Indian Constitution

255

There are 444articles , 12 Schedules,

24 Parts and 92 Amendments as of today in IndianConstitution. It was 395Articles and 8 schedules

when it came into forceon January 26,

1950.

Basic structure of the Constitution Independence of judiciary Free and fair elections Rule of law Limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution Parliamentary system Harmony and balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive

Principles Judicial review Freedom and dignity of the individual Welfare state Unity and integrity of the nation Federal character of the Constitution Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the

judiciary Secular character of the Constitution Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity Supremacy of the Constitution

The Constituent Assemblywas in session between De-cember 9, 1946 and November26, 1949.

Total duration of the making ofthe Constitution was 2 years,11 months and 17 days.The Constituent Assemblyhad 389 members originally. Ofwhich, 292 were to be electedfrom provinces, 93 were to benominated from princely statesand four members were to benominated from ChiefCommissioners Areas. Eachprovince was allocated seatsin proportion to its population.Later reduced to 299 as Leaguewithdrew after partition of thecountry.

On the inaugural day of theassembly on December 9, 1946,Dr. Sachidananda Sinha waselected as the first temporaryPresident to chair the meeting

CONSTITUTION A Constitution is "a Funda-

mental legal document accord-ing to which the governmentof a country functions".

Its basic objective is to estab-lish a democratic, socialist,secular republic with a view tosecuring justice, liberty, equal-ity and fraternity to all its citi-zens.

A constitution, thus is supe-rior to all other laws of the coun-try & no law can be enactedwhich is not in conformity withthe constitution.

Constitutions are of two types- "unwritten and written". Theconstitution of the U.K andNew Zealand are unwrittenwhere as the constitution of allother countries of the Worldare written.

ConstituentAssembly

The Constitution of India wasframed and adopted by theConstituent Assembly of In-dia.

The Constitutent Assemblywas set up in November 1946as per the Cabinet Mission Planof 1946.

The idea of a Constitution forIndia was first expressed byM.N. Roy (communist leader)and it was supported byGandhiji & Nehru.

The demand for the Constitu-ent Assembly to draft the Con-stitution of India was, for thefirst time, raised by the Con-gress in 1935.

256The Constitution of Indi

a was drafted by the Constituent

Assembly. It came into effect on January 26, 195

0.

The constitutional head of the Executive of the

Union is the

President. As per Article 79 of the Constitution

, Indian

Parliament consists of the President and two H

ouses known

as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the

House of the

People (Lok Sabha). Article 74(1) of the Const

itution

provides that there shall be a Council of Minist

ers with the

Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the

President,

who shall exercise his functions in accordance t

o the advice.

and on December 11, 1946, Dr.Rajendra Prasad was electedas the permanent President ofthe Constituent Assembly.

The Vice President of the con-stituent Assembly was Profes-sor Harendra CoomarMukherjee.

Constituent Assembly workedby constituting more than 13committees and the mostprominent committee was theSeven member Drafting Com-mittee of the constitution.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was theChairman of the DraftingCommittee of the Constitu-tion.

He was the Chief Architect ofthe Constitution and later be-came the first Law Minister ofIndia. In 1990 Governmentawarded him Bharat Ratnaposthumously.

Total sessions of the Constitu-ent Assembly - 11

The Constitution of India wasadopted on November 26,1949. The assembly met againon Jan 24, 1950 when the mem-bers appended their signaturesto the constitution of India. Itcame into force on January 26,1950.

The date January 26, was cho-sen to inaugurate the Consti-tution in memory and honourof the Lahore session of theIndian National Congress on31st December 1929.

The Constituent Assemblyformed 13 important committees

The Constituent Assemblyadopted our National Flag on

July 22, 1947.

The Constituent Assemblyadopted our National Anthem

on January 24, 1950.

The only state havingConstitution of its own is

Jammu & Kashmir

On August

15, 1947, India became

an independent nation, and

the Constituent Assembly

became India's Parlia-

ment.

for framing the Constitution. The historic 'Objective Reso-

lution' (purpose and aim) wasmoved in the Constituent As-sembly by Pt. Jawahar LalNehru on 13th December 1946.

Objective resolution consti-tuted on the basis of thePreamble of the Constitution.

Shri. B.N. Rao was appointedas Legal Advisor to the Con-stituent Assembly.

The Constituent Assemblytook 2 years, 11 months and18 days to frame the Consti-tution.

Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar isrecognised as Father of In-dian Constitution.

Drafting Committee In the August 14, 1947

meeting of the ConstituentAssembly, a proposal forforming various committeeswere presented.

Such committees includeCommittee on FundamentalRights, the Union PowersCommittee and UnionConstitution Committee.

On August 29, 1947, theDrafting Committee wasappointed, with Dr. Ambedkaras the Chairman along with sixother members.

Six members of the draftingcommittee were N.Gopalaswami Iyengar, AlladiKrishna Swamy Iyer, K.M.Munshi (founder of BharatiyaVidya Bhavan), SyyedMohammad Saadullah, B.L.Mittar (replaced by N.Madhav Rao) and D.P.Khaitan (who died in 1948 andwas replaced by T.T.Krishnamachari).

A Draft Constitution wasprepared by the committee andsubmitted to the Assembly onNovember 4, 1947.

257January 26 was

selected as the

date of commencement of the

Constitution of India because on

this date in 1930, Indian people

observed 'Independence day',

following the resolution of 'Purna

Swaraj' of the Congress session

held in the midnight of Decem-

ber 31,1929 at Lahore.

Committees under the Constituent Assembly Committee on the Rules of procedure - Rajendra Prasad Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad Finance and Staff Committee - Anugrah Narayan Sinha Credential Committee - Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer House Committee - B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya Order of Business Committee - K.M. Munshi Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag - Rajendra Prasad Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly

G.V. Mavalankar States Committee - Jawaharlal Nehru Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities Tribal and Excluded Areas - Vallabhai Patel Minorities Sub-Committee - H.C. Mookherjee Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee - J.B. Kripalani North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam. Excluded & Partially

Excluded Areas Sub-Committee - Gopinath Bardoloi Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam)

Sub-Committee - A.V. Thakkar Union Powers Committee- Jawaharlal Nehru Union Constitution Committee - Jawaharlal Nehru Drafting Committee - B.R. Ambedkar

Sources of Indian Constitution

1. Govt. of India Act 1935: Federal Syste

m, Office of the Governor, Power of federa

l judiciary, Emergency

power, Public Service Commissions, Ad

ministrative details.

2. United Kingdom: Law making p

rocedure, Rule of Law , Provisions of

Single Citizenship,

Parliamentary Govt., Bicameralism, Pre

rogative writs, Office of the C.A.G.

3. USA:Independent Judiciary, Ju

dicial Review, Fundamental Rights, Re

moval of Supreme &

High Court Judges (Impeachment), Prea

mble, Functions of Vice- President.

4. Canada: Federation with a strong

centre, Residuary powers with the ce

ntre, Appointment of

State Governors by Center, Advisory/R

eview of supreme court.

5. Ireland: Directive Principles of S

tate Policy, Method of Presidential elec

tion, Nomination of

members of Rajya Sabha by the Preside

nt.

6. Germany: Emergency Provision a

nd Suspension of Fundamental Rights.

7. Australia: Concurrent list & Freed

om of trade.

8. South Africa: Amendment proced

ure.

9. France : Republic

10. Russia (U.S.S.R.): Fundamental D

uties (44 Amendment) & Preamble.

11. Japan: Procedures established by l

aw.

The Drafting Committeefinalised the DraftConstitution of India inFebruary 1948 and the secondreading of the same by theAssembly was completed onOctober 17, 1948. For the thirdreading of the constitution,Assembly met on Nov. 14,1949 and finished it on Nov.26, 1949.

258Regulating Act, 1773This was the first step taken by theBritish Government to control andregulate the affairs of the East IndiaCompany in India. It designated the Governor of

Bengal as the Governor-Gen-eral of Bengal.

The first Governor-Generalwas Lord Warren Hastings.

It subordinated the Governorsof Bombay and Madras to theGovernor-General of Bengal.

The Supreme Court was estab-lished at Fort William (Calcutta)as the Apex Court in 1774.

Pitt's India Act, 1784 It was introduced to remove the

drawbacks of the RegulatingAct.

Was named after the then Brit-ish Prime Minister.

Placed the Indian affairs underthe direct control of the BritishGovernment.

Established a Board of Controlover the Court of Directors.

Charter Act, 1813 Monopoly of Company's trade

abolished except trade in tea& trade with China.

One way free trade was im-posed on India.

An annual sum of Rs. OneLakh earmarked for education,marking the beginning of Brit-ish interest on educating theIndians.

Charter Act, 1833 It made the Governor-General

of Bengal as the Governor-General of India.

First Governor-General of In-dia was Lord William Bentick.

All civil and military powerswere vested in him.

Inclusion of a Law member inthe council of Governor Gen-eral (Macaulay - first law mem-ber).

Governments of Bombay andMadras were deprived of theirlegislative powers.

This was the final step towardscentralisation in the British In-dia.

The Act ended the activities ofthe East India Company as acommercial body. Company'smonopoly of trade completelyabolished.

Charter Act, 1853 The legislative and executive

functions of the Governor-General's Council were sepa-rated.

It introduced a system of opencompetition as the basis for therecruitment of civil servants ofthe Company.

Government of India Act, 1858 This Act transferred the Gov-

ernment territories and rev-enues of India from the EastIndia Company to the BritishCrown.

In other words, the rule of Com-pany was replaced by the ruleof the Crown in India.

The powers of the BritishCrown were to be exercised bythe Secretary of State for In-dia.

The Secretary of State was amember of the British Cabinet.

He was assisted by the Coun-cil of India, having 15 mem-bers.

This act was declared to be anact of "good government" forIndia.

SOS was vested with complete

authority and control over theIndian administration throughthe Governor-General as hisagent.

He was responsible ultimatelyto the British Parliament.

The Governor-General wasmade the Viceroy of India.

Lord Canning was the firstViceroy of India.

Indian Councils Act, 1861 It introduced for the first time

the representative institutionsin India.

It provided that the Governor-General's Executive Councilshould have some Indians asthe non-official members whiletransacting the legislative busi-nesses.

Initiated the process ofdecentralisation by restoringthe legislative powers to theBombay and the Madras Presi-dencies.

It accorded the statutory rec-ognition to the Portfolio Sys-tem.

Indian Councils Act, 1892 Introduced the principle of elec-

tions, but in an indirect man-ner.

Enlarged the functions of theLegislative Councils and gavethem the power of discussingthe Budget and addressingquestions to the Executive.

Indian Councils Act, 1909 This Act is also known as the

Morley-Minto Reforms (LordMorley was the then Secretaryof State for India and LordMinto was the then Governor-General of India).

Introduction of an element of

The landmarks of the Constitution

259direct elections to the Legisla-tive Councils.

The act provided the so called'Representative Govt'. in India.

It changed the name of theCentral Legislative Council tothe Imperial Legislative Coun-cil.

Introduced a system of com-munal representation for Mus-lims by accepting the conceptof 'Separate Electorate'. (Com-munal Electroate)

Government of India Act, 1919 This Act is also known as the

Montague Chelmsford Re-forms.

Montague was the then Sec-retary of State and LordChelmsford was the then Gov-ernor General of India.

The act was meant to provide"Responsible Govt". in India.

The Central subjects were de-marcated and separated fromthose of the Provincial sub-jects.

The scheme of dual gover-nance, 'Dyarchy', was intro-duced in the Provinces.

Division of Provincial subjectsinto Reserved subjects (likepolice, jails, land revenue, irri-gation, forests etc to be admin-istered by the Governor & hisExecutive Council) and Trans-ferred subjects (like education,local self Government, public

health & sanitation, agricul-ture, industries to be lookedafter by the governor and hisministers).

The Act introduced, for thefirst time, bicameralism and di-rect elections in the country.

The Act also required that thethree of the six members of theGovernor-General's Council(other than the Commander-in-Chief) were to be Indians.

Government of India Act of 1935 The Act provided for the es-

tablishment of an 'All-IndiaFederation' consisting of theProvinces and the PrincelyStates as the units.

The Act divided the powersbetween the Centre and theUnits in terms of three lists,namely the Federal List, theProvinicial List and the Con-current List.

The Federal List for the Centreconsisted of 59 items, the Pro-vincial List for the Provincesconsisted of 54 items and theConcurrent List for both con-sisted of 36 items.

The residuary powers werevested with the Governor-Gen-eral.

The Act abolished theDyarchy in the Provinces andintroduced 'Provincial Au-tonomy'.

It provided for the adoption of

Dyarchy at the Centre. Introduced bicameralism in 6

out of 11 Provinces. These six Provinces were

Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Bihar,Madras and the United Province.

Indian Independence Act of 1947 Till 1947, the Government of

India functioned under theprovisions of the 1919 Act only,the provisions of 1935 Act re-lating to Federation andDyarchy were never imple-mented.

The Executive Council pro-vided by the 1919 Act contin-ued to advice the GovernorGeneral till 1947.

It declared India as an Indepen-dent and Sovereign State.

Established responsible Gov-ernments at both the Centreand the Provinces.

Designated the Governor-Gen-eral of India and the ProvincialGovernors as the Constitu-tional Heads (nominal heads).

It assigned dual functions(Constituent and Legislative)to the Constituent Assemblyand declared this dominionlegislature as a sovereignbody.

Two Dominions were consti-tuted-India and Pakistan.

The King would appoint aGovernor General for each Do-minion.

Cabinet Mission of 1946The British Cabinet Mission of 1946 to India aimed to discuss and plan for the transfer of power fromthe British Raj to Indian leadership, providing India with independence under Dominion status in theCommonwealth of Nations. Formulated at the initiative of Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom, the mission consisted of Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, SirStafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander. The Mission's purpose was to hold preparatory discussions withelected representatives of British India and the Indian states in order to secure agreement as to themethod of framing the constitution. Set up a constitution body. Set up an Executive Council with thesupport of the main Indian parties.

260The Preamble

Soul of ConstitutionKey of Constitution

Identity Card of Constitution The Preamble or the preface

gives in a nutshell the aims andpurposes of the Constitution ofIndia. It also embodies the ide-als and aspirations.

The Preamble is considered tobe the key to open the edificeof the Constitution.

Almost all the constitutions ofthe world have a preamble.

Jawaharlal Nehru is the archi-tect of the preamble.

It was adopted by theConstituent Assembly onJanuary 22nd 1947.

The preamble serves three pur-poses -i. It indicates the source

from which the constitu-tion derives its authority,

ii. States the objects that theconstitution seeks to es-tablish and promote.

iii. The date of its adoption. The importance of the utility

of the Preamble has beenpointed out in severaldecisions of the SupremeCourt.

In the Kesavananda Bharathicase 1973 the Supreme Courtheld that Preamble is a part ofthe Constitution.

Sovereign : There is noauthority outside India onwhich the country is anywaydependent.

Socialist : Achievement ofSocialistic pattern of Societythrough democratic needs.

Secular : The state shall not

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved toconstitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULARDEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens;

JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote

among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the

unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of

November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TOOURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

discriminate against the citizenin any way on the basis ofreligion.

Democratic : The rulers electedby the people only.

Forty-second Amendmen

t

On 18 December 1976, during the Emer

gency in

India, the Indira Gandhi government pu

shed through sev-

eral changes in the Forty-second Ame

ndment of the constitu-

tion. A committee under the chairma

nship of Sardar Swaran

Singh recommended the amendments.

Through this amendment

the words "socialist" and "secular" w

ere added between the

words "sovereign" and "democratic" a

nd the words "unity of

the Nation" were changed to "unity a

nd integrity of the

Nation". Preamble was amended only o

nce in the

history of the Indian Constitution

K.M. Munshi termed it as the Political Horoscope.

Earnest Barker calls it the key to the Constitution.

Thakurdas Bhargava called it as the Soul of the Constitution.

The term Socialistic pattern of society was adopted as a goal of theIndian State by the Congress in 1955 in Avadi Session.

The Preamble is a part of the Constitution statute but it is not a part ofthe Constitution. It is its identity card." : N.A. Palkhivala.

Republic : All the authorities ofthe State are directly or indirectlyelected by the people for a fixedterm, not hereditery.

261IS THE PREAMBLE A PART OF THE

CONSTITUTION ?The Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala(1973) case overruled its earlier decision of 1960 and made it clearthat it is a part of the Constitution and is subject to the amendingpower of the Parliament as any other provisions of the Constitution,provided the basic structure of the Constitution as found in thePreamble is not destroyed. However, it is not an essential part of theConstitution.

Nature of theConstitution

Written/ Unwritten A Written Constitution is one

in which most of the funda-mental or basic rules of gov-ernment organisations are con-tained in a document.

The Constitution of India isthe longest written Constitu-tion in the world.

India is described by the Con-stitution as a Union of States.

America has the shortest aswell as the oldest written Con-stitution in the world.

The Constitution of U.S. wasframed by the delegates meet-ing in the Philadelphia Con-vention.

Swiss Federation was formedin 1867.

Canadian Federation wasformed in 1848.

Australian Federation wasformed in 1901.

An Unwritten Constitution isone in which most of the fun-damental rules and principlesof governmental organisationshave not been reduced to writ-ing by any authorised body orpersons.

The best example of an unwrit-

ten Constitution is the BritishConstitution.

Israel is another country with-out a written Constitution.

Flexible / Rigid If a Constitution can be amended

easily by the simple majorityof the member of parliament, itis said to be flexible.

If the procedure of amending orrepealing ordinary laws is diffi-cult, the Constitution is said tobe rigid.

The Indian Constitution is rigidin so far as its basic principlesare concerned. Some of its pro-visions can be amended by asimple majority of parliamentwhile others require a two thirdmajority of parliament besidesthe accent of majority of statelegislature. So it is said that theIndian Constitution is partlyflexible and partly rigid.

The examples of Rigid Constitu-tion are United States, Canada,Switzerland and Australia.

British Constitution is a flex-ible Constitution.

Unitary / Federal A Constitution is said to be

unitary if it concentrates allauthority at the centre, makingthe various regions subservientto the central government.

Britain and France have uni-tary Constitutions.

A Federal Constitution dividesgovernment authority betweenthe centre and the regionsconferring on the latter an au-tonomous status.

The US Constitution, the Ca-nadian Constitution and theIndian Constitution are ex-amples of Federal Constitutions.

Indian Constitution is de-scribed as federal in term butunitary in spirit.

The difference between Ameri-can federation and Indian fed-eration is that the Indian fed-erations are functioning underthe strong central Government.

Indian Constitution is Quasi -Federal.

The word Federal is howeverabsent in the Indian Constitu-tion.

Opinions1. Quasi federal - K.C. Wheare2. Federation with a centralising

tendency- Ivor Jennings3. Cooperative federalism-

Granville Austin4. Unitary as well as federal -

Ambedkar.

262Important Dates in Indian Constitution

1687 The first Muncipal Corporation in India was set up in Madras. 1772 Lord Warren Hastings created the Office of District Collector. 1829 The office of the Divisional Commissioner was created by Lord William Bentick. 1859 The Portfolio System was introduced by Lord Canning. 1860 A system of Budget was introduced. 1870 Lord Mayo's resolution on financial decentralisation, visualised the development of

local self-government institutions in India. 1872 First Census in India was conducted during Lord Mayo's period. 1881 First regular Census was conducted during Lord Mayo's period. 1882 Lord Ripon's resolution was hailed as the 'Magna Carta' of local self-government. He is

regarded as the 'Father of local self-government in India'. 1905 The tenure system was introduced by Lord Curzon. 1905 The Railway Board was set up by a resolution of the Government of India. 1921 Public Accounts Committee was created at the Centre. 1921 Railway Budget was separated from the General Budget. 1935 Reserve Bank of India was established by an Act of the Central Legislature. 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 prescribed a federation for India. 1946 The elections to the Constituent Assembly under the Cabinet Mission Plan. Dec. 9, 1946 The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting. Dec. 11. 1946 Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. Nov. 26, 1949 Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. Jan. 26. 1950 The Constitution of India came into force. 1951 The first Constitutional Amendment. 1952 The first general election (1951-1952) to the Lok Sabha was held. 1953 The first linguistic state of Andra Pradesh was created. 1959 Panchayat Raj was introduced in Rajasthan. 1962 First emergency declared. 1963 The first no confidence motion was moved in the Lok Sabha after independence. 1975 Emergency due to internal disturbances 1976 The Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens were incorporated in the Constitution. 1978 Through the 44 th amendment Right to Property has been deleted from the list of Funda-

mental Rights. 1989 Reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years for the Lok Sabha as well as Assembly

elections. 1991 Created the National Capital Territory of Delhi. 1992 Formation of present day Panchyati Raj. 1999 Extended the reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Anglo Indians in

Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for 10 more years ie. up to 2010. 2000 The creation of new states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal. 2002 In the field of free and compulsory primary education for children Right to Education for

Children has been made a Fundamental Right.

263Salient Features of the Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the lengthiest or bulkiest written Constitution in the world. The Constitution at present contains 444 Articles and 12 Schedules. The Constitution has 24 parts. The first part has four Articles. Originally our Constitution contained 395 Articles and 8 Schedules. It is designed to work as federal Constitution in normal times and as a unitary one in emergency. It establishes a parliamentary system of Government both at the centre and in the states. The President is the Constitutional Head of the State (Country). The Constitution of India introduces adult franchise and also the system of joint electorates. Our Parliamentary system is based on universal adult franchise ie, every adult above 18 years of age has

(61st Constitution Amendment 1989) the right to vote. The Constitution of India guarantees Fundamental Rights to all citizens of India. It lays down the Directive Principles of State Policy for the guidance of the governmental authorities in the

country. It provides for an independent judiciary. The Supreme Court acts as the guardian of the Constitution.

Citizenship(Article 5 - 11)

The Part II (Article 5-11) of theConstitution deals with theCitizenship, of India.

Articles 5 8 deals with thecitizenship at the time of com-mencement of the Constitu-tion.

Article 9 - citizenship will beterminated if the person ac-quires citizenship of anothercountry.

A person can become a citizenof India even if born outsideIndia if his/her father or motheris a citizen of India at the timeof persons birth.

The citizenship can be lost byrenunciation, termination, ordeprivation.The period of acquisition ofcitizenship through registra-tion has been increased from 6months to 5 years.

Constitutional Rights forIndian Citizens

Fundamental rights that areonly given to Indian citizenslike article 15, 16 and 19, 30.

Some important posts are onlyfor Indian citizens like Presi-dent, Vice-president, Chief Jus-tice of India, Judges of HighCourts, Attorney General,Governor etc.

Right to vote for constituencyand assembly elections. Thereis provision for Indian citizensonly to be a parliamentarian ormember of legislative assem-bly.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill1992 provide that a person

Dual Citizenship

With the passage of Citizenship (Amen

dment) Act 2003, India

decided to grant dual citizenship to Pe

rson of Indian Origin (PIO) /

NRIs in 16 nations, subject to the laws

of their countries. However in

2005 the Indian Govt. stated that all PI

O / NRIs, who migrated from

India on or after January 26, 1950, wil

l be granted dual citizenship.

Dual Citizenship allows a person to liv

e in India indefinitely (so far

PIO card for 6 months). They can avail a

ll benefits of a citizen of India.

However they cannot have the right to

vote, and be elected or ap-

pointed to public offices. They can also

travel to India without a Visa.

However persons from Pakistan, Bang

ladesh, and any other country

that the govt may notify cannot have dua

l citizenship. Pravasi Bharatiya

Divas celebration is a platform where PI

O/NRIs and Indians meet and

share their aspiration. It is celebrated on

9th January in remembrance

of Gandhijis return from South Africa i

n 1915.

264born outside India would bedeemed to be an Indian citizenif either of his/her parents wereIndian.

Citizenship Act 2004 - to grantdual citizenship to the Peopleof Indian Origin (PIO). Theconcept of dual citizenship,now phrased as overseas citi-zenship will be granted to per-sons of Indian origin belong-ing to certain countries. Atpresent this facility is extendedto PIOs of 16 specified coun-tries.

The Citizenship Act, 1955provides for acquisition andtermination of citizenship afterthe commencement of theConstitution.

Persons entitled to IndianCitizenship One who has domicile in India. One who was born in the

territory of India. One, either of whose parents

was born in the territory ofIndia.

One who has been ordinarilyresident in the territory of Indiafor not less than five years.Immediately preceding thecommencement of theconstitution.

Ways to acquire citizenshipThe Citizenship Act of 1955enumerates five ways.

1. By birth2. By descent

Natural means3. By Registration

5 Years continual Stay(originally 6 months)

For only P.I.Os Also for foreign spouses

of Indians.

4. By Naturalization Only for foreigners 12 months continual stay.

5. Incorporation of Territories.Loss of Citizenship1. By Renunciation

by ones own will.2. By termination

due to acquisition ofcitizenship of othercountry.

3. By Deprivation due to false means

Fundamental Rights(Article 14 to 35)

The concept of FundamentalRights has its origin in the ''Billof Rights'' of USA.

Part III of the Constitutiondeals with Fundamental Rights.

Fundamental Rights arejusticiable

The original Constitution classifie

d the Fundamental Rights

into seven categories. But now there a

re only six categories.

They are

(1). Right to Equality (Article 14 - 1

8)

(2) Right to Freedom (19 - 22)

(3) Right against Exploitation (23 -

24)

(4) Right to Freedom of Religion

(25 - 28)

(5) Cultural and Educational Right

s (29-30)

(6) Right to Constitutional Remedi

es (31-35)

The Right to Property, one of the

Fundamental Rights, was

taken away and it is only a legal right b

y the 44th Amendment

(1978).

The Fundamental Rights areprotected by the supremecourt & the high court as theguardians of the Constitution.

The main objective of the in-clusion of Fundamental Rightsin the Constitution is to estab-lish a government of law andnot of man.

Fundamental Rights can besuspended during an emer-gency by the Parliament.

The Constitution abolishesuntouchability (Article 17) andits practice in any form is pun-ishable with the term of 2 yearsimprisonment.

Article 32 empowers the su-preme court to issue writs forthe enforcement & protectionof fundamental rights of a per-son if these rights are violatedmostly by the state.

265Types of Writs

Types of writs are

Habeas Corpus

Mandamus

Certiorari

Quo Warranto

Prohibition.

Habeas Corpus

(to have the body)

It is an order calling upon theperson who has detained an-other, to produce the latter be-fore the court in order to let thecourt know on what ground hehas been confined and to sethim free if there is no legal justi-fication for the imprisonment.

Mandamus (we command)

Commands a person to whomit is addressed to performsome public or quasi public le-gal duty which he has refusedto perform and the performanceof which cannot be enforcedby any other adequate legalremedy.

Certiorari(to be certified)

Is issued directing the subor-dinate court to send up certainrecords for review.

Quo Warranto(on what authority)

Is a proceeding whereby thecourt enquires into the legal-ity of the claim which a partyasserts to public office, and tooust him from its enjoyment ifthe claim is not well founded.

4. To defend the country and ren-der national service.

5. To promote harmony and spiritof common brotherhoodamong all people transcendingreligious linguistic, regional orsectional diversities, to re-nounce practises derogatory tothe dignity of women.

6. To value and preserve the richheritage of our composite cul-ture.

7. To protect and improve natu-ral environment including for-est, lakes, rivers and wild lifeand to have compassion to liv-ing creature.

8. To safeguard public propertyand objure violence.

9. To develop scientific temper,humanism and spirit of en-quiry.

10. To strive towards excellence inall fields of individual and col-lective activity.

11. Every citizen who is a parentor guardian, to provide oppor-tunities for education to hischild or, as the case may be,ward between the age of sixand fourteen years. The 11thFundamental Duty was addedby the 86th ConstitutionalAmendment Act of 2002.

Swaran Singh Committee rec-ommended the idea of includ-ing charter on Duties.

Prohibition

This writ is issued by the Su-preme Court or a High Court toan inferior court forbidding thelatter to continue proceedingsin a case in excess of its juris-diction or to usurp a jurisdic-tion with which it is not legallyvested.

The Supreme Court exercisethe power to issue writs underArticle 32 and High Court ap-plies such a power under Ar-ticle 226 of the Constitution

Supreme Court & High Courtalone have power to issuewrits.

Fundamental Duties(Article 51-A)

The Fundamental Duties ofIndian citizens were incorpo-rated in the Constitution by42nd Amendment in 1976 tocurb subversive and unconsti-tutional activities.

Fundamental Duties are mod-elled on the Russian Constitu-tion.

Under the new Article 51-A, alist of ten duties are enumer-ated .

1. To abide by the Constitutionand respect its Ideals and In-stitutions, the National Flag &the National Anthem.

2. To cherish and follow the nobleideas which inspired our na-tional struggle for freedom.

3. To uphold and protect thesovereignity, unity and integ-rity of India.

266Executive

The Constitution ofIndia states that theIndian Executive is amajor branch of theParliamentary form ofgovernment.The President, VicePresident, Council ofMinisters, Governorand Attorney General ofIndia are some of theprominent heads in theExecutive Branch.

The President The President is the head of

the Indian State. He is also called the de-jure

head of the State. He is the first citizen of India

and is the symbol of unity, in-tegrity and solidarity of thenation.

Each and every executive ac-tion is taken in his name,though he has no direct powerover the execution of policies.

He is elected for a term of 5years.

The President of India is theConstitutional head of India.

The supreme commander ofthe defence forces of India isthe President.

Powers of the PresidentExecutive powers, Legislativepowers, Financial powers, Ju-dicial powers, Diplomatic pow-ers, Military powers and Emer-gency powers.

The President of India repre-sent India in international fo-rums, sends and receives cre-

dentials of Ambassadors andHigh Commissioners.

The President summons, pro-rogues the House ofParliament and dissolves theLok Sabha.

The President has the powerto nominate 12 members to theRajya Sabha and 2 members ofthe Anglo- Indian communityto the Lok Sabha.

Presidential assent is essentialbefore a bill becomes an Act.

If the President returns a bill tothe parliament for reconsidera-tion, the passage of the bill byordinary majority will compelhim to give his assent.

It is the Parliament that passesthe state budget during thePresident's rule in a state.

The President has the powerto legislate by ordinance at atime when it is not possible tohave a parliamentary enact-ment. But to become an Act,the ordinance should bepassed within six weeks of re-assembly of Parliament

In the Constitution of India,the power of dissolving theLok Sabha rests with the Presi-dent.

The term of office of the Presi-dent is five years unless he isremoved by impeachment orresigns before expiry of the fullterm. He is eligible for re-elec-tion.

Most important legislativepower of the president is theOrdinance making power (Art123).

An ordinance made when boththe houses are in session isvoid.

The maximum life of an ordi-nance can be six months andsix weeks in case of non ap-proval by the Parliament.

At present the President's sal-ary is fixed at Rs. 1,50,000 andhe is eligible for other allow-ances charged on Consoli-dated Fund of India.

Election of thePresident (Art. 54)

The President of India is elected byan electoral college consisting of thefollowing members. Elected members of both the

Houses of Parliament. Elected members of the Legis-

lative Assemblies of the States. Elected members of the Legis-

lative assemblies of the UnionTerritories of Delhi andPondicherry.

The nominated members of theState Legislative Councils andthe nominated members of thelegislative assemblies of Delhiand Pondicherry do not par-ticipate in his election.

The election is done on thebases of proportional repre-sentation by single transfer-able vote.

The value of the vote of anMLA is decided as follows.

Value of the vote of an MLA =

Total population of stateTotal number of electedmembers in the StateLegislative assembly

11000

The value of the vote of an

267

The value of the vote of anMP can be decided as follows

Value of the vote of an MP=

Total population of votesof all MLA's of all StatesTotal number of electedmembers of Parliament

A candidate, in order to be de-clared elected to the office ofPresident, must secure a fixedquota of votes.

The quota of votes is deter-mined by dividing the totalnumber of valid votes polledby the number of candidatesto be elected, plus one andadding one to the quotientelectoral quota =

Total number of validvotes polled

1+1 = (2)1

It is also provided in the Con-stitution that the candidate tobe declared elected as Presi-dent must receive more than50% of the polled valid votes.

To be a candidate for the of-fice of the President, nomina-tion must be proposed byatleast 50 elected members andto be seconded by another 50electors. This procedure wasintroduced during the Presi-dential election in 1997, whenMr. K. R. Narayanan waselected.

Art 74 - The executive powers

are to be exercised by the President i

n accor-

dance with the advice of the Prime Min

ister and Council

of Ministers.

Articles 54 and 55 of the Indian C

onstitution laydown the

procedure for electing the President.

President has no veto power in res

pect of constitutional

Amendment bill 24th Amendment 197

1 made it obliga-

tory for the President to give his assen

t to the

constitutional Amendment Bill.

Qualifications Citizen of India. Not less than 35 years of age. Qualified for election as member

of Lok Sabha. Not holding any office of profit

under the government. Not a member of Parliament.

Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Attorney - General,Comptroller and Auditor General, Judges of the SupremeCourt and High Courts, Governor of a state, UPSC Chair-man, Chief Election Commissioners, Ambassadors, DeputyChairman of members of planning commission etc. areappointed by President.

Any dispute regarding theelection of the president orvice-president is decided bythe Supreme Court under ar-ticle 71 of the Constitution.

The procedure forimpeachment (Art. 61) The President can be removed

from office by adopting an ad-dress by not less than 2/3

rd

majority of the members of theHouse and to be approved bya similar majority of the mem-bers of the other house.

The President can also be re-moved from office on theground of violation of Consti-tution by the process of im-peachment (Article 61) by giv-ing 14 days notice signed byatleast 1/4 th of the member ofthe House (either Rajya Sabhaor Lok Sabha).

14 days notice to be given tothe President in writing by ei-

ther house signed by not lessthan one-fourth of the totalnumber of the house whichhas made the charges.

After 14 days, a resolution hasto be passed in the same housewith a 2 3 majority of the totalstrength of the house.

Then the other House shall in-vestigate the charges.

Meanwhile the President hasthe right to be represented insuch investigation.

If after the investigation, aresolution is passed by 2 3majority of the total strengthof the House (investigating)the president stands im-peached.If a sudden vacancy occursdue to resignation, death orimpeachment, the elections areheld within six months and theVice-President acts as Presi-dent till new President as-sumes office.

268Powers

He is the Chief Executive headof the Indian Union and SupremeCommander of the armed forces.His powers can be classified as un-der.Executive Powers

He appoints the senior officialsof the state like the Prime Minister,Ministers, Attorney General, Comp-troller and Auditor General, ChiefJustice, Judges, Governors, Finan-cial Commissioner, UPSC members.Chief Election Commissioner andother Election Commissioners. Allexecutive action is taken in hisname. All Union territories are un-der the President of India.Legislative Powers Nominates 12 members of the

Rajya Sabha from amongst thepersons having special knowl-edge or practical experience inrespect of literature, science,art and social service.

He nominates two members tothe Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian community.

Summons and Prorogues theParliament and dissolve theLok Sabha.

He addresses the Parliament atthe commencement of the firstsession after each general elec-tion and the first session ofeach year.

He summons a joint sitting ofboth the houses of Parliamentwhich is President over by theSpeaker of the Loksabha.

Assents or with holds his as-sents to any Bill passed by theParliament or return the bill (ifits is not a money bill or a Con-stitutional Amendment Biill) forreconsideration of the Parlia-ment.

According to article 123, Presi-dent can promulgate ordinaceswhen both the Houses of theParliament are not in session.These ordinances must be ap-proved by the Parliamentwithin the six weeks of its re-assembly. The ordinance canbe effective for a maximum pe-riod of six months and sixweeks.

Financial Powers Sanctions introduction of

money bill in the Parliament. The President lays the Union

budget before the Parliament.To meet the unfore seen expen-diture, the President can makeadvance out of the contin-gency fund of India.

Judicial Powers He can grant pardon, reprieve,

remit the sentences or sus-pend remit or commute punish-ment.

He appoints the Chief Justiceand Judges of Supreme Courtand High Courts.

Veto power of the President(Art. 111)

When a bill is presented to Presi-dent for his assent, he may give hisassent, may withhold his assent, ormay return the bill. The objective of veto power is

to prevent hasty and ill-consid-ered legislation and to preventa legislation which may be un-constitutional. There are fourtypes of veto Absolute veto,Qualified veto, Suspensiveveto, Pocket veto.

President of India enjoys theexercise of absolute veto, sus-pensive veto and pocket veto.

Absolute veto: It is the power

of the President to withhold hisassent to a bill and the bill doesnot become an act.

It is used in two cases, withrespect to private members billand the government bill whenthe cabinet resigns and a newcabinet advises the presidentnot to give assent to that bill.

Examples are, in 1954, Dr.Rajendra Prasad withheld hisassent to the PEPSU Appro-priation Bill.

In 1991, R. Venkataraman with-held his assent to the Salary,Allowances and Pension ofmembers of Parliament Bill.

Suspensive veto: It is exercisedwhen the president returns thebill for reconsideration.

If the Parliament sends backthe bill with or without amend-ments, it is obligatory for thepresident to give assent.

This veto is not exercised inthe case of money bill becausemoney bill is introduced in theparliament on the recommen-dation of the president.

Pocket veto: It is the power ofthe president not to take anyaction on the bill, pending itfor an indefinite period. Ex-amples are in 1986, Zail Singhexercised the pocket veto withrespect to Indian Post Office(Amendment) Bill.

The 24th amendment act of1971 made it obligatory for thepresident to give his assent toa constitutional amendmentbill.

EmergencyThe Constitution of India providesfor three types of Emergencies: arising out of civil war, external

aggression or armed rebellion(Article 352);

269 arising out of failure of Consti-

tutional machinery in the States(Article 356);

arising due to financial crisis(Article 360).

National Emergency UnderArticle 352 The Emergency is declared by

the President. During the emergency the State

can suspend the fundamentalrights conferred in Part III of theIndian Constitution.

Any proclamation by the Presi-dent is valid only for one monthunless it is approved by bothhouses of the Parliament.

An emergency provision, un-less revoked, ceases to operateon the expiration of a period ofsix months.

Emergency due to failure ofconstitutional machinery in states

Article 356 (1) states that if thePresident on receipt of a report fromGovernor of a State, or otherwise,is satisfied that a situation hasarisen in which the government ofthe State cannot be carried in ac-cordance with the provisions of the

Financial Emergency(Article 360)

The Constitution providesthat if there is a financial crisisin the country or in any part ofthe country, the President candeclare a Financial Emergency.This type of Emergency so farhas never been declared.

Constitution, he can proclaim thisemergency. The President may dothe same when any State has failedto comply with, or to give effect to,any directions given by the Union(Article 365). Justice M. Hidaytullah is the

only person to perform thefunctions of the Presidenttwo times in two differentcapacities, the first time in1969 being the Chief Justiceof the Supreme Court and thesecond time being the Vice-President of India in October1982.

In the History of Presidentialelections, V.V. Giri is the onlyperson who won the election

First Presidential election 1962, to elect Dr. Radha Krishnan First acting President V.V. Giri Longest term in office Dr. Rajendra Prasad (12 years) Shortest term in Office Dr. Zakir Hussain Oldest President in Office R. Venkata Raman (76 years) Youngest president in office Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (64 years) Acting Presidents V.V. Giri, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah, B.D. Jatti. Died while in office Dr. Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Only Chief Justice to act as president Justice Hidayatullah. 42nd amendment states that the President is bound by the advice of the council of

ministers. 44th amendment states that the President can ask the council of ministers to recon-

sider its advice. Disputes regarding presidential/vice-presidential election are decided by the Su-

preme Court.

The Rashtrapati Bhavanofficial residence of the President of India

The Rashtrapati Bhavan is theofficial residence of the Presidentof India, located in New Delhi.Until 1950 it was known as"Viceroy's House" and served asthe residence of the Viceroy ofIndia. It is at the heart of an areaknown as Lutyens' Delhi. It is thelargest residence of any Head ofthe State in the world.

270of the President as anindependent candidate in1969.

In July 1977, Neelam SanjeevaReddy was electedunopposed as no one elsefilled nomination for the postof the President.

The Vice President The Vice-President of India is

the second-highest rankinggovernment official after thePresident.

Vice President is the ex-officioChairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Article 63 of the Constitutionof India provides for a Vice-President.

The office of Vice President ismodelled on the times of Ameri-can vice-president.

Vice President is elected byan electoral college of mem-bers of both the Houses(Rajya Sabha and LokSabha) of the parliament bysingle transferable vote bysecret ballot of the Parlia-ment. Nomination of the can-didate for election to the of-fice of Vice-president mustbe subscribed by atleast 20electors as proposers and20 electors as seconders.

The Vice President shall act asthe President during the lattersabsence.

The term of Vice President is 5years.

If the President resigns or diesin office the Vice Presidentshall act as the President for amaximum period of 6 months

and before the end of that pe-riod a new President will beelected.

Vice Presidents VV Giri andB.D. Jatti acted as President.

A formal impeachment is notrequired for the removal of VicePresident. He can be removedby a resolution of the RajyaSabha passed by an absolutemajority (ie. a majority of thetotal members of the House)and agreed to by the LokSabha.

Krishna Kant was the first VicePresident to die in office.

Election is the only constitu-tional remedy on the death ofa Vice President. There is noprovision for temporary fillingof the post. The most impor-tant duty of the vice presidentis to act as the Chairman ofRajya Sabha.

Vice President draws his regu-lar salary in the capacity as theex-officio Chairman of theRajyasabha.

Present salary is Rs.1,25,000

per month. However when he acts as the

president, he can enjoy thesalary and allowance of thePresident.

Vice President is also eligiblefor re election to that office. Hemay be elected for any numberof times (Dr. S. Radha Krishnanwas elected for a second term).

Removal of Vice-President He can be removed by a reso-

lution of the Rajya Sabhapassed by an absolute major-ity. (Majority of the total mem-bers of the House).

This resolution however mustbe agreed to by the Lok Sabha.Before moving such a resolu-tion a 14 days advance noticehas to be given.

The vice-president can holdoffice beyond his term of fiveyears until his successor as-sumes charge.

He is also eligible for re-elec-tion (Dr. S. Radhakrishnan waselected for a second term).

Officials Term of SalaryEmoluments Office (per month)

President 5 years 1,50,000

Vice President 5 Years 1,25,000Governor 5 years 1,10,000Chief Justice of the 5 years/Till he attains 1,00,000Supreme court the age of 65 years

(which comes first)

Judge of the 5 years/ Till he attains 90,000Supreme Court the age of 65 years

(which comes first)Chief Justice of the Till he attains 90,000High Court the age of 62 yearsJudge, Till he attains 80,000High Court the age of 62 years

271Functions

Chairman of Rajya Sabha Presides over the meetings of

Rajya Sabha. Maintains decorum and de-

cency in Rajya Sabha. Allots time to members to

speak. He is not a member of Rajya

Sabha. Makes use of casting vote (in

case of tie). Acts as President in case of va-

cancy in the presidential officefor a maximum period of 6months. (Then he does not dohis functions as the chairper-son of Rajya Sabha).

The constitution however hasnot assigned any significantfunction to the vice-presidentin that capacity.

This office in actuality was cre-ated with a view to maintain thepolitical continuity of the In-dian State.

With regard to emoluments theconstitution has not fixed anyamount for the Vice-Presidentin that capacity.

Qualifications Citizen of India. More than 35

yrs of age. Possess the qualifi-cation for membership of RajyaSabha. Not hold any office ofprofit under union, state or lo-cal authority. However, for thispurpose, the President, Vice-President, Governor of a Stateand a Minister of the Union ora State, are not held to be hold-ing an office of profit.

Comptroller & AuditorGeneral (Article 148)

Comptroller and Auditor Gen-eral (CAG): Appointed by the

President. He holds the officefor 6 years or till he attains theage of 65, which ever is earlier.Procedure of removal of Comp-troller and Auditor General andSupreme Court judge is same.Both of them are removed bythe President, on recommenda-tion of both the Houses of Par-liament.

Comproller and Auditor Gen-eral of IndiaVinod Rai

Main Function of CAG is tomonitor the expenditure, or inother words he can be calledthe guardian of public purse.In case of state, the report issubmitted before the Gover-nor.

The Constitution provides forthe Comptroller & Auditor Gen-eral the guardian of public fi-nances and to serve as the ChiefAccounts Officer of theGovrnment of India. He is a se-nior administrative official ap-pointed by the President, retir-ing at 65 years.

Removal by the President onlyin accordance with the proce-dure mentioned in the Consti-tution. Thus he does not holdhis office till the pleasure of thePresident, though he is ap-pointed by him.

CAG is not eligible for furtheroffice either under Governmentof India or of any state, afterhe ceases to hold his office.

His salary and other serviceconditions are determined bythe Parliament. His salary isequal to that of Judge of theSupreme Court.

His primary functions are:

To examine and satisfy that themoney allotted by the Parlia-ment to the various depart-ments through the budget hasbeen properly spent.

To present the proforma inwhich the accounts of the gov-ernments should be shown.

To direct, supervise and con-trol the activities of Accoun-tant General in states whoseduty been to examine and sat-isfy that the money allotted bythe legislative assembly of thestate to various departments isto be properly spent.

To secure as the Friend, Phi-losopher & Guide of the Pub-lic Accounts Committee of theParliament.

CAG submits three Audit re-ports to the President - Reporton appropriation accounts,Audit Report on final ac-counts, Audit Report on Pub-lic undertakings.

CAG is an agent of Parliamentand conducts audit of expen-diture on behalf of the Parlia-ment. Therefore, he is respon-sible only to Parliament.

Attorney General (Art. 76) Art. 76 provides for the officer

of the Attorney General ofIndia.

Give advice to the Govt. onlegal matter when referred tohim by the President.

He appear in the SupremeCourt on behalf of the Govt. ofIndia.

Highest law officer of India. Appointed by the President. He must be qualified to be

appointed as judge of theSupreme Court.

272 Usually he resigns when the

Govt. resigns or replaced. His remuneration is not fixed

but determined by thePresident.

Has the power to speak andtake part in the proceedings ofthe parliament, without theright to vote.

Present A.G.: Goolam E.Vahanvati

The Prime Minister The Prime Minister is ap-

pointed by the President [Ar-ticle 75 (1)]

Prime Minister is the real ex-ecutive authority (de facto ex-ecutive)

The President invites theleader of the majority party orthe leader of the coalition toform the Government.

India, as a Parliamentary de-mocracy, the real power vestsin the hands of Prime Minister.

The Council of Ministers inIndia is presided over by thePrime Minister.

The Prime Minister is the ex-

officio Chairman of the Plan-ning Commission.

The Prime Minister is theleader of the Lower House ofthe Parliament.

President can appoint onlythose persons as ministerswho are recommended by thePrime Minister.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hadthe longest tenure as PrimeMinister for nearly 17 yearsand Vajpayee the shortest (13days).

Article 74 (1) state that the PrimeMinister shall be 'at the head'of the Council of Ministers.

As a chairman of the cabinet,he summons its meeting andpresides over them.

The resignation or death of anincumbent Prime Minister au-tomatically dissolves the coun-cil of ministers. But the resig-nation or death of any otherministers merely creates a va-cancy which the Prime Minis-ter may or may not like to fill.

The position of the PrimeMinister in the Council of

Ministers is described asPrimus Inter Pares i.e. firstamong equals.

Article 78 expounds the dutiesand functions of the PrimeMinister.

He advises the President withregard to the summoning andproroguing of the sessions ofthe Parliament.

In relation to the Parliament He is usually leader of the

lower house. He influences the foreign

policy of the country. He meets various people and

listens to their problems. He is the leader of the party in

power. He is the political head of the

Civil Services.

In relation to the President He is the channel of communi-

cation between the Presidentand the Council of Ministers.

He advises the President withregard to the appointment ofimportant officials like Attor-ney General, Chairman andmembers of UPSC, ElectionCommissioners, Chairman andmembers of Finance Commis-sion etc.

Youngest Prime Minister of India: Rajeev Gandhi The Prime Minister who ruled for the shortest term: Charan Singh Oldest to be the Prime Minister. Morarji Desai First woman prime minister of India: Indira Gandhi (Sirimavo Bandaranaika of Sri Lanka was the first woman prime

minister in the world). Prime Minister who did not face parliament: Charan Singh First acting Prime Minister: Gulzarilal Nanda (Interim PM on two

occasions - After the demise of Jawaharlal Nehru and again afterthe sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Sasthri)

Longest term as Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru Shortest term as Prime Minister: A.B. Vajpayee First Bachelor Prime Minister: A.B. Vajpayee First minority Government: V.P. Singh government First non-Congress government: Morarji Desai government

(Janatha Party)

Prime Minister isthe ex-officio Chairman of

the Planning Commission,National Development Coun-cil, National Integration

Council and Inter-stateCouncil.

273First Union Cabinet (Important Persons)

Prime Minister ................................................. Jawaharlal NehruDeputy Prime Minister .......................................... Vallabhai PatelHome Minister ...................................................... Vallabhai PatelFinance Minister ..................................... RK.Shanmugham ChettiIndustry Minister ............................................ M. VisweswaraihaDefence Minister .................................................... Baldev SinghRailway Minister ......................................................... L.B. SastriExternal Affairs Minister ................................... Laxmi N. Menon.Education Minister ......................................... Abdul Kalam AzadHealth Minister ..... Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (Princess of Kapurthala)Law Minister .................................................. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Non Congress Member in the First Council of Ministers.Ambedkar, Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, John Mathai, C.H.

Bhabha, Shanmugam Chetti.

FIRST IN INDIA First Budget of Free India

By R.K. Shanmukhan Chetty in1947, Nov. 26

First General Budget presentedby C.D. Deshmukh on May23, 1952

First dissolution of Lok Sabha.4th Lok Sabha in 1971.

First Rajya Sabha adjournmentIn December 1995 for want ofquorum (25 members need fora sitting)

Most confidence motions.11th Lok Sabha saw four con-fidence motions

First Speaker to address theHouse - P.A. Sangma

First vice chairman of RajyaSabha: S.V. Krishnamoorthy(1952)

Longest term as Rajya Sabhachairman:Dr. S. Radhakrishnan(1952 - 1962)

First woman General Secretaryof Rajya Sabha : V.S. Rama Devi

Longest tenure in one port fo-lio : Rajkumari Amrit Kaur(Health Minister ) 1947-1957

In relation to theCouncil of Ministers

He recommends ministers tothe President.

He allocates and reshufflesvarious portfolios amongministers.

He may ask a minister to re-sign or advice the Presidentto dismiss a minister.

He presides over the meetingof the Council of Ministers.

He guides, directs and con-trols the Council of Ministers.

He may bring the collapse ofthe Council of Ministers byresigning. LEGISLATURE

Union Council of Ministers In India there are two types of executives:

1. constitutional or ceremonial (President)2. the real executive namely the Union Council of Minister headed byPrime Minister.

Our system of government is called as parliamentary because the realexecutive namely the Union Council of Minister emerges out of par-liament and is answerable and responsible to it, it shall continue inoffice so long as it continues to command the majority of the houseand shall go out of office if it loses its majority there.

Article 74 - says that the President shall exercise his power on theaid and advice of the union council of ministers with the Prime Min-ister as its head.

In case, a no -confidence motion is passed against any minister, the entireCouncil of Ministers resign.

A minimum of 50 members support is required to present a no-confi-dence motion in the floor of the house.

In India, there are 3 types of Ministers in the Union Council of Min-isters namely, the Ministers with Cabinet rank, Ministers of the Stateand the Deputy Ministers.

The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and other cabinet rankingministers and its meeting are presided over by the President.

The salaries and allowances of ministers are determined by Parlia-ment from time to time.

The Primary function of the union council of ministers include super-vision of the day to day administration of the country, preparation ofthe bills and the budget, answering questions raised on the floor ofthe house, advising the President on the matter of administration etc.

When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against thecouncil of ministers all the ministers have to resign including thoseministers who are from Rajya Sabha.

274Cabinet vs Council of Ministers

Council of ministers Cabinet It is a wider body consisting of 60 to 70 minis-

ters. It includes all the three categories of ministers,

that is, cabinet ministers, ministers of state, anddeputy ministers.

It does not meet, as a body, to transact govern-ment business. It has no collective functions.

It is vested with all powers but in theory.

Its functions are determined by the cabinet.

It implements the decisions taken by the cabi-net.

It is a constitutional body, dealt in detail by theArticles 74 and 75 of the Constitution. Its sizeand classification are, however, not mentionedin the Constitution. Its size is determined bythe prime minister.

It is collectively responsible to the Lower House ofthe Parliament.

It is a smaller body consisting of 15 to 20 minis-ters.

It includes the cabinet ministers only. Thus, it isa part of the council of ministers.

It meets, as a body, frequently and usually oncein a week to deliberate and take decisions re-garding the transaction of government busi-ness. Thus, it has collective functions.

It exercises, in practice, the powers of the coun-cil of ministers and thus, acts for the latter.

It directs the council of ministers by taking pol-icy decisions which are binding on all minis-ters.

It supervises the implementation of its decisionsby the council of ministers.

It was inserted in Article 352 of the Constitutionin 1978 by the 44th Constitutional AmendmentAct. Thus, it did not find a place in the originaltext of the Constitution.

It enforces the collective responsibility of thecouncil of ministers to the Lower House of Par-liament.

275THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA (THE UNION LEGISLATURE )

The Parliament is the highest law making body of India and isbicameral with two houses namely (i) Lok Sabha (House of

people) (ii) Rajya Sabha (Council of States)The Lok Sabha is also known as the House of the People or

the Lower house.The Rajya Sabha is also known as Council ofStates or the Upper house. Unlike Lok Sabha, it is not subject to

dissolution. Three sessions of Lok Sabha take place in a year:Budget session: February to May, Monsoon session: July to

September, Winter session: November to December.

The term Parliament originated from the French word 'parler'which means 'to discuss', 'to talk' etc.

Lok Sabha (Art. 81) It is the third integral part of

Indian Parliament. It is alsoknown as the lower house, firstchamber or popular House. Itrepresents the people of Indiaas a whole.

The Lok Sabha held its firstsitting on May 13, 1952

A non member of the house(Lok Sabha) can also be nomi-nated as the Prime Minister oncondition that he shouldqualify to become a member ofeither house of parliamentwithin a period of 6 months.

The Lok Sabha can be dis-solved by The President.

A person can be debarred fromtaking his seat in the house ifhe has been absent without thepermission of the House formore than 60 days.

The Lok Sabha is the lowerhouse or the first chamber andRajya Sabha is the upper houseor the second chamber.The first no confidence motionmoved in the Lok Sabha afterIndependence was in 1963.

The Present Lok Sabha is the14th, the total members is 545.(530 from states, 13- from unionterritories, 2 from Anglo Indiancommunity).

A recent legislation by Parlia-ment has fixed that upto 2026the existing number of themembers of the Lok Sabhashould not be raised and thatthis figure shall continue.

Constitutionally the maximumnumber in Lok Sabha is 552(530 from states, 20 from UTs,

2 from Anglo Indian commu-nity = 552)

Population is the basis of LokSabha constituencies. A con-stituency is for 10 lakh voters.But it is difficult to keep thislimit.

The Lok Sabha is popularlyelected whereas the RajyaSabha is indirectly elected andnominated.

The 61st Amendment (1989) re-duced the voting age from 21years to 18 years.

A member of Lok Sabha musthave the following basic quali-fications. He must be a citizen of In-dia. Must be 25 years of age.Must possess qualificationsprescribed by the Parliament.

The major functions that theLok Sabha does are Enactment of Laws. Passing of Vote of

Confidence. Controlling the finance of

the Union Government Eliciting information by

asking questions and

supplementories. Moving of adjournment

motion and criticize theGovernment

Impeachment of thePresident.

Introduction of theMoney bill with the priorpermission of thePresident.

The Lok Sabha has its own TVchannel, Lok Sabha TV, head-

quartered within the Parliamentpremises.

Lok Sabha General Election1st Lok Sabha ..................... 19512nd Lok Sabha .................... 19573rd Lok Sabha .................... 19624th Lok Sabha .................... 19675th Lok Sabha .................... 19716th Lok Sabha .................... 19777th Lok Sabha .................... 19808th Lok Sabha .................... 19849th Lok Sabha .................... 198910th Lok Sabha ................... 199111th Lok Sabha ................... 199612th Lok Sabha ................... 199813th Lok Sabha ................... 199914th Lok Sabha .................. 200415th Lok Sabha ................... 2009

276

Rajya Sabha (Article 80) The Rajya Sabha was first consti-

tuted on April 3, 1952. Rajya Sabha is also known as

upper house, second chamber,or the House of Elders.

The time - gap between twosessions of Parliament mustnot exceed 6 months

The name Rajya Sabha wasadopted by the Council ofStates in 1954.

The Fourth Schedule of theconstitution deals with the al-location of seats in the RajyaSabha to the States and Unionterritories.

The Council of States (the up-per house) is composed of notmore than 12 members nomi-nated by the President and notmore than 238 representativesof the States and the UnionTerritories elected by themethod of indirect election.Total number of members is250.

Rajya Sabha cannot be dis-solved. It is a permanent body.

Its one-third members retire

Functions of the Parliament The most important function of the Parliament is to legislate i.e,

make legislations for the development which benefits the society. The second most important function is to exercise control over the

Executive. The Parliament provides the Council of Ministers as the Ministers

are the Members of the Parliament. It has financial control over the Executive. The Parliament is the sole

authority to raise taxes. It provides an opportunity to deliberate on various policies and

measures before their implementation. Thus, the Parliament is alsoan authoritative source of information, collected and disseminatedthrough the debates and through the specific medium of Questionsto the Ministers.

The original Constitution, under Art. 83, envisaged the normaltenure of the Lok Sabha to be 5 years. However, Parliament by 42nd

Amendment extended it to six years, but the 44th Amendment Actagain fixed the original normal tenure of five years.

Presiding Officers Both Houses of Parliament

have their respectivepresiding officers.

Lok Sabha has the Speaker,the deputy speaker andpanel of chairpersons.

Rajya Sabha on the otherhand has a Chairman, a Vice-Chairperson and a panel ofVice- Chairpersons.

after every two years and thesame number of members areelected after every two years.

The members of Rajya Sabhaare elected for a term of sixyears.

Chairman of the Rajya Sabhacan be removed from his officeonly if he is removed from theoffice of the Vice President.

Each state get a representationin Rajya Sabha on the basis ofits population of the previouscensus.

Puducherry and the NCT ofDelhi are the UTs havingrepresentation in the RajyaSabha. Puducherry has onemember and Delhi has three.

UP has the largest membership,i.e, 31

Rajya Sabha can exercise a spe-cial power in relation to a sub-ject included in the state list.

Deputy Chairman of

Rajyasabha K. Rahman KhanChairman

The Vice-President of India isthe ex-officio chairman of theRajya Sabha. He presidesover the proceedings of theRajya Sabha as long as hedoes not act as the Presidentof India during a vacancy inthe office of the President.

Deputy ChairmanThe Deputy Chairman iselected by the Rajya Sabhafrom amongst its members. Inthe absence of the Chairman,Deputy Chairman presidesover the functions andproceedings of the House.

Panel of Vice Chairpersons The Chairman of the Rajya

Sabha nominates a panel ofVice- Chairpersons under theRules of Rajya Sabha.

Any one of them can presideover the house, when bothchairman and vice- chairmanare absent.

277Speaker The Presiding officer of the

Lower House is the Speaker. The Speaker is the ex-officio

chairman of the Business Ad-visory Committee and theRules Committee.

The Speaker is elected by themembers of the Lok Sabha fromamong themselves.

If the office of the speaker fallsvacant the Lok Sabha electsanother member. The date ofelection of Speaker is fixed bythe President.

He resigns by writing to theDeputy Speaker.

If there is a dead lock betweenthe two houses in passing abill other than a money bill, thePresident shall call for a jointsitting of the two houses forresolving the difference and insuch a joint sitting the Speakershall preside the meeting.

Normally the Speaker has noright to vote in the house, buthe can exercise a casting voteif there is a tie in passing a bill,resolution etc.

Whenever LokSabha is dis-solved, the speaker does notvacate his office and contin-ues till the newly elected LokSabha meets.

Speaker decides whether a billis a money bill and his deci-sion in this question is final.

He decides the questions ofdisqualification of a member ofthe Lok Sabha on the groundof defection under the provi-sions of the Tenth Schedule.

In the absence of the Speaker,the Deputy Speaker shall exer-cise his duties and that he is

Lok Sabha Constituencies in statesDelhi (State) ........................................................................ 7Andhra Pradesh ................................................................. 42Arunachal Pradesh .............................................................. 2Assam ............................................................................... 14Bihar .................................................................................. 40Chandigarh (Union Territory) ............................................... 1Chhattisgarh (State) ........................................................... 11Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Union Territory) ............................ 1Daman and Diu (Union Territory) ......................................... 1Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Union Territory) .................. 1Goa ..................................................................................... 2Gujarat ............................................................................... 26Haryana ............................................................................. 10Himachal Pradesh ................................................................ 4Jammu and Kashmir ............................................................. 6Jharkhand .......................................................................... 14Karnataka ........................................................................... 28Kerala ................................................................................ 20Lakshadweep (Union Territory) ............................................ 1Madhya Pradesh ................................................................ 29Maharashtra ....................................................................... 48Manipur .............................................................................. 2Meghalaya .......................................................................... 2Mizoram .............................................................................. 1Nagaland ............................................................................ 1Orissa ................................................................................ 21Puducherry (Union Territory) ............................................... 1Punjab ............................................................................... 13Rajasthan ........................................................................... 25Sikkim ................................................................................. 1Tamil Nadu ......................................................................... 39Tripura ................................................................................ 2Uttarakhand ........................................................................ 5Uttar Pradesh ..................................................................... 80West Bengal ....................................................................... 42

Official Documents

Blue Book .........................................

................ Britain

Grey Book ......................................... J

apan & Belgium

Green Book .......................................

. Italian & Persian

Orange Book .....................................

....... Netherlands

White Book .......................................

Portugal & China

Yellow Book ......................................

............... France

White Paper ......................................

.................. India

278Comparison be

tween Rajya Sabha and Lok S

abha

Rajya Sabha

1. It is the Council of the Upper H

ouse of Par-

liament.2. Maximum str

ength is 250. 12 members who

have distinguished themselves in art

and cul-

ture are nominated by the President.

3. To become a member, a candidate

must be over

30 years old.

4. The Vice President presides ov

er the Rajya

Sabha.5. Members of th

e Rajya Sabha have a tenure of

six years. One third of its members reti

re every

two years.

6. It is a permanent body. It has no

power over a

money bill.At the most it can

withhold the money bill for

over 14 days.

Lok Sabha1. It is the Coun

cil of the Lower House of Par-

liament.2. Maximum stre

ngth is 552, out of which 530

represent the states and 20 represent

Union

Territories. 2 members are nominated f

rom the

Anglo-Indian community.

3. To become a member one must no

t be below

25 years.4. The Presiding

Officer is the Speaker.

5. The Lok Sabha usually has a ten

ure of five

years.

6. The Lok Sabha can be dissolved

by the Presi-

dent.Money bills are intr

oduced only in Lok Sabha.

It is the Speaker of Lok Sabha who

decides

whether a bill is a money bill or not.

elected by the members of thehouse from among themselves.

Second Lok Sabha speaker todie in harness - G.M.CBalayogi. First one to die inharness was the first speakerG.V. Mavlankar.

The Speaker derives his powerfrom the consitution, the Rulesof Procedure and conduct ofbusiness of Lok Sabha andParliamentary Conventions.

The term of the Speaker is fromthe date of election to that of-fice to the date of the com-mencement of the first sessionof the new parliament.

The speaker tenders his resig-nation just before the begin-ning of the first session of thenew parliament.

The early termination of theSpeakers tenure can be broughtin by three factors. If he ceases to be a member of

the Lok Sabha. If he resigns by writing to the

deputy Speaker. If he is removed by the resolu-

tion passed by a majority of themembers of Lok Sabha (14 daysnotice with a support of 50members).

Whenever the house meets toremove the Speaker, he cannotpreside over the sitting of thehouse.

However he may take part inthe proceedings and vote ( notin case of equal vote).

Protem Speaker Since the Speaker vacates his

office when the new Lok Sabhameets, the constitution pro-vides that the President mayappoint a member as theSpeaker Protem (Usually thesenior most member).

The President himself admin-isters oath of office to him.

In the new Lok Sabha he ad-

ministers oath of office to thenewly elected members.

The major functions of theSpeaker are To maintain order and decorum. To interpret the provisions of (a)

the constitution, (b) Rules ofProcedure and conduct of Busi-ness in the Lok Sabha, (c) theParliamentary conventionswithin the house.

To adjourn or suspend the meet-ing of the House.

To exercise casting vote in caseof tie.

To preside over joint sitting. To allow a secret sitting of the

House. To decide the questions of dis-

qualifications of a member ofLok Sabha.

To decide whether a bill is moneybill or not.

To act as the ex-officio chairman

279of the Indian ParliamentaryGroup of the Inter- ParliamentaryUnion.

To appoint the chairman of allthe Parliamentary Committies ofLok Sabha.

To act as the Guardian of theprivileges of Lok Sabha mem-bers.

Deputy Speaker Deputy Speaker is also elected

by the Lok Sabha and his dateof election is fixed by thespeaker.

He assumes Speakers office inthe absence of the Speaker.

However he is not subordinateto the Speaker because he isdirectly responsible to theHouse.

Panel of Chairperson : TheSpeaker under the Rules of LokSabha nominates a panel of tenchairpersons.

Any of them may preside overthe House in the absence ofboth Speaker and DeputySpeaker.

However a member of thispanel cannot preside over theHouse when the offices of the

Article 108: Joint Sitting of the ParliamentIt is an extraordinary device to resolve a dead-lock between the two Houses over the passageof a bill. It is the President who summons thejoint sitting and it is presided over by the Speakerof Lok Sabha. This device is applicable to ordi-nary bills and finance bills only. A deadlock overbills comes into being in the following situa-tions.

If the bill is rejected by the other House. If the Houses have finally disagreed as to the

amendments to be made in the bill. If more than six months have lapsed from the

Speaker and Deputy Speakerfall vacant.

In this case the President mayappoint a person for presidingover the House.

SESSIONS OFPARLIAMENT

The President of India summonseach House of Parliament to meet. The maximum gap between two

sessions of Parliament cannotbe more than six months.

Thus the Parliament meets twicea year.

There are usually three sessionsin a year. (1) The Budget ses-sions (February to May) (2) TheMonsoon sessions (July toSeptember) (3) The Winter Ses-sion (November to December).

A session of Parliament is theperiod spanning between thefirst sitting of House and itsprorogation or dissolution.There are various terms in re-lation to the parliamentary ses-sions. They are

Recess It is the period, spanning be-

tween the prorogation of aHouse and its reassembly in a

date of receipt of the bill by the other house with-out the bill being passed by it.

Article 108 of the Constitution makes provisionsfor the Joint Sitting of both houses in order toremove deadlock or differences between the twohouses with respect to ordinary bills.

Lok Sabha speaker presides over the joint sitting. Since 1950, the provision regarding the joint sit-

ting of the two houses has been invoked onlythree times for passing Dowry Prohibition Bill1960, Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill1977, POTA Bill 2002.

new session.Adjournment A sitting of Parliament can be

terminated by adjournment. An adjournment suspends the

work in a sitting for specifiedtime which may be days orweeks.

Adjournment Sine die It means terminating a sitting of

Parliament for an indefinite pe-riod.

The Presiding officer usuallydeclares it when the businessof a session is completed .

Prorogation It is the power of the President

to terminate a session of theHouse.

It doesnot however affect thebills pending before the House;but the notices lapse.

Dissolution Dissolution ends, the very life

of a House. Rajya Sabha, being a permanent

body is not affected by it. All bills, motions, resolution no-

tices, petitions, and its com-mittees lapse when the Houseis dissolved.

Quorum It is the minimum number of mem-

280bers required to be present inthe House before it transactsany business. Quorum is fixedat one tenth of the strength ineach House (Lok Sabha -55,Rajya Sabha-25)

Lame -Duck - Session It refers to the last sessions of

the existing Lok Sabha after anew Lok Sabha has beenelected.

Lame Ducks It refers to those members of

the existing Lok Sabha whocould not get elected to thenew Lok Sabha.

Law making procedure ofIndian Parliament

Every bill before becoming lawhas to undergo five stageswithin the House of the Parlia-ment.

The five stages are Ist stage: At the first stage the

bill will be introduced by theconcerned minister and it willbe given first reading.

2nd stage: The bill is printedand a copy of each is suppliedto the members of the houseand bill will be given the sec-ond reading and will be fol-lowed by a general discussionof the bill.

3rd stage: The bill will bepassed on to a Select Commit-tee generally comprising of 15to 30 members and this stageis called Committee Stage.

4th stage: The committee col-lects all data, interviews per-sons and reports the bill backto the house and this stage iscalled Reporting Stage. At thisstage there is a thorough and

detailed discussion of the billand often every sentence ispassed with the approval of themembers and voted.

5th stage: This is the finalstage. The bill will be given athird reading, oral amendmentcan be introduced which mayor maynot be accepted and af-ter a general voting of the billit will be declared as passedand the presiding officer of thehouse shall sign it.

A similar process takes placein the other house also andthen the bill will be presentedbefore the President for hisassent. Once the bill gets hisassent, it becomes an Act.

By a verdict given by a divi-sion bench headed by formerChief Justice V.K. Sabarwal theparliament has given Supremepower to oust MPs.

Budget (Article 112) Budget is known as the,

Annual Financial Statement. It is an estimate of all antici-

pated receipts and expen-diture of the union forthe coming financialyear.

Budget is laid be-fore parliament inthe name of theparliament.

It is the key re-sponsibility ofthe Parliament topass the nationalbudget.

Budget is pre-sented on last work-ing day of February ofevery year.

First budget of free India byR.K. Shanmukham Chetty onNovember 26, 1947.

First General budget byC.D. Deshmukh on May 23,1952.

First dissolution of Lok Sabha 4th Lok Sabha in 1971.

Railway Budget is prepared bythe Railway Minister and Gen-eral Budget is prepared by theFinance Minister.

Line - item Budgeting, Perfor-mance Budgeting, ProgrammeBudgeting and Zero-basedBudgeting are the types ofbudgeting.

The financial year commencesin India on 1st April each year.

The Budget speech of the Fi-nance Minister is usually intwo parts. Part A deals withgeneral economic survey ofthe country while Part B relatesto taxation proposals.

Vote on Account(Art. 116)

This empowers the Lok Sabha tomake any grant in advance for a part

of any financial years to meet theexpenditure of the Govt. between the

introduction and passage of budget. It ispassed usually after the General discus-

sion on the Budget. Normally, the Vote onAccount is taken for two months only. But

during election year or when it is antici-pated that the main Demands and

Appropriation Bill will take longer timethan two months, the Vote onAccount may be for a period

exceeding two months.

281Public Bill

1. It is introduced in the Parliament by a minister.2. It reflects of the policies of the government

(ruling party).3. It has greater chance to be approved by the

Parliament.4. Its rejection by the House amounts to the

expression of want of parliamentary confidencein the government and may lead to itsresignation.

5. Its introduction in the House