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Indian Constitution at Work-Class-XI

CHAPTER-1: CONSTITUTION WHY AND HOW?

What & Why do we need a Constitution?

• A constitutio n is a bod y o f funda me nta l pr inc ip les according to whic h a s ta te is

constituted or gover ne d.
• We need a constitution to provide a set of basic rules that allow for minimal coordination amongst
members of a society which are legally enforceable.

Who can decide which rules are the best to suite for a society?

• The constitution specifies the basic allocation of power in a society.

• It decides whogets to decide what the laws will be.
• In the Ind ia n Constitution, it is specified tha t in most ins ta nces, Par lia me nt gets to
dec ide la ws a nd po lic ies, a nd tha t Par lia me nt itse lf be or ga nized in a partic ular
manner.

Functions of Cons titution:

1. Parliame nt has the authority to enact laws which constitutes governme nt in the 1 st
place.
2. Specifie s who has the power to ma k e decisions in a s o c i e t y.
3. It decides how the gover n me n t will be constituted.
4. To set some limits on what a govt. can impose on its citizens.
5. The mos t co mmo n wa y o f limiting the p ower o f gover nme nt is to specify certain
funda menta l r ights that a ll of us possess as citizens and whic h no go vernment ca n ever be
allowed to violate.
6. To enable the gover nme nt to fulfill the aspirations of a societya nd create conditions for a
just society.

Fundame ntal ide ntity of a pe ople :

1. Constitutio n expresses the fundame nta l identity of a people.

2. The people as a collective entity come into being only through the basic constitutio n.
3. Constitutio na l norms are the overarching framewo rk within which one pursues
individua l aspirations, goals and freedoms.
4. Theconstitutionsetsauthor itativeconstra ints uponwhat one may or may not do.
5. It defines the fundamental values that we may not trespass. So the constitution also gives
one a moral identity.
6. Many basic political and moral values are now shared across different constitutional traditions.

M ode of promulgation

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This refers to how a constitution comes into being. Who crafted the constitution and how much
authority did they have?

In many Countrie s cons titutions re main de funct why?

1. Crafted by militar y leaders

2. Leaders who are not popular
3. Do not have the ability to carry the people with them.

Why Countrie s like India, South Africa and the Unite d State s are the mos t s ucce ssful
cons titutions ?

• Created in the aftermath of p o p ula r na tio na l mo ve me nts .

Indian Cons titution ove rvie w:

1. Formally created by a Constitue nt Assemb ly between Decembe r 1946 and

N o ve mb e r 1949
2. Drew upon a long history of the nationa lis t moveme nt that had a remarkable ability to
take along differ e nt sections of Indian society together
3 . Dr e w enormo us legitima c y from the fact that it was drawn up by people who
enjoyed :
✓ I mme ns e public credibility
✓ Who had the capacity to negotiate and comma nd the respect of a wide cross- section
of society,
✓ who were able to convinc e the p e o p le that the constitution was not an instrument
for the aggrandize me nt of their p e r s o na l p o we r

Provis ion of the Cons titution:

1. It gives ev eryone in society some reason to go along with its provisions

2. Allowed permanent majorities to oppress minority groups within society
3. Systematica lly privile ged some members at the expense of others, or that systematica lly
entrenched the power of small groups in society, would cease to comma nd allegiance
4. The more a constitutio n preserves the freedom and equality of all its members, the
more likely it is to succeed.

Balance d Ins titutional De s ign:

1. Des igning o f a cons titutio n is to ens ure that no s ingle ins titutio n acquires mo nopo ly o f
power.
2. For E. g. The I nd ia n Co nstitutio n hor izo nta lly fra gme nts po wer ac ross d iffere nt
institutio ns like the Le gis lature, Exec utive a nd the J ud ic iar y a nd e ve n indepe nd e nt
statutory bodies like the Election Commiss io n.
3. This ensures that even if one institution wants to subvert the Constitutio n, others can

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check its transgressions.

4. An inte llige nt s ys te m o f c hecks a nd b a la nc es ha s fac ilitated the s ucce ss o f the I nd ia n
Constitutio n.
5 . A constitutio n must str ike the r ight ba la nce be twee n certa in va lues, nor ms a nd
proced ures as a uthor itative, a nd at the s a me time a llo w e no ugh fle xib ility in its
operations to adapt to changing needs and circumsta nces.
6. Too rigid a constitutio n is likely to break under the weight of change; a constitution that
is, on the othe r ha nd, too fle xib le, will give no sec ur ity, pred ic tab ility or ide ntity to a
people.

How was the Indian Cons titution made ?

✓ Constitut io n was made by the Cons titue nt As s e mbly which had been elected for
undivided India.
✓ First sitting on 9 December 1946 and re- assembled as Constituent Assembly for divided
India on 14 August 1947.
✓ Members were elected by indirect election by the members of the Provisiona l Legislative
Assemblies that had been established in 1935
✓ The Constituent Assembly was composed roughly along the lines suggested by the plan
proposed by the committee of the British cabinet, known as the Cabinet Mission.

Ac c o rding to Ca bine t M is s io n Pla n:

✓ Ea c h Pro vince a nd eac h Pr ince ly State or gro up o f Sta tes we re a llotted sea ts propor tio na l
to their respective populatio n roughly in the ratio of 1:10,00,000.
✓ The seats in e ac h Pro vince were d istr ib uted a mo ng the three ma in co mmun ities ,
Muslims , Sikhs and General, in proportion to their respective populations.
✓ Me mbe rs o f eac h co mmun ity in the Pro vis io na l Le gis lative Ass e mb ly e lected the ir o wn
represe nta tives b y the metho d o f propor tio na l represe ntatio n with s ingle tra ns ferab le
vote.
✓ The me thod o f se le ctio n in the case o f repres e ntatives o f Pr ince ly S tates wa s to be
determined by consultation.

Proce dure s

✓ The Constitue nt Asse mb ly had eight major Committees o n different s ub jec ts. Us ua lly,
Jawa ha r la l Nehr u, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maula na Azad or Ambedkar cha ired
these Committees.
✓ Each Committee us ua lly dr a fted p a r tic ula r pro vis io ns o f the Constitutio n whic h wer e
then subjected todebate by the entire Assembly.
✓ S o me provisions were subject to the vote.

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✓ An As s e mb ly as d iver se as the Constitue nt Asse mb ly o f I nd ia could not ha ve

functio ned if there was no b ack gr o und co nse ns us o n the ma in pr inc ip les the
Constitutio n should enshrine.

Obje ctive Re s olutions :

✓ It defined the aims of the Assembly

✓ Moved by Nehru in 1946.
✓ This resolutio n encapsulated the aspirations and values behind the Constitution.
✓ Based on this resolution, our Constitutio n gave institutio na l expression to these
fundamenta l commitme nts : equality, liberty, democracy, sovereignty and a cosmopolita n
identity.

M ain points of the Obje ctive s Re s olution:

✓ India is an independent, sovereign, republic;

✓ India shall be a Unio n of erstwhile British Ind ia n territories, Ind ian States, a nd other parts
outside British India and Indian States as are willing to be a part of the Union;
✓ Territor ies for ming the Unio n sha ll be autono mous units and exercise all powers and
functions of the Gover nme nt a nd administration, except those assigned to or vested in the
Union;
✓ All powers and authority o f sovereign a nd independent India a nd its constitution shall
flow from the people;
✓ All people of India shall be guaranteed and secured social, economic and political justice;
equality of status a nd opportunities a nd equa lity before law; a nd funda menta l freedoms - o f
speech, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action - subject to law
and public morality;
✓ The minorities, backward and tribal areas, depressed and other backward classes shall be
provided adequate safeguards;
✓ The territorial integrity of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air shall be
maintained according to justice and law of civilized nations;
✓ The land would make full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace
and welfare of mankind.

Ins titutional arrange me nts

✓ The Co ns titue nt Ass e mb ly spe nt a lo t of time o n e vo lving the r ight ba la nce a mo ng
the various institutions like the executive, the legis la tur e and the judiciar y.
✓ Adoption of the pa r lia me nta r y fo r m a nd the feder a l a rra nge me nt, whic h wo u ld
d istr ib ute go ve r n me nta l po we rs b e twe e n the legis lature and the exec utive on the
one hand and between the States and the central government on theother hand.
Borrowed Constitution:

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From British Constitution:

✓ N o mina l He a d – Preside nt (like Q ue e n)
✓ Cabine t S ys te m of Minis ter s
✓ Post of P M
✓ Parlia me nta r y Typ e of Govt.
✓ Bica me ra l Parlia me nt
✓ Lo we r Ho us e mo r e powerful
✓ Counc il of Minis te r s respons ib le to Lo we r Ho us e
✓ Speaker in Lo k S a b ha
✓ First past the Post
✓ La w M a k ing Procedure
✓ The Idea of the rule of law

From U.S Constitution:

✓ N o mina l He a d – Preside nt (like Q ue e n)
✓ Cabine t S ys te m of Minis ter s
✓ Post of P M
✓ Parlia me nta r y Typ e of Govt.
✓ Bica me ra l Parlia me nt
✓ Lo we r Ho us e mo r e powerfu l
✓ Counc il of Minis te r s respons ib le to Lo we Ho us e
✓ Speaker in Lo k S a b ha

From USSR:
✓ F und a me nta l Duties
✓ Five year Plan

From Australia:
✓ Concur re n t list
✓ La ngua ge of the p r e a mb le
✓ Provis io n regard ing trade, c o mme r c e and inter co ur s e

From Japan:
✓ La w on whic h the S up r e me Court functio n.

From WEIMAR CONSTITUION OF GERMANY:

✓ Suspens io n of F und a me nta l Rights during the e me r ge nc y.

From CANADA:
✓ S c he me of federa tio n with a strong centre
✓ Distr ib u tio n of powers b e twe e n centre and the states and placing. Re s id ua r y
P o we r s with the centre

From IRELAND:

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✓ Concept of Direc tive Princ ip les of States Polic y(I r e la nd b o r r o we d it from

S PAI N )
✓ M e tho d of electio n of Preside nt
✓ N o mina tio n of me mb e r s in the Rajya S a b ha by the Preside nt

CHAPTER-2 -RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

BILL OF RIGHTS:

✓ A list o f r ights me nt io ne d a nd p r o te c te d b y the c o ns titutio n is c a lle d the ‗bill o f

rights‘
✓ A d e mo c r a c y mus t e ns ur e tha t ind iv id ua ls ha ve c e r ta in r ights a nd tha t the
go ve r nme n t will a lwa ys r e c o gnize the s e r ights .
✓ P r o hib its go ve r n m e n t fr o m thus a c ting a ga ins t the r ights o f the ind iv id ua ls a nd
e ns ur e s a r e me d y in c a s e the r e is vio la t io n o f t he s e r ig h ts .

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

✓ The M o tila l N e hr u c o mmitt e e ha d d e ma n d e d a b ill o f r ights a s fa r b a c k a s in
1928.
✓ The Constitutio n listed the rights that wo uld be specia lly protected a nd called
them ‗fundamental rights‘.
✓ Fundame ntal Rights are so important tha t the C o ns titutio n ha s s e p a r a te ly lis te d
the m a nd ma d e s p e c ia lp r o v is io ns f o r t he ir p r o te c tio n.
✓ The F und a me n t a l Rights a r e s o imp o r ta nt tha t the C o ns titutio n its e lf e ns ur e s
tha tthe y a r e no t vio la te d b y the go ve r nme nt.

Ordina ry R ig ht s a nd Funda me nt a l R ig ht s :

✓ O r d i n a r y le g a l rig h t s a r e p r o te c te d a n d e n f o r c e d b y o r d in a r y la w,
F u n d a m e n t a l R i g h t s a r e p r o te c te d a n d g ua r a nte e d b y t he c o ns t itu t io n o f
the c o untr y.
✓ Ordina ry rig ht s ma y b e c ha nge d b y the le gis la tur e b y o r d ina r y p r o c e s s o f
la w ma k in g , b ut a f u n da me n t a l r ig ht ma y o n ly b e c h a n g e d b y a me n d i n g
the C o ns titutio n itself.
✓ J ud ic ia r y ha s the powers a nd r e s p o ns ib ilit y to p r o te c t the f unda me n t a l rig ht s
fr o m vio la tio ns b y a c tio ns o f the go ve r n me n t, Exe c utive a s we ll a s le gis la t ive
a c t io ns c a n b e d e c la r e d ille ga l b y t he jud ic ia r y if t h e s e v io la te t he
fund a me n ta l r ights o r r e s tr ic t the m in a n unr e a s o na b le ma nne r.
F u n d a m e n t a l R ig h t s :

R ig ht t o Equa lit y :

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✓ Equality before la w
✓ e q ua l p r o te c tio n o f la ws
✓ P r o hib itio n o f d is c r imina tio n o n gr o und s o f relig io n, race, caste, s e x o r p la c e o f
birth
✓ E q u a l a c c e s s to s ho p s , ho te ls , we lls , ta nk s , b a thin g gha ts , r o a d s e tc .
✓ Equality of opportunity in p ub lic e mp lo yme nt
✓ Abolitio n of Untouchability
✓ Abolitio n of titles

R ig ht t o Fre e do m:

✓ Protectio n of Right to:

– fr e e d o m o f s p e e c h a nd e xp r e s s io n;
– a s s e mb le p e a c e fully ;
– f o r m a s s o c ia t io n s / u n io ns ;
– mo ve free ly thr o ugho ut the te r r ito r yo f I nd ia ;
– r e s id e a nd s e ttle in a ny p a r t o f I nd ia ;
– p r a c tis e a ny p r o fe s s io n, o r to c a r r y o n a ny o c c up a tio n, tr a d e o r b us ine s s .

✓ P r o te c tio n in r e s p e c t o f c o nvic tio n fo r o ffe nc e s

✓ Right to life a nd p e r s o na l libe r ty
✓ Right to e d uc a tio n
✓ P r o te c tio n a ga ins t a r r e s t a nd d e te ntio n in c e r ta in c a s e s

R ig ht a g a ins t Ex plo it a t io n

✓ P r o hib itio n o f traffic in huma n b e ings a nd fo r c e d la b o ur

✓ Prohib itio n of e mp lo yme nt of child re n in hazard o us jobs

R ig ht t o F r e e d o m o f R e lig io n
✓ F r e e d o m o f c o ns c ie n c e a nd fr e e p r o fe s s io n, p r a c tic e a nd p r o p a ga tio n of
r e ligio n
✓ F r e e d o m to ma na ge religio us affa ir s
✓ F r e e d o m to p a y ta xe s fo r p r o mo tio n o f a ny partic u la r r e ligio n
✓ F r e e d o m to a tte nd r e ligio us ins tr uc tio n o r wo r s h ip in c e r ta in e d uc a tio n a l
ins titut io ns

Cultural and Educational Rights

✓ P r o te c tio n of la ngua ge , c ultur e ofmino r ities

✓ Right o f mino r itie s to estab lis h e d uc a tio na l institutio ns

Right to Constitutional Remedies

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✓ R ig ht to mo v e t he c o u r ts to is s ue d ir e c tio ns/or de rs /wr its fo r e nfo r c e me nt o f

rights

Overview of Rights:

✓ T he C o ns t it ut io n c la r if ie s tha t the go ve r n me nt c a n imp le me nt s p e c ia l

s c he me s a nd me a s ur e s fo r imp r o v in g t he c o nd it io ns o f ce r ta in s e c tio ns o f
so c ie ty : c hild r e n, wo me n, a nd the s o c ia lly a nd e d uc a tio na lly b a c k wa r d
classe s.
✓ I n fac t Ar tic le 1 6 ( 4 ) o f the c o ns titut io n e xp lic itly c la r ifie s tha t a po lic y like
reserva tio n will no t b e s e e n a s a vio la tio n of right to equa lity. If yo u s e e the
sp ir it o f the C o ns tit ut io n, this is r e q u ir e d fo r the fu lf illme nt o f the r ight to
e q ua lity o f o p p o r tunity.
✓ R ig h t to f r e e d o m o f s p e e c h a n d e xp r e s s io n is s ub je c t to r e s tr ic t io ns s uc h a s
p ub lic o r d e r, p e a c e a nd mo r a lity e tc .
✓ F r e e d o mto a s s e mb le to o is to b e e xe r c is e d p e a c e fully a nd witho ut a r ms .
✓ T h e go v e r n me n t ma y imp o s e r e s t r ic t io ns in c e r ta in a r e a s d e c la r in g t h e
a s s e mb ly o f five o r mo r e p e r s o ns a s unla w f u l.

Preventive detention:
✓ O r d ina r ily, a p e r s o n wo uld b e a r r e s te d a f t e r he o r s he ha s r e p o r te d ly
c o mmit te d s o me o ffe nc e . Ho we ve r the r e a r e e xc e p tio ns to this .
✓ S o me tim e s a p e r s o n c a n b e a r r e s te d s imp ly o ut o f a n a p p r e he ns io n tha t he o r
s he is lik e ly to e nga ge in unla w f u l a c tivity a nd imp r is o ne d fo r s o me time . This
is k n o w n a s p r e ve ntive d e te ntio n.
✓ It me a ns tha t if the go ve r n m e n t fe e ls tha t a p e r s o n c a n b e a thr e a t to la w a nd
o r d e r o r to the p e a c e a nd s e c ur ity o f the na tio n, it c a n d e ta in o r a r r e s t tha t
p e r s o n. This p r e v e nt i ve d e te ntio n c a n b e e xte nd e d o nly fo r t hre e mo nt hs .

Rights of accused
To e ns ur e a fair tria l in courts, the C o ns titutio n ha s p r o vid e d thr e e r ights :
• no p e r s o n wo uld b e p unis he d fo r the s a me o ffe nc e mo r e tha n o nc e ,
• no la w s ha ll d e c la r e a ny a c tio n a s ille ga l fr o m a b a c k d a te , a nd
• no p e r s o n shall b e a s k e d to give e vid e nc e a ga ins t hims e lf orherse lf

Freedom of faith and worship

✓ F r e e d o m o f r e ligio n a ls o inc lud e s the fr e e d o m o f c o ns c ie nc e .
✓ It me a ns tha t a p e r s o n ma y c ho o s e a ny r e ligio n o r ma y c ho o s e no t to fo llo w
a ny r e ligio n.
✓ F r e e d o m o f r e ligio n inc lud e s the fr e e d o m to p r o fe s s , fo llo w a nd p r o p a ga te
a ny r e ligio n.
Ce rt a in Limit a t io ns :

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• Tha t, the go ve r nme nt c a n imp o s e s restr ic tio ns o n the p r a c tic e o f fr e e d o m o f

r e ligio n in o r d e r to p r o te c t p ub lic o r d e r, mo r a lit y a nd he a lth.
• It is no t a n unlimite d r ight.
• The go ve r nme n t c a n inte r fe r e in r e ligio us ma tte r s fo r r o o ting o ut c e r ta in s o c ia l
e vils .
• The C o ns tit ut io n d o e s n o ta l lo w fo r c ib le c o nve r s io ns .
• It o nly give s us the r ight to s p r e a d info r ma t io n a b o ut o ur r e ligio n a nd thus
a ttr a c t o the r s to it.

CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS

• A ll min o r it ie s , r e lig io us o r lin g u is t ic , c a n s e t u p the ir o w n e d uc a t io na l

institutio ns. B y d o ing s o , the y c a n p r e s e r ve a nd d e ve lo p the ir o w n c ultur e .
• T h e g o v e r n me n t w ill no t, w h ile gr a n t in g a id to e d uc a t io n a l ins t it ut io ns ,
d is c r imin a te a ga ins t a n y e d uc a t io na l ins t it ut io n o n t he b a s is t ha t it is u nd e r
the ma na g e me n t o f mino r i t yc o mm u n i t y.
RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES

✓ Dr. Amb e d k a r consid er ed th e right to constitutio na l remed ies as ‗heart a nd soul of

the constitutio n‘ .
✓ Why ? Because this right give s a citize n the right to approach a High Court or the
S up r e me Court to get a ny of the fund a me nta l rights restored in case of their
viola tio n.
✓ The S up r e me Court a nd the High Courts can issue orders and give directives to the
governme nt for the enforc e me n t of rights.

The c o ur ts c a n is s ue va r io us s p e c ia l o r d e r s k n o w n a s writ s .
❖ Ha be as corpus : M e a ns tha t t he c o ur t o rd e r s tha t the a r r e s ted pe r s o n s ho uld
b e p r es e nte d be fo r e it. I t c a n a ls o o rd e r to set fr e e a n a r r es te d pe r s o n if the
ma nne r o r gr o und s of arrest a r e no t la wful o r satis fa c to r y.
❖ M a nda mus : I s s ue d wh e n t he c o ur t find s tha t a p a r tic u la r o f f ic e ho ld e r is
no t d o ing lega l d uty a nd the r e b y is infr ing in g o n the right o f a n ind ivid ua l.
❖ Prohibit ion: I s s u e d b y a h ig h e r c o ur t ( H ig h C o ur t o r S up r e me C o ur t) w h e n a
lo we r c o ur t ha s c o ns id e r e d a c a s e go ing b e yo nd its juris d ic tio n.
❖ Quo Warra nt o: If the c o ur t find s tha t a p e r s o n is ho ld ing o ffic e b ut is no t
e nt it le d to ho ld t ha t o ff ic e , it is s ue s t he wr it o f q u o wa r r a n to a nd r es tr ic ts t ha t
p e r s o n fr o m a c ting a s a n o ffic e ho ld e r.
❖ Ce rtio ra ri: Und e r this wr it, the c o urt o rd e rs a lo we r co ur t or a no the r a utho r ity
to transfe r a matter pending before it to the highe r author ity or court.
National Human Right Commission (NHRC):

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✓ T h e C o mm is s io n ‘ s f u n c t io ns inc lu d e inq u ir y a t its o w n in it ia t ive o r o n a

p e tit io n p r e s e n te d to it b y a v ic t im in to c o mp la in t o f v io la t io n o f h u ma n
r ights ;
✓ Vis it to ja ils to s tud y the c o nd it io n o f the inma te s ;
✓ Und e r ta k i n g a nd p r o mo t i n g r e s e a r c h in the fie ld o f h u ma n r ights .
✓ T h e C o mmis s io n d o e s no t h a v e the p o w e r o f p r o s e c utio n.
✓ It c a n me r e ly ma k e r e c o mme n d a t io n s to the g o v e r n me n t o r r e c o mme n d to
the c o ur ts to init ia t e p r o c e e d i n g s b a s e d o n the inq uir y tha t it c o nd uc ts .

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

The c ha p te r o n Dir e c tive P r inc ip le s lists ma inly thr e e things :

✓ The go a ls a nd o b je c tive s tha t w e a s a s o c ie ty s ho uld a d o p t;
✓ C e r ta in r ights tha t ind iv id ua ls s ho uld e njo y a p a r t fr o m the F und a me n ta l
Rights ; a nd
✓ C e r ta in p o lic ie s tha t the go ve r n m e n t s ho uld a d o p t.

Relation between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy:

• Funda m e n t a l R ig ht s r e s tr a in the g o v e r n me n t f r o m d o in g c e r ta in thin g s

while D ire c t iv e Princ iple s e xho r t the go ve r n me n t to d o c e r ta in things .
• Funda m e n t a l R ig ht s ma in l y p r o te c t the r ights o f ind iv id ua ls while
D ire c t iv e Princ iple s e ns ur e the we ll- b e in g o f the e ntir e s o c ie ty.

Right to Property

• I n the C o ns titut io n, or ig ina lly, the r e wa s a fu nd a me nta l r ight to ‗acq uir e,

p o s s e s s a nd ma inta in‘ p r o p e r ty.
• Bu t t he Co ns tit ut io n ma d e it c le a r tha t p r o p e r t y c o u ld b e t a k e n a w a y b y t he
go ve r nme nt fo r p ub lic we lfa r e .
• I n 1 9 7 3, the S up r e me C o ur t ga ve a d e c is io n tha t the r ight to p r o p e r ty wa s no t
pa r t o f the b a s ic s tr uc tur e o f the C o ns tit ut io n a nd the r e fo re , p a r lia me nt ha d
p o we r to a b r id ge this right b y a n a me nd me nt .
• I n 1 9 78 , the 44 t h a me nd me nt to the Co ns tit ut io n r e mo ve d t he r ight to p r o p e r ty
fr o m the lis t o f F u nd a me nta l R ights a nd c o n ve r te d it into a s imp le le ga l rig ht
unde r artic le 3 0 0 A.

Chapter-3 –Election and Representation:

Election System in India:

✓ I nd ia is a co ns tit ut io na l d e mo c r a c y w it h a p a r lia me nta r y s ys te m o f go ve r n me nt,

a nd a t the he a r t o f the s ys te m is a c o mmit me nt to ho ld re gu la r, fr e e a nd fa ir
electio ns .

Rajesh Nayak
www.iasabhiyan.com

✓ The s e e le c t io ns d e te r mine the c o mp o s it io n o f t he go ve r n me nt, the me mb e r s h ip

o f the two ho us e s o f p a r lia me nt, the s ta te a nd u n io n ter r ito r y le g is la tive
a s s e mb lie s , a nd the P r e s id e nc y a nd vic e - p r e s id e nc y.
✓ E le c tio ns in I nd ia a r e e ve nts in vo lv in g po lit ic a l mo b iliza t io n a nd o r ga niza t io na l
c o mp le xity o n a n a ma zin g scale.

First Past the Post:

Und e r this s ys te m:
✓ The entire c o untr y is d ivid e d into 5 4 3 c o ns titue nc ie s

• Ea c h c o ns titue n c y e le c ts o ne r e p r e s e nta tive ; a nd

• The c a nd id a te who s e c ur e s the highe s t numb e r o f vo te s in tha t c o ns titue nc y is
d e c la r e d e le c te d .
• I t is imp o r ta n t to no te tha t in this s ys te m w h o e v e r ha s mo r e vo te s tha n a ll o the r
c a nd id a te s is d e c la r e d e le c te d .
• The winn in g c a nd id a te ne e d no t s e c ur e a ma jo r ity o f the vo te s . This me tho d is
c a lle d t he F ir s t P a s t the P o s t ( F P TP ) s ys te m.
• This me th o d is a ls o c a lle d the Plura lit y S y s t e m.
• This is the me t h o d o f e le c tio n p r e s c r ib e d b y the C o ns titutio n.

Propo rt io na l Re pre s e ntatio n

✓ Ea c h p a r ty fills its q uo ta o f s e a ts b y p ic k ing tho s e ma n y o f its no mine e s fr o m a
p r e fe r e nc e list tha t ha s b e e nd e c la r e d b e fo r e t he e le c t io ns .
✓ I n this s ys te m a p a r ty ge ts the s a me p r o p o r tio n o f s e a ts a s its p r o p o r tio n o f
vo te s .
✓ I n India , we ha ve a d o p te d P R s ys te m o n a limite d s c a le fo r ind ir e c t e le c tio ns .
The C o ns titutio n p r e s c r ib e s a thir d a nd c o mp le x va r ia tio n o f the P R s ys te m
fo r the e le c tio n o f P r e s id e nt, Vic e P r e s id e nt, a nd fo r the e le c tio n to the Ra jya
S a b ha a nd Vid ha n P a r is ha d s .
Co mpa ris o n of FPTP a nd PR s ys te m of e le ction:

FPTP

✓ Country is divided into small geographical units called constituencies or districts.

✓ Every Constituency elects one representatives.
✓ Voter votes for a candidate
✓ A party may get more seats than votes in the legislature.
✓ Candidate who wins the election may not get majority
✓ E.g-U.K and India

PR:

Rajesh Nayak
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✓ La r ge ge o gr a p hic a l a r e a s a r e d e ma r c a te d a s c o ns titue nc ie s . The e ntir e

c o untr y ma y b e a s ingle c o ns titue nc y.
✓ M o r e tha n o ne r e p r e s e nta tive ma y b e e le c te d fr o mo n e c o ns titue nc y
✓ Vo te r vo te s fo r the p a r ty
✓ Eve r y p a r ty ge ts s e a ts in the le gis la t ur e in p r o p o r tio n to the p e r c e nta ge o f
vo te s tha t it ge ts
✓ C a nd id a te w h o wins the e le c tio ns ge ts ma jo r it yo f votes.
✓ Exa mp le s : Israel, N e the r la nd s

Why did India adopt the FPTP s ys te m?

✓ The r e a s o n fo r the p o p ula r ity a nd s uc c e s s o f the F P T P s ys te m is its s imp lic ity.
✓ T h e e nt ir e e le c t io n s y s t e m is e x tr e me ly s imp le to u n d e r s ta nd e v e n fo r
c o m mo n vo te r s w h o ma y ha v e n o s p e c ia lize d k no w le d g e a b o u t p o lit ic s a nd
e le c tio ns .
✓ A c le a r c ho ic e p r e s e nte d to the vo te r s a t the time o f e le c tio ns .
✓ Vo te r s ha ve to s imp ly e nd o r s e a c a nd id a te o r a p a r ty while vo ting.
✓ De p e nd ing o n the na tur e o f a c tua l p o litic s , vo te r s ma y e ithe r give gr e a te r
imp o r ta nc e to the p a r ty o r to the c a nd id a te o r b a la nc e the two .
✓ The F P T P s ys te m o ffe r s vo te r s a c ho ic e no t s imp ly b e twe e n p a r tie s b ut
s p e c ific c a nd id a te s .
✓ I n c o ns titue nc y b a s e d s ys te m lik e the F P TP, the vo te r s k n o w w h o the ir o w n
r e p r e s e nta tive is a nd c a n ho ld him o r he r a c c o unta b le .

W h y no t P R S y s t e m?
✓ P R b a s e d e le c tio n ma y no t b e s uita b le fo r givin g a s ta b le go ve r n me n t in a
p a r lia me nta r y s ys te m.
✓ This s ys te m r e q uir e s tha t the e xe c utive ha s ma jo r ity in the le gis la t ur e .
✓ The P R s ys te m ma y no t p r o d uc e a c le a r ma jo r ity b e c a us e s e a ts in the
le gis la t u r e w o u ld b e d i v id e d o n the b a s is o fs ha r e o f v o te s .
✓ I n a d ive r s e c o untr y lik e I nd ia , a P R s ys te m wo uld e nc o ur a ge e a c h
c o mmu n it y to fo r m its o w n na tio n- w id e p a r ty.

Why FPTP System?

✓ Ge ne r a lly FPTP give s the la r ge s t p a r ty o r c o a litio n s o me e xtr a b o nus s e a ts , mo r e

tha n the ir s ha r e o f vo te s wo uld a llo w.
✓ This s ys te m ma k e s it p o s s ib le fo r p a r lia me nta r y go ve r nme n t to func tio n
s mo o thly a nd e ffe c tive l y b y fa c ilita tin g the fo r ma t io n o f a s ta b le go ve r n me n t.
✓ The F T P T s ys te m e nc o ur a ge s vo te r s fr o m d iffe r e nt s o c ia l gr o up s to c o me
to ge the r to win a n e le c tio n in a lo c a lity.
✓ The F P T P s ys te m ha s p r o ve d to b e s imp le a nd fa milia r to o r d ina r y vo te r s .

Rajesh Nayak
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✓ I t h a s he lp e d la r ge r p a r tie s to w in c le a r ma jo r it ie s a t t he c e ntr e a n d t he S ta te
le ve l.
✓ T h e s ys te m h a s a ls o d is c o u r a ge d p o lit ic a l p a r t ie s t ha t ge t a ll t he ir vo tes o nly
fr o m o ne caste or commun ity.

RESERVATION OF CONSTITUENCIES

✓ I n th is s ys t e m, a ll vo te r s in a c o ns t it u e nc y a r e e lig ib le to vo te b u t t h e
c a nd id a t e s mu s t b e lo n g to o n ly a p a r t ic u la r c o m mu n it y o r s o c ia l s e c t io n fo r
whic h the s e a t is r e s e r ve d .
✓ T h e C o ns t it ut io n p r o v id e s fo r r e s e r va t io n o f s e a ts in t he L o k S a b h a a n d S ta te
Le gis la tive As s e mb lie s fo r t h e S c he d ule d C a s te s a nd S c he d ule d Tr ib e s .
✓ T h is p r o v is io n w a s ma d e in it ia lly fo r a p e r io d o f 1 0 ye a r s a n d a s a r e s u lt o f
s uc c e s s ive c o ns titutio na l a me nd me n ts , ha s b e e n e xte nd e d up to 2 0 2 0 .
✓ T h e P a r lia me n t c a n ta k e a d e c is io n to f ur t he r e xt e nd it, w h e n t he p e r io d o f
r e s e r va tio n e xp ir e s .

W h o de c ide s whic h c o ns t it ue nc y is t o be re s e rv e d? O n wha t ba s is is t his de c is io n

t a k e n?

✓ Ta k e n b y a n ind e p e nd e nt b o d y c a lle d the D e limit a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n .

✓ T h e De lim i ta t io n C o mmis s i o n is a ppo int e d by t he Pre s ide nt o f I ndia
a nd wo rk s in c o lla bo ra t io n wi t h t he Ele c t io n Co mmis s io n o f I ndia .
✓ Ap p o int e d fo r t he p ur p o s e o f d r a w in g up the b o und a r ie s o f c o ns t it ue nc ie s a ll o ve r
the c o untr y.
✓ A q uo ta o f c o ns t itue nc ie s to b e r e s e r ve d in e a c h S ta te is f ixe d d e p e nd in g o n t he
p r o p o r tio n o f S C o r S T in tha t S ta te .
✓ Af te r d r a w in g t he b o und a r ie s , the De limita t io n C o mmis s io n lo o k s a t the
c o mp o s itio n o f p o p ula tio n in e a c h c o ns titue nc y.
✓ T ho s e c o ns t it ue nc ie s tha t ha ve the h ig he s t p r o p o r tio n o f S c he d u le d Tr ib e
p o p ula tio n a r e r e s e r ve d fo r S T.
✓ I n t he c a s e o f S c he d u le d C a s te s , the De limita t io n C o mm is s io n lo o k s a t two
th ings . It p ic k s c o ns t it ue nc ie s t ha t ha ve h ig he r p r o p o r tio n o f S c he d u le d C a s te
p o p ula t io n. B u t it a ls o s p r e a d s t he s e c o ns t itue nc ie s in d if fe r e n t r e g io ns o f t he
S ta te . Th is is d o ne b e c a us e t he S c he d u le d C a s te p o p u la t io n is ge ne r a lly s p r e a d
e ve nly thr o ug ho ut the c o untr y.

Unive rs a l fra nc his e a nd rig ht to c o nte s t:

W h o a re t he v o t e rs ? W h o c a n c o nt e s t e le c t io ns ?

Rajesh Nayak
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✓ I n b o th the s e r e s p e c ts o ur C o ns titutio n fo llo ws the well- e s ta b lis h ed d e mo c r a tic

p r a c tic e s .
✓ Yo u a lr e a d y k n o w tha t d e mo c r a tic e le c tio ns r e q uir e tha t a ll a d ult c itize ns o f
the c o untr y mus t b e e ligib le to vo te in the e le c tio ns . This is k n o w n a s
unive r s a l a d ult fr a nc his e .
✓ Till 1 9 8 9 , a n a d ult I nd ia n me a nt a n I nd ia n c itize n a b o ve the a ge o f 2 1 .
✓ A n a me n d me n t to the C o ns titutio n in 1 9 8 9 , r e d uc e d the e ligib ilit y a ge to 1 8 .
✓ Ad ult fr a nc his e e ns ur e s tha t a ll c itize ns a r e a b le to p a r tic ip a te in the p r o c e s s
o f s e le c ting the ir r e p r e s e nta tive .
✓ This is c o ns is te nt with the p r inc ip le o f e q ua lity a nd no n- d is c r imina t io n.

R ig ht t o Co nt e s t Ele c t io n:

✓ A llc it iz e ns h a ve t he r ight to s ta nd fo r e le c t io n a nd b e c o me t he r e p r e s e nta t ive o f

the p e o p le .
✓ T h e r e a r e d if f e r e n t m in i m u m a ge r e q u ir e me n ts fo r c o nte s t ing e le c tio ns . F o r
e xa mp le , in o r d e r to s ta nd fo r L o k S a b h a o r A s s e mb ly e le c t io n, a c a nd id a t e
mus t b e a t le a s t 2 5 ye a r s o ld .
✓ T he r e is a le ga l p r o v is io n t ha t a p e r s o n w h o ha s u nd e r go ne imp r is o n me nt fo r
tw o o r mo r e ye a r s fo r s o me o f f e nc e is d is q ua l if ie d f r o m c o n t e s t in g
e le c t io n s .
✓ T h e r e a r e n o r e s tr ic t io n s o f in c o me , e d uc a t io n o r c la s s o r g e nd e r o n t he r ig ht to
c o nte s t e le c tio ns .

Inde pe nde nt Ele ction Co mmis s io n:

Article 324: (1)

T h e s up e r inte nd e nc e , d ir e c t io n a nd c o ntr o l o f the p r e p a r a tio n o f t he e le c to r a l r o lls

fo r, a n d t he c o nd uc t o f, a ll e le c t io ns to P a r lia me nt a nd to the Le g is la tur e o f e ve r y
S ta te a nd o f e le c t io ns to the o f f ic e s o f P r e s id e nt a nd Vic e - P r e s id e nt he ld u nd e r th is
C o ns tit ut io n s ha ll b e ve s te d in a C o mm is s io n ( r e fe r r e d to in th is C o ns tit ut io n a s the
Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n ) .

✓ To assist the Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n o f I nd ia the r e is a C hie f Electo ra l O ffic e r in

e ve r ys ta te .
✓ The Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n is no t re s po ns ible fo r the c o nd uc t o f lo c a l bo dy
e le c t io ns .
✓ The Ele c tio n C o mmis s i o n o f I nd ia c a n e ithe r b e a s ingle me mb e r o r a multi-
me mb e r b o d y.
✓ Till 1 9 8 9 , the Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n w a s s ingle me mb e r.
✓ J us t b e fo r e the 1 9 8 9 ge ne r a l e le c tio ns , two Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n e r s we r e
a p p o inte d , ma k in g the b o d y mult i - me mb e r.
✓ I n 1 9 9 3 , two Ele c tio n C o mmis s io ne r s we r e o nc e a ga in a p p o inte d a nd the

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C o mmis s i o n b e c a me mult i- me m b e r a nd ha s r e ma ine d mult i - me mb e r s inc e

the n.
✓ A mult i - me mb e r Ele c tio n C o mmis s i o n is mo r e a p p r o p r ia te a s p o we r is
s ha r e d a nd the r e is gr e a te r a c c o unta b ilit y.
✓ The C hie f Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n e r ( C EC ) p r e s id e s o ve r the Ele c tio n
C o mmis s io n, b ut d o e s no t ha ve mo r e p o we r s tha n the o the r Ele c tio n
C o mmis s io ne r s .
✓ The C E C a nd the two Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n e r s ha ve e q ua l p o we r s to ta k e all
d e c is io ns r e la ting to e le c tio n s a s a c o lle c tive b o d y.
✓ The y a r e a p p o inte d b y the P r e s id e nt o f I nd ia o n the a d vic e o f the C o unc il o f
M inis te r s .
✓ The C o ns titutio n e ns ur e s the s e c ur ity o f the te nur e o f the C E C a nd Ele c tio n
C o mmis s io ne r s .
✓ The y a r e a p p o inte d fo r a s ix ye a r te r m o r c o ntinue till the a ge o f 6 5 , whic he ve r
is e a r lie r.
✓ The C E C c a n b e r e mo ve d b e fo r e the e xp ir y o f the te r m, b y the P r e s id e nt if
b o th Ho us e s o f P a r lia me n t ma k e s uc h a r e c o mme nd a t io n with a s p e c ia l
ma jo r ity.
✓ This is d o ne to e ns ur e tha t a r uling p a r ty c a nno t r e mo ve a C E C w h o r e fus e s
to fa vo ur it in e le c tio ns .

Spe cial M a j o r i t y

S p e c ia l ma jo r it y me a ns :

✓ Two - thir d s ma jo r ity o f tho s e p r e s e nt a nd vo ting, a nd

✓ S imp le ma jo r ity o f the total me mb e r s h ip o f the Ho us e .

The Ele c t io n Co mmis s io n o f I ndia ha s a wide ra ng e o f f unc t io ns :

✓ S up e r vis e s the p r e p a r a tio n o f up - to - d a te voters‘ list.

✓ M a k e s e ve r y e ffo r t to e ns ur e tha t t he voters‘ list is fr ee o f e rr or s lik e no n-
e xis te nc e o f na me s o f r e gis te r e d vo te r s o r e xis te nc e o f na me s o f t ho s e no n-
eligib le o r no n- e xis te nt.
✓ De te r mine s the timin g o f e le c tio ns a nd p r e p a r e s the e le c tio n s c he d ule .
✓ The e le c tio n s c he d ule inc lud e s the no tific a t io n o f e le c tio ns , d a te fr o m
whic h no min a t io ns c a n b e file d , la s t d a te fo r filin g no mina t io n s , la s t d a te o f
s c r utiny, la s t d a te o f withd r a wa l, d a te o f p o llin g a nd d a te o f c o untin g a nd
d e c la r a tio n o f r e s ults .
✓ Dur ing this entir e p r o c e s s , the Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n ha s the p o we r to ta k e
d e c is io ns to e ns ur e a fr e e a nd fa ir p o ll.
✓ C a n p o s tp o ne o r c a nc e l the e le c tio n in the e ntir e c o untr y o r a s p e c ific S ta te

Rajesh Nayak
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o r c o ns titue nc y o n the gr o und s tha t the a tmo s p he r e is vitia te d a nd the r e fo r e ,

a fr e e a nd fa ir e le c tio n ma y no t b e p o s s ib le .
✓ The C o mmis s io n a ls o imp le me n ts a mo d e l c o d e o f c o nd uc t fo r p a r tie s a nd
c a nd id a te s .
✓ It c a n o r d e r a r e - p o ll in a s p e c ific c o ns titue nc y. It c a n a ls o o r d e r a r e c o unt o f
vo te s whe n it fe e ls tha t the c o unting p r o c e s s ha s no t b e e n fully fa ir a nd jus t.
✓ The Ele c tio n C o mmis s io n a c c o r d s r e c o gnitio n to politic a l partie s a nd allo ts
s ymb o ls to e a c h o f the m.

ELECTORAL REFORM S:
S ug g e s t io ns a re :
✓ O ur s ys te m o f e le c t io ns s ho u ld b e c ha n ge d fr o m t he F P T P to s o me va r ia nt o f
the P R s ys te m. T h is w o u ld e n s u r e t ha t p a r t ie s g e t s e a ts , a s fa r a s p o s s ib le, in
p r o p o r tio n to the vo te s the y ge t .
✓ T h e r e s ho u ld b e a s p e c ia l p r o v is io n to e ns u r e t ha t a t le a s t o n e - th ir d w o me n
a r e e le c te d to the p a r lia me n t a nd a s s e mb lie s .
✓ The r e s ho uld b e stricte r p r o vis io ns to c o ntr o l the r o le o f mo ne y in e le c to r a l
p o lit ic s . T h e e le c t io ns e xp e ns e s s ho u ld b e p a id b y t he g o ve r n me n t o ut o f a
s p e c ia l fund .
✓ C a n d id a t e s w it h a n y c r imina l c a s e s ho uld b e b a r r e d f r o m c o nte s t i n g
e le c t io n s , e v e n if the ir a p p e a l is p e nd in g b e fo r e a c o ur t.
✓ The r e s ho u ld b e c o mp le te b a n o n t he us e o f ca s te a nd r e lig io us a p p e a ls in
the c a mp a ign.
✓ The r e s ho uld b e a la w to r e gula te the func tio nin g o f p o litic a l p a r tie s a nd to
ensure that the y func tio n in a tr a ns p a r e n t a nd d e mo c r a tic ma n ne r .

C ha pter-4 -E xe c utive

W H A T I S A N E XE C U T I VE ?
✓ The organ of government that primarily looks after the function of implementation and
administrationis called the executive.

Principal functions of the Exe cutive ?

✓ Executive is the branch of government responsible for the implementation of laws and
policies adopted by thelegislature.
✓ The executive is often involved in framing ofpolicy.
✓ Some countries have presidents, while others have chancellors.
✓ The executive branch is not justabout presidents, prime ministers and ministers.
✓ It alsoextends to the administrative machinery (civil servants).
✓ While the heads of government and their ministers, saddled with the overall responsibility
of government policy, are together known as the politica l executive , those

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responsible for day to day administration are called thepermanent executive.

WH A T A R E T H E D I F F E RE NT T YP E S O F E XE C U T I VE ?

In a pre s ide ntial s ys tem:

✓ The president is the Head of state as well as head of governme nt.
✓ In this system the office of president is very powerful, both in theory and practice.
✓ Countries with such a system include the United States, Brazil and most nations in
Latin America.

Se mi-Pre s ide ntial Exe cutive :

✓ Under the system of Executive Presidency, people directly elect the President.
✓ It may happen that both the President and the Prime Minister belong to the same
political party or to different political parties.
✓ Countries with such a system include the France, Russia, Sri Lanka

Parliamentary System:

✓ The prime ministe r is the head of governme nt.

✓ Most parlia me nta r y systems have a president or a monarc h who is the nomina l Head
of state.
✓ In such a system, the role of president or monarch is primarily ceremonia l and prime
minister along with the cabinet wieldseffective power.
✓ Countries with such system include Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom as well as
Portugal.

PARLIAM ENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA

✓ Ind ia a lready had so me e xperie nce of running the parlia me ntar y syste m under the Acts of
1919 a nd 1935. This e xper ie nce ha d s ho wn that in the par lia me ntar y s ys te m, the
executive can be effective ly controlled by the representatives of the people.

Why Parliame ntary Form:

✓ Indian Constitutio n wanted to ensure that the governme nt would be sensitive to public
expectations and would be responsible and accountable.
✓ The presidential executive puts much emphasis on the president as the chief executive
and as source of all executive power.
✓ There is always the danger of personality cult in presidentia l executive.
✓ Executive will be answerable to and controlled by the legislature or people‘s
representatives.
What is Parliame ntary Form of Sys te m?
✓ President who is the formal Head of the state of India and the Prime Minister and the

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Council of Ministers, which run the governme nt at the national level.

✓ At the State level, the exec utive compr ises the Gover nor a nd the C hie f M inister a nd
Council of Ministers.

Powe r and pos ition of Pre s ide nt :

✓ Art ic le 7 4 (1) : The re sha ll be a Counc il o f M inisters with the Pr ime M inis ter at the
he ad to a id a nd ad vise the Pres ide nt who s ha ll in the e xerc ise o f his func tio ns, act in
accordance with such advice.

✓ Pro vid ed that th e Pr esi dent ma y req uire the C oun cil of Minist er s to r ec onsid er
su ch ad vic e…. ., a n d the Pre side nt shall act in a c co rd anc e with th e ad vice
tendered after such reconsideration.

Dis cre tionary Powe rs of the Pre s ide nt :

✓ Constitutio na lly, the President has a right to be infor med of all important matters and
deliberations of the Council of Ministers.
✓ The Prime Ministe r is obliged to furnish all the infor matio n that the President may
call for.
✓ The President often writes to the Prime Minister and expresses his views on matters
confronting the country.
Thre e Situations where the President can exercise the power using his or her own
discretion:
✓ Ca n s e nd b ack the ad vice give n b y the Counc il o f M iniste rs a nd ask the Counc il to
reconsider the decision. In doing this, the President acts on his (or her) own discretion.
✓ Has veto power by whic h he ca n withho ld or refuse to give assent to Bills (other tha n
Mone y Bill) passed by the Parlia me nt. Ever y bill passed by the Parlia ment goes to the
President for his assent before it becomes a law. The President can send the bill back to
the Parlia me nt asking it to reconsider the b ill. This ‗veto‘ po wer is limited beca use, if
the Par lia me nt passes the sa me b ill aga in a nd se nds it back to the President, then, the
President has to give asse nt to that b ill. Ho we ve r, there is no me ntio n in t he
Cons titutio n abo ut the time limit within whic h the Pres ide nt must se nd the b ill back
for recons ideratio n. This mea ns that the Preside nt ca n jus t keep the b ill p e nd ing with him
witho ut a ny time limit. This gives the President an infor ma l power to use the veto in a very
effective manner. This is sometime s referred to as ‘pocke t ve to’.
✓ W he n a fte r an e lection, no leader has a c lear major ity in the Lok Sab ha, the Pres ide nt
has to d ec ide who m to appo int as the Pr ime M inister. In s uc h a s ituatio n, the Pres ide nt
has to use his o wn d iscretion in jud ging who rea lly ma y ha ve the s upport o f the ma jor ity
or who can actually form and run the governme nt.

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The Vice Pre s ide nt of India:

✓ Elected for five years.

✓ Elec tio n method is s imilar to tha t o f the Pres id ent; the only d iffe re nce is tha t
members of State legislatures are not part of the Electoral College.
✓ Ma y be r e mo ved fr o m his office b y a re so lutio n of the Ra jya Sab ha passed b y a
majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
✓ Acts as the e x- o ffic io Cha ir ma n o f the Rajya Sab ha a nd takes o ve r the o ffice o f the
Pres ide nt whe n there is a vaca nc y b y r e a s o ns of d e a th, r e s igna t io n, r e mo va l b y
impeachme nt or otherwise.
✓ Acts as the President only until a new President is e l e c t e d .

PR I M E M I N I S TER AN D COUN CI L OF M I N I S TER S

✓ The Prime Minister becomes the most important functio na r y of the governme nt in our
country.
✓ Head of the Council of Ministers
✓ The President exercises his powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers
✓ In the parliame ntar y form of executive, it is essential that the Prime Minister has the
support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. This support by the majority also makes the
Prime Minister very powerful.
✓ Decides who will be the minister s in the Council of Ministers.
✓ Allocates ranks and portfolios to the ministers.
✓ Depending upon the seniority and political importance, the ministe rs are given the ranks
of cabinet minister, ministe r of State or deputy minister.
✓ In the same manner, Chief Ministers of the States choose ministers from their own
party or coalition.
✓ The Prime Minister and all the ministers have to be members of the Parliame nt.
✓ If someone becomes a minister or Prime Ministe r without being an MP, such a person
has to get elected to the Parliame nt within s ix months .

Si ze of the Counci l of Mi ni sters:

✓ An a me nd me nt was made that the Counc il of Ministers shall not exceed 15 percent of
total number of members of the House of People (or Assembly, in the case of the States).
✓ Collective ly responsible to the Lok Sabha. This provis ion means that a Ministr y whic h
loses confidence of the Lok Sabha is obliged to resign.
✓ The pr inc ip le ind ica tes that the minis tr y is an e xec utive co mmittee o f the Par lia me nt
and it collective ly governs on behalf of the Parliame nt.
Colle ctive re s pons ibility:
❖ Based on the principle of the solidarity of the cabinet.
❖ Implies that a vote of no confidence even against a single minis ter leads to the resignation

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of the entire Council of Ministers.

❖ Also indicates that if a minis ter does not agree with a policy or decision of the cabinet, he
or she must either accept the decision or resign.
❖ It is binding on all ministers to pursue or agree to a polic y for whic h there is
colle c tive responsibility.

✓ The dea th or res igna tio n o f the Pr ime M inister a uto ma tica lly br ings abo ut the
dis so lutio n o f the Counc il o f M inis ters b ut the de mise, d is missa l or res ignatio n o f a
minis ter only creates a minis ter ia l vacancy.
✓ The Pr ime M iniste r acts as a link betwee n the Counc il o f M inis te rs o n the o ne ha nd and
the President as well as the Parliament on the other.
✓ The Prime M inis ter is invo lve d in a ll cr uc ia l de c is io ns o f the gover nme nt a nd decides
on the policies of the government.
✓ Thus, the power wie lded by the Pr ime M inister flows fro m var io us so urces : co ntro l o ver
the Co unc il o f M inis ters, le ade r s hip o f the Lo k Sab ha , c o mma nd o ver the
burea uc ratic mac hine, acc ess to med ia, proje ctio n o f perso na lities dur ing e lec tio ns,
projection as national leader during internationa l summitr y as well as foreign visits.

At the State level:

✓ Similar parliamentary executive exists, though with some variations.
✓ The most important variation is that there is a Governor of the State appointed by the
President (on the advice of the central governme nt).
✓ Though the Chief Minister, like the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party
in the Assembly, the Governor has more discretio nar y powers.
✓ However, the main principles of parliame nta r y system operate at the State level too.

PER M AN EN T EXECUTI VE: B UR EAUCR AC Y

✓ The Exec utive organ of the go vernme nt inc ludes the Prime M iniste r, the ministe rs a nd a
large organiza tio n called the bure aucracy or the adminis trative machine ry.

In a de mocracy:
✓ The elected representatives and the ministers are in charge of government and the
administration is under their control and supervisio n.
✓ The legislature also exercisescontro lo ver thead minis tratio n.
✓ The administrative officers cannot act in violatio n of the policies adopted by the
legislature.
✓ It is the responsibility of the ministers to retain political control over the administration.
✓ India has established professional administrative machine r y.

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The Indian bure aucracy:

✓ It consists of the All- India services, State services, emp loye es of the local
governme nts , and technical and manager ia l staff running public sector undertakings.
✓ The Union Public Service Commiss io n has been entrusted with the task of conducting the
process of recruitment of the civil servants for the government of India.
✓ Similar public service commissions are provided for the States also.
✓ Members of the Public Service Commissions are appointedfor a fixed term.
✓ Their re moval or s us pe ns ion is subject to a thorough enquiry made by a judge of the
Supre me Court.
✓ The bureaucracy is an instrument through which welfare policies of the government must
reach the people.
✓ Bureaucracy isinsensitive to the demands and expectations of the ordinary citizen.
How Expe ctations of the ordinary citize ns can be s e ns itize d?
✓ Only if the democratica lly elected governme nt controls the bureaucracy, some of these
problems can be effectively handled.
✓ On the other hand, too much political interference turns the bureaucracy into an instrument
in the hands of the politician.
✓ Tho ugh the Constitutio n has created independent machiner y for recruitme nt, ma ny
people think that there is no provis ion for protecting the c ivil serva nts fro m politica l
interference in the performance of their duties.
✓ It is a lso fe lt that e no ugh pro vis io ns ar e not there to e ns ure the acco untab ility o f the
bureaucracy to the citize n.
✓ The re is an e xpectatio n that me as ur es like the Right to I nfor matio n ma y mak e the
bureaucracy a little more responsive and accountable.

C hapter-5-Legislature
WHY DO WE NEED A PARLIAM ENT?
✓ Le gis la t ur e is no t me r e ly a la w ma k in g b o d y.
✓ L a w ma k in g is b ut o ne o f the func tio ns o f the le gis la tur e .
✓ It is the c e ntr e o f a ll d e mo c r a tic p o litic a l p r o c e s s .
✓ It is p a c k e d with a c tio n; wa lk o uts , p r o te s ts , d e mo ns tr a tio n, una nimit y,
c o nc e r n a nd c o - o p e r a tio n.
✓ I nd e e d , a ge nuin e d e mo c r a c y is inc o nc e iv a b le witho u t a r e p r e s e nta tive ,
e ffic ie nt a nd e ffe c tive le gis la t ur e .
✓ The le gis la t u r e a ls o he lp s p e o p le in ho ld in g the r e p r e s e nta t iv e s
a c c o unta b le . This is ind e e d , the ve r y b a s is o f r e p r e s e nta t iv e d e mo c r a c y.

WHY DO WE NEED TWO HOUSES OF PA R LI A M EN T ?

✓ Theterm‗Pa r lia me nt‘ refers to the natio na l legis la tur e.
✓ The le gis la tur e o f the S ta te s is d e s c r ib e d a s S ta te legis latu re .

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✓ The P a r lia me nt in I nd ia ha s two ho us e s .

✓ W he n the r e a r e two ho us e s o f the le gis la tur e , it is c a lle d a b ic a m e r a l
le gis la t ur e . The two Ho us e s o f the I nd ia n P a r lia me nt a r e the C o unc il o f
S ta te s o r the Ra jya S a b ha a nd the Ho us e o f the P e o p le o r the L o k S a b ha .
✓ The C o ns titutio n ha s give n the S ta te s the o p tio n o f e s ta b lis hing e ithe r a
unic a me r a l o r b ic a me r a lle g is la t ur e .
At pre s e nt ( 2 0 1 5 ) o nly S e v e n S t a t e s ha v e a bic a me ra l le g is la t ure .
S t a t e s ha v ing a bic a me ra l le g is la t ure :
✓ And hr a P r a d e s h
✓ Te le ga na
✓ Biha r
✓ J a mmu a n d K a s h mir K a r n a t a k a
✓ M a ha r a s h tr a
✓ Utta r P r a d e s h

Advantages of Bicameral Legislature:

✓ C o untr ie s w ith la r ge s ize a nd mu c h d ive r s ity us ua lly p r e fe r to ha ve two ho us e s
o f the na tio na l legis la tur e to give r e p r e s e nta tio n to a ll sectio ns in the society a nd
to give representa tio n to all ge o gr a p hic a lr e gio ns o r parts o f the c o untr y.
✓ A b ic a me r a l le g is la tur e ma k e s it p o s s ib le to ha ve e ve r yd e c is io n r e c o ns id e r e d .
Eve r y d e c is io n ta k e n b y o ne ho us e go e s to t he o the r ho us e fo r its de c is io n. T h is
me a ns that e ve r y bill a nd polic y wo uld b e d is c us s e d twic e . This e ns ur e s a
d o ub le c he c k o n e ve r y ma tte r. E ve n if o ne ho us e ta ke s a d e c is io n in has te , tha t
de c is io n will c o me fo r d is c us s io n in t he o the r ho us e a nd r e c o ns id e r a tio n w ill
b e p o s s ib le .

Rajya Sabha:

✓ Re p r e s e nts the S ta te s o f I nd ia .
✓ a n ind ir e c tly e le c te d b o d y.
✓ Re s id e nts o f the S ta te e le c t me mb e r s to S ta te Le gis la tive As s e mb ly.
✓ The e le c te d me mb e r s o f S ta te Le gis la tive As s e mb l y in tur n e le c t the me mb e r s o f
Ra jya S a b ha .

Princ iple s o f re pre s e nt a t io n:

✓ Eq u a l r e p r e s e nta t io n to a ll t he p a r ts o f t he c o u n tr y ir r e s p e c t ive o f t he ir s ize o r
p o p ula tio n c a lle d a s s ymme tr ic a l r e p r e s e nta tio n.
✓ P a r ts o f the c o untr y ma y b e give n r e p r e s e nta t io n a c c o r d in g to the ir
p o p ula t io n me a ns t ha t r e g io n s o r p a r ts ha v i n g la r ge r p o p u la t io n w o u l d
h a v e mo r e r e p r e s e nta t ive s in t he s e c o nd c ha mb e r t h a n r e g io ns ha v in g le s s
p o p ula tio n.
✓ S ta te s w it h la r ge r p o p ula tio n ge t mo r e r e p r e s e nta tive s tha n S ta te s with

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s ma lle r p o p ula tio n ge t.

✓ M e mb e r s a r e elected fo r a te r m o f s ix years.
✓ C a nge t re- elected .
✓ All me mb e r s o f the Ra jya S a b ha d o no t c o mp le te their te r ms a tthe s a me time .
✓ Eve r y two ye a r s , o ne thir d me mb e r s o f the Ra jya S a b ha c o mp le te the ir
te r m a nd e le c tio ns a r e he ld fo r tho s e o ne thir d s e a ts o nly.
✓ The Ra jya S a b ha is ne ve r fully d is s o lve d .
✓ It is c a lle d the p e r ma ne n t Ho us e o f the P a r lia me nt.
✓ Ra jya S a b ha a ls o ha s twe lve no mina te d me mb e r s . The P r e s id e nt no min a te s
the s e me mb e r s .

Lo k Sabha
✓ The L o k S a b ha a nd the S ta te Le gis la t ive As s e mb lie s a r e d ir e c tly e le c te d b y the
p e o p le .
✓ F o r the p ur p o s e o f e le c tio n, the e ntir e c o untr y ( S ta te , in c a s e o f S ta te
Le gis la t ive As s e mb ly ) is d ivid e d into te r r ito r ia l c o ns titue nc ie s o f r o ughly
e q ua l p o p ula tio n.
✓ O n e r e p r e s e nta tive is e le c te d fr o m e a c h c o ns titue nc y thr o ugh unive r s a l a d ult
s uffr a ge whe r e t h e v a l u e o f v o t e o f e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l wo u ld b e e q u a l to a no the r.
✓ At p r e s e nt the r e a r e 5 4 3 c o ns titue nc ie s .

Func t io ns o f t he Pa rlia me nt :
Le g is la t iv e Func t io n :
✓ Ena c ts le gis la t io ns fo r the c o untr y.
✓ The P a r lia me nt o fte n me r e ly a p p r o ve s le gis la tio ns .
✓ The a c tua l ta s k o f d r a fting the b ill is p e r fo r me d b y the b ur e a uc r a c y
und e r the s up e r vis io n o f the minis te r c o nc e r ne d .
✓ The s ub s ta nc e a nd e ve n the timin g o f the b ill a r e d e c id e d b y the
C a b ine t. N o ma jo r b ill is intr o d uc e d in the P a r lia me n t witho ut the
a p p r o va l o f the C a b ine t.
✓ M e mb e r s o the r tha n min is te r s c a n a ls o intr o d uc e b ills b ut the s e
ha ve no c ha nc e o f b e ing p a s s e d witho u t the s up p o r t o f the
go ve r n me n t.

Co nt ro l o f Ex e c ut iv e a nd e ns uring it s a c c o unt a bilit y :

✓ To e ns ur e tha t the e xe c utive d o e s no t o ve r s te p its a utho r ity a nd
r e ma ins r e s p o ns ib le to the p e o p le w h o h a v e e le c te d the m.

Financ ia l Func t io n:
✓ I n a d e mo c r a c y, le gis la tur e c o ntr o ls ta xa tio n a nd the w a y in whic h mo n e y is
us e d b y the go ve r n me n t.

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✓ I f the Go ve r n me n t o f I nd ia p r o p o s e s to intr o d uc e a ny n e w ta x, it ha s to ge t
the a p p r o va l o f the L o k S a b ha .
✓ The fina nc ia l p o we r s o f the P a r lia me n t invo lve gr a nt o f r e s o ur c e s to the
g o v e r n me n t to imp le me n t its p r o g r a m me s .
✓ The go ve r n me n t ha s to give a n a c c o unt to the le gis la t ur e a b o ut the mo n e y
it ha s s p e nt a nd r e s o ur c e s tha t itwis he s to r a is e .
✓ The le gis la tur e a ls o e ns ur e s tha t the go ve r nme nt d o e s no t mis s p e nd o r
o ve r s p e nd . This is d o ne thr o ugh the b ud ge t a nd a nnua l fina nc ia l s ta te me nts .
R e pre s e nt a t io n:
✓ P a r lia me nt r e p r e s e nts the d ive r ge nt vie ws o f me mb e r s fr o m diffe r e nt
r e gio na l, socia l, e c o no mic , r e ligio us gr o up s o f diffe re n t p a r ts o f the c o untr y.
D e ba t ing Func t io n:
✓ The Parlia me nt is the highes t fo r um o f d e b a te in the c o untr y.
✓ The r e is no limita tio n o n its p o we r o f d is c us s io n.
✓ M e mb e r s are free to s p e a k o n a ny matte r witho ut fear. This ma k e s it p o s s ib le fo r
the P a r lia me nt to a na lys e a ny o r e ve r y is s ue tha t fa c e s the na tio n.
✓ The s e d is c us s io ns c o ns titute the he a r t o f d e mo c r a tic d e c is io n ma k in g .
Co ns t it ue nt Func t io n:
✓ The P a r lia me nt ha s the p o we r o f d is c us s ing a nd e na c ting c ha nge s to the
C o ns titutio n.
✓ The c o ns titue nt p o we r s o f b o th the ho us e s a r e simila r.
✓ All c o ns titutio na l a me nd me nts ha ve to b e a p p r o ve d b y a s p e c ia l ma jo r ity o f b o th
Ho us e s .
Ele c t o ra l f unc t io ns :
✓ The P a r lia me nt a ls o p e r fo r ms s o me elector a l func tio ns .
✓ Itele c ts the P r e s id e nt a nd Vic e P r e s id e nt o f India.
Judic ia l functio ns :
✓ The judic ia l functio ns o f the Parlia me n t inc lude consid er in g the p r o p o s a ls fo r
r e mo va l o f P r e s id e nt, Vic e - P r e s id e nt a nd J ud ge s o f High C o ur ts a nd S up r e me
C o ur t.
Powe rs of the Lok Sabha
✓ M a k e s La ws o n ma tte r s inc lud e d inUnio n Lis t a nd C o nc ur r e nt List.
✓ C a n intr o d uc e a nd e na c t mo ne y a nd no n- mo ne y bills.
✓ A p p r o v e s p r o p o s a ls fo r ta x a tio n , b u d g e ts a n d a n n u a l fin a n c ia l
s ta te me nts .
✓ C o ntr o ls the e xe c ut i v e b y a s k in g q ue s tio ns , s up p le me n ta r y q ue s tio ns ,
r e s o lutio ns a nd mo tio ns a nd thr o ug h no c o nfid e nc e mo tio n.
✓ Ame nd s the C o ns titutio n.
✓ Ap p r o ve s the P r o c la ma tio n o f e me r ge nc y.
✓ Ele c ts the P r e s id e nt a nd Vic e P r e s id e nt a nd r e mo ve s J ud ge s o f S up r e me
C o ur t a nd High C o ur t.

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✓ Es ta b li s h e s c o mmit t e e s a n d c o mmis s io n s a n d c o ns id e r s the ir r e p o r ts .

P o we r s o f t he R a jy a S a b h a
✓ C o n s id e r s a n d a p p r o v e s n o n mo n e y b ills a n d s u g g e s t s a me nd m e n ts to
mo n e y b ills .
✓ Ap p r o ve s c o ns tit u t io na l a me nd me nts .
✓ Exe r c is e s c o ntr o l o ve r e xe c utive b y a s k ing q ue s tio ns , intr o d uc ing mo tio ns
a nd r e s o lut io n s .
✓ P a r tic ip a te s in the e le c tio n a nd r e mo va l o f the P r e s id e nt, Vic e P r e s id e nt,
J ud ge s o f S up r e me C o ur t a nd High C o ur t.
✓ It c a n a lo ne initia te the p r o c e d ur e fo r r e mo va l o f Vic e P r e s id e nt.
✓ C a n give the U n io n p a r lia me n t p o we r to ma k e la ws o n ma tte r s inc lud e d
in the S ta te lis t.

Spe cial Po we rs of R a jy a S a bha

✓ T h e Ra j y a S a b h a is a n in s t it u t io na l me c h a n is m to p r o v id e r e p r e s e n ta t io n
to the S ta te s .
✓ I ts p ur p o s e is to p r o te c t t he p o w e r s o f t he S ta te s . T h e r e fo r e , a n y ma tte r t ha t
a ffe c ts the S ta te s mus t b e r e fe r r e d to it fo r its c o ns e nt a nd a p p r o va l.
✓ T h us , if t he U n io n P a r lia me n t w is he s to r e mo v e a ma tt e r f r o m t he S ta te lis t
( o ve r w h ic h o n ly t he S ta te Le gis la tur e c a n ma k e la w) to e ithe r t he U n io n L is t o r
C o nc u r r e nt L is t in t he inte r e s t o f t he na t io n, t he a p p r o va l o f t he Ra j y a S a b ha
is ne c e s s a r y. This p r o vis io n a d d s to the s tr e ngth o f the Ra jya S a b ha .
✓ Ho we v e r , e xp e r ie n c e s h o ws t ha t t he me mb e r s o f t he Ra j ya S a b h a r e p r e s e nt
the ir p a r tie s mo r e tha n the y r e p r e s e nt the ir S ta te s .

HOW DOES THE PARLIAMENT M AKE LAWS?

✓ A bill is a draft o f the p r o p o s e d la w. The r e c a n b e differ e nt typ e s of bills.
✓ W he n a non- minis ter proposes a bill, it is called private me mb e r ‘ s Bill.
✓ A bill p r o p o s e d b y a ministe r is describ ed a s Go ve r nme nt Bill.

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Bill

Law

The legislative procedure is identical in both the Houses of Parliament. Every bill has to pass through the
same stages in each House. A bill is a proposal for legislation and it becomes an act or law when duly
enacted.

Public Bill Private Bill

1. It is introduced in the Parliament by a minister. 1. It is introduced by any member of Parliament

otherthan a minister.
2. It reflects of the policies of the government 2. It reflects the stand of opposition party on
(ruling party). publicmatter.
3. It has greater chance to be approved by the 3. It has lesser chance to be approved by the
Parliament. Parliament

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4. Its rejection by the House amounts to the exp- 4. Its rejection by the House has no implication on
ression of want of parliamentary confidence in the parliamentary confidence in the government
the government and may lead to its resignation. or its resignation.
5. Its introduction in the House requires seven 5. Its introduction in the House requires one month‘s
days‘ notice. notice.
6. It is drafted by the concerned department in 6. Its drafting is the responsibility of the member
consultation with the law department. concerned.

The bills introduced in the Parliament can also be classified into four categories:
1. Ordinary bills, which are concerned with any matter other than financialsubjects.
2. Money bills, which are concerned with the financial matters like taxation, public expenditure,
etc.
3. Financial bills, which are also concerned with financial matters (but are different from money
bills).
4. Constitution amendment bills, which are concerned with the amendment of the provisions of the
Constitution.
The Constitution has laid down separate procedures for the enactment of all the four types of bills. The
procedures with regard to ordinary bills, money bills and financial bills are explained here. The procedure
with regard to Constitution amendment bills is explained in detail in Chapter 10.

Ordinary Bills
Every ordinary bill has to pass through the following five stages in the Parliament before it finds a place
on the Statute Book:

1. First Reading
2. Second Reading
Stage of General Discussion, Committee Stage, Consideration Stage

3. Third Reading

4.Bill in the Second House In the second House also, the bill passes through all the three stages, that is,
first reading, second reading and third reading. There are four alternatives before this House:
(a) it may pass the bill as sent by the first house (ie, without amendments);
(b) it may pass the bill with amendments and return it to the first House for reconsideration;
(c) it may reject the bill altogether; and
(d) it may not take any action and thus keep the bill pending.

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✓ If the second House passes the bill without any amendments or the first House accepts the
amendments suggested by the second House, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both the
Houses and the same is sent to the president for his assent.
✓ On the other hand, if the first House rejects the amendments suggested by the second House or the
second House rejects the bill altogether or the second House does not take any action for six
months, a deadlock is deemed to have takenplace.
✓ To resolve such a deadlock, the president can summon a joint sitting of the two Houses. If the
majority of members present and voting in the joint sitting approves the bill, the bill is deemed to
have been passed by both the Houses.

5. Assent of the President Every bill after being passed by both Houses of Parliament either singly
or at a joint sitting, is presented to the president for his assent. There are three alternatives before the
president:
(a) he may give his assent to the bill; or
(b) he may withhold his assent to the bill; or
(c) he may return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses.
✓ If the president gives his assent to the bill, the bill becomes an act and is placed on the Statute Book.
If the President withholds his assent to the bill, it ends and does not become an act.
✓ If the President returns the bill for reconsideration and if it is passed by both the Houses again with
or without amendments and presented to the President for his assent, the president must give his
assent to the bill. Thus, the President enjoys only a ―suspensive veto.‖

Money Bills
Article 110 of the Constitution deals with the definition of moneybills.
It states that a bill is deemed to be a money bill if it contains ‗only‘ provisions dealing with all or any of the
followingmatters:
1. The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of anytax;
2. The regulation of the borrowing of moneyby the Union government;
3. The custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the contingency fund of India, the payment of
moneys into or the withdrawal of money from any suchfund;
4. The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
5. Declaration of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or increasing the
amount of any suchexpenditure;
6. The receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India
or the custody or issue of such money, or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a state; or
7. Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.
However, a bill is not to be deemed to be a money bill by reason only that it provides for:

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1. the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or

2. the demand or payment of fees for licenses or fees for services rendered; or
3. the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or
body for local purposes.
✓ If any question arises whether a bill is a money bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha is final. His decision in this regard cannot be questioned in any court of law or in the either
House of Parliament or even the president.
✓ When a money bill is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for recommendation and presented to the
president for assent, the Speaker endorses it as a money bill.
✓ A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and that too on the recommendation of the
president. Every such bill is considered to be a government bill and can be introduced only by a
minister.
✓ The Rajya Sabha has restricted powers with regard to a money bill. It cannot reject or amend a
money bill. It can only make the recommendations. It must return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14
days, wither with or without recommendations. The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any
of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.
✓ If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, the bill is deemed to
have been passed by both the Houses in the form originally passed by the Lok Sabha. Thus, the Lok
Sabha has more powers than Rajya Sabha with regard to a money bill.
✓ On the other hand, both the Houses have equal powers with regard to an ordinary bill.
✓ Finally, when a money bill is presented to the president, he may either give his assent to the bill or
withhold his assent to the bill but cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses. Normally,
the president gives his assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the Parliament with his prior
permission.

Financial Bills
✓ Financial bills are those bills that deal with fiscal matters, that is, revenue or expenditure. However,
the Constitution uses the term ‗financial bill‘ in a technical sense. Financial bills are of threekinds:
1. Money bills—Article 110
2. Financial bills (I)—Article 117 (1)
3. Financial bills (II)—Article 117 (3)

✓ money bills are simply a species of financial bills. Hence, all money bills are financial bills but all
financial bills are not money bills.

✓ Only those financial bills are money bills which contain exclusively those matters which are
mentioned in Article 110 of the Constitution.

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✓ These are also certified by the Speaker of Lok Sabha as money bills. The financial bills (I) and (II),
on the other hand, have been dealt with in Article 117 of theConstitution.
Ordinary Bill Money Bill
1. It can be introduced either in the Lok 1. It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and
Sabha or the RajyaSabha. not in the Rajya Sabha.
2. It can be introduced either by a 2. It can be introduced only by a minister.
minister or by a privatemember.
3. It is introduced without the 3. It can be introduced only on the recommendation of
recommendation of thepresident. thePresident.
4. It can be amended or rejected by the Rajya 4. It cannot be amended or rejected by the Rajya
Sabha. Sabha. The Rajya Sabha should return the bill with
or without recommendations, which may be
accepted or rejected by the Lok Sabha.

5. It can be detained by the Rajya Sabha for a 5. It can be detained by the Rajya Sabha for a
maximum period of six months. maximum period of 14 days only.
6. It does not require the certification of the 6. It requires the certification of the Speaker when
Speaker when transmitted to the Rajya transmitted to the Rajya Sabha.
Sabha (if it has originated in the Lok

7. It is sent for the President‘s assent only7. It is sent for the President‘s assent even if it is
after being approved by both the Houses. approved by only Lok Sabha. There is no chance
In case of a deadlock due to disagreement of any disagreement between the two Houses and
between the two Houses, a joint sitting o f hence, there is no provision of joint sitting o f
both the houses can be summoned by the both the Houses in this regard.

8. Its defeat in the Lok Sabha may lead to the 8. Its defeat in the Lok Sabha leads to the
resignation of the government (if it is resignation of the government.
introduced by a minister).
9. It can be rejected, approved, or returned 9. It can be rejected or approved but cannot be
for reconsideration by the President. returned for reconsideration by the President.

Financial Bills (I)

✓ Contains not only any or all the matters mentioned in Article 110, but also other matters of general
legislation.
✓ A bill that contains a borrowing clause, but does not exclusively deal with borrowing. In two
respects, a financial bill (I) is similar to a money bill—(a) both of them can be introduced only in
the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha, and (b) both of them can be introduced only on the
recommendation of the president.

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✓ In all other respects, a financial bill (I) is governed by the same legislative procedure applicable to
an ordinary bill.
✓ Hence, it can be either rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha (except that an amendment other than
for reduction or abolition of a tax cannot be moved in either House without the recommendation o f
the president).
✓ In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the president can summon a
joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.

Financial Bills (II)

✓ A financial bill (II) contains provisions involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India,
but does not include any of the matters mentioned in Article 110.
✓ It is treated as an ordinary bill and in all respects, it is governed by the same legislative procedure
which is applicable to an ordinary bill. The only special feature of this bill is that it cannot be
passed by either House of Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the
consideration of the bill.
✓ financial bill (II) can be introduced in either House of Parliament and recommendation of the
President is not necessary for its introduction. It can be either rejected or amended by either House
of Parliament. In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the President ca n
summon a joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.

Joint Sitting of Two Houses

✓Joint sitting is an extraordinary machinery provided by the Constitution to resolve a deadlock
between the two Houses over the passage of a bill. A deadlock is deemed to have taken place under any
one of the following three situations after a bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to the
other House:
1. if the bill is rejected by the other House;
2. if the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the bill; or
3. if more than six months have elapsed from the date of the receipt of the bill by the other House
without the bill being passed byit.
✓ In the above three situations, the president can summon both the Houses to meet in a joint sitting for
the purpose of deliberating and voting on the bill.
✓ It must be noted here that the provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financia l
bills only and not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills.
✓ In the case of a money bill, the Lok Sabha has overriding powers, while a Constitutional amendment
bill must be passed by each House separately.
✓ In reckoning the period of six months, no account can be taken of any period during which the other
House (to which the bill has been sent) is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive
days.
✓ If the bill (under dispute) has already lapsed due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, no joint

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sitting can be summoned.

✓ But, the joint sitting can be held if the Lok Sabha is dissolved after the President has notified his
intention to summon such a sitting (as the bill does not lapse in this case). After the President
notifies his intention to summon a joint sitting of the two Houses, none of the Houses can proceed
further with the bill.
✓ The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses and the Deputy Speaker, in
his absence.
✓ If the Deputy Speaker is also absent from a joint sitting, the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
presides.
✓ If he is also absent, such other person as may be determined by the members present at the joint
sitting, presides over the meeting. It is clear that the Chairman of Rajya Sabha does not preside over
a joint sitting as he is not a member of either House of Parliament.
The Constitution has specified that at a joint sitting, new amendments to the bill cannot be proposed except
in twocases:
1. Those amendments that have caused final disagreement between the Houses; and those amendments
that might have become necessary due to the delay in the passage of the bill.

Ins trume nts of Parlia me nta ry Contro l

T h e le g is la tur e in p a r lia me n ta r y s ys te m e ns ur e s e xe c ut ive a c c o u n t a b i l it y a t
v a r io u s s t a ge s : p o lic y m a k i n g , imp le me n ta t io n o f la w o r p o lic y a n d d ur in g a n d
p o s t - imp le me n ta t io n s ta ge . The le gis la tu r e d o e s this thr o ugh the us e o f a va r ie ty o f
d e vic e s :
✓ De lib e r a tio n a nd d is c us s io n
✓ Approva l or Refus a l of laws
✓ F ina nc ia l c o ntr o l
✓ N o confid e nc e motio n
De libe ration a nddis c us s io n:
✓ Dur ing the la w ma k ing p r o c e s s , me mb e r s of the legis la tur e ge t a n o p p o r tunity to
d e lib e r a te o n the p o lic y d ir e c tio n o f t he e xe c ut ive a nd the wa ys in w h ic h
polic ie s a r e imp le me nte d .
✓ Ap a r t fr o md e lib e r a tin g o n b ills , co ntr o l ma y a ls o b e e xer c is e d d ur in gt he ge ne r a l
discus s io ns in the Ho us e .
✓ T he Q ue s tio n Ho ur, whic h is he ld e ve r y d a y d ur ing the s es s io ns o f P ar lia me nt,
whe r e M in is te r s ha ve to r e s p o nd to s e a rc hin g q ue s tio ns r a is e d b y t he me mb e r s ;
Ze r o Ho u r w he r e me mb e r s a r e fr e e to ra ise a ny ma tte r tha t the y th ink is
imp o r ta nt ( t ho u g h the min is te r s a r e no t b o und to rep ly) , ha lf- a n – ho ur
d is c us s io n o n ma tte r s o f p ub lic imp o r ta nc e , a d jo ur n me nt mo t io n e tc. a r e
s o me ins tr ume nts o fe xe r c is ing control.
✓ P e r ha p s the q ue s t io n ho ur is the mo s t e f fe c tive me t ho d o f k e e p in g v ig il o n t he
e xe c utiv e a nd the a d minis t r a t i ve a ge nc ie s o f t h e go v e r n me n t .

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✓ M e mb e r s o f P a r lia me nt ha ve s ho wn gr e a t inte r e s t in q ue s tio n ho ur a nd

ma x imu m a tte nd a nc e is r e c o r d e d d ur ing this time .
✓ M o s t o f the q ue s tio ns a im a te lic it in g i n fo r ma t io n f r o mt he go ve r n me n t o n is s ue s
o f p ub lic inte r e s t s uc h a s , p r ic e rise, a va ila b ilit y o f fo o d gr a ins , a tr o c itie s o n
we a k e r s e c tio ns o f the s o c ie ty, r io ts , b la c k - ma r k e t in g e tc . This give s the
me mb e r s a n o p p o r tunity to critic ise the go ve r nme nt, a nd r e p r e s e nt the
p r o b le ms o f the ir c o ns titue nc ie s .
✓ T h e d is c us s io ns d ur in g t he q ue s t io n h o ur a r e s o he a t e d t ha t it is no t
u n c o m mo n to s e e me mb e r s r a is e t he ir vo ic e , w a lk to t he w e ll o f t he h o us e or
wa lk o ut in p r o te s t to ma k e the ir p o int . T h is r e s u lts in c o ns id e r a b le lo s s o f
legis la tive time .
✓ A t t he s a me t ime , w e mu s t r e me mb e r t ha t ma n y o f t he s e a c t io ns a r e po lit ic a l
te c h n iq ue s to ga in c o nc e s s io ns fr o m go v e r n me n t a nd in th e p r o c e s s fo r c e
e xe c utiv e a c c o unta b ilit y.

Appro v a l a nd ratific at io n of laws :

✓ Parlia me nta r y c o ntr o l is a ls o e xe r c is e d thr o ugh its p o we r o f ratifica tio n. A bill
c a n b e c o me a la w o nly with the a p p r o va l o f the P a r lia me nt.
✓ A go ve r nme nt that ha s the s up p o r t o f a d is c ip line d ma jo r ity ma y no t find it
diffic ult to ge t the a p p r o va l o f the Le gis la tur e .
✓ S uc h a p p r o va ls ho we ve r, c a nno t b e ta k e n fo r gr a nte d .
✓ The y a r e the p r o d uc ts o f inte ns e b a r ga ining a nd ne go tia tio ns a mo ngs t the
me mb e r s o f r uling p a r ty o r coalitio n o f partie s a nd e ve n go ve r nme nt a nd
o p p o s itio n. If the go ve r nme n t ha s ma jo r ity in Lo k S a b ha b ut no t in the Ra jya
S a b ha , as ha s ha pp e ne d d ur ing the J a na ta Pa r ty r ule in 1 9 7 7 a nd N . D. A r ule in
2 0 0 0, the go ve r n me nt w ill b e fo r c e d to ma k e s ub s ta nt ia l c o nc e s s io ns to ga in
the a p p r o va l o f b o th the Ho us e s . M a n y b ills, s uc h a s the Lo k P a l Bill h a v e
fa ile d e na c tme nt, P re ve ntio n o f Te r ro r is m b ill (2 00 2 ) wa s re je cted b y t he Ra jy a
S a b ha .

Fina nc ia l c o nt ro l:
✓ As me nt io ne d e a r lie r, f ina nc ia l r e s o ur c e s to imp le me n t t he p r o g r a m me s o f
the go ve r n me nt a r e gr a nte d thr o ugh the b ud ge t .
✓ P r e pa r a tio n a nd p r e s e nta t io n o f b ud ge t fo r the a p p r o va l o f the le g is la tur e is
co ns tit utio na l ob liga tio n o f the go ve r n me nt . T h is o b liga tio n a llo ws the
legis la tur e to e xe r c is e c o ntr o l o ve r the p ur s e s tr ings o f the go ve r n me n t .
✓ T h e le g is la t ur e ma y r e fus e to gr a nt r e s o ur c e s to t he go ve r n me n t . T h is s e ld o m
ha p p e ns b e c a us e t h e g o ve r n me n t o r d ina r ily e n jo ys s up p o r t o f t he ma jo r it y in
the p a r lia me n ta r ys y s t e m.
✓ N e ve r t he le s s , b e f o r e g r a n t in g mo n e y t h e Lo k S a b h a c a n d is c us s t he r e a s o ns for
whic h the go ve r n me n t r e q uir e s mo n e y. It c a n e nq uir e into c a s e s o f mis us e o f

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f u n d s o n th e b a s is o f t he r e p o r t o f t he C o mp tr o lle r a n d A ud it o r Ge ne r a l a n d
P ub lic Ac c o u nts c o mm it te e s . B u t th e le g is la t ive c o ntr o l is no t o n ly a i me d a t
fina nc ia l p r o p r ie ty.
✓ T h e le g is la t ur e is c o nc e r ne d a b o u t t he p o lic ie s o f t he go v e r n me n t t ha t a r e
r e f le c te d in t he b ud ge t . T h r o u g h f ina nc ia l c o ntr o l, t he le g is la t ur e c o n tr o ls t he
p o lic y o f the go ve r n me nt .

N o Co nf ide nc e M o t io n:
✓ T he mo s t p o we r fu l we a p o n tha t e na b le s the Pa r lia me nt to e ns ur e e xe c utive
accountab ility is the no - c o nfid e nc e mo tio n.
✓ As lo ng a s the go ve r nme nt ha s the s up p o r t o f its p a r ty o r c o a litio n o f partie s
tha t ha ve a ma jo r ity in the Lo k S a b ha , the p o we r o f the Ho us e to d is mis s the
go ve r nme nt is fictio na l r a the r tha n real.
✓ Ho we ve r, after 1 9 8 9 , severa l go ve r nme nts ha ve b e e n forced to r e s ignd ue to la c k
o f c o nf id e nc e o f the ho us e . Ea c h o f the s e go ve r n me nts lo s t the c o nf id e nc e of
the Lo k S a b ha b e c a us e the y fa ile d to re ta in the s up p o r t o f the ir co a lit io n
partne rs .
✓ T h us , t he P a r lia me nt c a n e f fe c t ive ly c o n tr o l th e e xe c u t ive a n d e ns ur e a mo r e
r e s p o ns ive go ve r n me n t .
✓ I t is ho w e v e r imp o r ta n t fo r th is p ur p o s e , tha t the r e is a d e q ua te t ime a t t he
d is p o s a l o f t he Ho us e , t he me mb e r s a r e inte r e s te d in d is c us s io n a n d p a r t ic ip a te
e f fe c t ive ly a nd the r e is willin g ne s s to c o mp r o mis e a mo n gs t t he go ve r n me n t
a nd the o p p o s itio n.
✓ I n t he la s t tw o d e c a d e s , t he r e h a s b e e n a gr a d ua l d e c line in s e s s io ns o f t he
Lo k S a b ha a nd S ta te Le gis la tive As s e mb lie s a nd time s p e nt o n d e b a te s .
✓ M o r e o ve r, the Ho us e s o f the P a r lia me n t ha ve b e e n p la gue d b y a b s e nc e o f
q uo r u m, b o yc o tt o f s e s s io ns b y me mb e r s o f o p p o s it io n w h ic h d e p r ive t he
ho us e the p o we r to c o ntr o l the e xe c utive thr o ugh d is c us s io n.

HOW DOES THE PARLIAM ENT REGULATE ITSELF?

✓ It is thr o ug h d e b a te s tha t the p a r lia me n t p e r fo r ms a ll its vita l func tio ns .
✓ S uc h d is c us s io ns mus t b e me a nin g f u l a nd o r d e r ly s o tha t the func tio ns o f the
P a r lia me nt a r e c a r r ie d o ut s mo o th ly a nd its d ignit y is inta c t.
✓ The p r e s id ing o ffic e r o f the legis la ture is the fina l a utho r ity in ma tte r s o f
r e gula ting the b us ine s s o f the le gis la tur e .
✓ S p e a k e r in c a s e o f Lo k S a b ha a nd C ha ir ma n i.e. Vic e - P r e s id e nt in c a s e o f
Ra jya S a b ha .

Anti-Defection law:
✓ M o s t of the me mb e r s of the le gis la tur e s a r e e le c te d o n the ticke t of s o me politica l
p a r ty. W ha t wo uld ha p p e n if the y d e c id e to le a ve the p a r ty a fte r ge tting e le c te d ?

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F o r ma n y ye a r s a fte r ind e p e nd e nc e , this is s ue wa s unr e s o lve d .

✓ F ina lly the r e wa s a n a gr e e me nt a mo n g the p a r tie s tha t a le gis la to r w h o is
e le c te d o n o ne party‘sticke tmus t b e restrictedfrom‗de fecting‘ to a no the r p a r ty.
✓ A n a me nd m e n t to the C o ns titutio n wa s ma d e ( 5 2 nd a m e n d m e n t a c t ) in 1 9 8 5 .
This is k n o w n a s a nt i - de f e c t io n a me nd m e nt .
✓ It ha s a ls o b e e n s ub s e q ue nt ly mo d if ie d b y the 9 1 s t a me nd me n t .
✓ The pre s iding o f f ic e r of t he Ho us e is the a utho r ity w h o t a k e s f ina l de c is io ns
o n a ll s uc h c a s e s .

W h a t is de f e c t io n?
✓ If a me mb e r r e ma ins a b s e nt in the Ho us e whe n a s k e d b y the p a r ty le a d e r s hip to
r e ma in p r e s e nt o r vo te s a ga ins t the ins tr uc tio ns o f the p a r ty o r vo lunta r ily
le a ve s the me mb e r s h ip o f the p a r ty, it is d e e me d a s d e fe c tio n.

C h a p te r- 6 - J U D I C I A R Y

WHY D O WE N EED AN I N D EPEN DENT JUDICIARY?

✓ The principalrole of the judiciary is to protect rule of law and ensure supremacyof law.
✓ It safeguards rights of the individual, settles disputes in accordance with the law and
ensures that democracy does not givewa y to individ ua l or group dictatorship.
✓ In order to be able to do all this, it is necessary that the judic ia r y is indepe nde nt
of any political pressure s.

Inde pe nde nce of Judiciary:

✓ The other organs of the government like the executive and legislature must not restrain the
functioning of the judiciary in such a way that it is unable to do jus tic e .
✓ The other organs of the government should not interfere with the decision of the
judiciary.
✓ Judges must be able to perform their functio ns witho ut fear or favour.

❖ Judiciary is a part of the democratic political structure of the country.

❖ It is therefore accountable to the Constitutio n, to the democratic traditions and to the
people of the country.

How can the inde pe nde nce of judiciary be provide d and prote cte d?
✓ The I nd ia n C o ns titutio n has e ns ur e d the independence of the judiciar y through a
number of measures.
✓ The legislature is not involved in the process of appointment of judges.

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✓ In order to be appointed as a judge, a person must have experience as a lawyer and/or

must be well versed in law.
✓ The judges have a fixed tenure. They hold office till reaching the age of retirement.
✓ Only in exceptional cases, judges may be removed.
✓ But otherwise, they have security of tenure.
✓ Security of tenure ensures that judges could functio n witho u t fear or favour.
✓ The Constitutio n prescribes a very difficult procedure for removal of judges.
✓ The Constitutio n makers belie ved that a diffic ult procedure of removal would
provide security of office to the members of judiciary.
✓ The judiciary is not financially dependent on either the executive or legislature.
✓ The Constitution provides that the salaries and allowances of the judges are not subjected to
the approval of the legislature.
✓ The actions anddecisions of the judges are immune from personalcriticis ms.
✓ The judic iary has the power to penalise those who are found guilty o f conte mpt o f court.
This a uthor ity of the court is seen as an effective protection to the judges fro m unfa ir
criticism.
✓ Parlia ment cannot discuss the conduct of the judges except when the proceeding to
remo ve a jud ge is be ing carried out. This gives the judiciary independence to adjudicate
without fear of beingcriticised.

S TR UCTUR E OF THE J UD I CI ARY

Supre me Court of India:

✓ Its decisions are binding on all c o ur ts .

✓ Can transfer Judges of High Courts.
✓ Can move cases from any court to itself.
✓ Can transfer cases from one High Court to another.

High Court:

✓ Can hear appeals from lower courts.

✓ Can issue writs for restoring Fundame nta l Rights.
✓ Can deal with cases within the jurisdictio n of the State.
✓ Exercises superinte nde nce and control over courts below it.

Dis trict Court:

✓ Deals with cases arising in the District.

✓ Considers appeals on decisions given by lower courts.
✓ Decides cases involvings er io us crimina l offences.

Subordina te Courts :

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✓ Consider cases of civil and criminal nature

Juris diction of Supre me Court:

Original: Settles disputes between Union and States and amongs t States.

Appellate: Tries appeals from lower courts in Civil, Crimina l and Constitutio na l cases

Advisory: Advises the President on matters of public importance and law

Writ: Can issue writs of Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo
warranto to protect the Fundamenta l Rights of the individ ua l.

Special Powers: Can grant special leave to an appeal from any judgeme nt or matter passed
by any court in the territory of India.

In Detail

Original Juris diction:

✓ Origina l jurisdiction means cases that can be directly considered by the Supreme Court
without going to the lower courts before that.
✓ Cases involving federal relations go directly to the Supreme Court.
✓ The Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court establishes it as an umpire in all
disputes regarding federal matters.
✓ In any federal country, legal disputes are bound to arise between the Union and the
States; and among the States themselves.
✓ The power to resolve such cases is entrusted to the Supreme Court of India.
✓ It is called origina l jurisdictio n because the Supreme Court alone has the power to deal
with such cases.
✓ Neither the High Courts nor the lower courts can deal with such cases.
✓ In this capacity, the Supreme Court not just settles disputes but also interprets the
powers of Union and State governme nt as laid down in the Constitutio n.

Writ Juris diction

✓ Any individ ua l, whose fundame nta l right has been violated, can directly move the
Supreme Court for remedy.
✓ The Supreme Court can give special orders in the form of writs.
✓ The High Courts can also issue writs, but the persons whose rights are violated have the
choice of either approaching the High Court or approaching the Supreme Court directly.
✓ Through such writs, the Court can give orders to the executive to act or not to act in a
particular way.

Appe llate Juris diction

✓ The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal.

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✓ A person canappeal to the Supreme Court against the decisions of the High Court.
✓ However, High Court must certify that the case is fit for appeal, that is to say that it
involves a serious matter of interpretation of law or Constitution.
✓ In addition, in cr imina l cases, if the lower court hassente nced a person to death then a n
appeal ca n be made to the High Court or Supreme Court. Of course, the Supreme Court
holds the powers to decide whether to admit appeals even whe n appeal is not allowed by
the High Court. Appellate jurisdiction means that the Supreme Court will reconsider the
case and the legal issues involved in it.
✓ If the Court thinks that the la w or the Constitution has a different mea ning fro m wha t the
lower courts understood, then the Supreme Court will c ha nge the ruling and a long with
that also give new interpretation of the provision involved.
✓ The High Co urts too, ha ve appe lla te jur isd ic tio n o ver the dec is io ns give n b y co urts be low
them.

Advis ory Juris diction

✓ In addition to original and appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of India possesses
advisory jurisdictionalso.
✓ This means that the President of India can refer anymatter that is of public importance or
that which involvesinterpretation of Constitution to Supreme Court for advice.
✓ However, the Supreme Court is not bound to give adviceon such matters and the President
is not bound to acceptsuch an advice.

Article 1 3 7
… … . . the Supreme Court shall h a v e p o w e r to r e v i e w a n y judgment pronounced or
order made by it.

Article 1 4 4

… A l l a u t h o r it ie s , c i v i l a n d judicial, in the territory of India shall act in aid of the

S u p r e me Court.

Public Inte re s t Litigation (PIL) or Social ActionLitigation (SAL)

✓ The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) or Social ActionLitigation (SAL).
✓ In normal course of law, an individual can approach the courts only if he/she has been
personally aggrieved.
✓ That is to say, a person whose rights have been violated, or who is involved in a
dispute,could move the court of law. This concept underwent a change around 1979.
✓ In 1979, the Court set the trend when it decided to hear a case where the case was filed
not by the aggrieved personsbut by others on their behalf.
✓ As this case involved a consideration of an issue of public interest, it and such other
cases came to beknown as public interest litigations.

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✓ Around the sa me time, the Supreme Court also took up the case about rights of prisoners.
This opened the gates for large number of cases where public spir ited citizens and
voluntary organisations sought judic ia l interventio n for protection of existing rights,
betterme nt o f life conditions o f the poor, protec tio n o f the e nviro nme nt, a nd ma ny o ther
issues in the interest of the public.
✓ PIL has become the most important vehicle of judicial activism.
✓ Through the PIL, the court has expanded the idea of rights.
✓ Clean air, unpolluted water, decent living etc. are rights for the entire society.
✓ Therefore, it was felt by the courts that individuals as parts of the society must have the
right to seek justice wherever such rights were violated.
✓ Secondly, through PIL and judicial activism of the post-1980 period, the judiciary has also
shown readiness to take into consideration rights of those sections who cannot easily
approach the courts.
✓ For this purpose, the judic ia r y a llo we d public spirite d citize ns, socia l organisations
and lawyers to file petitions on behalf of the needy and the deprived.

Ne gative Side of PIL:

✓ In the firstplace it has overburdened the courts.

✓ Secondly, judicial activism has blurred the line of distinction between the executive and
legislature on the one hand and the judiciaryon the other.
✓ The court has been involved in resolving questions which belong to the executive.

J UD I CI ARY AN D R I GHTS

The Constitutio n provides two ways in which the Supreme Court can remedy the violatio n of
rights.
✓ First it can restore fundamenta l rights by issuing writs of Habeas Corpus; mandamus etc.
(article 32). The High Courts also have the power to issue such writs (article 226).
✓ Secondly, the Supreme Court can declare the concerned law as unconstitutional and
therefore non- operational (article 13).

Judicial Review by Supreme Court

✓ Perhaps the most important power of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial
review.
✓ Judicial Review means the power of the Supreme Court (or High Courts) to examine the
constitutio na lity of any law if the Court arrives at the conclusion that the law is
inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, such a law is declared as
unconstitutio na l and inapplicab le.
✓ The term judicia l review is nowherementioned in the Constitution.

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✓ However, the fact that I nd ia ha s a wr itte n constitutio n a nd the S up re me Co urt ca n

str ike down a law tha t goes a ga inst funda me nta l r ights, imp lic itly gives the S up re me
Court the power of judicial review.
✓ Together, the writ powers and the review power of the Court make jud ic iary very
powerful. In particular, the revie w power means that the jud iciar y can interpret the
Constitution and the laws passed by the legislature.
✓ The practice of entertaining PILs has further added to the powers of the judiciary in
protecting rights of citizens.

JUDICIARY AN D PAR LI AM EN T

The following issues were at the centre of the controversy between the Parliame nt and the
judiciary.
✓ What is the scope of right to private property?
✓ What is the scope of the Parliament‘s power to curtail, abridge or abrogate fundame nta l
rights?
✓ What is the scope of the Parliament‘s power to amend the constitution?
✓ Can the Parliame nt make laws that abridge fundame nta l rights while enforcing directive
principles?

Chapte r-7-FEDERALISM

What is Federalism?

F e d e r a lis m a s a p r inc ip le o f go ve r n me n t ha s e vo lve d d iffe r e ntly in d iffe r e nt

s itua tio ns .

✓ Es s e nt ia lly, fe d e r a lis m is a n ins tit utio na l me c ha n is mto a c c o mmo d a te t w o s ets

of p o lit ie s — o ne a t t he r e g io na l le ve l a nd t he othe r at the na tio na l le ve l. Ea c h
go ve r n me nt is a uto no mo us in its o w n sp he re . I n s o me fe d e r a l co untr ie s, the r e is
e ve n a s ys te m o f d ua l citize ns hip. I nd ia ha s o nly a s ingle citize ns h ip .
✓ T he p e o p le lik e wis e , ha ve t w o set s of id ent it ies a nd lo ya lt ie s — t he y b e lo ng to
the r e g io n a s we ll a s t he na tio n, fo r e xa mp le w e a r e Guja r a tis o r J ha r k ha nd is
a s we ll a s I nd ia ns . Ea c h le ve l o f the po lity ha s d is tinc t p o we r s a nd
responsib ilities a nd ha s a separate s ys te m o f go ve r nme nt .
✓ T he d e ta ils o f this d ua l s ys te m o f go ve r n me nt a r e ge ne r a lly sp e lt o ut in a
w r itt en const it ut io n, w h ic h is c o ns id e re d to b e s up r e me a nd w h ic h is a ls o the
s o ur c e o f the p o we r o f b o th sets o f go ve r nme nt. C e r ta in subjec ts, whic h
c o nc e r n t he na t io n a s a who le , fo r e xa mp le , d e fe nc e o r c ur r e nc y, a r e the
r e s po ns ib ilit y o f the u n io n o r c e ntr a l go ve r n me nt . Re g io na l o r lo c a l ma tte r s a r e
the r e s p o ns ib ilit y o f the r e gio na l o r S ta te go ve r nme n t.
✓ To pre ve nt c o nflic ts b etwee n the c e ntr e a nd the Sta te, the re is a n inde pe nd ent
judiciary to settle disputes. The judic ia r y has the powers to resolve d is p ute s

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between the central governme nt and the States on legal matter s about the divis io n of
power.

FEDERALISM IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Tha t the C o ns titut io n o f I nd ia d o e s no t e ve n me nt io n the wo r d fe d e r a tio n

✓ Ar tic le 1: (1) India , that is Bha r a t, shall b e a Unio n o f States.

✓ (2 ) T h e S t at e s an d t h e territo rie s t h e re o f s hall b e a s s pe ci fi ed in t he Fi r st
Schedul e.

Divis ion of Po we rs

The r e a r e two s e ts o f go ve r n me n t c r e a te d b y the I nd ia n C o ns titutio n :

✓ o ne fo r the e ntir e na tio n c a lle d the unio n go ve r n me n t ( c e ntr a l go ve r n me n t)

a nd
✓ o ne fo r e a c h unit o r S ta te c a lle d the S ta te go ve r nme nt.
✓ Bo th o f the s e ha ve a c o ns titutio na l s ta tus a nd c le a r ly id e ntifie d a r e a o f activity.
✓ I f the r e is a n y d is p u te a b o u t w h ic h p o w e r s c o me u nd e r t he c o ntr o l o f t he
u n io n a nd w h ic h u nd e r t he S ta te s , th is c a n b e r e s o lv e d b y t he J ud ic ia r y o n
the b a s is o f the c o ns titu t io na l p r o vis io ns .
✓ T h e C o n s t it u t io n c le a r ly d e ma r c a te s s ub je c ts , w h ic h a r e u nd e r t he
e xc lus i ve d o ma i n o f the Unio n a nd tho s e und e r the S ta te s .
✓ O n e o f t he imp o r ta nt a s p e c ts o f t h is d iv is io n o f p o w e r s is tha t e c o n o mic a n d
fina nc ia l p o we r s a r e c e ntr a lis e d in the ha nd s o f the c e ntr a l go ve r nme n t b y the
C o ns titutio n.
✓ The S ta te s ha ve imme n s e r e s p o ns ib ilit ie s b ut ve r y me a gr e r e ve nue s o ur c e s .

The Union List consists of 100 subjects (originally 97), the State List 61 subjects (originally 66) and the
Concurrent List 52 subjects (originally 47).

✓ Both the Centre and the states can make laws on the subjects of the concurrent list, but in case of a
conflict, the Central law prevails.
✓ The residuary subjects (ie, which are not mentioned in any of the three lists) are given to the Centre.

FEDERALISM WITH A STRONG CENTRAL GOVER N M EN T

✓ It is ge ne r a lly a c c e p te d tha t the I nd ia n C o ns titut io n ha s c r e a te d a s tr o ng

c e ntr a l go ve r n me n t .
✓ I nd ia is a c o untr y o f c o ntine n t a ld ime n s io ns with imme n s e d ive r s itie s a nd
s o c ia l p r o b le ms .
✓ T he fra me r s o f the C o ns titu tio n b e lie ve d tha t w e re q uir e d a fe d e r a l
c o ns titutio n tha t wo uld a c c o mmo d a te d ive r s itie s .

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✓ Be s id e s t he c o nc e r n fo r u n ity, t he ma k e r s o f t he C o n s t it ut io n a ls o b e lie ve d
tha t t he s o c io - e c o no mic p r o b le ms o f t he c o u nt r y ne e d e d to b e ha n d le d b y a
s tr o ng c e ntr a l go ve r n m e n t in c o o p e r a tio n with the S ta te s .
✓ P o ve r ty, illite r ac y a nd ine q ua lit ie s o f we a lt h w e r e s o me o f t he p r o b le ms t ha t
r e q uir e d p la nnin g a nd c o o r d ina tio n.
✓ T h us , t he c o nc e r ns fo r u n it y a nd d e v e lo p me n t p r o mp te d t he ma k e r s o f t he
C o ns titut io n to c r e a te a s tr o ng c e ntr a l go ve r n me n t .

T he i mpo rt a nt pro v i s i o ns t ha t c re a te as t ro ng c e nt ra l g o v e rnme nt :

✓ The ve r y e xis te nc e o f a S ta te inc lud ing its te rr ito r ia l inte gr ity is in the ha nds o f
Par lia me nt. The P a r l i a m e n t is e mp o we r e d to ‗form a ne w Sta te b y separation
o f ter r ito r y fr o m a ny State o r b y uniting two o r mo r e States…‘. It ca n a ls o a lte r
the bo und a r y o f a n y Sta te o r e ve n its na me . The Co ns titutio n p ro vid es for s o me
s a fe gua r d s b y wa y of s e c ur ing the vie w of the concerned State le g is la t u r e .
✓ T he Co nstitut io n ha s c er ta in ve r y po we r fu l e me r ge nc yp r o v is io ns , w h ic h c a n t ur n
o ur fe d e r a l po lity into a high ly ce ntr a lis e d s ys te m o nc e e me r ge nc y is de c la re d.
Dur in g a n e me r ge nc y, p o we r b e c o me s la wfu lly centra lis ed. P a r lia me nt a ls o
a s s u me s t he p o we r to ma k e la ws o n s ub je c ts with in t he jur is d ic t io n o f the
States.
✓ E v e n d u r in g n o r ma l c ir c u ms t a nc e s , t he c e nt r a l go v e r n me n t h a s ve r y
e ffe c tive fina nc ia l p o we r s a nd r e s p o ns ib ilit ie s . I n the firs t p la c e , ite ms
ge ne r a t in g r e v e n u e a r e u n d e r t he c o n t r o l o f t he c e n t r a l go v e r n me n t. T h u s ,
the c e n tr a l g o ve r n me n t ha s ma n y r e ve n u e s o u r c e s a nd t he S ta te s a r e mo s t ly
d e p e nd e n t o n t he gr a nts a nd f ina nc ia l a s s is ta nc e f r o m t he c e ntr e . S e c o nd ly,
I nd ia a d o p t e d p la n n in g a s t he in s t r u me n t o f r a p id e c o no m ic p r o gr e s s a n d
d e ve lo p me n t a fte r i n d e p e n d e n c e . P la n n i n g le d to c o n s id e r a b le
c e ntr a lis a t io n o f e c o no m ic d e c is io n ma k in g . P la n n in g c o m mis s io n a p p o in ted
b y t he u n io n go v e r n me n t is t he c o o r d i n a t in g ma c h in e r y t ha t c o n t r o ls a n d
s up e r v is e s t he r e s o ur c e s ma n a g e me n t o f t he S ta te s . Be s id e s , th e U n io n
g o ve r n me n t us e s its d is c r e t io n to g iv e g r a nts a n d lo a ns to S ta te s . Th is
d is tr ib u t io n o f e c o n o mic r e s o ur c e s is c o ns id e r e d lo p s id e d a n d ha s le d to
c ha r ge s o f d is c r imin a t io n a ga ins t S ta te s r ule d b y a n o p p o s itio np a r t y.
✓ A s yo u w ill s t ud y la te r, the Go v e r n o r ha s c e r ta in p o w e r s to r e c o m m e n d
d is mis s a l o f the S ta te go ve r n me n t a nd the d is s o lutio n o f the As s e mb ly.
Be s id e s , e ve n in n o r ma l c ir c u ms ta nc e s , t he Go v e r no r ha s t he p o we r to r e s er ve
a b ill p a s s e d b y t he S ta te le g is la tur e , fo r t he a s s e nt o f t he P r e s id e nt . T h is
g iv e s t he c e ntr a l g o v e r n me n t a n o p p o r t u n it y to d e la y t he S ta te le g is la t io n
a nd a ls o to e xa mine s uc h b ills a nd ve to the mc o mp le te ly.
✓ The r e ma y b e o c c a s io ns w he n t he s it ua tio n ma y d e ma nd tha t the c e ntra l
go ve r nme nt ne e d s to legis la te o n ma tte r s fr o m the S ta te list. This is p o s s ib le if

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the mo v e is ra tif ie d b y t he Ra j ya S a b ha . T he Co ns tit ut io n c le a r ly s tate s tha t

e xe c ut ive p o we r s o f the c e ntr e a r e s up e r io r to the e xe c utive p o we r s o f the
States.
✓ F ur t he r mo r e , t he c e ntr a l g o v e r n me n t ma y c ho o s e to g iv e ins tr uc t io ns to t he
S ta te go ve r n me nt .
The follo wing extract fr o m a n article of the C o ns titutio nma k e s this clear.
Yo u h a v e a lre a d y s t u d ie d in t h e c h a p t e r o n e x e c u t iv e t h a t w e h a v e a n in t e g r a t e d
a dm in ist r at iv e s y st em . T h e a ll- I n d ia s e r v ic e s a re c o m m o n t o t h e e nt ire t e r r it o r y of
I n d ia a n d o f f ic e r s c h o s e n f o r t h e s e s e rv ic e s s e r v e in t h e a dm in is t r a t io n of t h e
S t at e s. T h u s , a n I A S o f f ic e r w h o b e c o m e s t h e c o l le c t o r o r a n I P S o f f ic e r w h o s e r v e s a s
t h e C o m m is s io n e r o f P o lic e , a re u n d e r t h e c o n t ro l o f t h e c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t .
S t at e s c a n n e it h e r t ak e d is c ip lin a r y a c t io n n o r c a n t h e y r e m o v e t h e s e o ff icers from
serv ice.
✓ Art ic le s 33 a nd 3 4 aut ho rize t he Pa rlia me nt to pro te c t pe rs o ns i n t he s e rv ic e of
t he unio n o r a s t a te in re s pe c t o f a ny a c t io n t ake n by t he m d u ri ng ma rt ia l
la w t o ma in t a in o r re s t o re o rde r. This p ro vis io n fur the r stre ngthe ns the p o we r s
of the unio n gover nme nt.
✓ T he Ar me d Fo r ce s Sp ec ia l P o we r s Ac t ha s b ee n ma d e o n t he bas is o f the s e
p r o vis io ns . T h is Ac t ha s c r e a te d te ns io ns b e twe e n t he p e o p le a nd t he a r me d
fo r c e s o n s o me o c c a s io ns .

CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS:
The Centre-state relations can be studied under three heads:
• Legislative relations.
• Administrative relations.
• Financial relations
Legislative Relations
•Articles 245 to 255 in Part XI of the Constitution deal with the legislative relations between the Centre
and the states.
•Like any other Federal Constitution, the Indian Constitution also divides the legislative powers between
the Centre and the states with respect to both the territory and the subjects of legislation.
•Further, the Constitution provides for the parliamentary legislation in the state field under five
extraordinary situations as well as the centre‗s control over state legislation in certain cases.
• Thus, there are four aspects in the Centre–states legislative relations, viz.,
✓ Territorial extent of Central and state legislation;
✓ Distribution of legislative subjects;
✓ Parliamentary legislation in the state field;and
✓ Centre‗s control over state legislation.
(More details are compiled at M. Laxmikantha)

D e ma nds for Aut o no my

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Reasons:

✓ S o me time s , the se d e ma nd s e xp ec t that t he d ivis io n o f p o we r s s ho u ld b e c ha n ge d

in fa vo ur o f t he S ta te s a nd mo r e p o we r s a nd imp o r ta nt p o w e r s b e a s s igne d to t he
States.
✓ Ano t he r d e ma nd is tha t S ta te s s ho u ld ha ve ind e p e nd e nt s o ur c e s o f r e ve nue a nd
gr e a te r c o ntr o lo ve r the r e s o ur c e s . This is a ls o k no wn a s fina nc ia l a uto no my.
✓ The thir d as pe c t o f the a u to no my d e ma nd s r e la te s toa d min is tr ative p o we r s o f the
States. States resent the control o f the centre o ve r the administra tive machiner y.
✓ F o ur thly, a u t o n o m y d e ma nd s ma y a ls o b e r e la te d to c ultur a l a nd
lingu is t ic is s ue s . T h e o p p o s it io n to the d o mina t io n o f Hind i ( in Ta mil
N a d u) o r d e ma nd fo r a d va nc ing the P unja b i la ngua ge a nd cultur e a r e ins ta nc e s o f
this. S o me S ta te s a ls o feel tha t the r e is a d o mina t io n o f the Hind i- s p e a k i n g
a r e a s o ve r the o the r s . I n fact, d ur in g the d e c a d e o f 1 9 6 0 s , the r e w e r e
agita tio ns in s o me S ta te s a ga ins tthe imp o s itio n o f the Hind i la ngua ge .

R o le o f Go v e rno rs a nd Pre s ide nt ’s R ule :

✓ T h e r o le o f G o ve r no r s ha s a lw a y s b e e n a c o n tr o ve r s ia l is s ue b e t we e n t he
S ta te s a nd the c e ntr a l go ve r nme n t.
✓ The Go ve r no r is no t a n e le c te d o ffic e - ho ld e r.
✓ M a n y Go v e r no r s h a ve b e e n r e t ir e d milita r y o f f ic e r s o r c iv il s e r va nts o r
po lit ic ia ns . Be s id e s , the Go ve r no r is a p p o in t e d b y t he c e nt r a l go v e r n me n t a n d
the r e fo r e , a c tio ns o f the Go ve r no r a r e o fte n v ie w e d a s inte r fe r e n c e b y the
C e ntr a l go ve r n me n t in the func tio n i n g o f the S ta te go ve r n me n t .
✓ W h e n t wo d if fe r e n t p a r t ie s a r e in p o w e r a t t he c e ntr e a nd t he S ta te , the r o le o f
the G o v e r n o r b e c o me s e v e n mo r e c o ntr o ve r s ia l.
✓ T h e S a r k a r ia C o mmis s io n t ha t w a s a p p o in te d b y t he c e ntr a l go v e r n me n t
( 1 9 8 3 ; it s ub mitte d its r e p o r t in 1 9 8 8 ) to e xa mine the is s ue s r e la ting to
c e ntr e - S ta te r e la t io ns , r e c o mme n d e d t ha t a p p o in t me n ts o f Go ve r no r s s ho u ld
b e stric tly no n- p a r tis a n.
✓ P o w e r s a nd r o le o f t he Go v e r n o r b e c o me c o ntr o ve r s ia l f o r o n e mo r e r e a s o n.
O n e o f the mo s t c o ntr o ve r s ia l artic les in the C o ns titutio n is Ar tic le 3 5 6 , whic h
p r o vid e s fo r President‘s r ule in a ny State.
✓ Th is p r o v is io n is to b e app lied , w he n ‗a s itua tio n ha s ar is e n in w h ic h th e
Go ve r n me nt o f the S ta te c a nno t b e c a r r ie d o n in a c c o r d a nc e w ith t he p r o vis io n s
o f this C o ns titutio n. ‘
✓ It re s ults in t he ta k e o ve r o f the S ta te go ve r n me n t b y the Un io n go ve r n me nt . Th e
Pres ide nt‘s p ro c la ma tio n ha s to b e ratifie d b y P a r lia me nt. Pres id e nt‘s r u le c a n b e
e xte nd e d till thr e e ye a r s .

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✓ T he Go v e r no r ha s the p o we r to r e c o mme nd the d is mis s a l o f the S ta te

go ve r n me n t a nd s us p e ns io n o r d is s o lutio n o f S ta te a ss e mb ly. Th is ha s le d to
ma ny conflicts.
✓ I n s o me c as e s, S ta te go ve r n me n ts we r e d is mis s e d e ve n w h e n t he y ha d a
ma jo r it y in the le gis la tur e , a s ha d ha p p e ne d in K e r a la in 1 9 5 9 o r witho ut
testin g their ma jo r ity, a s ha p p e ne d in s e ve r a l o the r S ta te s a fte r 1 9 6 7 .
✓ S o me c a s e s we nt to the S up r e me C o ur t a nd the C o ur t ha s r ule d tha t
c o ns t it u t io na l va lid it y o f t he d e c is io n to imp o s e P r e s id e nt‘ s r u le c a n b e
e xa mine d b y the jud ic ia r y.

Inte rs tate Conflic ts

✓ W hile the S ta te s k e e p fight in g with the c e ntr e o ve r a uto no my a nd o the r
is s ue s lik e the s ha r e in r e ve nue r e s o u r c e s , the r e ha ve b e e n ma n y ins ta nc e s
o f d is p ute s b e t we e n two S ta te s o r a mo n g mo r e tha n two S ta te s .
✓ It is tr ue tha t the jud ic ia r y a c ts a s the a r b itr a tio n me c ha n i s m o n d is p ute s o f a
le ga l na tur e b ut the s e d is p ute s a r e inr e a lit y no tjus t le g a l.
✓ The y ha ve p o litic a l imp lic a t io n s a nd the r e fo r e the y c a n b e s t b e r e s o lv e d o nly
thr o ug h ne go t ia t io n s a nd mutua l und e r s ta nd in g.
B ro a dly, t wo t y pe s o f dis put e s k e e p re c urring .
❖ O n e is t he bo r de r dis p u t e . S ta te s ha v e c e r ta in c la ims o ve r te r r ito r ie s
b e lo n g in g to ne ig h b o ur in g O n e o f t he lo n g- s t a nd in g b o r d e r d is p u t e s is t h e
d is p u te b e t w e e n M a ha r a s h tr a a n d K a r n a t a k a o ve r t he c it y o f Be lg a u m .
M a n ip u r a n d N a ga la n d to o , ha v e a lo n g- s ta nd in g b o r d e r d is p ute . T h e c a r v in g
o ut o f H a r y a n a f r o m t he e r s t w h ile S ta te o f P u n j a b h a s le d to d is p ute b e t we e n
the t wo S ta te s no t o n ly o ve r b o r d e r a r e a s , b u t o ve r t he c a p ita l c it y o f
C ha nd ig a r h. T h is c it y to d a y ho us e s t he c a p ita l o f b o t h t he s e S ta te s . I n 1 9 8 5 ,
the t h e n P r i me M in is t e r Ra j iv G a n d h i r e a c he d a n u nd e r s ta nd in g w it h t h e
le a d e r s h ip o f P u n ja b . A c c o r d in g to th is u nd e r s ta nd in g , C h a nd ig a r h w a s t o
b e ha nd e d o ve r to P unja b . But this ha s no tha p p e n e d ye t.

❖ W h ile b o r d e r d is p ute s a r e mo r e a b o u t s e n t ime nt, t he dis p ut e s o v e r t he

s ha ri ng o f riv e r wa t e rs a r e e ve n mo r e s e r io us , b e c a us e t h e y a r e r e la te d to
p r o b le ms o f d r in k in g wa te r a nd a gr ic u ltur e in t he c o n c e r ne d S ta te s . Yo u m ig h t
h a ve h e a r d a b o u t t he Ca u v e r y wa t e r d is p ut e . T h is is a ma jo r is s ue b e twe e n
Ta mil N a d u a nd K a r na ta k a . F a r me r s in b o t h t he S ta te s a r e d e p e n d e n t o n
C a u ve r y wa te r s . T h o u g h t he r e is a r ive r wa t e r tr ib u na l to s e tt le wa te r
d is p ute s , t h is d is p u te ha s r e a c h e d t he S u p r e me C o u r t. I n a no t he r s imila r
d is p u te G u ja r a t, M a d h y a P r a d e s h a nd M a ha r a s h tr a a r e b a t t lin g o ve r s ha r in g
the wa te r s o f N a r ma d a R ive r. R ive r s a r e a ma jo r r e s o ur c e a nd t he r e fo r e ,
d is p ute s o ve r r ive r wa te r s test the p a tie nc e a nd c o o p e r a tive s p ir it o f the S ta te s .

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

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J a mmu a nd Ka s hmir
✓ The o the r S ta te whic h ha s a s p e c ia l s ta tus is J a mmu a nd K a s hmir ( J &K ) ( Ar t.
370).
✓ J a mmu a nd K a s hmir wa s o ne o f the la r ge p r inc e ly s ta te s , whic h ha d the o p tio n
o f jo ining I nd ia o r P a k is ta na tt h e time o f I nd e p e nd e nc e .
✓ I mme d ia te ly a fte r I n d e p e n d e n c e P a k is ta n a n d I nd ia fo ug h t a w a r o ve r
K a s h mir . U n d e r s uc h c ir c u m s ta n c e s the M a h a r a j a o f K a s h mir a c c e d e d to the
I nd ia n unio n.
✓ I n p r a c tic e , ho we ve r the a uto no m y o f J a mmu a nd K a s hmir is mu c h le s s tha n
wha t the la ngua g e o f a r tic le 3 7 0 ma y s ugge s t.
✓ T he r e is a c o ns titut io na l p r o vis io n tha t a llo ws the P r e s id e nt, with the
c o nc ur r e nc e o f the S ta te go ve r n me n t, to s p e c ify whic h p a r ts o f the Unio n Lis t
s ha ll a p p ly to the S ta te .
✓ T h e P r e s id e n t h a s is s ue d t wo C o ns t it u t io na l o r d e r s in c o nc u r r e n c e w it h t he
Go v e r n me n t o f J & K ma k in g la r ge p a r ts o f t he C o ns t it u t io n a p p lic a b le to t he
S ta te .
✓ A s a r e s ult, t ho u g h J & K ha s a s e p a r a te c o ns t it ut io n a n d a f la g, t he
P a r lia me n t‘ s p o w e r to ma k e la ws o n s ub je c ts in t he U n io n L is t n o w is f u lly
a c c e p te d .
✓ The r e ma in in g d iffe r e nc e s b e twe e n the o the r S ta te s a nd the S ta te o f J & K a r e
tha t no e me r ge n c y d u e to in te r na l d is t ur b a nc e s c a n b e d e c la r e d in J & K
witho ut the c o nc ur r e n c e o f the S ta te .
✓ T h e u n io n go v e r n me n t c a n no t imp o s e a f ina nc ia l e me r ge n c y in t he S ta te a nd
the Dir e c tive P r inc ip le s d o no t a p p ly in J &K .
✓ F ina lly, a me nd me n t s to t h e I n d ia n C o ns t it u t io n ( u n d e r Ar t. 3 6 8 ) c a n o n l y
a p p ly in c o nc ur r e n c e w i t h t h e g o v e r n m e n to f J &K .

Chapter-8-LOCAL GOVERNMENT

What is local Govt.? An Overview:

✓ Governme nt at the villa ge and district level,

✓ Closest to the commo n people
✓ Involvesthe day- to- day life and problems of ordinary citizens
✓ Believes that local knowledge and local interest are essential ingredie nts for democratic
decision making
✓ Also necessary for effic ie nt and people- fr ie nd ly adminis tr a tio n.

Adv a nt a g e of Lo c a l Go v t .

✓ It is so near the people

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✓ Convenient for the people to approach the local governme nt for solving their problems
both quickly and with minimu m cost
✓ can be very effective in protecting the local interests of the people
✓ It is at the level of local governme nt that commo n citizens can be involved in decision
making concerning their lives, their needs and above all their development.

Growth of Local Govt. in India:

✓ self- governing village communities existed in India from the earliest times in the form of
‗sabhas‘
✓ In the course of time, these village bodies took the shape of Panchayats (an assembly of
fivepersons) and these Panchayats resolved issues at thevillage level.
✓ In modern times, elected local government bodies were created after 1882. Lord Rippon,
who was the Viceroy of India at that time, took the initiative in creating these bodies.
They were called the local boards.
✓ Go ve r nme nt o f I nd ia Ac t 1919, village p a nc ha ya ts were established in a number o f
provinces. This trend continued after the Governme nt of India Act of 1935.
✓ Panc ha ya ts were looked upo n as instr ume nts of dece ntra lisatio n a nd pa rtic ipator y
democracy.
✓ W he n the Co nstitutio n was p repar ed, the sub jec t o f loca l go ver nme nt was ass igned to
the States. It was a lso me ntio ned in the Directive Princ iples as one of the policy directives
to all governments in the country.
✓ Be ing a part o f the Directive Pr inc ip les o f State Polic y, this provis ion o f the Constitution
was non- justiciab le and primarily advisory in its nature.

The s ubje ct of local gove rnme nt including panchayats did not re ce ive ade quate
importa nce in the Cons titution Why?

✓ Firs tly, the tur mo il d ue to the Partitio n res ulted in a s tro ng unita r y inc linatio n in the
Constitutio n. Nehr u himse lf looke d upo n e xtre me loca lis m as a threat to unity a nd
integratio n of the nation.
✓ Se condly, the re wa s a power ful vo ice in the Constitue nt Ass e mb ly led b y Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar whic h fe lt that the factio n a nd caste- ridden nature of r ura l soc ie ty wo uld defea t
the noble purpose of local governme nt at the rural level.

Local Gove rnme nts in Inde pe nde nt India

✓ Local governme nts got a fillip after the 73 rd and 74 th Constitution Amendment Acts.
✓ First in the line was the Community Develop me nt Programme in 1952, which sought
to promote people‘s partic ipa tio n in local development in a range of activities.
✓ In this background, a three- tier Panchayati Raj system of local government was
recommended for the rural areas.

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✓ Some States (like Gujarat, Maharashtra) adopted the system of elected local bodies around
1960.

Why only few states adopted and others failed to adopt?

✓ Because local bodies did not have enough powers and functions to look after the local
development.
✓ They were very much dependent on the State and central governments for financia l
assistance.
✓ Many States did not think it necessary to establish elected local bodies.
✓ Local bodies were dissolved and the local government was handed over to government
officers.
✓ Many States had indirect elections to most local bodies.
✓ In many States, elections to the local bodies were postponed from time to time.

New Initiative (Reform):

✓ In 1989 the P.K.Thungo nCo mmittee recommended constitutional recognitio n for the local
government bodies.
✓ A constitutiona l ame nd me nt to provide for periodic elections to local government
institutions, and enlistment of appropriate functions to them, a long with funds, was
recommended.

73 RD AND 74 TH AM EN D M EN TS :

✓ In 1989, the central governme nt introduced two constitutio na l amendme nts.

Why the s e Ame ndme nts ?

✓ Thes e a me nd me nts a imed a t str e ngthe ning loca l gover nme nts a nd ens ur ing a n e le me nt of
uniformity in their structure and functio ning across the country.
✓ In 1992, the 73 rd and 74 th constitutional amendments were passed by the Parliament.
✓ The 73 rd Ame ndme nt is about rural local gove rnme nts (which are als o known as
Panchayati R aj Ins titutions or PRIs) and the 74 th ame ndme nt made the
provis ions re lating tourban local gove rnme nt (Nagarpalikas ).
✓ The 73rd and 74 th Amendments came into force in 1993.
✓ Local Govt. is a s tate s ubje ct means state is free to make their own laws on this subject.

Will State govt alte r the ir laws re lating to local govt.?

✓ Yes once the Constitution was amended, the States had to change their laws about local
bodies in order to bring these in conformity with the amended Constitutio n.

73rd Amendment:

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All about Panchayat Raj Institutions,

Three Tier Structure:

Base level-‗Gram Panchayat‘

(Covers a village or group of villages)

Intermediary-Mandal (Block or Taluka)

(Need not be constituted in smaller States)

Apex-Zilla Panchayat
(Covering the entire rural area of the District)

• Provision of Mandatory Creation of Gram Sabha - comprise of all the adult members registered as
voters in the Panchayat area and Its role and functions are decided by State legislation.

Elections:

✓ All three levels are directly elected by the people.

✓ Term-5 Years
✓ Dissolution: If state dissolves the panchayat before the end of its five year term fresh elections must
be held within six months of such dissolution.

Reservations:

✓ 1/3rd are reserved for women in all panchayat institutions for all categories (Gen/SC/ST/OBC)
✓ Reservation for SC & ST in proportion to their population
✓ If the States find it necessary, they can also provide for reservations for the backward castes
(OBCs).
✓ Reservations are also applicable to the chairpersons at all three levels.

Transfer of Subjects:

• Twenty-nine subjects, which were earlier in the State list of subjects, are identified and listed in the
Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• These subjects are to be transferred to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
• Subjects were mostly linked to development and welfare functions at the local level.
• Actual Transfer depends on State legislation only.
• Article 243 G deals with the power, authority and responsibility of panchayats.

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• Some subjects listed in the 11th Schedule: Agriculture, Minor irrigation, water management and
watershed development, Small scale industries, including food processing industries, Rural
housing, Drinking water, Roads, culverts, Rural electrification, Poverty alleviation programme,
Education, including primary and secondary schools, Technical training and vocational education,
Adult and non- formal education, Libraries, Cultural activities. Markets and fairs, Health and
sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries, Family welfare, Women
and child development. Social welfare, Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Public distribution system.

Will 73rd Amendment Act is applicable to whole of the state?

• No the provisions of the 73rd amendment were not made applicable to the areas inhabited by the
Adivasi populations in many States of India.
• In 1996 a separate act was passed extending the provisions of the Panchayat system to these areas.

Why Separation of Act was Passed?

• Because in India Many Adivasi communities have their traditional customs of managing common
resources such as forests and small water reservoirs, etc.
• The new act protects the rights of these communities to manage their resources in ways acceptable
to them.
• more powers are given to the Gram Sabhas of these areas and elected village panchayats have to get
the consent of the Gram Sabha in many respects
• The idea behind this act is that local traditions of self- government should be protected while
introducing modern elected bodies. This is only consistent with the spirit of diversity and
decentralization.

State Election Commissioners:

• Appointed by the State Govt.

• Responsible for conducting elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions
• the office of the State Election Commissioner is autonomous like the Election Commissioner of
India
• the State Election Commissioner is an independent officer and is not linked to nor is this officer
under the control of the Election Commission of India

State Finance Commission:

• Appointed by the State Govt. once in five years

• examine the financial position of the local governments in the State
• also review the distribution of revenues between the State and local governments on the one hand
and between rural and urban local governments on the other.

74TH Amendment:

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✓ Dealt with urban local bodies or Nagarpalikas.

✓ In many ways the 74th amendment is a repetition of the 73rd amendment, except that it applies to
urban areas.
✓ All the provisions of the 73rd amendment relating to direct elections, reservations, transfer of
subjects, State Election Commission and State Finance Commission are incorporated in the 74th
amendment also and thus apply to Nagarpalikas.
✓ The Constitution also mandated the transfer of a list of functions from the State government to the
urban local bodies. These functions have been listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.

Inside View:

• The 73rd and 74th amendments have created uniformity in the structures of Panchayati Raj and
Nagarpalika institutions across the country. The presence of these local institutions is by itself a
significant achievement and would create an atmosphere and platform for people‘s participation in
government.
• The provision for reservation for women at the Panchayats and Nagarpalikas has ensured the
presence of a significant number of women in local bodies.
• Women have gained more power and confidence by asserting control over resources.
• Their presence in these institutions has given many women a greater understanding of the working
of politics.
• In many cases, they have brought a new perspective and a greater sensitivity to discussions at local
bodies.
• In many cases, women were unable to assert their presence or were mere proxies for the male
members of their family who sponsored their election.

Chapter-9-CONSTITUTION AS A LIVING DOCUMENT

ARE CONSTITUTIONS STATIC?

❖ The Soviet Union had four constitutions in its life of 74 years In 1991, the rule of the Communist
Party of Soviet Union came to an end and soon the Soviet federation disintegrated. After this
political upheaval, the newly formed Russian federation adopted a new constitution in 1993.
❖ The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949. Its implementation formally started
from 26 January 1950. More than fifty- five years after that, the same constitution continues to
function as the framework within which the government of our country operates.
❖ Lot of questions will came in our mind that Is it that our Constitution is so good that it needs no
change? Was it that our Constitution makers were so farsighted and wise that they had foreseen all
the changes that would take place in the future?
❖ The answer to the above questions is yes we have inherited a very robust Constitution
❖ The basic framework of the Constitution is very much suited to our country.
❖ The Constitution makers were very farsighted and provided for many solutions for future situations.

Yes our constitution provides the solution for many problems but can it provide for all eventualities?

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Then how does the same Constitution continue to serve the country? The answer to this question is:
• Our Constitution accepts the necessity of modifications according to changing needs of the
society.
• In the actual working of the Constitution, there has been enough flexibility of interpretations. Both
political practice and judicial rulings have shown maturity and flexibility in implementing the
Constitution.
• These above factors have made our Constitution a living document rather than a closed and static
rulebook.
Challenging Issue of Constitution & Solutions:
✓ the provisions of the constitution would naturally reflect efforts to tackle the problems that the
society is facing at the time of making of the constitution
✓ the constitution must be a document that provides the framework of the government for the future
as well
✓ the constitution has to be able to respond to the challenges that may arise in the future
✓ the constitution will always have something that is contemporary and something that has a more
durable importance
✓ a constitution is not a frozen and unalterable document
✓ the constitution is a framework for the democratic governance of the society.

• Thus from the above the Indian Constitution is a combination of both the approaches mentioned
above: that the constitution is a sacred document and that it is an instrument that may require
changes from time to time or we can say that;
• our Constitution is not a static document, it is not the final word about everything; it is not
unalterable.

HOW TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION?

✓ Article 368 deals with the amending power of the parliament i.e. Parliament may in exercise of its
constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution
in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.

Balancing approach of our Constitution:

✓ The Constitution must be amended if so required. But it must be protected from unnecessary and
frequent changes.
✓ In other words, the Constitution to be ‗flexible‘ and at the same time ‗rigid‘.
✓ Flexible means open to changes and rigid means resistant to changes.
✓ A constitution that can be very easily changed or modified is often called flexible.
✓ In the case of constitutions, which are very difficult to amend, they are described as rigid.
✓ The Indian Constitution combines both these characteristics.

If Faults or Mistake in our Constitution?

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✓ Whenever such mistakes would come to light, the Constitution to be easily amended and to be able
to get rid of these mistakes.
✓ Then there were some provisions in the Constitution that were of temporary nature and it was
decided that these could be altered later on once the new Parliament was elected.
✓ But at the same time, the Constitution was framing a federal polity and therefore, the rights and
powers of the States could not be changed without the consent of the States.

How to amend the

Constitution?

Special majority in
Parliament in both
Similar to ordinary
Houses separately: Special majority
law: simple majority
as per article 368 +
in Parliament: as
Legislatures of half
mentioned in some the states: article
articles 368

✓ Note that all amendments to the Constitution are initiated only in the Parliament. Besides the
special majority in the Parliament no outside agency like a constitution commission or a separate
body is required for amending the Constitution.
✓ An amendment bill, like all other bills, goes to the President for his assent, but in this case, the
President has no powers to send it back for reconsideration.
✓ These details show how rigid and complicated the amending process could have been.
✓ Only elected representatives of the people are empowered to consider and take final decisions on
the question of amendments.
✓ Thus, sovereignty of elected representatives (parliamentary sovereignty) is the basis of the
amendment procedure.

Special Majority:

Amendment to the Constitution requires two different kinds of special majorities:

✓ In the first place, those voting in favour of the amendment bill should constitute at least half of the
total strength of that House.

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✓ Secondly, the supporters of the amendment bill must also constitute two-thirds
of those who actually take part in voting.
✓ Both Houses of the Parliament must pass the amendment bill separately in this same manner (there
is no provision for a joint session). For every amendment bill, this special majority is required.
✓ The basic principle behind the amending procedure is that it should be based on broad support
among the political parties and parliamentarians.

Ratification by States:

✓ For some articles of the Constitution, special majority is not sufficient.

✓ When an amendment aims to modify an article related to distribution of powers between the States
and the central government, or articles related to representation, it is necessary that the States must
be consulted and that they give their consent.
✓ The Constitution has ensured this by providing that legislatures of half the States have to pass the
amendment bill before the amendment comes into effect.
✓ Apart from the provisions related to federal structure, provisions about fundamental rights are also
protected in this way.
✓ the Constitution of India can be amended through large-scale consensus and limited participation of
the States.

WHY HAVE THERE BEEN SO MANYAMENDMENTS?

• There is always a criticism about the number of amendments. It is said that there have been far too
many
amendments to the Constitution of India.
• On the face of it, the fact that ninety-three amendments took place in fifty-five years does seem to
be somewhat odd. Amendments are not only due to political considerations.
• Barring the first decade after the commencement of the Constitution, every decade has witnessed a
steady stream of amendments.
• This means that irrespective of the nature of politics and the party in power, amendments were
required to be made from time to time.

Was this because of the inadequacies of the original Constitution? Is the Constitution too flexible?

✓ The anti-defection amendment (52nd amendment), this period saw a series of amendments in
spite of the political turbulence.
✓ Apart from the anti-defection amendments (52nd and 91st) these amendments include the
amendment bringing down the minimum age for voting from 21 to 18 years, the 73rd and the 74th
amendments, etc.
✓ In this same period, there were some amendments clarifying and expanding the scope of
reservations in jobs and admissions.

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✓ After 1992-93, an overall consensus emerged in the country about these measures and therefore,
amendments regarding these measures were passed without much difficulty (77th, 81st, and 82nd
amendments).

Controversial Amendments

✓ In particular, the 38th, 39th and 42nd amendments have been the most controversial amendments so
far.
✓ These three amendments were made in the background of internal emergency declared in the
country from June 1975.
✓ They sought to make basic changes in many crucial parts of the Constitution.

42nd Amendment: An Overview

✓ An attempt to override the ruling of the Supreme Court given in the Kesavananda case.
✓ Even the duration of the Lok Sabha was extended from five to six years. In the chapter on Rights,
you have read about fundamental duties.
✓ They were included in the Constitution by this amendment act. The 42nd amendment
also put restrictions on the review powers of the Judiciary.
✓ This amendment made changes to the Preamble, to the seventh schedule of the Constitution and to
53 articles of the Constitution.

BASIC STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUTION

Most famous case: Kesavananda Bharati

• ―Ithas set specific limits to the Parliament‘s power to amend the Constitution.
• It says that no amendment can violate the basic structure of the Constitution;
• ―It allows the Parliament to amend any and all parts of the Constitution (within this limitation); and
• ―Itplaces the Judiciary as the final authority in deciding if an amendment violates basic structure
and what constitutes the basic structure.

The theory of basic structure-

• There is no mention of this theory in the Constitution.

• It has emerged from judicial interpretation.
• The Judiciary and its interpretation have practically amended the Constitution without a formal
amendment.

Examples of how judicial interpretation changed our understanding of the Constitution.

• Reservations in jobs and educational institutions cannot exceed fifty per cent of the total seats.
• Reservations for other backward classes, the Supreme Court introduced the idea of creamy layer
and ruled that persons belonging to this category were not entitled to benefits under reservations

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• The Judiciary has contributed to an informal amendment by interpreting various provisions

concerning right to education, right to life and liberty and the right to form and manage minority
educational institutions.

Parliamentary Democracy:

• In a parliamentary democracy, the Parliament represents the people and therefore, it is expected to
have an upper hand over both Executive and Judiciary.
• At the same time, there is the text of the Constitution and it has given powers to other organs of the
government.
• Therefore, the supremacy of the Parliament has to operate within this framework.
• Democracy is not only about votes and people‘s representation.
• It is also about the principle of rule of law.
• Democracy is also about developing institutions and working through these institutions.
• All the political institutions must be responsible to the people and maintain a balance with each
other.

Chapter 10-THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION:

WHAT IS MEANT BY PHILOSOPHY OF THE CONSTITUTION?

We have three things in mind.

• First, we need to understand the conceptual structure of the constitution. What does this mean? It
means that we must ask questions like what are the possible meanings of terms used in the
constitution such as ‗rights‘, ‗citizenship‘, ‗minority‘ or ‗democracy‘?
• Furthermore, we must attempt to work out a coherent vision of society and polity conditional upon
an interpretation of the key concepts of the constitution. We must have a better grasp of the set of
ideals embedded in the constitution.
• Our final point is that the Indian Constitution must be read in conjunction with the Constituent
Assembly Debates in order to refine and raise to a higher theoretical plane, the justification of
values embedded in the Constitution. A philosophical treatment of a value is incomplete if a
detailed justification for it is not provided. When the framers of the Constitution chose to guide
Indian society and polity by a set of values, there must have been a corresponding set of reasons.
Many of them, though, may not have been fully explained.

Why in Need?

• A political philosophy approach to the constitution is needed not only to find out the moral content
expressed in it and to evaluate its claims but possibly to use it to arbitrate between varying
interpretations of the many core values in our polity.

Constitution as Means of Democratic Transformation:

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• Provide peaceful, democratic means to bring about social transformation. Moreover, for a hitherto
colonized people, constitutions announce and embody the first real exercise of political self-
determination.
• The Indian Constitution was designed to break the shackles of traditional social hierarchies and to
usher in a new era of freedom, equality and justice.
• Constitutions exist not only to limit people in power but to empower those who traditionally have
been deprived of it. Constitutions can give vulnerable people the power to achieve collective good.

WHAT IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF OUR CONSTITUTION?

It is hard to describe this philosophy in one word.

• It resists any single label because it is liberal, democratic, egalitarian, secular, and federal, open to
community values, sensitive to the needs of religious and linguistic minorities as well as historically
disadvantaged groups, and committed to building a common national identity.
• In short, it is committed to freedom, equality, social justice, and some form of national unity.
• But underneath all this, there is a clear emphasis on peaceful and democratic measures for putting
this philosophy into practice.

Individual freedom:

• The first point to note about the Constitution is its commitment to individual freedom.
• Remember Rammohan Roy protested against curtailment of the freedom of the press by the British
colonial state.
• It is not surprising therefore that freedom of expression is an integral part of the Indian
Constitution. So is the freedom from arbitrary arrest.
• the infamous Rowlatt Act, which the national movement opposed so vehemently, sought to deny
this basic freedom.

Social Justice:

Classical liberalism always privileges rights of the individuals over demands of social justice and
community values.

The liberalism of the Indian Constitution differs from this version in two ways.

• First, it was always linked to social justice. The best example of this is the provision for
reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution. The makers of the
Constitution believed that the mere granting of the right to equality was not enough to overcome
age-old injustices suffered by these groups or to give real meaning to their right to vote.
• Special constitutional measures were required to advance their interests. Therefore the constitution
makers provided a number of special measures to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes such as the reservation of seats in legislatures. The Constitution also made it
possible for the government to reserve public sector jobs for these groups.

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Respect for diversity and minority rights:

✓ The Indian Constitution encourages equal respect between communities.

✓ This was not easy in our country, first because communities do not always have a relationship of
equality; they tend to have hierarchical relationships with one another (as in the case of caste).
✓ Second, when these communities do see each other as equals, they also tend to become rivals (as in
the case of religious communities).
✓ It was important to ensure that no one community systematically dominates others. This made it
mandatory for our Constitution to recognize community based rights.
✓ One such right is the right of religious communities to establish and run their own educational
institutions.
✓ Such institutions may receive money from the government. This provision shows that the Indian
Constitution does not see religion merely as a ‗private‘ matter concerning the individual.

Secularism:

✓ The term ‗secular‘ was not initially mentioned; the Indian Constitution has always been secular.
✓ The mainstream, western conception, of secularism means mutual exclusion of state and religion in
order to protect values such as individual freedom and citizenship rights of individuals.
✓ The term ‗mutual exclusion‘ means this: both religion and state must stay away from the internal
affairs of one another. The state must not intervene in the domain of religion; religion likewise
should not dictate state policy or influence the conduct of the state. In other words, mutual
exclusion means that religion and state must be strictly separated.
✓ To protect religious freedom of individuals, therefore, state must not help religious organizations.
But at the same time, state should not tell religious organisations how to manage their affairs.

Rights of Religious Groups:

• The Indian Constitution grants rights to all religious communities such as the right to establish and
maintain their educational institutions. Freedom of religion in India means the freedom of religio n
of both individuals and communities.

State’s Power of Intervention:

• The state simply had to interfere in the affairs of religion.

• The state could also help religious communities by giving aid to educational institutions run by
them.
• The state may help or hinder religious communities depending on which mode of action promotes
values such as freedom and equality.

PROCEDURAL ACHIEVEMENTS:

• First, the Indian Constitution reflects a faith in political deliberation. We know that many groups
and interests were not adequately represented in the Constituent Assembly. But the debates in the

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Assembly amply show that the makers of the Constitution wanted to be as inclusive in their
approach as possible. This open-ended approach indicates the willingness of people to modify their
existing preferences, in short, to justify outcomes by reference not to self-interest but to reasons. It
also shows a willingness to recognise creative value in difference and disagreement.
• Second, it reflects a spirit of compromise and accommodation. These words, compromise and
accommodation, should not always be seen with disapproval. Not all compromises are bad.

CRITICISMS:
The Indian Constitution can be subjected to many criticisms of which three may be briefly mentioned:

• first, that it is unwieldy;

• second, that it is unrepresentative and
• third, that it is alien to our conditions.

1st Criticism:

• The criticism that it is unwieldy is based on the assumption that the entire constitution of a country
must be found in one compact document.
• The fact is that a country‘s constitution is to be identified with a compact document and with other
written documents with constitutional status.
• In the case of India, many such details, practices and statements are included in one single
document and this has made that document somewhat large in size.
• Many countries for instance, do not have provisions for election commission
or the civil service commission in the document known as constitution.
• But in India, many such matters are attended to by the Constitutional document itself.

A second criticism of the Constitution is that it is unrepresentative.

Here we must distinguish two components of representation, one that might be called voice and the other
opinion.

• The voice component of representation is important. People must be recognised in their own
language or voice, not in the language of the masters. If we look at the Indian Constitution from this
dimension, it is indeed unrepresentative because members of the Constituent Assembly were
chosen by a restricted franchise, not by universal suffrage.
• However, if we examine the other dimension, we may not find it altogether lacking in
representativeness. The claim that almost every shade of opinion was represented in the Constituent
Assembly may be a trifle exaggerated but may have something to it. If we read the debates that took
place in the Constituent Assembly, we find that a vast range of issues and opinions were mentioned,
members raised matters not only based on their individual social concerns but based on the
perceived interests and concerns of various social sections as well.

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A final criticis m alleges that the Indian Constitution is entirely an alien document, borrowed article by
article from western constitutions and sits uneasily with the cultural ethos of the Indian people. This
criticism is often voiced by many. Even in the Constituent Assembly itself, there were some voices that
echo this concern.

The limitations of the Constitution.

• First, the Indian Constitution has a centralised idea of national unity.

• Second, it appears to have glossed over some important issues of gender justice, particularly within
the family.
• Third, it is not clear why in a poor developing country, certain basic socio-economic rights were
relegated to the section on Directive Principles rather than made an integral feature of our
fundamental rights.

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