAT TYPES OF PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGESARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA?

There are two categories of Parliamentary privi-leges in India, the specified and enumerated, and therecognised but unenumerated.� The first category includes; (a) Freedom of speech

in each House of Parliament; (b) Immunity fromproceedings in any courts in respect of anythingsaid or vote given by a member in parliament orany committee thereof; and (c) Immunity from li-ability in respect of the publication by or under theauthority of either House of Parliament, of any re-port, paper, votes or proceeding of either House.

� In the second category, fall all those privilegeswhich were enjoyed by the House of Commons ofthe Parliament of the United Kingdom, and itsmembers and committees, at the commencementof the Constitution of India and would continue tobe in force unless they are modified and definedby Parliament by law.

provides that, subject to the provisions of theConstitution and the rules and standing ordersregulating the procedure of Parliament, therewould be freedom of speech in the Parliament.Clause 2 of the Article provides that no memberof Parliament would be liable to any proceedings


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� However, the most important committees in-clude the financial committees such as Esti-mates Committee, Public Accounts Committeeand the Committee on Public Undertakings.

Estimates CommitteeThe Committee has 30 members, who are

elected in accordance with the system of pro-portional representation from among themembers of Lok Sabha for a period of one year.The Quorum for the meeting is one -third. TheEstimates Committee is a standing Committee.The Chairman is nominated by the Speakerprovided if the Deputy Speaker is the memberof the Committee, he automatically assumes thepower of the Chairman. No minister can be amember of the Committee. The Estimates Com-mittee is charged with the responsibility ofdetailed examination of budget estimates. Majorfunctions include:

� to suggest alternative policy in order tobring about efficiency and economy in ad-ministration.

� to report how the economies, improvement inorganization, efficiency or administrativereforms consistent with the policy underlyingthe estimates may be affected;

� to examine whether the money is well laidout within limits of the policy implied in theestimates.

� to suggest for the reform and present theestimates to the Parliament.

Public Accounts CommitteeThe Public Accounts Committee is essentially

a committee of the Lok Sabha. The strength ofthe committee is 22 of which 15 are elected fromthe Lok Sabha and the rest are nominated fromthe Rajya Sabha. The Speaker nominates theChairman, who conventionally is the Leader ofOpposition in the Lower House. The majorfunction of the public Account Committee is toscrutinize the appropriation account of the Gov-ernment of India and other accounts laid beforethe House and the report of the Auditor Generalof India and also to satisfy itself that money isspent appropriately. It is also responsible forcommenting on the ways of the extravagance inthe spending of the public funds.

Committee on Public Undertakings

The committee constituted in 1964 consistsof 15 members of Lok Sabha and 7 membersof the Rajya Sabha. The major function of thecommittee is to examine the reports and ac-counts of public undertakings and suggest eco-nomic improvement in organization and finan-cial management, etc. A few public sectorundertakings are picked every year for thepurpose of scrutiny.

Select CommitteeThe members of Select Committee are ap-

pointed by the House with their consent. TheChairman is appointed by the Speaker. He hasthe power to ensure the attendance of a memberand also ensures the production of papers andrecords. Select Committees present their reportto the House.

Committee on PetitionsThis Committee is nominated by the Speaker

and is inclusive of 15 members. No minister canbe a member of this committee. Major functionof the committee is to examine every petitionreferred to it and report to the House recordingnecessary evidence and suggest remedial mea-sures to the House.

Committee on PrivilegesThe Speaker nominates the members of this

committee. The strength is 15 members. It isempowered to take stock of the breach of privi-leges and determination of breach of privileges.

Committee on Government AssurancesThe function of this committee is to scruti-

nize the various assurances, promises and un-dertakings given by ministers from time to timeon the floor of the House. It has 15 membersnominated by the Speaker for a period of oneyear. No minister can be a member of thiscommittee. The committee reports to the extentto which the assurances given by ministers havebeen implemented.

Committee on Subordinate LegislationIt has 15 members nominated for one year

by the Speaker. It scruitinises and reports to theHouse whether the power to make regulations,


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rules, sub-rules, bye -laws delegated by theParliament to the executive, are being properlyexercised within the limits of such delegation.

Committee on Absence of MembersIt has 15 members nominated by the Speaker

for one year. It considers leave applications ofmembers for absence and records if a memberhas been absent exceeding 60 days withoutpermission and reports whether the absenceshould be condoned or the member's seat bedeclared vacant.

Business Advisory CommitteeThe committee is for the purpose of regulat-

ing the time table of the working of the House.There are 15 members nominated by the Speaker,who himself is the Chairman of this committee.

Rules CommitteeThe main function of this committee is to

consider matters of procedure and conduct ofbusiness in the House and recommends for theamendments to the rules of the House. TheSpeaker is the ex-office Chairman and it in-cludes 15 members nominated.

Committee on Welfare of SC and ST30 members drawn from both Houses serve

on this Committee which considers all mattersrelating to SC/ST, coming under the purvion ofthe Union Government and ensures whetherconstitutional safeguards in respect of theseclasses are properly implemented.

Committee on Private Members Bills andResolutions

Consisting of 15 members nominated by thespeaker, the Committee classifies and allocatestimes to bills introduced by private members. TheDeputy Speaker is invariably its members.

Joint Committee on Salaries andAllowances

10 members are nominated by the LokChairman to this Committee which frames rulesfor regulating payment of salaries etc. to Mem-bers of Parliament and rules regarding ameni-ties like housing, telephones, postal, secretarialand medical facilities.

Joint Committee on Offices of Profit

Again a 15 members Committee - 10 electedfrom Lok Sabha and 5 from Rajya Sabha, itexamines, the character and composition of theCommittees and other bodies appointed by theUnion and State Government and recommendswhat offices ought to or ought not to disqualifya person for being chosen as M.P.

Departmental Standing Committees

Parliament has decided to constitute com-mittees to consider the demand for grants ofvarious ministeries, thus changing the earlierpractice of the full house discussing and votingupon individual heads of grant. The commit-tees, 23 in number, will consist of both LokSabha and Rajya Sabha members, but latterbeing denied a vote in case a particular grantcalls for such a procedure. The Lok Sabha towhich Council of Ministers is responsible andwhich alone can grant the money required forrunning the country's administration after de-tailed scrutiny. The Parliament guillotine comesin handy in such circumstances.

Adhoc Committees

These Committees are appointed as needarised and they cease to exist as soon as theycomplete the task assigned to them. The usualadhoc committees are select/joint committeeson bills, appointed to consider and report onparticular bills. Other adhoc committees areconstituted from time to time either by the twohouses on a motion adopted in that behalf or bythe Speaker/Chairman to inquire into and re-port on sepcific subjects.

Popular Parliamentary Concepts

Zero Hour: This period follows the 'Ques-tion Hour' and it normally begins at noon.Usually, the members use this period to raisevarious issues for discussion.

Question Hour: The day's business nor-mally begins with the Question Hour duringwhich question asked by the members are an-swered by the Minister. The different types ofquestions are -


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(a) Starred Question : It is one for which anoral answer is required to be given by theMinister on the floor of the House. Supple-mentary question may be asked based on theMinister's reply. The Speaker decides if aquestion should be answered orally or oth-erwise. One member can ask only onestarred question in a day.

(b) Unstarred Question : It is one for which theMinister lays on the table a written answer.A ten day notice has to be given to ask suchquestion and no supplementary questionscan be asked with regard to such questions.

(c) Short Notice Question: This type of ques-tion which can be asked by members onmatters of public importance of an urgentnature. It is for the speaker to decide whetherthe matter is of urgent nature or not. Themember has also to state reasons for askingthe question while serving notice.

(d) Cut Motions : A motion that seeks reduc-tion in the amount of a demand presentedby the govt. in known as a cut motion. Suchmotions are admitted at the speakers discre-tion. It is a device through which memberscan drawn the attention of the governmentto a specific grievance or problem. There arethree types of cut motions-

(i) Disapproval of policy cut - which is toexpress disapproval of the policy underlyinga particular demand, says that 'the amountof the demand be reduced to Re. 1".

(ii) Economy cut asks for a reduction of the amountof the demand by a specific amount. The aimis to affect economy in the expenditure.

(iii)Token cut is a device to ventilate specificgrievances within the sphere of thegovernment's responsibility. The grievancehas to be specified. Usually, the motion is inthe form, "The amount of the demand bereduced by Rs. 100".Adjournment Motion: It is motion to ad-

journ the proceeding of the House so as to takeup for discussion some matter of urgent publicimportance. Any member can move the motionand if more than 50 members support thedemand, the speaker grants permission for themotion. The notice for such a motion has to begiven before the commencement of the sittingon that day.

Calling Attention Motion: With prior per-mission of the speaker; a member may call theattention of a Minister to any matter of urgentpublic importance. The Minister may make abrief statement regarding the matter or ask fortime to make a statement.

Privilege Motion: It is motion moved by amember if he feels that a minister has committeda breach of privilege of the House or of any oneor more of its members by with holding facts ofa case or by giving a distorted version of acts.

Points of Order: A member may raise apoint of order if the proceedings of the Housedo not follow the rules. The presiding officerdecides whether the points of order raised bythe member should be allowed.

Vote on account: As there is usually gapbetween the presentation of the budget and itsapproval, the vote an account enables the govt.to draw some amount from the consolidatedfund of India to meet the expenses in theintervening period.

Guillotine: On the last of the allotted daysat the appointed time, the speaker puts everyquestion necessary to dispose off all the out-standing matters in connection with the de-mands for grants. This is known as guillotine.The guillotine concludes the discussion anddemands for grants.

Quorum: It is the minimum number ofmembers whose presence is essential to transactthe business of the House. Article 100 providesthe quorum of either House shall be one tenthof the total number of members of the House.

Censure Motion: It is differs from a no-confidence motion in that the latter does notspecify any ground on which it is based, whilethe former has to mention the charges against thegovt. for which it is being moved. A censuremotion can be moved against the council ofMinister or an individual minister for failing toact or for some policy. Reason for the censuremust be precisely inumerated. The speaker de-cides whether or not the motion is in order andno leave of the House is required for moving it.The govt. may at its discretion fix a date for thedisucssion of the motion. If the motion is passedin the Lok Sabha the council of Minister isexpected to resign.


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THE SPEAKER

The House of the people is presided over bythe Speaker who is elected by the House fromamong its own members. The office of theSpeaker has been held in great esteem through-out the history of over three hundred years ofParliamentary Government in Britain. This isbecause of the manner in which he has dis-charged his responsibilities as a presiding of-ficer; the detachment and objectivity which hebrought to bear upon all his decision, that theframers of Indian Constitution were quite con-scious of this role of impartiality of the Speakeris evident from the provisions in the Constitu-tion that deal with the office of the Speaker. Forinstance, Article 94 (c) provides for the removalof the Speaker by a resolution of the Housepassed by a majority of all the then membersof the House. Removal of officers from theirposition in this manner, namely, by such specialresolutions and by such special majorities isrestricted to only a few officers such as thePresident, the Vice-President, the PresidingOfficers of both House of Parliament, Judges ofthe Supreme Court, etc, as these officers areexpected to discharge their responsibilities with-out political and party considerations.

What is the significance of the office ofSpeaker?

The importance of the office of the Speakercan be seen also from the functions that heperforms and the powers that he exercises.

� He presides over the meetings of the House.� He adjourns the House or suspends its meet-

ing if there is no quorum.� While questions are decided in the House, he

is not entitled to vote in the first instance(which emphasizes his impartiality) but heshall exercise a casting vote in case of a tie.

� Any member of the House who resigns hisoffice should address his letter of resignationto the Speaker.

� The decision of the Speaker as to whether ornot a Bill is a money bill shall be final. TheSpeaker will have to endorse or certify itbefore such a Bill is transmitted to the Coun-cil of States or presented to the President forhis assent.

� He will be consulted along with the Chair-man of the Council of States by the Presidentwhile making rules of procedure with re-spect to joint sittings of the two House. Insuch sittings it is the Speaker's right topreside.

� In conformity with the Speaker's power toconduct the business of the House, he isempowered to allow any member to speakin his mother tongue, if he cannot ad-equately express himself either in Hindi orEnglish.

� With respect to the discharge of his powersand functions, the Speaker is not answerableto anyone except the House.

� No court of law can go into the merits of aruling given by the Speaker.

Additional functions of the SpeakerIn addition to the constitutional provisions,

the Rules of Procedure of the House confer uponthe Speaker a variety of powers in the detailedconduct of the business of the House. Underthese:1. His decision to admit notices of questions,

motions, resolutions, bills, amendments, etc.is final.

2. There are certain guiding principles whichthe Rules of Procedure lay down for deter-mining the admissibility of notices of mo-tions, etc. The interpretation of these rulesas well as their application to specific situ-ations and circumstances is the prerogativeof the Speaker.

3. He is the sole authority for giving priority orurgency to a matter so that it may be placedbefore the House in the national interest.

4. He is not expected to give reasons for hisdecisions which cannot be challenged byany member.

5. His powers to maintain discipline in theHouse and to conduct its proceedings inaccordance with the rules are formidable.

6. Similarly his powers in connection with theConstitution as well as the working of Par-liamentary Committees also are enormous.

7. The Speaker is thus the guardian and cus-todian of the rights and privileges of themembers, both in their individual capacityand on the group or party basis.


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8. The Speaker, in short, is the representative of theHouse in its powers, proceedings and dignity.A special feature of the Speaker's office is that

even when the House is dissolved, the Speaker doesnot vacate his office. He will continue in office untila new Speaker is elected when the new Housemeets. Parliament is empowered to fix the salaryand allowances of the Speaker and these arecharged on the Consolidated Fund of India.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKERThe Deputy Speaker who presides over the

House in the absence of the Speaker is electedin the same manner in which the Speaker iselected by the House. He can be removed fromoffice also in the same manner. When he sitsin the seat of the Speaker, he has all the powersof the Speaker and can perform all his func-tions. One of his special privileges is that whenhe is appointed as a member of a ParliamentaryCommittee, he automatically becomes its Chair-man. By virtue of the office that he holds, hehas a right to be present at any meeting of anyCommittee if he so chooses and can preside overits deliberations. His rulings are generally finalin any case, so far as they are related to thematter under discussion, but the Speaker maygive guidance in the interest of uniformity inpractice. Whenever the Deputy Speaker is indoubt, he reserves the matter for the ruling ofthe Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker, however, is otherwiselike any ordinary member when the Speakerpresides over the House. He may speak like anyother member, maintain his party affiliationand vote on propositions before the House asany ordinary member. The Deputy Speaker isentitled to a regular salary.

CHAIRMAN AND DEPUTYCHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF

STATESWhile presiding officers of the House of the

People are called the Speaker and the DeputySpeaker, their opposite officers in the Council ofStates are called the Chairman and the DeputyChairman respectively. The Vice-President ofIndia is the ex-officio Chairman of the Councilof States. As the presiding officer of the RajyaSabha his functions and powers are the same as

those of the Speaker. He is however not amember of the House.

In the absence of the Chairman, the Councilis presided over by the Deputy Chairman. Heis a member of the House and is elected by themembers of the House. When he ceases to be amember of the Council, he automatically vacatesthe office of the Deputy Chairman. He canresign his office by writing to the Chairman. Hemay be removed from his office by a resolutionpassed by a majority of all the then member ofthe Council. The Deputy Chairman is empow-ered to discharge all the functions and to performall duties of the office of the Chairman, wheneverChairman's office is vacant or when the Vice-President is acting as the President. As a presid-ing officer of the Council he is also given a regularsalary and other allowances that Parliament bylaw has fixed. The Council of States also has apanel of members, called Vice-Chairman, nomi-nated by the Chairman for the purpose of pre-siding over the House in the absence of both theChairman and the Deputy Chairman. TheSecretariat of the Rajya Sabha is headed by aSecretary who discharges the same functions ashis counterpart in the Lok Sabha.

THE GOVERNOR

The Constitution of India has provided forparliamentary system of Government in whichthe executive head at the Centre is the Presi-dent. Likewise, at the State level there is aprovision for an institution of the Governor,who enjoy the same status as the President atthe Centre. The Governor is appointed by thePresident and his tenure is of five years. As amatter of convention, the Chief Minister isconsulted before the appointment of Governorfor a particular State whose domicile is also ofanother State - another convention. The Gov-ernor must have the basic qualifications of beingan Indian citizen and over the age of 35 years.The Governor enjoys protection against legalproceedings in the court of law as providedunder Article 361. He is not answerable to theCourt of Law for the exercise and performanceof powers and duties of his office or for any actdone or purporting to be done in the exercise orperformance of his powers and duties. The


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Governor shall also not to be the member of thelegislature either the Centre or at the State. Ifa member of a legislature is appointed as Gov-ernor, he shall be deemed to have vacated hisseat in the legislature on the date of assumptionof his office as Governor. The Governor alsodoes not hold any office of profit. The Governorcan resign and can be removed from his office bythe President before the expiry of the term andthere are many examples in our country whenlarge number of Governors have been called backafter the change of party in power at the Centre.

Constitutional Powers of the GovernorThe Governor enjoys various powers as he

is the chief executive authority at the State level.All the executive actions in the State are takenin his name. Also:

� He makes rules for the transaction of busi-ness of the Government and for the alloca-tion of work among the Ministers.

� The Chief Minister is appointed by the Gov-ernor and the Council of Ministers holdoffice at the pleasure of the Governor.

� The Governor has the right to be informedof the transaction of business by the Councilof Ministers.

� He appoints officials such as AdvocateGeneral, Chairman and members of PublicService Commission and Vice-Chancellorsfor the State University.

� Article 356, which is much in debate, hasgiven power to the Governor to recommendto the President if a situation of emergencyhas arisen in the State.

� After the declaration of emergency, theGovernor takes the full responsibility of ad-ministration of the State and as a represen-tative of the Centre, he carries out thefunctions.

� The Governor has the power to summonand prorogue the State Legislature and alsoto dissolve the legislative assembly at anytime. In fact, legislature is summoned andprorogued on the advice of Chief Minister.

� The Governor can also independently sum-mon the legislature only in instances whenthe Chief Minister seems to deliberately evad-ing constitutional obligations.

� The first session of the State legislature, afterthe general elections, and its first session of

a calendar year, is opened by the Governor.� He can also withhold or return the bill to

legislature for consideration.� He also hold important power to hold the

bill for President's consultation.� The Governor also has the power to nominate

about one-sixth of the Legislative Councilmembers form among the persons havingspecial knowledge in different fields.

� The Governor can also issue ordinance whenthe house is not in session.

� A Money Bill cannot be introduced in thestate legislative without the prior approvalof the Governor.

� The Contingency Fund of the State is also atthe disposal of the Governor and he can useit for meeting unforeseen expenditurespending any authorization by the StateLegislature.

� The Governor is also consulted by thePresident in matters relating to the appoint-ment of Judges of the High Court of theState.

� The Governor also has the power to decideon matters relating to appointment, postingand promotion of district judges and judicialofficers.It seems that the Governor enjoys a large

number of powers and has all chances to dictatehis term on the Council of Ministers. In fact, thediscretionary powers of Governor are given tomeet extraordinary situations and not to be usedin day -today functioning of the State. Theconcept of discretionary powers of the Governorhas been taken from the Government of IndiaAct 1935. The discretion such as appointmentof Chief Minister, dismissing the Council ofMinisters, summoning and dissolving the legisla-tive assembly, reserving a bill for President'sconsideration, invoking Article 356, in fact,make this institution very strong. However, asthe Governor acts on the advice of the Centreand has the constant threat of being called back,he is; in fact, never free to use them at his will.

DISCRETIONARY POWERS OF THEGOVERNOR IN INDIA

The entire administration of the State iscarried out in the name of the Governor butpractically the real authority is exercised by theCouncil of Ministers. During the normal cir-


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cumstances, Governor acts according to theadvice of his Council of Ministers. However,Constitution has also vested the Governor withcertain discretionary powers, which he can usewithout the aid and advice of the Council ofMinisters or in other words, in the discharge ofthese functions the Governor concerned is notbound to seek or accept the advice of hisCouncil of Ministers.Discretionary powers of the Governor are:

a) Article 239:Article 239 provides that a Union Territory

shall be administered by the President throughan Administrator or a Governor of a State,adjoining Union Territory, may be appointed asthe Administrator of that Union Territory. Wherethe Governor of a State is appointed as theAdministrator of an adjoining Union Territory,he shall exercise his functions as the Adminis-trator without the aid and advice of his Councilof Ministers.

b) Sixth Schedule:Para nine of 6th schedule is related to the

licences or leases for the purpose of prospectingfor or extraction of minerals. It provides that"such share of the royalties accruing each yearfrom licences or leases for the purpose of pros-pecting for or extraction of minerals guaranteedby the government of the State in respect of anyarea within an autonomous District as may beagreed upon between the government of theState and the District Council of such Districtshall be made over to that District Council. Itfurther provides that if any dispute arises as tothe share of such royalties to be made over toa District Council, it shall be referred to theGovernor for determination and the amountdetermined by the Governor in his discretionshall be deemed to be final.

c) Article 371:Article 371 of the Constitution provides that

the President may confer special responsibilitiesupon the Governor with respect to the State ofMaharashtra and Gujarat for the establishmentof separate Development Boards for Vidarbha,Marathwada, Saurashtra, Kutch and the rest ofGujarat with the provision that a report on theworking of each of these Boards will be placedeach year before the State Legislative Assembly.

Article 371 A of the Constitution has con-ferred special responsibilities on the Governor ofNagaland for certain purposes. The Governorafter consulting his Council of Ministers, shallexercise his individual judgement as to the actionto be taken. These responsibilities are: with respectto law and order so long as internal disturbancesoccur in some areas of that State; to establish aRegional Council for Tuensang District; to arrangefor equitable allocation of money between TuensangDistrict and the rest of Nagaland.

Article 371 C of the Constitution confersspecial responsibilities upon the Governor ofManipur to secure the proper functioning of aCommittee of the Members of the LegislativeAssembly consisting of the members represent-ing the Hill Area.

Article 371 F (g) of the Constitution confersspecial responsibilities upon the Governor ofSikkim for peace and for an equitable arrange-ment for ensuring the social and economicadvancement of different sections of the popu-lation of Sikkim.

Article 371H (a) of the Constitution confersspecial responsibilities upon the Governor ofArunachal Pradesh with respect to law andorder in the State of Arunachal Pradesh.

However, the Sarkaria Commission recom-mended that "before taking a final decision inthe exercise of his discretion, it is advisable thatthe Governor should, if feasible consult hisMinisters even in such matters, which relateessentially to the administration of a State".Such a practice will be conducive to the main-tenance of healthy relations between the Gov-ernor and his Council of Ministers.

d) Appointment the Chief MinisterGovernor uses his discretion in the appoint-

ment of the Chief Minister, where after theGeneral Assembly elections, no single party orgroup commands absolute majority. He maycall such person to form the government towhom he thinks fit to form the government.Similarly, if after the death or resignation of theChief Minister on any political ground or afterthe defeat of the Chief Minister in the House,any party or group is not in majority, theGovernor may appoint such person as the ChiefMinister to whom he thinks fit.


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e) Article 200When a Bill has been passed by the Legisla-

tive Assembly of a State or, in the case of a Statehaving a Legislative Council, has been passedby both Houses of the Legislature of the State,it shall be presented to the Governor and theGovernor shall declare either that he assents tothe Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom orthat he reserves the Bill for the consideration ofthe President.

When a Bill is reserved by a Governor for theconsideration of the President, the Presidentshall declare either that he assents to the Bill orthat he withholds assent therefrom: Providedthat, where the Bill is not a Money Bill, thePresident may direct the Governor to return theBill to the House or, as the case may be, theHouses of the Legislature of the State togetherwith such a message as it mentioned in the firstproviso to Article 200 and, when a Bill is soreturned, the House or Houses shall reconsiderit accordingly within a period of six monthsfrom the date of receipt of such message and,if it is again passed by the House or Houses withor without amendment, it shall be presentedagain to the President for his considerationProcedure in Financial Matters

f) Dissolution of State Assembly:The Governor has the power to dissolve the

Legislative Assembly.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

There shall be a Council of Ministers withthe Chief Minister at the head to aid andadvise the Governor in the exercise of hisfunctions [Art.163(1)]. The head of the StateCouncil of Ministers is the Chief Minister. TheChief Minister is appointed by the Governor.Other Ministers are appointed by the Gover-nor on the advice of the Chief Minister.Ministers shall hold office during the pleasureof the Governor (Art.164). The Council ofMinister shall be collectively responsible to theLegislative Assembly of the State and indi-vidually responsible to the Governor. Anyperson may be appointed a Minister, but heceases to be a Minister if he does not remain,for a period of six consecutive months, amember of the State Legislature.

Art.164 (1) of the Constitution providesthat in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, there shall bea Minister in charge of tribal welfare who isin charge of the welfare of the ScheduledCastes and backward classes. Art.164 (1A)says that, the total number of Ministers,including the Chief Minister, in the Councilof Ministers in a State shall not exceed fifteenper cent of the total number of members ofthe Legislative Assembly of that State. [In-serted in the 91st Amendment Act, 2003].However, the number of Ministers, includingthe Chief Minister in a State shall not be lessthan twelve in any case.

Relationship between Governor and CoMLike the relationship of President with his

CoM, Governor has also similar relations withhis CoM. Governor generally acts according tothe advice of his Council of Ministers. He hasthe right to be informed about the running ofadministration by the Chief Minister (Art.167).(a) The Governor has the power to dismiss an

individual Minister at any time.(b) He can dismiss a Council of Ministers of the

Chief Minister (whose dismissal means a fallof the Council of Ministers), only when theLegislative Assembly has expressed its wantof confidence in the Council of Ministers,either by a direct vote of no-confidence orcensure or by defeating an important mea-sure.

ADVOCATE-GENERALEach State shall have an Advocate-General

for the State, an official corresponding to theAttorney-General of India, and having similarfunctions for the State. He shall be appointed bythe Governor of the State and shall hold officeduring the pleasure of the Governor. Only aperson who is qualified to be a Judge of a HighCourt can be appointed Advocate-General.[Art.165 (1)]

It is the duty of the Advocate-General to giveadvice to the Government of the State uponsuch legal matters, and to perform such otherduties of a legal character, as may from time totime be referred to him by the Governor, and todischarge the functions conferred on him by this


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Constitution or any other law for the time beingin force.

The Advocate-General shall hold office duringthe pleasure of the Governor, and shall receivesuch remuneration as the Governor may deter-mine. He shall have the right to speak and to takepart in the proceedings of, but no right to vote in,the Houses of the Legislature of the State.

THE STATE LEGISLATURE

The state legislature consists of the Governorand one or two houses. The Constitution pro-vides that where there are two Houses in aState, one shall be known as the LegislativeCouncil or Vidhan Parishads (Upper House),and the other as the Legislative Assembly orVidhan Sabha (Lower House). Where there isonly one House, it shall be known as theLegislative Assembly (Article 168).

How many States in India have a bicam-eral Legislature?

At present, Legislative Council exist in sixIndian states:

� Bihar� Maharashtra� Karnataka� Uttar Pradesh� Jammu & Kashmir� Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh abolished its upper housein 1984 but again set up a new LegislativeCouncil following the elections in 2007.

The Upper House

When the constitution came into force on 26January, 1950, provision was made in Article168 for having two houses of legislature in sixstates, namely, Bihar, Bombay, Madras, Punjab,Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Article 169states that the Parliament may by law providefor the abolition of the Legislative Council of astate having such a council or for the creationof such a council in a state having no suchcouncil, if the Legislative Assembly of the statepasses a resolution to that effect by a majorityof the total membership of the Assembly and bya majority of not less than two third of themembers of the Assembly present and voting.

In India, bicameral legislature is in 6 of the28 states. The question whether the UpperHouse in the states have their utility is debat-able. The arguments in support of these insti-tutions may be summed up as follows:

(i) the Upper House gives representation tothe special interests in the state,

(ii) it functions as a revising chamber,(iii) it is a safeguard against hasty legislation by

the Lower House,(iv) it consists of seasoned and experienced

people; and(v) it has made valuable suggestions on mat-

ters of public importance during debates inthe House, which are profitably utilised bythe Government in the implementation ofits policies and programme.

The critics of the bicameral system point outthat the upper chamber is

(i) a superfluous institution and a burden onthe public exchequer;

(ii) it has not made any significant contribution asa revising chamber or as a delaying chamber;

(iii) there is repetition of various matters thatare raised in the Lower House;

(iv) it has no power to vote demands for grantsor to amend Money Bills and certaincategories of Financial Bills;

(v) 22 out of 28 states have only one chamberi.e., Legislative Assembly and the absenceof the Upper House has not adverselyaffected the governance of those states,

(vi) Three of the states (Madras, Punjab andWest Bengal) chose to abolish their Leg-islative Council within a few years of itsexistence; and

(iv) the members defeated in elections to theLower House are often brought in asmembers of the Upper House.It is clear from the scheme of the Consti-tution set out in Articles 168 and 169 thatthere is no mandate under the constitutionfor having the bicameral system in thestates. The founders of the Constitutionprovided for upper houses in only thosestate which succeeded to the existing prov-inces under the 1935 Constitution passed


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by the British Parliament. For the Statesnewly created by the Constitution no pro-vision for Upper House is made. Accord-ingly, the erstwhile states of Bombay,Madras, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,and West Bengal had originally UpperHouse but three of them voluntarily optedfor their abolition.

What is the composition of a LegislativeCouncil?

The total number of members in the Legis-lative Council of a State having such a Councilshall not exceed one -third of the total numberof members in the Legislative Assembly of thatstate. The total number of members in theLegislative Council shall in no case be less thanfourty, unless Parliament by law otherwiseprovides. The quorum of the Council is onetenth of the total strength or 10 members,whichever is greater. Of the total number ofmembers of the Legislative Council of a State;

(i) as nearly as may be, one third shall beelected by electorates consisting of mem-bers of municipalities, district boards andsuch other local authorities in the state asParliament may by law specify,

(ii) as nearly as may be, one twelfth shall beelected by electorates consisting of per-sons residing in the State who have beenfor at least three years graduates of anyUniversity in the territory of India or havebeen for at least three years in possessionof qualifications prescribed by or underany law made by Parliament as equivalentto that of a graduate of such University,

(iii) as nearly as may be, one-twelfth shall beelected by electorates consisting of personswho have been for at least three yearsengaged in teaching in such educationalinstitutions within the state not lower instandard than that of Secondary School,as may be prescribed or under any lawmade by Parliament

(iv) as nearly as may be, one third shall beelected by the members of the LegislativeAssembly of the state from amongst personswho are not member of the Assembly; and

(v) the remainder shall be nominated by theGovernor from among persons having spe-

cial knowledge or practical experience inrespect of matters such as literature, sci-ence,, art, co-operative movement andsocial service.

Powers of Legislative CouncilsAs regards its powers, the Legislative Council

plays a more advisory role. A Bill, other than aMoney Bill, may originate in either House of theLegislature. Over legislative matters it has only asuspensive veto for a maximum period of fourmonths. Over financial matters, its powers arenot absolute. A Money Bill originates only in theAssembly and the Council may detain it only fora period of fourteen days. As in the case of theParliament at the Centre, there is no provision fora joint sitting of both the Houses of the StatesLegislature to resolve a deadlock between them,over legislative matters, if any. Thus, the Legis-lative Council is only a subordinate componentof the State Legislature.

Arguments in favour of Legislative CouncilThe supporters of these Upper Houses of

State Legislatures advance strong arguments.They feel that these Houses must be retained inthe national interest. In favour of these Houses,it is said that:1. In India the Lower Houses are constituted

on the basis of universal adult franchise.There are no voting qualifications based oneducation and property. In the Lower House,both the literate as well as illiterate vote onpolitical considerations. It is argued out thatin case democracy is to be saved from thecaprice of uneducated persons, it is essentialthat there should be Upper House.

2. Another argument advanced is that in everystate there are people who have excelled incertain walks of life. The nation must takeadvantage of their abilities and capabilities.But these persons have no interest in contest-ing elections. Their services can best beutilised only with the help of VidhanParishads.

3. It is also argued that the very fact that thereis another House, creates a very soberingeffect on the Lower House, which does notfeel tempted to pass a bill either in haste or


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under the influence of some momentaryimpulses. In case any half cooked measurecomes up then at least Upper House pointsthat out to the duly elected representatives ofthe people, leaving to them to accept thesuggestion or not. In other words, it pointsout gravity of problems and suggests solutionbut does not very much care whether sugges-tions have been accepted or not.

4. Another utility of the Legislative Council isthat minority communities in every state canbe given representation in this House. Suchrepresentation is likely to keep them verymuch happy and satisfied. Similarly, theservices of experienced persons who do notwish to contest elections can also be used inthis House.

5. Legislative work everywhere has much in-creased and it is becoming impossible for asingle House to handle it efficiently. So somenon-money bills or less controversial matterscan be introduced in the Upper House andin this way pressure of work in the LowerHouse is considerably reduced. This is al-ways a welcome relief for the Lower House.

6. It is accepted that law making process hasbecome time consuming and sufficient timeis taken by each House before a bill becomesan Act. It is also accepted that during thistime, the people get an opportunity toexpress their view point. But when the billgoes to the Upper House, the people are bitmore clear as to what is going to be passed.Moreover, this time interval is always awelcome because during this period thepeople can express themselves and if need bechanges can even now be introduced.

7. It is also argued that Upper House does notstand in any way againist the determinationof the duly elected representatives of thepeople. All that they do is that they point outcertain drawbacks and shortcomings, whichshould always be welcome. These Housescan serve very useful purpose in case allpolitical parties return there men of emi-nence who have long and varied experienceof life and maintain a good position insociety. If they are the people with thestrength of character and also capacity to

render service to the society, they can do alot of good to the society. Only those shouldbe nominated who enjoy high reputation fortheir qualities of head and heart and aspotless life career.

Arguments against Legislative Council1. In view of inherent weaknesses of Vidhan

Parishads (Legislative Councils), some criticsare of the view that these should be abolished.According to them, in case Parishad agreeswith what is passed by the Assembly then itis simply a superfluous House. In case, it doesnot then it will be characterized as a mischie-vous. House and will be charged as citadel ofreaction standing on the way of policies andprogramme of duly elected House.

2. Another criticism levied against this Houseis that it is no check on the Assembly. Amoney bill can be delayed only for a periodof 14 days, which is very insufficient periodfor the members to express their view point.Even in the case of non-money bills, it canonly delay a bill for a period of 4 months andif the Assembly is bent upon passing ameasure no efforts on the part of the Parishadcan check it.

3. The Council of Ministers also does not muchfear from it because a vote of no confidencedoes not have any effect for the Ministry.

4. It is also argued that the Parishads are usuallynot even progressive. These have no directlyelected elements. Some of the members arenominated ones. Their composition is suchthat these are not supposed to know publicsentiments. Thus, the House is characterisedas reactionary and conservative.

5. It is argued that in these Houses scholarly orliterary or social workers are not nominated.Instead, this chamber is used for providingberth to defeated politicians or those activeparty workers who somehow or other couldnot be accommodated in the Assembly ordissidents in the party to avoid party fric-tions. In other words, the Upper Housesneither represent any caste, class or sectionof society but only vested interests. Allelections or nominations are made on partybasis and these chambers are only for in-creasing party interests and influences.


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6. A usual argument is that since these cham-bers do not serve much useful purpose,therefore, their maintenance is not worththe cost which the nation is required to payfor its upkeep and by way of salaries, allow-ances and other expenses of the members.In case Parishads are abolished the tax payerwill be much saved and the money savedcan be used for other useful purposes, in-cluding economic development.

7. The very fact that only six States haveretained Vidhan Parishad proves that bicam-eralism is not a very popular institution inIndia in the states. Moreover, practical expe-rience has shown that those states whichhave no Legislative Councils are in no waydoing work less efficiently than the otherstates. In case, the Councils had been doingvery useful work, then the other states musthave gone for it.

8. Then it is not clear to whom the Parishadsrepresent. In case it is said that in it theteachers, and graduates are to be givenrepresentation, along with those who areengaged in the promotion of co-operativework, then why only these vocations andwhy not other very important vocations andoccupations. In case it is felt that in thatthose who have excelled in any walk of statelife, should be given representation, thenwhy nomination has been kept at only 1/6th. It should have been kept much higher.

9. It is presumed that in this House there willbe calm and serene atmosphere, where ev-ery problem will be discussed in a passion-less atmosphere because the elders have heldout no promises to the people at the time oftheir election. But again this is not truebecause in the Upper House also politicalconsiderations very much weigh with themembers. Each member votes more or lesson party lines and it is said that an UpperHouse is just extension of the Lower House,in so far as political parties are concerned.There is also no calm atmosphere in theseHouses. The elders quite often quarrel witheach other and do not provide much neededcalmness.

10. According to some thinkers, Upper Housesare necessary because these give sufficient

time to the people to express their views.According to them when a bill is travelingfrom the Assembly to the Parishad, thepeople come to know what is going to bepassed. Intervening time can be utilised forexpressing opinion by the public and incase there are strong reservations, the billcan be modified as well. But again this isnot correct because the time taken in pass-ing each bill in one House and stagesthrough which it passes are so many thatthe people have sufficient time to expressthemselves, through press and platform.On this ground also, the Upper Houseshave no utility.To conclude, the Upper Houses of State

Legislatures are likely to remain under criti-cisms, in case these are used for providing berthto defeated politicians so that they can becomeChief Ministers or Ministers by becoming amember of either House of legislature. Politi-cians must take the responsibility to firmlyestablish the prestige of these constitutionalinstitutions.

The Lower HouseThe Legislative Assembly consists of not

more than 500 and not less than 60 memberschosen by direct election form territorial con-stituencies in the state. For the purpose ofelection, each state shall be divided into territo-rial constituencies in such manner that the ratiobetween the population of each constituencyand the number of seats allotted to it, as far aspracticable, be throughout the state. At the endot each decennial Census, the constituencieswill be recasted to make the necessary adjust-ments to meet the variation in population.

Thus, the members of the Legislative Assem-bly are elected on the basis of universal adultfranchise without any consideration of caste,creed and religion. There is, however, a provi-sion for safeguarding the interests of scheduledcastes and scheduled tribes and Anglo Indiancommunity. Some constituencies are reservedfor Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe andmembers belonging to these community can beelected from them. There is a provision in theconstitution that when the Governor of a State


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feels that the Anglo-Indian community has notbeen given proper representation, he can nomi-nate a fixed number of members belonging tothat community in the State Assembly. Themembers of the Legislative Assembly are en-titled to receive such salaries and allowances asmay from time to time be determined by thelegislature by law.

Functions and Powers of the LegislativeAssembly

The Legislative Assembly is popular andmore powerful chamber of the State Legislature.Assembly has the following important functionsand power:

1. It can make laws on any subject providedin the State List. It can also make a lawon a subject of the Concurrent List in caseit is not in conflict with a law alreadymade by the Parliament.

2. It has control over the Council of Minis-ters. Its members may ask questions fromthe minister, introduce resolutions ormotions, and may pass a vote of censureto dismiss the government. The Ministryis collectively responsible to the Assembly.The defeat of the Ministry in the Assemblyamounts to the passing of a vote of noconfidence against it.

3. It controls the finances of the state. Amoney bill can originate in the Assemblyand it is taken as passed by the LegislativeCouncil after a lapse of 14 days afterreference made to it by the Assembly. Itmay pass, reject the demands or reducetheir amount implying adoption or rejec-tion of the budget and thereby victory ordefeat of the government. Thus, no taxcan be imposed or withdrawn without theapproval of the Legislative Assembly.

4. It has constituent powers too. Accordingto Article 368, a bill of constitutionalamendment first passed by the Parliamentshall be referred to the states for ratifica-tion. It is here that the Assembly has itsrole to play. It has to give its verdict bypassing a resolution by its simple majorityshowing approval or disapproval of thesaid bill.

5. It is also provided that the President shallrefer to the Assembly of the concernedstate a bill desiring alteration in its terri-tory for eliciting its views in this regardbefore he recommends that such a bill beintroduced in the Parliament.

6. The Assembly also elects its own Speakerand Deputy Speaker and may removethem by a vote of no confidence. It takespart in the election of the President ofIndia. It consider reports submitted byvarious independent agencies like the StatePublic Service Commission, Auditor-Gen-eral, and others.

Speaker of Legislative Assembly

Every Legislative Assembly chooses twomembers of the Assembly to be the Speaker andthe Deputy Speaker respectively whenever theseoffices become vacant. They vacate their officesif they cease to be the members of the Assembly.The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker as the casemay be resigns his office by writing to theDeputy Speaker in the case of the Speaker andto the Speaker in the case of the DeputySpeaker. They may be removed from office bya resolution of the Assembly passed by a major-ity of all the then members of the Assembly. Noresolution for the purpose of the removal of theSpeaker or the Deputy Speaker is moved unlessat least 14 day notice is given of the intentionto move such a resolution. While any resolutionfor the removal of the Speaker from the officeis under consideration, the Speaker though heis present, will not preside over such a meeting.

The Presiding Officers are paid such salariesand allowances as are prescribed by the Legis-lature of the State by law. The main character-istics of this high office are dignity, indepen-dence and impartiality. The legislature is thepivot of a democratic system of Governmentand the Speaker is the pivot of the parliamen-tary machinery. He is vested with powers toensure orderly discussion in the House, to en-force the rules of procedure, to control disorderand to take disciplinary action against membersindulging in unruly behaviour.

The Presiding Officer should stand aboveparty strife and away from stormy state politicsto be able to command respect of all groups.


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Viewed in this perspective, one can appreciatethe step taken by N. Sanjeeva Raddy, when hewas Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who resignedfrom the Party to which he belonged. But mostof the Speakers at the State did not severe theirparty connections. Some of them even joinedthe Ministries by resigning their office of Speakerand Deputy speaker. Persons who have minis-terial ambitions cannot be expected to be com-pletely impartial and free from party politics.The Speaker has not always lived upto theseprinciples and in certain states they have actedin a patently partisan manner.

What are the Qualifications and Terms ofthe members of State Legislatures?

No person can be a member of both Housesof the State Legislature at the same time. Personholding office of profit under the Union or theState Government and persons convicted by theCourt of election malpractices or other crimesare also not eligible for membership of theLegislature. A person is not qualified to becomea member of the Legislature unless he is a citizenof India and makes and subscribes before someperson authorised in that behalf by the ElectionCommission an oath or affirmation according tothe form set out for the purpose.

Terms

The Legislative Council is a permanent body,not subject to dissolution. One-third of its mem-bers retire every two years, after completing theterm of six years.

Every Legislative Assembly has a five yearsterm from the date appointed for its first meet-ing unless dissolved earlier. The Assemblystands automatically dissolved after five years.The period of five years, may, while a procla-mation of emergency is in operation, be ex-tended by Parliament by law for a period notexceeding one year at a time, and not extendingin any case beyond a period of six months afterthe proclamation has ceased to operate.

Qualifications

A person seeking election to the Legislative

Council must have completed the age of 30years, and possess such other qualifications asmay be prescribed by the Parliament from timeto time.

A person seeking election to the LegislativeAssembly must be twenty five years old andposses such other qualification as may be pre-scribed in that behalf by or under any law madeby Parliament.

Restriction on Powers of The StateLegislatures

There are many restrictions on the powersof the state legislature which make them subser-vient to the will of the Parliament, despite thefact that the Constitution allots them a certainresidue of authority that, just for some theoreti-cal reasons, may be identified with their area ofsovereignty. The restriction on the powers ofthe state legislatures are as follows:

(i) State legislatures can neither legislate onan item of the Union List nor a residuarysubject.

(ii) Though it can enact laws on a subjectmentioned in the Concurrent List, it isCentral law which shall prevail and to theextent to which the state law is violativeof Central law it will be ultra vires orconstitutional.

(iii) Article 249 provides that the Rajya Sabhamay pass a special resolution by a twothirds majority of members, present andvoting, to transfer any item from the StateList to the Union or Concurrent Lists forthe period of one year on the plea that itis expedient in the national interest.

(iv) There are some categories that require thata bill passed by the state legislature shall bereserved by the Governor for the consider-ation of the President, even though unani-mously passed by the state legislature. Billdealing with compulsory acquisition of pri-vate property, being derogatory to the pow-ers of the High Court, or seeking impositionof tax on a commodity 'essential' by an actof Parliament, or any other bill likely toconflict with some Union law, already inforce fall within this category.


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(v) The state legislatures cannot override theveto of the President.

(vi) There are some kinds of bills that cannotbe introduced in the state legislatures with-out the prior permission of the President.Bills seeking to impose restrictions on trade,commerce or intercourse with other statesor within the state fall within thiscategory.

(vii) The President is empowered to declare astates of emergency in the country withoutconsulting the states. But once such anemergency has been declared, the Parlia-ment is empowered to legislate on thesubject mentioned in the State List.

Thus, the position of the state legislatures, inpractical terms, is like that of a local and vassalParliament working under the over lordship ofthe Parliament of India.

RELATIONS BETWEEN UNION &STATES

The Constitution of India provides a dualpolity with a clear division of powers betweenthe Union and the States, each being supremewithin the sphere allotted to it. The States inIndia are not the creation of the Centre nor dothey draw their authority from the Union Gov-ernment. On the other hand, like the UnionGovernment, they draw their authority directlyfrom the Constitution and are free to operate inthe field allocated to them by the Constitution.At the outset, it may be noted that the Consti-tution of India has made most elaborate provi-sions regarding relationship between the Unionand the States. This was done with a view tominimize the conflicts between the Centre andthe States. But the actual operation of theCentre-State relations for all these years hasgiven rise to a controversy about the wisdom ofarrangements made under the Indian Constitution.Critics have expressed doubts about the existingarrangements and demanded re-allocation andadjustment of the Centre-State relations. The rela-tions between the Centre and the States can beconveniently studied under the following categories.

LEGISLATIVE RELATIONSThe Union State relations in the legislative

sphere have been dealt by Articles 245 to 254.

The Constitution clearly provides that the Par-liament shall have exclusive jurisdiction to makelaw for the whole or any part of the territoryof India with regard to subjects mentioned inthe Union List. This list contains 97 subjects likedefence, foreign affairs, currency, union duties,communication, etc. On the other hand, theState enjoys exclusive power over the 66 itemsenumerated in the State List. This List contains

WHAT IF THE LAW OF THE UNIONAND THE STATE

GOVERNMENT COME INTO CLASH WITH EACH OTHER?

If the law of the Union Government and the StateGovernment come into clash with each other the formerprevails. However, a State law on the Concurrent Listshall prevail over the Central law if the same had beenreserved for the consideration of the President and hisconsent had been received before the enactment ofthe Central law on the same subject. This clearly givessome leeway to the States.

subjects like public order, health, sanitation,agriculture etc. In addition, there is a Concur-rent list containing 47 subjects like criminal lawand procedure, marriage, contracts, trust, socialinsurance etc. over which both the Union andthe State Governments can legislate. The consti-tution also vests the residuary powers (viz.,enumerated in any of the three Lists) with theCentral Government. It may be noted that in thisdistribution of powers, the Union Governmenthas certainly been given a favoured treatment. Ithas not only been granted more extensive powersthan the States, even the residuary powers havebeen granted to it contrary to the convention inother federations of the world, where the residu-ary powers are given to the States.

Union's power to legislate on States'subjects

Though under ordinary circumstances theCentral Government does not posses power tolegislation on subjects enumerated in the StateList, but under certain special conditions theUnion Parliament can make laws even on thesesubjects. In the following cases Union Parliamentcan legislate on the subject listed in the State List.a) If the Rajya Sabha declares by a resolution

supported by not less than two thirds of themembers present and voting that it is nec-essary or expedient in the national interestthat the Parliament should make laws with


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respect to any matter, enumerated in the StateList, specified in the resolution. After such aresolution is passed it is lawful for the Parlia-ment to make laws for the whole or any partof the territory of India with respect to thatmatter while the resolution remains in force.Such a resolution remains in force for a periodof one year and can be further extended by oneyear by means of a subsequent resolution. Itmay be observed that this provision has beenused only in very few cases and has not addedto the powers of the Parliament.

b) The Parliament can legislate on the subjectsmentioned in the State List when the Procla-mation of Emergency has been made by thePresident on grounds of internal disturbancesor external aggression. However, the lawsthus made by the Parliament shall cease tohave effect on the expiration of a period ofsix months after the Proclamation has ceasedto operate, except as respects things done oromitted to be done before the expiry of thesaid period. Thus, during emergency theParliament can legislate on subjects in all thethree lists and the Federal Constitution getsconverted into unitary one.

c) The President can also authorise the Parlia-ment to exercise the powers of the Statelegislature during the Proclamation of Emer-gency due to breakdown of constitutionalmachinery in a state. But all such lawspassed by the Parliament cease to operate sixmonths after the Proclamation of Emer-gency comes to an end.

d) The Parliament can also be authorised tolegislate on a state subject if the legislaturesof two or more states feel it desirable thatany of the matters with respect to which theParliament has no power to make laws forthe states should be regulated in such statesby Parliament by law and if resolutions tothat effect are passed by legislatures of thosestates. Thereafter, any act passed by theParliament shall apply to such states and toany other state by which it is adoptedafterwards by resolution passed in that be-half by the house, or, where there are twohouses, by each house of the legislature ofthat state. The Parliament also reserves theright to amend or repeal any such act.

e. The Parliament can make law for the wholeor any part of the territory of India forimplementing any treaty, agreement or con-vention with any other country or countriesor any decision made at any internationalconference, association or other body. Anylaw passed by the Parliament for this pur-pose cannot be invalidated on the groundthat it relates to the subject mentioned in thestate list.

f. Certain bills passed by the state legislaturehave to be reserved by the Governor of thestate for the consideration of the President.These bills become law only after the Presi-dent gives his assent. The bills which theGovernor must reserve for the considerationof the President relate to compulsory acqui-sition of property, or those which adverselyaffected the Powers of the High Court.It is quite evident from the above discussion

that the Union enjoys a position of superiorityin the legislative sphere and at times the statesare completely at its mercy.

ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONS

The administrative jurisdiction of the Unionand the State Governments extends to the sub-jects in the union list and state list respectively,which clearly establishes the superiority of theUnion Government in the administrative sphereas well. In addition, the Constitution containsa number of provisions which accord a positionof superiority to the Union Government.

Article 256 lays down that the executivepower of every state shall be so exercised as toensure compliance with the laws made byParliament and any existing laws which applyin that State, and the executive power of theUnion shall extend to the giving of suchdirections to a state as may appear to theGovernment of India to be necessary for thatpurpose. Similarly, Article 257 of the Constitu-tion provides that the executive power of everystate shall be so exercised as not to impede orprejudice the exercise of the executive power ofthe Union, and the executive power of theUnion shall extend to giving of such directions


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to a state as may appear to the Government ofIndia to be necessary for that purpose. In short,the Union Government can issue directions tothe state Government even with regard to thesubjects enumerated in the state list.

Union's power to give DirectionsThe Union Government can also give direc-

tions to the state with regard to constructionand maintenance of the means of communica-tion declared to be of national or militaryimportance. It can also ask the state Govern-ments to construct and maintain means ofcommunication as part of its functions withrespect to naval, military and air force works.It can also issue them necessary directionsregarding the measures to be taken for theprotection of the railways within the jurisdic-tion of the state. It may be noted that theexpenses incurred by the state Governments forthe discharge of these functions have to bereimbursed by the Union Government. It maybe noted that the state Governments cannotignore the directions of the Union Government,otherwise the president can take the plea thatthe Government of the state cannot be carriedon the accordance with the provisions of theConstitution and impose President's rule on thestate. In such an eventuality the President shallassume to himself all or any of the functions ofthe state Government. The President of Indiacan also entrust to the officers of the Statecertain functions of the Union Government.However, before doing so the President has totake the consent of the state Government.Further, the extra cost incurred by the states inthe discharge of these obligations has to bereimbursed by the Union Government.

All-India ServicesThe presence of the All India Services like

the Indian Administrative Services, and theIndian police Services etc. further accords apredominant position to the Union Govern-ment. The members of these services are re-cruited and appointment held by the UnionPublic Service Commission. The members ofthese services are posted on key posts in thestates, but remain loyal to the Union Govern-ment. The right to create new All India Services

also rests with the Union Parliament. TheUnion Parliament can create a new All IndiaService only if the Rajya Sabha passes aresolution by two-thirds majority of the mem-bers present and voting that it is necessary in thenational interest to do so.

Water Disputes

The Parliament has been vested with powerto adjudicate any dispute or complaint withrespect to the use, distribution or control of thewaters of, or in any inter-state river of river-valley.In this regard, the Parliament also reserves theright to exclude such disputes from the jurisdic-tion of the Supreme Court or other Courts.

Responsibility of the UnionUnder the Constitution, it is the responsibil-

ity of the Union Government to protect thestates from external aggression and internaldisturbances. This leaves much scope forCentre's interference in the spheres of the state.The President can declare national emergencyin case of war or possible threat of war as wellas armed rebellion. During this emergency theCentre can give directions to the states as to themanner in which their executive power is to beexercised. The President can authorise theParliament to make laws with respect to anymatter including power to make laws confer-ring powers and imposing duties or authorisingthe conferring of power and the imposition ofduties upon the Union officers and authoritiesof the Union as respects that matter unmindfulof the fact, that the matter does not belong tothe Union list. Similarly, it is the duty of thePresident to ensure that the government of thestate is carried on in accordance with provisionsof the Constitution. If the President is satisfiedthat the government of the state cannot runalong constitutional lines, he can declare consti-tutional emergency in the state and assume tohimself all or any of the functions of the Gov-ernment of the state and all powers of the Stateother than those exercised by the legislature andHigh Court of the State. The President can alsodeclare that the powers of the state legislatureshall be exercised under the authority of theParliament and make such incidental andconsequential provisions as appear to him to be


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necessary or desirable for giving effect to theobjects of the Proclamation.

Role of GovernorsThe Central Government exercises effective

administrative control over states through theGovernors of State who are appointed by thePresident and hold office during his pleasure.The Governors can reserve certain bills passedby the State legislatures for the consideration ofthe President. President can also issue direc-tions and orders to the Governor which arebinding on him. Thus, the Centre can exerciseeffective control over the States through theGovernment to topple State Governments whichare irksome to the Central Government.

Judicial System

As the Constitution of India provides for asingle judicial system both the Union and theState Governments are duty bound to give fullfaith and credit to public acts, records, proceed-ings and judicial decisions of the Supreme Courtand the High Court. The manner in whichthese acts, records and proceedings have to bepreserved is determined by Parliament by lawand the states do not have any say in thisregard. In the matter of appointment of theChief Justice and the Judges of the SupremeCourt as well as the High Courts, the stateshave no say. They are appointed by the Presi-dent in consultation with the Chief Justice ofIndia and such other judges of the supremecourts and the High Court as he deems fit toconsult. The initiative for the removal of thesejudges also rests with the Parliament which canpass necessary resolution for their impeachmentand recommend to the President to take neces-sary action. The States are in no way connectedwith the appointment or removal of the judgesof the Supreme Court or High Court.

State Government's Power

The State Governor can entrust condition-ally or unconditionally certain functions withrespect to the executive powers of the state tothe officers of the Union with the consent of theUnion Government. (Article 258A). It may be

observed that the original Constitution did notcontain this provision. This provision wasadded through Seventh Amendment in 1956in view of the objections by the Comptroller andAuditor-General over construction of HirakundDam by the Central Government on behalf ofthe Orissa Government and debiting of cost tothe state accounts.

Impact of the 42nd Amendment Act

A new turn was given to the Centre-StateRelations in the administrative sphere by theForty- Second amendment of 1976, whichempowered the Central Government to deployarmed forces for dealing with any grave situ-ation of law and order in the States. Thecontingents so employed were to act in accor-dance with the instructions of the CentralGovernment and not to work under the direc-tion, superintendence and control of the stategovernment concerned, unless specifically di-rected by the Central Government. This changenaturally greatly restricted the autonomy ofthe states and was resented by the states.Ultimately this provision was nullified by the44th Amendment.

It is thus, evident that in the administrativesphere the states cannot act in complete isolationand have to work under the directions and incooperation with others of the federation.

FINANCIAL RELATIONS

Generally, in typical federation alongwith thedistribution of legislative and administrative powers,the financial resources of the country are also sodistributed as to ensure financial independence ofthe units. However, the Indian Constitution doesnot make a clear cut distribution of the financialresources and leaves much to be decided by theCentral Government from time to time. The finan-cial resources which have been placed at the disposalof the state are so meagre that they have to look upto the Union Government for subsidies and contri-butions. The distribution of financial resources inIndia has broadly been made as follows.1. Taxes Exclusively assigned to the Union

Income from certain subjects like customs


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and export duties, income tax, excise duty ontobacco, jute, cotton etc., corporation tax, taxeson capital value of assets of individuals andcompanies; estate duty and succession duty inrespect of property and other than agriculturalland; and income from the earning departmentslike the railways and postal departments havebeen exclusively assigned to the Union Govern-ment by the Constitution.2. Taxes exclusively assigned to States

Income from land revenue, stamp duty ex-cept on documents included in the Union List;succession duty and estate duty in respect ofagricultural land; income -tax on agriculturallands; taxes on goods and passengers carried byroad or inland water; taxes on vehicles used onroads, animals, boats, taxes on the consumptionor sale of electricity, tolls, taxes on lands andbuildings; taxes on professions, traders, callingand employment; duties on alcoholic liquors forhuman consumption, opium, Indian hemp andother narcotic drugs, taxes on the entry of goodsinto local areas, taxes on luxuries, entertain-ments, amusements, betting and gambling, etc.has been assigned to the States.3. Taxes Leviable by Union but collected and

appropriated by the StateThe taxes on the following items are levied

by the Union Government but the actualrevenue from them is collected and appropri-ated by the States; (i) stamp duties on bills ofexchange, cheques, promissory notes, bills oflanding, letters of credit, policies of insurance,transfer of shares etc.; (ii) Excise duties onmedicinal toilet preparation containing alcoholor opium or Indian hemp or other narcoticdrugs.4. Taxes levied and collected by the Union

but assigned to statesThe taxes in this category are levied and

collected by the Union Government although theyare subsequently handed over to the states wherefrom they have been collected. Such taxes in-cluded duties in respect of succession to propertyother than agricultural land; state duty in respectof property other than agricultural land terminaltaxes on goods or passengers carried by railways,

sea or air, taxes on railway freights and fares;taxes other than stamp duties on transactions instock exchanges and future markets; taxes on thesale or purchase of newspapers and on advertise-ments published therein; taxes on purchase or saleof goods other than newspapers where such saleor purchases take place in the course of inter - statetrade or commerce.5. Taxes levied and collected by the Union

but shared with the StatesTaxes on income other than agricultural

income and excise duties other than those onmedicinal and toilet preparations are levied andcollected by the Union Government but sharedwith the states on an equitable basis. The basisof distribution is determined by the Parliamentthrough a law.

CENTRE - STATE RELATIONS:TENSION AREAS

Arising out of the nature of Centre - Staterelations as well as difference in political ideol-ogy of the ruling parties at the Centre andStates, following major areas of tensions haveemerged in Indian federalism.1. Role of Governor as a representative of the

central Government with regard to appoint-ing and dismissing State ministers and dis-solution of the State Assemblies.

2. Misuse of powers of imposition of President'sRule under Article 356.

3. Reservation of Bills for the consideration ofthe President under Article 201.

4. Sharing of finances, and central approval ofstate projects.

5. Demand for autonomy by the StatesWithin these five major areas, there are

several other issues of administrative and politi-cal processes that cause tensions in Centre -State relations

Role of GovernorSince 1967, when the monopoly of the Con-

gress Party was shattered, the role of Governorhas assumed greater significance. This hasfurther become so because of nature of multi-party system and prevalence of the phenom-enon of defections. In this the ruling party atthe Centre has found in the office of Governor


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an effective instrument to assume power foritself. During seventies and eighties in particu-lar, the office of Governor was used to toppledown the State Governments on one pretext orthe other. Apart from toppling or dismissingministries, the Governors have also started in-terfering in the State Government's affairs in thename of their discretionary powers. Also start-ing from 1967 Governors have been using theirpowers to dissolve or suspend State LegislativeAssemblies to help the ruling party at the centreto form Governments at its convenience.

Such interferences by Governors in StateGovernment affairs and abuse of their powersfor partisan reason has been giving rise to afeeling of insecurity among the States followedby demands for settling the issues of appoint-ment and dismissal of Governors themselves,and a definite code for the exercise of discretion-ary powers by the governor.

Misuse of Article 356

It was a major issue of contention , as theuse of Act 356 was subjected to only thesubjective satisfaction of the president. How-ever the situation was changed after the 49th

amendment act, which has introduced manysafeguards against misuse of the powers of thePresident under article 356. The act has re-stored the original 6 months period when par-liament extends it approval to the state emer-gency. the original constitution provided thatthe state emergency could be extended for amax. period of 3yrs. with parliamentary aproval,without any preconditions, however the 44th

amendment has divided these 3yrs. into (1 yr.normal period + 2yr. extra-ordinary period). Ifit is to be extended beyond normal 1yr. then twoconditions are to be satisfied-

1. There should be a national emergencyin force in whole of the country or the stateconcerned.

2. The EC of India shall certify that underthe prevailing con dition a general election tothe state leg. assembly can not be held.

This situation was further improved in theSR Bommai vs UOI 1994 case when the SC heldthat the satisfaction of the President u/a 356 is

subject to the judicial review, however thejudicial review would be limited to -

(1) Whether there was any mate rial onwhich the President formed his satisfac-tion.

(2) Whether the material was relevant.(3) Whether there was any malafide inten-

sion on the part of the President whileexer cising his power.

All these provisions have by and large con-tributed positively towards restricting the mis-use of Act 356 in the recent past and Art 356no longer remains such an important issue ofthe contention between the centre & states, asit used to be earlier.

Article 200 & 201The power of the Governor to reserve all bill,

passed by the legislature for the President'sassent is another cause of tension between theCentre and the State. This has especially beenso in case where the Governor has reserved abill against the advice of the State Ministry,presumably under the direction of the CentralGovernment. The main purpose of this provi-sion is that the Centre wants to keep a watchon the activities of the States. Unfortunately,Governor has used these Articles in most of thecases to serve the interest of the ruling party atthe Centre which led to a good deal of contro-versy The opposition ruled states have fromtime to time raised a hue and cry against themisuse of Article 200 and 201. The West BengalGovernment in its reply to the SarkariaCommission's questionnaire felt that Articles200 and 201 had to be deleted. If the deletionwas not feasible, the State suggested that aconstitutional amendment should clarify thatthe Governor would not act in his discretion butonly on the advice of the State Council ofMinisters. Further there is also a suggestionabout making such discretion of the Governorsubject to Judicial review.

RevenueOne of the most controversial areas between

the Centre and the State in a federal system isthat of financial relations and the Indian federalsystem is no exception to this. The demand of


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the states for greater fiscal autonomy has nowbecome one of the most debated issues of theIndian federation. The tension between Centreand States with regard to fiscal relations arisesbecause of:(a) Comparative powers of taxation,(b) Statutory versus discretionary grants, and(c) Economic planning.

Fiscal matters: Sources of revenue to theCentre are relatively elastic and expansive asagainst those of the states. The Centre alsocontrols vast resources generated through defi-cit financing, loans from organized moneymarket in the country as well as huge funds offoreign aid. The residuary powers of taxationare also vested with the Central Government.In addition to this, Constitution also authorizesthe Centre to collect surcharges on taxes to raiseadditional funds in times of emergency. Inpractice surcharge has become a permanentfeature of income tax structure. Another loop-hole in taxation system, on account of whichstates suffers, is the cooperate tax, which keepson expanding and is in the exclusive purviewof the Centre. The states therefore have to bedependent on Central assistance.

Grants - in - Aid: With regard to sharing ofresources and assignment of certain resourcesentirely to the State, Articles 280 and 281provide for the appointment of an independentFinance Commission every fifth year or earlieras the President of India desires. The provisionof Finance Commission was to regulate, co-ordinate and integrate the finances of the Gov-ernment of India and the State Government.Originally, the Finance Commission was in-tended to cover all the financial transfers fromthe Centre to States. However, slowly PlanningCommission has also been brought in for thepurpose and now it plays a rather importantpart in devolution of resources from the Centreto the States. Since the Planning Commissionis a completely Central institution the politicallyinfluenced States have a sense of discriminationin location of grants. States are sore not onlybecause of the fact that the PlanningCommission's authority to determine the scopeand pattern of a major portion of Centralassistance to States has relegated the role of

Finance Commission to a subsidiary one butalso because the Centre does not seem to bemuch serious even about the reduced role of theFinance Commission. According to oppositionruled state, provision for grants-in-aid by theCentre has become purely a political and arbi-trary means of devolution.

Centre gives grant-in-aid to States underArticle 281 on its discretion for undertakingwelfare schemes, meet natural calamities or forremoval of disparities etc. There is a generalfeeling that Centre discriminated between Statesbeing ruled by different political parties. A closescrutiny of the Central relief to the States af-fected by natural calamities indicates that nowell considered norms were followed in thisregard. The Central teams preoccupied bypolitical considerations have always assessedthe damage done by droughts, flood, etc. in anad hoc perfunctory manner.

The States therefore, have sharply ques-tioned the need for the Centre to wield heavyfinancial clout in the shape of discretionarygrants, as there are inherent dangers of theirbeing used as a political weapon against a Statethat happens to be out of favour with theCentre. The States want more resources to beear-marked for statutory devolution so that thetrend of increasing allocations through discre-tionary grants can be curbed.

Economic Planning: It is generally agreedthat the process of planning in India has tendedto push the political system to greatercentralisation due to both the central controlover resources for development and the prepon-derance of the centralised planning machinery.The gravest and most harmful consequence ofthe atrophy of the state's domain in the eco-nomic field is in regard to industries and eco-nomic planning. Similarly it is alleged that inthe name of national planning, the centre forpolitical considerations has been inordinatelydelaying viable and important state projects.Infact the Centre has been alleged to be super-imposing its schemes on the States which aredeemed by State governments to be irrelevant tothe conditions prevailing in the States


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Demand for Autonomy

The constituent units of the Indian Union i.e.the States have been developing a feeling ofdeprivation on the ground that the Centre hasdenied them the autonomy that has been guar-anteed under the Constitution. Moreover, de-spite changes in Government, the trend towardscentralization has not been weakend. In thiscontext the demand for a greater and moremeaningful devolution of power has been asser-tively and more stridently articulated over theyears. The Administrative Reforms Commis-sion (appointed in 1967) recommended thatpowers should be delegated to the maximumextent to the States. It also expressed theopinion that centralized planning had tendedtowards excessive interference in the freedom ofStates to work out their policies and programmes.The Commission also made some recommenda-tions with regard to the office of Governor andalso suggested the need to establish an Inter-State Council under Article 263 of the Consti-tution. The recommendations of the Commis-sion however remained on paper and process ofcentralization continued.

SARKARIA COMMISSION

The decades of the eighties witnessed astruggle to get the federal issue on the nation'sagenda. And when the political challengeassumed new dimensions and tensions betweenthe Centre and the States grew in sharpness, itbecame necessary to ease the situation. It wasin this context that the Government of Indiaannounced on March 24, 1983 the appointmentof a Commission to examine and review theworking of existing arrangements between theUnion and the States in regard to powers,functions and responsibilities in all spheres andrecommend appropriate changes and measures.The Commission came to be known as theSarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relationsafter the name of its Chairman R.S. Sarkaria.The Commission was asked to keep in view thesocial and economic developments that hastaken place over the years as also the schemeand the framework of the Constitution and theneed for preserving the unity and integrity ofthe country.

Report of Sarkaria Commission

The Sarkaria Commission in its report sub-mitted on October 27, 1987. The Commissionfavoured a strong Centre as the only safe-guardto national integrity which was being threat-ened severely in the light of recent fissiparoustendencies in the body politics. But, the Com-mission did not equate strong Centre withcentralisation of powers. Infact, it viewedcentralisation as dangerous for national integra-tion. The Commission observes, those in powerat the centre, have been obliged to use diversestrategies and tactics which were not alwayssound from long term interests, to maintaintheir control over state level forces. Many atime, the actions of the centre, its discriminatoryapproach towards some states, its lack of un-derstanding of local problems, its object insen-sitiveness and the blatant misuse of authorityvis-à-vis the states have all distanced it from thepeople. This, in turn, it is believed that reversedthe process of national integration, the divisivetendencies have been further compounded bysuch a short sighted approach.

Recommendations of SarkariaCommission

Salient suggestions made by the SarkariaCommission are:

1. More extensive and generous use of Ar-ticle 258 which gives powers to Uniongovernment to confer powers, etc. to Stategovernments should be made than as hith-erto being done.

2. Any move to disband the All India Serviceor to permit the State government to optout the scheme must be regarded as retro-grade and harmful to the larger interest ofthe country. The All India Services shouldbe further strengthened and greater em-phasis given on the role expected to beplayed by them.

3. Whenever the Union proposes to undertakelegislation with respect to a matter in theConcurrent List, there should be prior con-sultation not only with the State govern-ment, individually, but also collectively. Thereshould be regular consultations on the man-agement of All India Services between theUnion and the State governments.


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4. The Planning Commission and the Na-tional Development Council are to be re-formed assuring at the same time of fulland effective consultation with the Statesat all stages of the planning process so thatthey feel that their role in it is not that ofa supplicant, but of an equal participant.

5. Before the Union government deploys itsarmed and other forces in a state in aid ofthe civil power otherwise than on requestfrom the State government or declare anarea within a State as disturbed, it isdesirable that the State government shouldbe consulted, wherever feasible, and itscooperation sought, even though priorconsultation with the State government isnot obligatory.

6. Convention as to consultation with Stategovernments in Concurrent List individu-ally as well as collectively should be strictlyadhered to except in extreme emergency.

7. Governor should not, on demitting hisoffice, be eligible for any other appoint-ment or office of profit under the Union orState government.

8. Article 356 (emergency provisions) shouldbe used very sparingly in extreme cases asa measure of last resort when all availablealternatives fail.

9. An expert committee should be consti-tuted to enquire into and revive from timeto time in consultation with the States, theoperational feasibility of the scope forlevying taxes and duties under Article 269and the complementary measures, the Stategovernments would be required to (Taxeslevied under this article are collected bythe Union Government and assigned tothe States).

10. In order to ensure effective consultationwith the State Chief Minister, in the selec-tion of a person to be appointed as Gov-ernor, the procedure of consultation shouldbe prescribed in the Constitution itself bysuitably amending it.

11. Residuary powers of legislation in regardto taxation matters should continue toremain exclusively in the competence ofparliament while the residuary subjectsother than that of taxation should beplaced in the Concurrent List.

12. Safeguards sho uld be incorporated inArticle 356 to enable Parliament to revivecontinuance in force of a proclamation.

13. The Constitution should be suitablyamended to add the subject of taxation of'advertisement broadcast by radio or tele-vision to the present Entry 92, List (Unionlist) and Article 269 (1) relating to dutiesand taxes levied and collected by theUnion assigned to States.

14. Inter State River Water Disputes Act maybe amended to make it mandatory on theUnion government to constitute a tribunalwithin one year of receipt of an applica-tion from a State and should be amendedto empower the Union government toappoint a tribunal when it is satisfied thata case exists, to require States to furnishnecessary data to the tribunal, to make theaward of the tribunal effective within 5years to give the award of the tribunal thesame sanction and force as that of a decreeof a Supreme Court.

Inter State Council

On top of this elaborate scheme of establish-ing cooperative Union State relations, was therecommendation relating to the setting up of apermanent Inter State Council under Article263 of the Constitution to discuss many of theproblems of common Union-State interest.Consisting of a General Body with Prime Min-ister as Chairman and all Union Cabinet Min-isters and all Chief Ministers as members, andStanding Committee with the Prime Minister aschairman, Six Union Cabinet Ministers and Sixchief Ministers one from each zone as members,such a Council is expected to provide a forumfor discussion in an era among senior statesmen.The arrangement is expected to promote properunderstanding and mutual confidence amongthe Chief Executive of the Union and the States.

In the light the recommendations of theSarkaria Commission, the Ministry of HomeAffairs issued an order dated 28th May, 1990by which an Inter-State Council was establishedunder article 263 of the Constitution. The Inter-State Council consists of the Prime Ministers,


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Chief Ministers of all States and Union territo-ries with or without a Legislative Assembly andsix Ministers of Cabinet rank in the UnionCouncil of Ministers to be nominated by thePrime Ministers or Ministers of State havingindependent charge in the Union Governmentwhen any item under their charge comes up fordiscussion. The Prime Minister is the Chairmanof the Council.

The Inter-State Council is required to meetatleast thrice every year. Its proceedings are tobe held in camera and decisions on all questionsare required to be taken by consensus. Decisionof the Chairman as to whether or not there isa consensus is final.

It is a recommendatory body with thefollowing duties:(a) Investigating and discussing such subjects,

in which some or all of the States or theUnion and one or more of the States havea common interest, as may be brought upbefore it;

(b) Making recommendations upon any suchsubject and in particular recommendationsfor the better coordination of policy andaction with respect to that subject; and

(c) Deliberating upon such other matters ofgeneral interest to the States as may bereferred by the Chairman to the Council.Out-of-the-box suggestions to improve Cen-tre-State Relations

i) Amend Article 248 to provide the states withpowers to make any law with respect to anymatter not listed in the Union List or Concur-rent List. That is, the residuary power on thefederation should lie both with the states as weas the centre.

ii) Amend Article 249 that gives power toParliament to legislate on the State List, bythe concurrence of the Rajya Sabha on amatter deemed by it to be of national inter-est. This short circuits the amending processlaid down in Article 368, and unilaterallytransfers a subject from the State List to theConcurrent List. A better and more equi-table alternative is any how available inArticle 252 (1) even if it be cumbersome andtime consuming.

iii) Amend Article 280 (regarding the FinanceCommission), and provide for the transfer ofseventy five per cent of the total revenueraised by the Centre from all sources, to theStates.

ix) Amend Article 3, to ensure that the nameand area of a State cannot be changed byParliament without the consent of the statelegislative concerned.

PUNCHHI COMMISSION

The Punchhi Commission on Centre - Staterelation was constituted on April 28, 2007by the UPA government, under the chair-manship of former Chief Justice of IndiaJustice Madan Mohan Punchhi, which sub-mitted its report on April 20, 2010. ThePunchhi commission made very pertinentobservations regarding the qualifications,appointment and removal of governors. Asfor qualifications pertaining to governor, thePunchhi Commission was forthright in sug-gesting that the nominee should not haveparticipated in active politics at even locallevel for at least a couple of years prior to hisappointment.Originally, it had four members: JusticePunchhi (Chairman), former Home Secre-taries Dhirendra Singh and V K Duggal, andformer Bangalore-based Law School Direc-tor Prof. N R Madhava Menon. Later, Dr.Amaresh Bagchi, Professor Emeritus andformer Director of the National Institute ofPublic Finance and Policy (NIPFP) was alsomade a member of the Commission.The Commission for Centre-State Relationsheaded by Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi hassubmitted its report to the Central governmentwithout much fanfare. This is a contradictionto the Liberhan Commission Report whichwas "full of sound and fury, signifying noth-ing" and which wasted 15 years.A comprehensive review of Centre-StateRelations was undertaken by the SarkariaCommission in the mid-eighties. In the twodecades that have gone by both the polityand economy have undergone profound


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changes, posing new challenges for govern-ment at all levels and calling for a fresh lookat the relative roles and responsibilities ofeach level and their inter-relations. Thepresent Commission has been entrusted withthis task and asked to make recommenda-tions that would help to address the emerg-ing challenges.The major recommendations may be enu-merated as follows

1. There should be an amendment in Articles355 and 356 to enable the Centre to bringspecific trouble-torn areas under its rule fora limited period.

2. The commission has proposed "localisingemergency provisions" under Articles 355and 356, contending that localised areas -either a district or parts of a district - bebrought under Governor's rule instead of thewhole state.Such an emergency provisionshould however not be of duration of morethan three months.

3. The commission however supports their rightto give sanction for the prosecution of min-isters against the advice of the state govern-ment.

4. To make an amendment in the communalviolence Bill to allow deployment of Centralforces without the state's consent for a shortperiod. It has proposed that state consentshould not become a hurdle in deploymentof central forces in a communal conflagra-tion. However, such deployment should onlybe for a week and post-facto consent shouldbe taken from the state.

5. Among the significant suggestions made bythe Commission is, laying down of clearguidelines for the appointment of chief min-isters. Upholding the view that a pre-pollalliance should be treated as one politicalparty, it lays down the order of precedencethat ought to be followed by the governor incase of a hung house:

a) Call the group with the largest prepoll alli-ance commanding the largest number;

b) the single largest party with support ofothers;

c) the post-electoral coalition with all partiesjoining the government; and last

d) the postelectoral alliance with some partiesjoining the government and remaining in-cluding Independents supporting from out-side.

6. The panel also feels that governors shouldhave the right to sanction prosecution of aminister against the advice of the council ofministers. However, it wants the conventionof making them chancellors of universitiesdone away with.

7. As for qualifications for a governor, thePunchhi commission suggests that the nomi-nee not have participated in active politicsat even local level for at least a couple ofyears before his appointment. It also agreeswith the Sarkaria recommendation that agovernor be an eminent person and notbelongs to the state where he is to be posted.

8. The commission also criticises arbitrary dis-missal of governors, saying, "the practice oftreating governors as political football muststop". There should be critical changes in therole of the governor - including fixed fiveyear tenure as well as their removal onlythrough impeachment by the state Assem-bly. It has also recommended that the statechief minister have a say in the appointmentof governor.

9. Underlining that removal of a governor befor a reason related to his discharge offunctions, it has proposed provisions forimpeachment by the state legislature alongthe same lines as that of President byParliament.This, significantly, goes againstthe doctrine of pleasure upheld by the recentSupreme Court judgment.

10. Endorsing an NCRWC recommendation, itsays appointment of governor should beentrusted to a committee comprising thePrime Minister, Home Minister, Speaker ofthe Lok Sabha and chief minister of theconcerned state. The Vice- President canalso be involved in the process.


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11. Unlike the Sarkaria report, the Punchhireport is categorical that a governor be givenfixed five-year tenure. The Punchhi Com-mission report also recommends that a con-stitutional amendment be brought about tolimit the scope of discretionary powers of thegovernor under Article 163 (2). Governorsshould not sit on decisions and must decidematters within a four-month period.

12. The creation of an overriding structure tomaintain internal security along the lines ofthe US Homeland Security department, giv-ing more teeth to the National IntegrationCouncil.

13. For the National Integration Council (NIC),the commission has proposed that it shouldmeet at least once a year. In case of anycommunal incident, it has said that a delega-tion of five members of the Council, whowould be eminent persons, should visit theaffected area within two days National debateand submit a fact-finding report.

14. The commission, however, rejects a sugges-tion from some stakeholders as well as theLiberhan Commission that the NIC be ac-corded constitutional status.

15. The commission has also studied new set-ups like the National Investigation Agency,and recommended procedures to ensuresmooth co-operation of the states in terrorinvestigations entrusted to NIA. One can saythat the extreme politicization of the post ofGovernor must be decried and certain spe-cific norms for the appointment and re-moval have to be evolved.

16. The recent ruling of the Supreme Court hasindicated that the sanctity of this constitu-tional post should be preserved.In democracy, nobody can have absolutepower in the name of smooth administrationand good governance. The administrativeapparatus has to be in the line of the con-stitution, which was prepared by the peopleof the country and amended by the electedrepresentative of the people of India. The'doctrine of pleasure' has to be understoodin this light.

FINANCE COMMISSION VSPLANNING COMMISSION

Indian Constitution has made an effort toallocate every possible source of revenue either tothe Union or the states. For the purpose ofallocation of certain sources of revenue, betweenthe Union and the state Governments, the Con-stitution provides for the establishment of aFinance Commission. On the other hand, thePlanning Commission is neither a constitutionalbody nor a statutory body. Moreover, PlanningCommission does not have representation ofStates. Mutual overlapping of these two bodiesis often a source of tensions in Centre - Staterelations.

Finance Commission

The Constitution of India contains the follow-ing provisions regarding the Finance Commission:(1) The President shall, within two years from

the commencement of this Constitution andthereafter at the expiration of every fifthyear or at such earlier time as the Presidentconsiders necessary, by order constitute aFinance Commission which shall consist ofa Chairman and four other members to beappointed by the President.

(2) Parliament may by law determine the quali-fications which shall be requisite for appoint-ment as members of the Commission and themanner in which they shall be selected.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Commission tomake recommendations to the President asto-

(a) The distribution between the Union and theStates of the net proceeds of taxes which areto be, or may be, divided between themunder this Chapter and the allocation be-tween the States of the respective shares ofsuch proceeds;

(b) The principles which should govern thegrants-in-aid of the revenues of the Statesout of the Consolidated Fund of India;

(c) the measures needed to augment the Con-solidated Fund of a State to supplement the


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resources of the Panchayats in the State onthe basis of the recommendations made bythe Finance Commission of the State;

(d) The measures needed to augment the Con-solidated Fund of a State to supplement theresources of the Municipalities in the Stateon the basis of the recommendations madeby the Finance Commission of the State;

(e) Any other matter referred to the Commissionby the President in the interests of soundfinance.

(4) The Commission shall determine their pro-cedure and shall have such powers in theperformance of their functions as Parlia-ment may by law confer on them.Ever since the inauguration of the Constitu-

tion, Finance Commissions have been appointedat regular intervals regarding sharing of revenuesbetween the Centre and the States. So far, thirteen(13) such Commissions have been set up. Onenotable feature of the Finance Commission hasbeen that the terms of reference have been madewider and wider with each Finance Commission.Even issues like debt burden of the state, financingof relief expenditure and returns of public sectorundertakings have been placed under the pur-view of Finance Commissions. Further, the UnionGovernment has mostly accepted the recommen-dations of the Finance Commissions. Despite thisliberal attitude of the Union Government in finan-cial matters, certain states have disapproved of theexisting arrangement for distribution of resourcesand emphasizes that the distribution of resourcesshould be more progressive favoring the relativelypoorer states. So far the Union Government hasnot shown preference for any particular settle andhas generally distributed the resources keeping inview the principle that the limited resources of thecountry should be deployed to attain best possibleresults without generating tensions.

Planning Commission

The Planning Commission also plays a vitalrole in the financial relations between the Cen-tre and the States. Though the Planning Com-mission is an extra-constitutional body it plays

a leading role in deciding the outlays of theplans of the States as well as the Centre. It alsodecides how much money should be allotted tothe various states for expenditure on variousitems. As the Planning Commission is headedby the Prime Minister (who acts as its chairman)and some of the important ministers of theUnion Cabinet are also associated with it, hasvirtually become a handmade of the CentralGovernment. The National Development Coun-cil, which was created in 1952 as an adjunct tothe Planning Commission, to review the plansalso works more or less as an agency of theCentre, even though the Chief Ministers of theState are also its members. It has been allegedthat the Planning Commission plays more impor-tant role in the allocation of funds and grants tothe state than the Finance Commission.

Grants-in-aid

The Constitution also makes provision forGrants -inaid to the states out of the revenuesof the Centre. These grants are given by theParliament out of the Consolidated Fund ofIndia to such States which are in need ofassistance. The decision whether a State is inneed of assistance or not rests with the Parlia-ment. Further different States may be granteddifferent sums. The Union Government alsopays to the states such capital and recurringsums as may be necessary to enable that stateto meet the costs of such schemes of develop-ment as may be undertaken by the state withthe approval of the Government of India for thepurpose of promoting the welfare of the Sched-uled Tribe in that State of raising the level ofadministration of the Scheduled areas therein.

Controversy

It has been alleged by critics that the roleassigned to the Finance Commission has beengreatly undermined to the creation of the Plan-ning Commission which has tended to playincreasing role in determining the transfer offunds to the states. According to a study, morefunds were transferred to the states through the


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Planning Commission and the Finance Ministrythan the Finance Commission. Generally, theFinance Commission is only required to plug thenon-development budgetary gaps in the financesof the states only, while the plan outlays aredetermined by the Planning Commission. Simi-larly the discretionary grants are also regulatedby the Finance Ministry and the Planning Com-mission and the Finance Commission hardlyplay any role in this respect.

It is clear from the above discussion that thestates in India do not possess adequate finances andhave to look to the Union Government for assis-tance. The increasing dependence on the UnionGovernment inevitably results in the curtailment oftheir autonomy, which poses a serious threat to theexistence of a federal structure. In view of the weakposition of the state, in the financial sphere, therehas been a growing demand for allocation of morefinancial resources to the states so that they maybe able to enjoy greater autonomy.

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Indian Polity 1©Chronicle IAS Academy

1. Consider the following about the doctrine ofseverability and select the correct answer:

i) The doctrine of severability means severingpart of a statute which is inconsistent withany of the constitutional provisions andparticularly the provisions of fundamentalrights.

ii) Supreme Court of India considered the doc-trine of severability for the first time inKesavananda bharati Case.

iii) The severability of the valid and invalid pro-visions of a Statute does not depend onwhether provisions are enacted in samesection or different section; it is not the formbut the substance of the matter that is to beconsidered.

Codes : -(a) All of the above (b) i and ii

(c) i and iii (d) i only

2. Match the following:

List I List II1. Article 111 I) assent to the bills/veto

power of President tothe bill passed by par-liament

2. Article 123 II) ordinance makingpower of Governor.

3. Article 200 III) Presidential veto overstate legislation.

4. Article 213 IV) ordinance makingpower of President.

Codes:(a) 1-I, 2-IV, 3-III, 4-II

(b) 1-I, 2-IV, 3-II, 4-III

(c) 1-IV, 2-I, 3-III, 4-II

(d) 1-IV, 2-I, 3-II, 4-III

3. The parliament of India consists of the Presi-dent and the two Houses known as the Coun-cil of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of thePeople (Lok Sabha). The Parliament has beenvested with different powers. Match the

POLITY SAMPLE QUESTIONSPOLITY SAMPLE QUESTIONSPOLITY SAMPLE QUESTIONSPOLITY SAMPLE QUESTIONSPOLITY SAMPLE QUESTIONS

following powers with the correct article men-tioned in the Constitution.

List A List B

A. Parliament's I. Article 266 (3)

Control over Legislation

B. Parliament's II. Article 75

Control over Executive

C. Parliament's III. Article 253

Control over Finance

Codes:(a) A-III; B-II; C-I (b) A-II; B-I; C-III

(c) A-III; B-I; C-II (d) A-II; B-III; C-I

4. A Bill becomes an Act after being duly passedby both the houses of Parliament and given anassent by the President. According to the In-dian Constitution the President has the vetopowers over the Bills passed by the Parliament.Match the followings:

ListA List B(Veto powers) (provisions)A. Absolute veto I. President returns the

Bill or part of it for thereconsideration.

B. Suspensive veto II. President is withhold-ing the assent to a Bill.

C. Pocket veto III. President is not takingany action for an in-definite time.

Codes:(a) A-II; B-I; C-III (b) A-I; B-II; C-III

(c) A-II; B-III; C-I (d) A-I; B-III; C-II

5. Consider the following statements regardingforming of new State or altering the boundariesof an existing StateA. No Bill for the purpose can be introduced

expect on the recommendation of the Presi-dent.

B. The President shall, before giving his rec-ommendation, refer the bill to the Legisla-tive of the State which is going to be af-

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fected by the changes proposed in the bill,for expressing its views on the changes.

C. The Legislative of the State should expressits views within the period specified by thePresident.

D. The President is bound by the views of theState Legislature.

Which of the following statement is/are cor-rect?(a) A, B and C (b) A and B only

(c) B only (d) All of them

6. Which of the following statements regardingthe President of India is false?1. The President shall be elected by the mem-

bers of an electoral college consisting of-the elected members of both Houses of Par-liament; and the elected members of theLegislative Assemblies of the States.

2. The supreme command of the DefenceForces of the Union shall be vested in thePresident and the exercise thereof shall beregulated by law.

3. Every elected member of the Legislative As-sembly of a State shall have as many votesas there are multiples of one thousand inthe quotient obtained by dividing the popu-lation of the State by the total number ofthe elected members of the Assembly.

4. The election of the President shall be heldin accordance with the system of propor-tional representation by means of the singletransferable vote and the voting at suchelection shall be by open ballot.

Codes:(a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 3 and 4

(c) Only 4 (d) None of the above

7. Which of the following pairs is/are correctlymatched?

I. Parliament can provide for grants-in-aid tostates by the Centre. Such sums are chargedon the Consolidated Fund of India.-----------------------------------Artcle 275

II. The Centre can grant loans to states andalso give guarantee in respect of loans raisedby them. --------------------Article 282

III. Parliament can impose restrictions on Iner-state trade and commerce in the public

interet.------------------------Article 301

Select the answer from the code given below:(a) Only I is correct (b) Only II is corect(c) Only III is corect (d) All are correct

8. In which of the following important mattersin respect of that both Houses (Rajya SabhaAnd Lok Sabha) enjoy equal powers?

I. Election and impeachment of the President

II. Election and impeachment of the Vice-President

III. Approving the Proclamation of emergencyand the the Proclamation regarding failureof constitutional machinery in States

Select the correct answer from below:(a) Only I and II (b) Only I and III

(c) Only II and III (d) All I, II and III

9. The Council of Ministers and Cabinet are oftenused interchangeably though there is a definitedistinction between them. Which of the follow-ing is NOT included in the Council of Minis-ters?

I. The Council of Ministers is collectively re-sponsible to the Lower House of the Parlia-ment.

II. It deals with all major legislative and fi-nancial matters.

III. It is a constitutional body, dealt in detail bythe Article 74 and 75 of the Constitution.

IV. It was inserted in the Article 352 of theConstitution in 1978 by the 44th Constitu-tional Amendment Act.

Select the correct answer from below:(a) Only I, II and III (b) Only II and IV

(c) Only I, II and IV (d) All II, III and III

10. The Indian Parliament exercises final controlon Public Finance through …(a) Public Accounts Committee

(b) Ministry of Finance

(c) Comptroller and Auditor General of India

(d) Estimates Committee

11. Which of the following statements is not cor-rect regarding the functions and powers of theComptroller and Auditor General of India?

Indian Polity 3

(a) He examines the accounts of the UnionGovernment and submits his report to thePresident.

(b) He examines the accounts of the state gov-ernments and submits his reports to theGovernors.

(c) He does not exercise any administrativecontrol over the offices of the auditorsworking in the states.

(d) Any information asked by the Parliamentcan only be given by CAG through PAC.

12. Consider the following statements:(i) The governor has the power to suspend,

remit or commute a sentence of death, ifconferred by law.

(ii) President has the pardoning power in re-spect of all cases of punishment by a CourtMartial.

(iii) As regards law in the concurrent sphere,the jurisdiction of President is concurrentwith that of the governor.

(iv) The only authority for pardoning a sen-tence of death is the President.

Which of the above statements are correct?(a) (ii), (iii) and (iv)

(b) (i), (ii) and (iv)

(c) (ii) and (iv)

(d) All are correct.

13. Consider the following two statements regard-ing Consolidated Fund of India:1. The estimates that relate to the expendi-

ture charged upon the consolidated fundof India shall not be submitted to the voteof the Parliament.

2. Parliament is not empowered to discuss ex-penditure charged upon the consolidatedfund of India.

Which of the options is correct?(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both are correct

(d) Both are incorrect

14. Consider the following statements about the Fi-nance Commission and select the correct ones:

1. The Finance Commission consists of aChairman and four other members to beappointed by the President on the adviceof the Council of Ministers.

2. The chairman should be a person havingspecialised knowledge of Finance and themembers should have experience in publicaffairs.

3. Finance Commission also makes recommen-dations to the President on the mattersrelating to the principles that should gov-ern the grant-in-aid to the states by thecentre.

4. Recommendations made by the FinanceCommission are binding on the govern-ment.

Codes:(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 4

(c) 3 and 4 (d) 1 and 3

15. Consider the following provisions regarding ad-ministration of Union Territories and AcquiredTerritories:(i) All the Union Territories are administered

by an Administrator as the agent of thePresident and not by a Governor acting asthe head of the state.

(ii) The Government of Delhi has all the legis-lative power in the state list except onPublic order, Police and land.

(iii) Provisions relating to the Union Territoriesextend to the administration of AcquiredTerritories.

(iv) Parliament may, by law, constitute a HighCourt for a Union Territory.

Which of the above statements are correct?(a) (i), (iii) and (iv) (b) (ii), (iii) and (iv)

(c) (i), (ii) and (iv) (d) All are correct.

16. Which of the following financial powers areenjoyed by the Governor?(i) All the demands for grants are presented

before the state legislature on the recom-mendation of the Governor.

(ii) He is in charge of the Contingency Fund ofthe state and can make advances out of itto meet unforeseen expenditure.

(iii) The supplementary grants, if any, are pre-sented before the state legislature on the

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recommendation of the governor.

(iv) He can order the reduction of salaries andallowances of the state civil servants dur-ing the President's rule in the state.

Codes:(a) (i) and (iv)

(b) (ii), (iii) and (iv)

(c) (i), (ii) and (iii)

(d) (i), (ii) (iii) and (iv)

17. Which of the following statements regardingministers is NOT correct?(a) A minister can be a member of either House

of the Parliament, but he is liable to voteonly in the house to which he belongs.

(b) Deputy Minister cannot hold independentcharges but is paid salary equal to that ofCabinet Ministers.

(c) Minister of States cannot attend cabinetmeeting unless invited.

(d) A person, not a member of any House, canbe made minister for 6 months.

18. In which of the following aspects, does the Fi-nance Commission differ from the PlanningCommission?1. Legal status

2. Composition

3. Tenure

4. Form of organisation

5. Functions

(a) 1, 2, and 5 (b) 1, 2, 3 and 5(c) 1, 2, 4 and 5 (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

19. Consider the following regarding Article 41 ofthe Constitution. It does not include….(a) Securing just and humane conditions of

work.

(b) Securing right to work.

(c) Securing public assistance in case of unem-ployment.

(d) Provision of assistance in case of disabledpeople.

20. When the Vice-President is acting as President,he...(i) Will have all powers and functions of both

the President and the Vice-President.

(ii) Will get all allowances and privileges of thePresident.

(iii) Should continue to work as the Chairmanof Rajya Sabha

Which of the above statements is/are correct?(a) (i), (ii) and (iii) (b) (i) and (ii)

(c) (ii) and (iii) (d) (ii) only

21. What are the Rights Implicit under Art (19).1. Right of a convict to express himself before

media.

2. Right to commercial advertisement.

3. Furling of National Flag.

4. Voters have right to know / Rights to in-formation

5. Rights to Bandh.

Codes:a. 1,2,3,4,5 b. 1,2,3,4

c. 2,3,4,5 d. 3,4,5

22. Which of the following statements is/are cor-rect?1- Estimates Committee comprising of 30 mem-

bers, all from Lok Sabha, is a Committee ofLok Sabha.

2- Public Accounts Committee and Commit-tee on Public Undertaking which thoughcomprise of members from both the housesof Parliament are also Committees of LokSabha only.

a. 1 only B. 2 onlyc. Both 1 & 2 D. None

23. Which of the following features of Indian Con-stitution is not an aberration to federal natureof it?a. Absence of dual citizenship

b. Independent judiciary

c. All India services

d. Unequal representation of states in Coun-cil of State

24. Match the following: List -I List-II

(Schedules in the (Provisions)

Constitution)

Indian Polity 5

I. Sixth 1. Administration and

Schedule control of scheduled ar-eas and scheduled tribes.

II. Second 2. Administration of tribalareas

Schedule in states of Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura andMizoram.

III. Twelfth 3. Provisions as to theSpeaker

Schedule andDeputy Speaker ofState Legislative Assem-blies.

IV. Fifth 4. Powers, authority andres-

Schedule ponsibilities of Mu-nicipalities.

I II III IV

a. 2 4 3 1

b. 1 4 3 2

c. 1 3 4 2

d. 2 3 4 1

25. Which of the following statements is/are cor-rect regarding the rights of minorities to estab-lish and administer their own educational insti-tutions?A. To choose its governing body in whom the

founder of the institute have faith and con-fidence to manage the affairs of the institu-tion.

B. To appoint teaching staff as also non-teach-ing staff, and to take action if there is der-eliction of duty on the part of the employ-ees.

C. To admit eligible students of their choiceand to set up a reasonable fee structure.

D. To use its properties and assets for thebenefit of the institution.

Codes:(a) A, B and C (b) A, B and D

(c) B, C and D (d) All of them

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Sample Questions (Indian Polity) 1

1 (a)

2 (a)

3 (a)

4 (d)

5 (c)

6 (a)

7 (b)

8 (e)

9 (a)

10 (a)

11 (a)

12 (b)

13 (d)

CHRONICLEIAS ACADEMYA CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE INITIATIVE

INDIAN POLITY(ANSWERS)

14 (c)

15 (c)

16 (a)

17 (d)

18 (d)

19 (a)

20 (b)

21 (b)

22 (c)

23 (b)

24 (b)

25 (b)

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Indian Polity 1

1. What will follow if a Money Bill is substantiallyamended by the Rajya Sabha?(a) The Lok Sabha may still proceed with the

Bill, accepting or not accepting the recom-mendations of the Rajya Sabha.

(b) The Lok Sabha cannot consider the Billfurther.

(c) The Lok Sabha may send the Bill to theRajya Sabha for reconsideration.

(d) The President may call a joint sitting forpassing the Bill.

2. Which one of the following statements is cor-rect?(a) In India, the same person cannot be ap-

pointed as Governor for two or more Statesat the same time.

(b) The Judges of the High Court of the Statesin India are appointed by the Governor ofthe State just as the Judges of the SupremeCourt are appointed by the President.

(c) No procedure has been laid down in theConstitution of India for the removal of aGovernor from his/her post.

(d) In the case of a Union Territory having alegislative setup, the Chief Minister is ap-pointed by the Lt. Governor on the basis ofmajority support.

3. Consider the following statements1. An amendment to the Constitution of In-

dia can be initiated by an introduction of abill in the Lok Sabha only.

2. If such an amendment seeks to makechanges in the federal character of theConstitution, the amendment also requiresto be ratified by the legislature of all theStates of India.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

4. Consider the following statements:

Attorney General of India can1. take part in the proceedings of the Lok

Sabha.

2. be a member of a committee of the LokSabha.

3. speak in the Lok Sabha.

4. vote in the Lok Sabha.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 4

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) 1 and 3 only

5. Which of the following bodies does not/do notfind mention in the Constitution?1. National Development Council

2. Planning Commission

3. Zonal Councils

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow.(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

6. The Parliament can make any law for whole orany part of India for implementing internationaltreaties(a) with the consent of all the States.

(b) with the consent of the majority of States.

(c) with the consent of the States concerned.

(d) without the consent of any State.

7. The Government enacted the Panchayat Exten-sion to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in 1996.Which one of the following is not identified asits objective?

POLITY UPSC QUESTIONSPOLITY UPSC QUESTIONSPOLITY UPSC QUESTIONSPOLITY UPSC QUESTIONSPOLITY UPSC QUESTIONS

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(a) To provide self-governance.

(b) To recognize traditional rights.

(c) To create autonomous regions in tribal ar-eas.

(d) To free tribal people from exploitation.

8. Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Tradi-tional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of ForestRights) Act, 2006, who shall be the authority toinitiate the process for determining the natureand extent of individual or community forestrights or both?(a) State Forest Department

(b) District Collector/Deputy Commissioner

(c) Tahsildar /Block Development Officer /Mandai Revenue Officer

(d) Gram Sabha

9. 'Economic Justice' the objectives of Constitutionhas been as one of the Indian provided in(a) the Preamble and Fundamental Rights.

(b) the Preamble and the Directive Principlesof State Policy.

(c) the Fundamental Rights and the DirectivePrinciples of State Policy.

(d) None of the above.

10. According to the Constitution of India, whichof the following are fundamental for the gover-nance of the country?(a) Fundamental Rights

(b) Fundamental Duties

(c) Directive Principles of State Policy

(d) Fundamental Rights and FundamentalDutie

11. In the areas covered under the Panchayat (Ex-tension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, whatis the role/power of Gram Sabha?1. Gram Sabha has the power to prevent alien-

ation of land in the Scheduled Areas.

2. Gram Sabha has the ownership of minorforest produce.

3. Recommendation of Gram Sabha is re-quired for granting prospecting license ormining lease for any mineral in the Sched-uled Areas.

Which of the statement given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

12. In the Parliament of India, the purpose of anadjournment motion is(a) To allow a discussion on a definite matter

of urgent public importance

(b) To let opposition members collect informa-tion from the ministers

(c) To allow a reduction of specific amount indemand for grant

(d) To postpone the proceedings to check theinappropriate or violent behaviour on thepart of some members.

13. Consider the following provisions under the Di-rective Principles of State Policy as enshrined inthe Constitution of India:1. Securing for citizens of India a uniform civil

code

2. Organizing village Panchayats

3. Promoting cottage industries in rural areas

4. Securing for all the workers reasonable lei-sure and cultural opportunities

Which of the above are the Gandhian Principlesthat are reflected in the Directive Principles ofState Policy?(a) 1 , 2 and 4 only (b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1,3 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

14. Consider the following statements:1. Union Territories are not represented in the

Rajya Sabha.

2. It is within the purview of the Chief Elec-tion Commissioner to adjudicate the elec-tion disputes.

3. According to the Constitution of India, theParliament consists of the Lok Sabha andthe Rajya Sabha only.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3 (d) None

15. Regarding the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker,consider the following statements:1. He/she holds the office during the plea-

sure of the President.

Indian Polity 3

2. He/she need not be a member of the Houseat the time of his/her election but has tobecome a member of the House within sixmonths from the date of his/her election.

3. If he/she intends to resign, the letter of his/her resignation has to be addressed to theDeputy Speaker.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) None

16. Which of the following are included in the origi-nal jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?1. A dispute between the Government of In-

dia and one or more States

2. A dispute regarding elections to eitherHouse of the Parliament or that of Legisla-ture of a State

3. A dispute between the Government of In-dia and a Union Territory

4. A dispute between two or more states

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow:(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 4 (d) 3 and 4

17. Which of the following special powers havebeen conferred on the Rajya Sabha by the Con-stitution of India?(a) To change the existing territory of a State

and to change the name of a State

(b) To pass a resolution empowering the Par-liament to make laws in the State List andto create one or more All India Services

(c) To amend the election procedure of thePresident and to determine the pension ofthe President after his/her retirement

(d) To determine the functions of the ElectionCommission and to determine the numberof Election Commissioners

18. Which of the following are the methods of Par-liamentary control over public finance in In-dia?1. Placing Annual Financial Statement before

the Parliament

2. Withdrawal of moneys from Consolidated

Fund of India only after passing the Ap-propriation Bill

3. Provisions of supplementary grants andvote-on-account

4. A periodic or at least a mid-year review ofprogramme of the Government againstmacroeconomic forecasts and expenditureby a Parliamentary Budget Office

5. Introduction Finance Bill in the Parliament

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow:(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only (b) 1, 2 and 4 only

(c) 3, 4 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

19. Which of the following provisions of the Con-stitution of India have a bearing on Education?1. Directive Principles of State Policy

2. Rural and Urban Local Bodies

3. Fifth Schedule

4. Sixth Schedule

5. Seventh Schedule

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow:(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3, 4 and 5 only

(c) 1, 2 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3 4 and 5

20. In India, other than ensuring that public fundsare used efficiently and for intended purpose,what is the importance of the office of theComptroller and Auditor General (CAG)?1. CAG exercises exchequer control on behalf

of the Parliament when the President ofIndia declares national emergency/finan-cial emergency.

2. CAG reports on the execution of projectsor programmes by the ministries are dis-cussed by the Public Accounts Committee.

3. Information from CAG reports can be usedby investigating agencies to press chargesagainst those who have violated the lawwhile managing public finances.

4. While dealing with the audit and account-ing of government companies, CAG hascertain judicial powers for prosecutingthose who violate the law.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?

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(a) 1, 3 and 4 only (b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

21. The Prime Minister of India, at the time of his/her appointment:(a) Need not necessarily be a member of one

of the Houses of the Parliament but mustbecome a member of one of the Houseswithin six months.

(b) Need not necessarily be a member of oneof the Houses of the Parliament but mustbecome a member of the Lok Sabha withinsix months

(c) Must be a member of one of the Houses ofthe Parliament.

(d) Must be a member of the Lok Sabha.

22. With reference to the Delimitation Commission,consider the following statements:1. The orders of the Delimitation Commission

cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.

2. When the orders of the Delimitation Com-mission are laid before the Lok Sabha orState Legislative Assembly, they cannoteffect any modifications in the orders.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

23. According to the Constitution of India, it is theduty of the President of India to cause to belaid before the Parliament which of the follow-ing?1. The Recommendations of the Union Fi-

nance Commission.

2. The Report of the Public Accounts Com-mittee.

3. The Report of the Comptroller and Audi-tor General.

4. The Report of the National Commission forScheduled Castes.

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow:(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

24. A deadlock between the Lok Sabha and theRajya Sabha calls for a joint sitting of the Par-liament during the passage of1. Ordinary Legislation

2. Money Bill

3. Constitution Amendment Bill

Select the correct answer using the codes givenbelow:(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

25. How do District Rural Development Agencies(DRDAs) help in the reduction of rural povertyin India?1. DRDAs act as Pancyayati Raj Institutions

in certain specified backward regions of thecountry.

2. DRDAs undertake area-specific scientificstudy of the causes of poverty and malnu-trition and prepare detailed remedial mea-sures.

3. DRDAs secure inter-sectoral and inter-de-partmental coordination and cooperationfor effective implementation of anti-povertyprogrammes.

4. DRDAs watch over and ensure effectiveutilization of the funds intended for anti-poverty programmes.

Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?(a) 1, 2 and 3 only (b) 3 and 4 only

(c) 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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Indian Polity 1

1 (a)

2 (c)

3 (d)

4 (c)

5 (d)

6 (d)

7 (a)

8 (d)

9 (b)

10 (c)

11 (d)

12 (a)

13 (d)

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POLITY UPSC QUESTIONS(ANSWERS)

14 (d)

15 (b)

16 (c)

17 (b)

18 (a)

19 (a)

20 (c)

21 (a)

22 (c)

23 (c)

24 (a)

25 (b)

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