Coi Notes

Constitution of India
Historical Background and Philosophy of Indian Constitution
Societies before and after adoption of Indian Constitution

Ancient India followed a distinct tradition of law which was marked by the existence of
independent schools of legal theory and practice. Chanakya’s Arthashastra is believed to be
dated from 400 BC and Manusmriti from 100 AD. The philosophy which Manu put forth was of
tolerance and pluralism which was accepted and followed throughout Southeast Asia.
With the arrival of British Rule in India, there was an altercation in the Indian tradition. Hindu
and Muslim laws were abolished and British Common Law was put in place. Hence, the present
judicial system in India derives much from the British system of Law and has very few
connections with the Indian Legal system.
During India’s existence under the British reign, there were various laws and acts passed by the
British government. The Regulating Act of 1773 was seen as a foundation stone laid by the East
India Company to ensure its smooth functioning in the Indian Sub-Continent. Further, the Indian
Independence Act marked the end of British rule in India which was given effect on 15 August
1947.
 Regulating Act of 1773
As already discussed above, this step was considered to be the first step by the British to manage
the affairs of the East India Company in India. The governor of Bengal was designated as the
governor general. Warren Hastings became the first governor-general of Bengal. The executive
council of governor-general was established, which comprised of 4 members and there existed
no separate legislative council.
Supreme Court was established by the company at Fort William (Calcutta) as the apex court in
1774. The act prohibited the servants of the company from accepting bribes or indulging in any
trade activities.
 Pitt’s India Act of 1784
This act mainly draws a distinction between the commercial and political acts of the company.
The court of directors was assigned the work to decide on the commercial activities and the
board of control had to authorise the political affairs of the company. This act further reduced the
strength of the council to 3 members. The act placed Indian Affairs directly under the control of
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the British Government. The Company’s territory under India came to be known as “The British
possession in India”. Governor’s council was established in Bombay and Madras.
 Charter Act of 1813
The Charter Act of 1813 terminated the company’s monopoly which existed over the Indian
trade, after the passing of this act, trade with India was open to all British subjects.
The Governor-General of Bengal was upgraded to the post of Governor-General of India. Lord
William Bentick became the first Governor-General of India. The Charter Act of 1833 was
regarded as the first step towards centralisation in British India. The act took away the legislative
powers of Bombay and Madras provinces and the central legislature was put in place. The Act
brought an end to East India Company as a commercial body and transformed it into a purely
administrative body.
There was a separation brought in the Legislative and Executive powers of the Governor-
General’s council. 6 members comprised of the central legislative council, out of which 4 were
appointed by the provisional government of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra. It introduced
open competition as a basis for recruitment of civil servants. Indian Civil Service opened for all.
 Government of India Act 1858
This act replaced the rule of company by the rule of crown. The powers which were embodied on
the British Crown were to be exercised by the secretary of state of India. The secretary of State
was further assisted by 15 members. Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India.
 Government of India Act 1913
The act is popularly known as Montague-Chelmsford Reforms. The scheme of dual governance-
Dyarchy was introduced. Under the Dyarchy system, the provisional subjects were divided into
two parts – Reserved and Transferred. The Governor was not responsible to the legislate council
over the reserved subjects. The act also introduced the Bicameral legislature at the centre. The
Legislative Assembly had a strength of 140 members and the Legislative Council’s strength was
60 members. The act also introduced direct elections.
 Indian Independence Act of 1945
This is considered to be the last act which was laid down in India under the British rule. It
declared India as an independent and sovereign state. The act established responsible
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governments both at Centre and States. It assigned dual functions to the Constituent Assembly
which were – Legislative and Constituent functions.
 The laws which were made before the Charter Act of 1833 were known as Regulations
and the ones made after it was called Acts.
 The development of the Portfolio System and also the system of budget points to the
separation of powers were introduced during this period.
 In the year 1921, the railway budget was separated from the general budget.
 Lord Mayo’s Idea of decentralisation of powers brought into picture the local self-
government.
 In the year 1882 Lord Rippon’s resolution was hailed as Magna Carta of Local Self-
Governance. He came to be regarded as the “Father of local Self-governance in India”
Introduction to Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution is codified, written in a single document, and enacted by a single body.
The Indian Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, and the members of Parliament
signed it on January 24, 1950. The Indian Constitution is Supreme, an amalgamation of rigidity
and flexibility. The Constituent Assembly had written, debated, and finalised the constitution
between December 1946 and January 1950. The making of the Indian Constitution involved a lot
of consensus. This lengthy document, comprising 395 articles and 8 schedules, set out the
architecture of the new state.
Making of Indian Constitution
The making of the Indian Constitution was a long and complex process. It was a time of great
political and social change in India. The framers of the Constitution had to balance the
competing demands of different groups and interests. They also had to take into account the
country's unique history and culture. The result was a Constitution that is considered to be one of
the most progressive and democratic constitutions in the world.
The Indian Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected
members of the provincial assemblies. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the
partition of India) took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over a
165-day period. It has taken a lot of cues from other countries’ constitutions. Taking inspiration
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and Sources from various Constitutions, on the other hand, does not make it secondhand.
Furthermore, there was little to draw from in the way of a model.
Role of Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly had a specific structure:
 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies.
 93 members represented the Indian Princely States.
 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces.
Therefore, the total membership of the Constituent Assembly was initially set to be 389.
However, the Mountbatten Plan of 3rd June 1947 resulted in the partition of India and the
creation of a separate Constituent Assembly for Pakistan.
Features and Functions of the Constituent Assembly
 The Provincial Legislative Assembly elected 292 members, while the Indian States had a
maximum of 93 seats.
 Seats in each province were distributed proportionally among the Muslim, Sikh, and
General committees based on their respective populations.
 Members of each Provincial Legislative Assembly community selected their representatives
using the proportional representation method and a single transferable vote.
 Princely states' the heads of the princely states chose representatives.
 On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the Objectives Resolution, marking
the formal beginning of the Constituent Assembly's task of drafting the Indian Constitution.
 The resolution aimed to declare India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and draft a
Constitution for its future administration.
 The resolution outlined fundamental principles to guide the Constituent Assembly's work
passed on January 22, 1947.
 Gradually, delegates from princely states joined the Assembly, formally established on
April 28, 1947, with representatives from six states.
 Following the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan for the partition of the country on June 3,
1947, delegates from most other princely states assumed their seats in the Assembly.
The Constituent Assembly was responsible for the following tasks in addition to drafting the
Constitution and adopting ordinary laws:
 It corrected the Commonwealth’s membership enrolment in May 1949.
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 On July 22, 1947, it adopted the national flag.
 On January 24, 1950, it adopted the national anthem.
 On January 24, 1950, it chose Dr. Rajendra Prasad as India’s first President.
 On November 26, 1949, the motion on Draft Constitution was proclaimed approved,
gaining the signatures of the members and the President. It should be emphasized that the
Preamble was enacted after the Constitution.
 After three sets of readings of the Draft produced by the Drafting Committee and
published in October 1948, the Constitution was accepted on November 26, 1949, with a
Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules Of the Indian Constitution. Some of the 395
Articles, such as Articles 5 to 9, Articles 379, 380, 388, 392, and 393, went into effect on
November 26, 1949.
 The remaining Articles were enacted on January 26, 1950, Republic Day. The Indian
Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 were repealed once
the Constitution of India took effect. Our Constitution currently has 448 Articles, 25
Parts, and 12 Schedules.
Preamble of Indian Constitution

A preamble is an introductory statement in a document that explains the document’s philosophy
and objectives. In a Constitution, it presents the intention of its framers, the history behind its
creation, and the core values and principles of the nation. The ideals behind the Preamble to
India’s Constitution were laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru’s Objectives Resolution, adopted by
the Constituent Assembly on January 22, 1947. Although not enforceable in court, the Preamble
states the objects of the Constitution, and acts as an aid during the interpretation of Articles when
language is found ambiguous.
The preamble begins with the words “We the people of India…” thus clearly indicating the
source of all authority of the constitution. It emphasizes the sovereignty of the people and the
fact that all powers of government flow from the people. It is the people of India on whose
authority the Constitution rests. The preamble surmises that it is the people of India who are the
authors of the constitution. Thus the words “We, the people of India” declares in unambiguous
terms that the Constitution has been adopted, enacted and given to themselves by the people of
India.
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The keywords by which the Preamble of India is determined are Socialist, Sovereign, Secular,
Democratic, Republic.
Socialist
In the form of some Directive Principles of State Policy, the Constitution of India has socialist
content included in the preamble, then after the term, ‘socialist’ was added in the 42 nd
Amendment in the year 1976. Here, in the Preamble of the Constitution socialist means
democratic socialism which is defined as achieving the socialist goals in an evolutionary,
democratic, and non-violent way. It keeps faith in the mixed economy in which both the public
sectors and private sectors are present.
Sovereign
The word ‘sovereign’ as described by the Preamble of the Constitution means that India is not
dominated by any external power and the state is having its independent authority. Simply
sovereignty means that a state is having independent authority.
Secular
The term ‘secular’ was added in the 42 nd Amendment in the year 1976. Secularism in the
Preamble of the Constitution of India is described as all the religions i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism,
Sikhism, Islam, Jainism are Christianity are all equal in this state. India is not a state with only
one religion.
Democratic
The term ‘democratic’ was added in the 42nd Amendment in the year 1976, it explains that every
citizen of India has the right to vote and select the governments of their choice. The voting right
is for all the people who have citizenship in India and are 18 years or above. Economic and
social democracy is also included in this.
Republic
The term ‘secular’ was added in the 42nd Amendment in the year 1976, it explains that the state’s
head is elected by the people, which means that public power is not a proprietary right and the
leaders can be changed by election every 5 years.
Objectives of the Indian Preamble of the Constitution
The Preamble of the Constitution provides ideas about the listed objectives:
1. Justice
2. Liberty
3. Equality
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4. Fraternity
What are the salient features of Indian Constitution?
Before making the present Constitution, the framers examined Constitutions of various countries of the world and
also the working of the Government of India Act, 1935. They liberally borrowed appropriate provisions from
Constitutions of many countries of the world. The Constitution so adopted has the following salient features—
1. The Lengthiest Constitution in the World.-Constitutions are classified into written, like the American
Constitution, or unwritten, like the British Constitution. The Constitution of India is the lengthiest of all the written
Constitutions of the world. It is a very comprehensive, elaborate and detailed document.The Indian Constitution
originally consisted of 395 articles divided into 22 Parts and 9 Schedules. Presently, it consists of a Preamble, about
450 articles divided into 24 Parts and 12 Schedules.
2. Parliamentary Form of Government.-The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary system
of Government rather than American Presidential System of Government. The Parliamentary system is based on the
principle of co-operation and co-ordination between the legislative and executive organs while the Presidential
system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.
3. Unique Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility.-The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible but a synthesis
of both. A rigid Constitution is one that requires a special procedure for its amendment while flexible Constitution is
one that can be amended in the same manner as ordinary laws are made.
4. Fundamental Rights.-
Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to all the citizens—
(a) Right to Equality (Articles 14-18);
(b) Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22);
(c) Right against Exploitation (Articles 23-24);
(d) Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25-28);
(e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29-30);
(f) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the idea of political democracy. They operate as limitations on the
tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature.
5. Directive Principles of State policy.-The Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part of the
Constitution set out the aims and objectives to be taken by the state in the governance of the country. According to
B.R. Ambedkar “the Directive Principle of State policy is a novel feature of the Indian Constitution. They can be
classified into three broad categories, Socialistic, Gandhian and Liberal-intellectual.
6. Fundamental Duties.-By Forty-second Amendment Act, Part IVA has been added to the Constitution which
enumerates certain fundamental duties of the citizens. Originally, ten duties were enlisted in clause (a) to (j) of
article 51A. Clause (k), which imposes duty on parents/wards has been added by the Constitution (86th
Amendment) Act, 2002.
7. A Federation with Strong Centralizing Tendency.-The term ‘federation’ has nowhere been used in the
Constitution. Article 1 describes that India “is a Union of States” which implies two things: Firstly – Indian
federation is not the result of an agreement by the States; and secondly – no State has the right to secede from the
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federation. The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of Government. It contains all the usual features of
a federation viz., two governments, and division of powers, written Constitution, Supremacy of the Constitution,
rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.
8. Adult Suffrage.-In India every person, male or female, who has obtained the age of 18 years, is entitled to vote in
elections to Parliament or State Legislatures. Originally this age limit was 21 years but after the 61st Amendment
Act, 1988 it was reduced to 18 years.
9. An Independent Judiciary.-Independence of Judiciary is essential for impartial adjudication of disputes between
individuals, between Union and State, between Union/State and individuals, between Union and States or between
States inter se. The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system in the country. Below it, there
are High Courts at the State level. This single system of courts enforces both the Central laws as well as the States
laws. The Supreme Court of India is a federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the fundamental
rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution
10. A Secular State.-The Constitution of India stands for a secular State. Hence, it does not uphold any particular
religion as the official religion of the Indian State. The term ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian
Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. Articles 25-28 of the Constitution give concrete shape to this
concept of secularism.
11. Single Citizenship.-In most of the federation, people have double citizenship, citizenship of the Union and
citizenship of one of the several States which form the Union. Every citizen is the citizen of India and enjoys the
same rights of citizenship no matter in which State he resides.
12. Separation of Powers.-This doctrine was for the first time properly formulated by the famous Jurist
Montesquieu in his script Des Lois and exercised great influence on the French legal system. Doctrine of separation
of powers implies that powers of the three organs of the government viz., Legislative, Executive and Judiciary
should be kept separate from each other.
Name of Countries Borrowed Features of the Constitution

Britain 1. Parliamentary government
2. Rule of Law
3. Legislative procedure
4. Single citizenship
5. Cabinet system
6. Prerogative writs
7. Parliamentary privileges
8. Bicameralism
Ireland 1. Directive Principles of State Policy
2. Method of Election of the president
3. Members nomination to the Rajya Sabha by the
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President
United States of America 1. Impeachment of the president
2. Functions of president and vice-president
3. Removal of Supreme Court and High court judges
4. Fundamental Rights
5. Judicial review
6. Independence of judiciary
7. The preamble of the constitution
Canada 1. Centrifugal form of federalism where the centre is
stronger than the states.
2. Residuary powers vest with the centre
3. Centre appoints the Governors at the states
4. Advisory jurisdiction of the supreme court
Australia 1. Concept of Concurrent list
2. Article 108 i.e. Joint sitting of the two houses
3. Freedom of trade and commerce
USSR (Now Russia) 1. Fundamental duties
2. The ideals of justice (social, economic, and political),
expressed in the Preamble.
France 1. Concept of “Republic”
2. Ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity(contained in
the Preamble)
Germany 1. Fundamental Rights are suspended during Emergency
South Africa 1. Election of members of the Rajya Sabha

2. Amendment of the Constitution
Japan 1. Concept of “procedure established by Law”
Unit-II Fundamental Rights and Duties
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Fundamental rights and duties are two important concepts of the Indian Constitution. While
fundamental rights are the entitlements that individuals possess by virtue of being citizens of a
particular country, fundamental duties are the responsibilities that citizens have towards their
country and fellow citizens. Fundamental rights are the basic human rights enshrined in the
Constitution of India which are guaranteed to all citizens. They are applied without
discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, etc. Significantly, fundamental rights are
enforceable by the courts, subject to certain conditions.
These rights are called fundamental rights because of two reasons:
1. They are enshrined in the Constitution which guarantees them.
2. They are justifiable (enforceable by courts). In case of a violation, a person can approach
a court of law.
There were 7 fundamental rights in the Constitution. Currently, there are only six as the ‘Right to
Property’ was removed as a fundamental right. It is now only a legal right. The list of
fundamental rights are
Right to equality
Right to freedom
Right against exploitation
Right to freedom of religion
Cultural and educational rights
Right to constitutional remedies
1. Right to Equality (Articles 14 – 18)
The right to equality is one of the important fundamental rights of the Indian Constitution that
guarantees equal rights for everyone, irrespective of religion, gender, caste, race or place of birth.
It ensures equal employment opportunities in the government and insures against discrimination
by the State in matters of employment on the basis of caste, religion, etc. This right also includes
the abolition of titles as well as untouchability.
2. Right to Freedom (Articles 19 – 22)
Freedom is one of the most important ideals cherished by any democratic society. The Indian
Constitution guarantees freedom to citizens. The freedom right includes many rights such as:
 Freedom of speech
 Freedom of expression
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 Freedom of assembly without arms
 Freedom of association
 Freedom to practice any profession
 Freedom to reside in any part of the country
Some of these rights are subject to certain conditions of state security, public morality and
decency and friendly relations with foreign countries. This means that the State has the right to
impose reasonable restrictions on them.
3. Right against Exploitation (Articles 23 – 24)
This right implies the prohibition of traffic in human beings, begar, and other forms of forced
labour. It also implies the prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. The
Constitution prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years in hazardous conditions.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 – 28)
This indicates the secular nature of Indian polity. There is equal respect given to all religions.
There is freedom of conscience, profession, practice and propagation of religion. The State has
no official religion. Every person has the right to freely practice his or her faith, and establish
and maintain religious and charitable institutions.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 – 30)
These rights protect the rights of religious, cultural and linguistic minorities, by facilitating them
to preserve their heritage and culture. Educational rights are for ensuring education for everyone
without any discrimination.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (32 – 35)
The Constitution guarantees remedies if citizens’ fundamental rights are violated. The
government cannot infringe upon or curb anyone’s rights. When these rights are violated, the
aggrieved party can approach the courts. Citizens can even go directly to the Supreme Court
which can issue writs for enforcing fundamental rights.
Features of Fundamental Rights
 Fundamental rights are different from ordinary legal rights in the manner in which they
are enforced. If a legal right is violated, the aggrieved person cannot directly approach the
SC bypassing the lower courts. He or she should first approach the lower courts.
 Some of the fundamental rights are available to all citizens while the rest are for all
persons (citizens and foreigners).
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 Fundamental rights are not absolute rights. They have reasonable restrictions, which
mean they are subject to the conditions of state security, public morality and decency and
friendly relations with foreign countries.
 They are justifiable, implying they are enforceable by courts. People can approach the SC
directly in case of violation of fundamental rights.
 Fundamental rights can be amended by the Parliament by a constitutional amendment but
only if the amendment does not alter the basic structure of the Constitution.
 The Fundamental Rights of the Indian Constitution can be suspended during a national
emergency. But, the rights guaranteed under Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended.
 The application of fundamental rights can be restricted in an area that has been placed
under martial law or military rule.
Amendability of Fundamental Rights
 Any changes to fundamental rights require a constitutional amendment that should be
passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The amendment bill should be passed by a
special majority of Parliament.
o Read about the types of majorities in the Indian Parliament in the linked article.
 As per the Constitution, Article 13(2) states that no laws can be made that take
away fundamental rights.
 The question is whether a constitutional amendment act can be termed law or not.
 In the Sajjan Singh case of 1965, the Supreme Court held that the Parliament can amend
any part of the Constitution including fundamental rights.
 But in 1967, the SC reversed its stance taken earlier when in the verdict of the Golaknath
case, it said that the fundamental rights cannot be amended.
 In 1973, a landmark judgment ensued in the Kesavananda Bharati case, where the SC
held that although no part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, was beyond
the Parliament’s amending power, the “basic structure of the Constitution could not be
abrogated even by a constitutional amendment.”
 This is the basis in Indian law in which the judiciary can strike down any amendment
passed by Parliament that is in conflict with the basic structure of the Constitution.
 In 1981, the Supreme Court reiterated the Basic Structure doctrine.
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 It also drew a line of demarcation as April 24th, 1973 i.e., the date of the Kesavananda
Bharati judgement, and held that it should not be applied retrospectively to reopen the
validity of any amendment to the Constitution which took place prior to that date.
Fundamental Duties
 Fundamental Duties are categorized into two – Moral Duty & Civic Duty
1. Moral Duty: cherishing noble ideals of freedom struggle
2. Civic Duty: respecting the Constitution, National Flag and National Anthem
 They essentially contain just a codification of tasks integral to the Indian way of life.
 The Fundamental Duties are confined to Indian citizens only and do not extend to
foreigners, unlike a few Fundamental Rights.
 They are also nonjusticiable similar to the Directive Principles of State Policy.
 There is no legal sanction against their violation.
Swaran Singh Committee in 1976 recommended Fundamental Duties to be added in the

constitution
42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added 10 Fundamental Duties
The list of 11 Fundamental Duties under Article 51-A to be obeyed by every Indian citizen is
given in the table below:
1. Abide by the Indian Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and
the National Anthem
2. Cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom
3. Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
4. Defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so
5. Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women
6. Value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture
7. Protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and
to have compassion for living creatures
8. Develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
9. Safeguard public property and to abjure violence
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10. Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement
11. Provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen
years. (This duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002)
Unit-=III Directive Principles of State policy

 Meaning and significance of Directive Principles
Part 4 of the Indian Constitution consists of all the DPSP (Directive Principles of State Policy).
It covers the Articles from 36 to 51.
Article 36 of Part IV defines the term “State” as the one, who has to keep in mind all the DPSP
before formulating any policy or law for the country. The definition of “State” in the part IV will
be the same as that of Part III, unless the context otherwise requires a change in it. In Article 37
the nature of DPSP has been defined. DPSPs are non-justiciable.
Article 38 to 51 contains all the different DPSP’s.
Characteristics of State Policy Directive Principles
1. 1. It refers to the ideals that perhaps the government should keep in mind while
formulating laws and legislation.
2. The term “Directive Principles” simply refers to a type of education tool. The main
distinction is that they are directives to both the legislative and the executive branches of
government.
3. It looks a lot like the 1935 Government of India Act’s ‘Instrument of Instructions.’ ‘The
Directive Principles are similar to the mechanism of instructions provided by the British
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Government to the Governor-General and Governors of the provinces of India under the
Government of India Act of 1935,’ says Dr B. R. Ambedkar.
4. It’s a form of complete financial, political, and governmental blueprint for a modern
democratic country, only with the objective of implementing the Preamble’s noble
principles of respect, freedom, fairness, and fraternity. They symbolize the concept of a
“welfare system,” that didn’t even exist during colonial times.
5. These LAWS were non-justifiable by structure, which suggests that now the courts
cannot reinforce the laws if broken by any means.
6. These directive principles, notwithstanding their non-justifiability, assist courts in
examining and determining the constitutional validity of legislation.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STATE POLICY DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES
 They guide the government to progress toward the aim of a Welfare State by providing a
metric by which to gauge a government’s success. They are based on the Preamble’s
values of independence, justice, fairness, and brotherhood.
 The people could learn about their demands from governing parties in power, and they
can give guidance to the courts on how to protect citizens’ rights. These Principles put the
objective of building an economy and society in front of the government.
Socialist principles
 These principles follow the ideology of “Socialism” and lay down the framework of
India.
 Its ultimate aim is to provide social and economic justice to all its citizens so that the
state can fulfil the criteria required for a welfare state.
 The articles in DPSP which follows the socialist principles are – Article 38, Article 39,
Article 39 A, Article 41, Article 42, Article 43, Article 43 A and Article 47.
Article 38
 Article 38 talks about Social, Political and Economic Justice.
 It directs that the State should secure a social order which provides social, political and
economic justice to all its citizens.
 Article 38(2) says that state shall reduce the inequalities faced by the people on the
grounds like income, status, facilities, opportunities, etc.
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Article 39
 Article 39 mentions all the Principles of policy which must be followed by the State.
The State shall make its policies towards securing the following objectives—
 All the men, women and citizens should have the right to an adequate means of
livelihood
 The ownership and control of the people over any material resources under the
community should be distributed as it is for the common good of the public;
 The functioning of the economic system should be such that the concentration of wealth
and the means of production don’t result in a loss common to all or which causes
detriment to the citizens;
 There shall be no gender discrimination, both men and women should get equal pay for
equal work.
 The health and strength possessed by any worker, men and women, and the tender age of
children should not be abused and the citizens should not be forced to enter and indulge
into any occupation or profession which is not suitable for their age or strength, not even
out of any financial necessity or economic backwardness
 Children must be given enough opportunities and facilities so that they develop in a
healthy manner and in such conditions where their freedom and dignity, including the
fact that their childhood and youth remain protected, against any form of exploitation and
against any sort of moral and material abandonment.
Article 39A
 Article 39A talks about Free Legal aid.
 It says that the State shall promote justice with the aim of administering Justice on the
basis of equal opportunity, and shall provide free legal aid through any suitable
legislation or schemes which State may think fit ,or, in any other way, so that it could
ensure that the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen because of
economic backwardness or any other kind of disabilities.
Article 41
 Article 41 talks about Welfare Government.
 It says that state shall make some effective provisions for securing the right to work, etc.
and in cases of unemployment, old age, disablement or any other cases acting in its
economic capacity & development it shall provide public assistance. This article is
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employed as a tenet for numerous social sector schemes like social assistance program,
right to food security, old-age pension scheme, MGNREGA, etc.
Article 42
 Article 42 talks about Securing just and humane work and maternity relief.
 It says that state shall create some provisions so that the citizens get easy, just and
humane conditions for working. It shall also provide maternity relief for the women.
Article 43
 Article 43 talks about Fair wages and a decent standard of life.
 It says that the state can endeavor to secure by appropriate legislation or economic
organization to all the workers employed in agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a
living wage, conditions of work, ensuring a decent standard of life and enjoyment of
leisure and social-cultural opportunities and promote cottage industries on an individual
or cooperative basis in rural and remote areas of the country.
Article 47
 Article 47 talks about Nutrition, Standard of living and public health.
 It says that the State shall look into the matter of raising the level of nutrition and the
standard of living of its people and it is the duty of the State to keep a check on the
improvement of public health. The State shall also endeavor to prohibit the consumption
of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious for health, except for medicinal
purposes. There are many social development programmes such as National Health
Mission, Mid Day Meal Scheme, etc. which target the marginalized sections of the
society i.e. women, children, weaker sections etc. are inspired by this DPSP.
Gandhian Principles
 These principles reflect the programme of reconstruction ideology propagated by Gandhi

throughout the national movement. In order to fulfil his dreams, some of his concepts
have been included in the form of DPSP.
 They direct the State through these articles – Article 40, Article 43, Article 43 B, Article
46, Article 47 and Article 48.
Article 40
 Article 40 deals with the Organization of Panchayats.
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 It says that the state shall organize Panchayat system and should grant them such powers
which would be necessary for the functioning as units of the self-government system.
 The 73rd and 74th amendments of the constitution which are related to Panchayati Raj
and Municipal Corporations respectively, later ended up as the constitutionally backed
framework for the principle mentioned in Part IV.
Article 43
 Article 43 talks about Fair wages and a decent standard of life.
 It says that the state can endeavor to secure, by appropriate legislation or economic
organization, to all the workers employed in agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a
living wage, conditions of work, a decent standard of life and enjoyment of leisure &
social-cultural opportunities and promote cottage industries on an individual or
cooperative basis in rural and remote areas of the country.
Article 43B
 Article 43B deals with the promotion of cooperatives.
 It was inserted by the 97th amendment act in 2011. It says that state shall endeavor to
promote the management of the co-operative societies to help the people who are
engaged in the same.
Article 46
 Article 46 deals with the Protection of SCs, STs, and weaker sections from
exploitation.
 The State shall promote with special care including the educational and economic
interests of the weaker sections of the society i.e. the SCs and the STs and shall make
provisions to protect them from all forms of exploitation which includes social injustice.
Article 47
 Article 47 talks about Nutrition, Standard of living and public health.
 It says that the State shall look into the matter of raising the level of nutrition and the
standard of living of its people and it is the duty of the State to keep a check on the
improvement of public health. The State shall endeavor to prohibit the consumption of
intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health except for medicinal
purposes.
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 There are many social development programmes such as National Health Mission, Mid
Day Meal Scheme, etc. which target the marginalized sections of the society i.e women,
children, weaker sections etc. are inspired by this DPSP.
Article 48
 Article 48 talks about scientific agriculture and animal husbandry.
 It says that the State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry using
modern methods and scientific techniques which make people more advanced and helps
in earning their livelihood easily and State shall take some progressive steps for
preserving and improving the existing breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and
other cattle.
Liberal-intellectual Principles
 These principles follow the ‘Liberalism’ ideology.
 The articles which follow this approach in DPSP are – Article 44, Article 45, Article 48,
Article 48 A, Article 49, Article 50 and Article 51.
Article 44
 Article 44 talks about the Uniform Civil Code.
 There should be a provision for the citizens to secure a Uniform Civil Code throughout
the territory of India in order to simplify things and reduce ambiguity in the laws which
makes it more complex than it actually is.
Article 45
 Article 45 contains the Provision for free and compulsory education for the children
in the country.
 The State shall make laws to provide free and compulsory education for the children until
they are 14 years old within a period of 10 years from the date of commencement of this
provision in the Constitution.
 This provision was incorporated by the virtue of the 86th Amendment, 2002 in the
Constitution of India.
Image Source: https://modernfarmer.com
Article 48
 Article 48 talks about Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry.
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 The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry using modern
and scientific technology which is prevalent in the present times and also take steps for
preserving and improving the existing breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and
other cattle in the country for the development of agricultural related practices.
Article 48A
 Article 48A talks about the Environment and Wildlife Protection.
 The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and surroundings.
And to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country to make the environment
sustainable.
Article 49
 Article 49 talks about Protection of monuments and places and objects of national
importance.
 It shall be the duty of the State to protect every monument or place or any object of
historic or artistic interest which has some national importance, from any form of
disfigurement, destruction, etc.
Article 50
 Article 50 talks about Separation of Judiciary from the Executive.
 There should be a line between the judiciary and the executive body of the Government
in the public services of the State as it makes it easier if both do not interfere in each
other’s work and function independently.
Article 51
 Article 51 talks about Promotion of international peace and security.
 The State shall endeavour to —
o Promote international peace and security;
o maintain friendly and honourable relations between nations;
o foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of one
person with another for maintaining harmony between the nations and
o Encourage settlement of international disputes by the method of arbitration.
Unit-IV Organs of Government
 Centre and State Legislature
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India has a parliamentary system of government with a bicameral legislature at the Centre. Some
states have a bicameral legislative system while others have a unicameral one. In this article, you
can read a comparison of the union parliament and the state legislatures for the UPSC exam.
Comparison of Parliament and State Legislature

The Parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising of two Houses and the Indian President:
Lok Sabha: The House of the Rajya Sabha: The Council of
People (Lower House). Read States (Upper House). Read more
more on Lok Sabha. on Rajya Sabha.
The functions of the Parliament are provided for in the Indian Constitution in Chapter II, Part V.
You can also read more about the functions of the Indian Parliament in detail here.
At the state level, the legislature is composed of the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative
Council (only in 6 states currently), and the Governor of the State.
 In the Constitution, there are provisions for the creation of a second chamber (the
Legislative Council) for states which do not have one. There are also provisions for the
abolition of the Council for states. (Article 169).
 Currently, 6 states in India have the Legislative Council. They are:
o Maharashtra
o Karnataka
o Andhra Pradesh
o Telangana
o Uttar Pradesh
o Bihar
 There are proposals to abolish the Council in Andhra Pradesh.
 Until Article 370 was in place, Jammu & Kashmir also had a Legislative Council under
its own Constitution. Now, it is a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly.
 Tamil Nadu abolished its Legislative Council (called Vidhan Parishad) in 1986.
Tabular Comparison of Parliament and State Legislature
Union Parliament State Legislatures
Bicameral Mostly unicameral – only 6 states are bicameral
Article 79 to122 in Part V of the Constitution Articles 168 to 212 in Part VI of the Constitution
If a bill is introduced in a House, and it The Legislative Councils (LC) have only
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passes it, then the other House can: advisory powers by and large.
1. Pass the bill as it is. They have lesser powers when it comes to law-
2. Reject the bill altogether. making.
3. Pass the bill with some modifications If a bill is introduced in the LC, which is passed
and return it to the first House for by it, and it goes on to the Assembly:
reconsideration. 1. The Assembly rejects the bill.
4. Nothing is done to the bill for 6 2. It passes the bill with some modifications
months, which means both Houses which are unacceptable to the LC.
are in disagreement. In both the above cases, the bill comes to an end.
In this case, a joint sitting of both the However, if the bill originates in the Assembly,
Houses is convened and made, to break the and it is either rejected or passed with
constitutional deadlock. modifications not acceptable by the LC, it does
Note: In the case of Money Bills, which are not come to an end.
to be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, the There is no provision for a joint sitting of the
Rajya Sabha has restricted powers. Council and the Assembly. In the case of a
disagreement, the decision of the Assembly is
deemed final.
Note: Money bills can originate only in the
Legislative Assembly.
Members: Lok Sabha: 552 (Max.) Members: Legislative Assembly: Between 40
Rajya Sabha: 250 (Max.) and 500
Legislative Council: Not more than one-third of
the membership of the State Legislative
Assembly, and cannot be under 40.
Election to the Rajya Sabha: Election to the Legislative Councils:
Members are elected by the elected members Members are elected by five different
of the State Legislative Assemblies by means constituencies through a process of the single
of proportional representation by means of a transferable vote system.
single transferable vote. 1. ⅓ of the members are elected by the local
authorities’ representatives (Gram
Panchayats, Municipalities, Block
Parishads, etc.)
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2. ⅓ of the members by the MLAs.
3. 1/12 of the members are elected by the
teachers (of secondary schools, colleges,
and universities) in the state.
4. 1/12 are elected by the graduates in the
state.
5. The remaining 1/6th are nominated by
the Governor from persons having
experience or knowledge in the fields of
science, art, literature, social service, or
cooperative movement.
 Centre and State Executive
The executive is growing in importance as it provides leadership to the government. With the
ever-widening sphere of its activities, the executive has naturally become the most important
branch of government formally, supremacy may rest with the legislature but in practice, it is the
executive which is all-important. The Ministries and the department helps running the
government successfully along with the bureaucracy and the legislature.
The executive is an important part of Indian Polity which finds itself as an important subject in
IAS Exam and it is important for aspirants to learn about it for three stages of the UPSC exam –
Prelims, Mains and Interview.
This article will mention briefly about the Indian Executive and candidates are provided with the
linked articles where they can read about the executive as separate topics for UPSC 2023.
Union Executive (Article 52-78)
The union executive of Indian polity is a part of the political executive, that comprises three
important posts:
1. President (Article 52-62)
2. Prime Minister & Council of Ministers (Article 74-75 & Article 78)
3. Attorney-General of India (Article 76)
4. The Union Executive authorises powers to the government to implement laws that fall
under Articles 52 to 78 of Chapter- I of Part IV. Due to Its important activities, the Union
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Executive became the most significant branch of the government. The union executive
of India consists of the President, the head of the State, Vice-president and Prime
Minister, and Council of Ministers who governs the Union and Attorney General. The
Indian Constitution empowers the President’s executive authority but is not allowed to
exercise it alone. The Prime Minister supervises the Council of Ministers helps the
President exercise executive power.
5. The union executive of India consists of three members to set laws and govern the
administrative work within the parliament. The qualifications, as well as roles and powers
of these executive members, are mentioned below:
6. 1.The President
The President is the head of the state and the Union Executive who exercises executive
powers under the supervision and direction of the Prime Minister and the Council of
Ministers. All the executive powers were implemented in the name of the President.
Qualification and duration to hold office
The President must be a citizen of India. The Article 56 says that the minimum age of the
President should be thirty-five and he must be India’s citizen. Also, he has to be qualified
as the elective member of the House of People. As per Article 56(1), The President can
hold office for 5 years from when he take charge of his office from the first day. The
office of the President can be empty in case of his resignation or impeachment and if he
dies or is disqualified by the Supreme Court.
Power and Functions
Under Article 53, the President of the Indian Constitution can implement laws and order
and is a policymaker. He can supervise the armed force as a Supreme Commander. He
can address both Parliaments. He can appoint judges of both the Supreme and High Court
and high officials of India. The President can announce war and peace under the prime
minister’s direction and the Council of Ministers. He can summon as well as dissolve the
parliament by his legislative powers The President also exercises special power in times
of National as well as State and Financial emergencies.
The Vice President
Under Articles 63 and 65, the Vice-President plays an important role in the vacancy in
the President’s office. He must be the ex-chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He can exercise
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the function of the President in his absence or any situation including his illness as well
as death or resignation from the office.
2.The Prime Minister
Under Article 73, the Prime Minister is selected by the representatives of the people
among the members of the Lok Sabha. He is the chief head of the Government and head
of the Council of Ministers. He advises the President.
The Prime Minister has to be a member of Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha. He has to be
twenty-five years old, in case he is the member of Lok Sabha or more than 30 years of
age, if he is a Rajya Sabha candidate. He must be a citizen of India. He cannot be a part
of any office that runs for profit under the Indian Government of any state. He can hold
the office for indefinite time, but has to gain confidence of President and Lok Sabha.
Power and Function
The Prime Minister became the communication link between the parliament and the
President. He is responsible for advising the President to distribute work under various
ministries working for the Indian Government. The council of the union executives must
give all the information regarding Union affairs or decisions taken for the Cabinet
meetings’ administration.
3.Attorney General
The Attorney General advises the Govt. of India on legal matters and represents this in
front of the Supreme Court. They are nominated by the President on the recommendation
of the Union Cabinet and serve at the President’s discretion.
Qualification and duration
They has to be qualified for the role as a Judge in the Supreme Court. Thus they had to be
a high court justice for 5 years, or an attorney for 10 years, or an outstanding jurist. There
is no pre-decided duration for the Attorney General of India.
Power and Function
The Attorney General advises the Government on legal implications. They also carry out
the President’s legal responsibilities. The Attorney General does have the right to attend
in all Indian courts and to join in Parliament sessions, but do not vote. The Attorney
General represents the Government in all Supreme Court proceedings.
4.The Council of Minister
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Under Article 74, the council of the union executives is the constitutional body in
parliament. The Council of Ministers belongs to 60 to 70 ministers, including The State
Ministers as well as the Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
The Council of Ministers must qualify to be a member of either House of the Parliament.
He must be a citizen of India. There is no duration specified for them, and the Prime
Minister can ask any Minister to resign, and the President can appoint any Minister.
Power and Function
As the union executive of india consists of the Council of Ministers, they can exercise
combined power with the Legislative Assemblies. The true power in the Country is held
by the Council of Ministers. Ministers, rather than the Governor, take maximum
decisions in the cabinet.
Conclusion
In short, We get to know that the Union Executive of the Indian Constitution is the most
important body that distributes the powers of both the state and the Union level between
the President and Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister. the union executive of
india consists of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, who are the real heads
of the Union Executive that exercises all the executive power at the national level but the
President with the advice of the Council of Ministers along with the Prime Minister can
exercise these executive powers.
State Executive (Article 153-167)
The state executive of Indian Polity is also a part of the political executive that comprises three
important posts:
1. Governor (Article 153-161)
2. Chief Minister & Council of Ministers (Article 164-167)
3. Advocate-General of State (Article 165 and 177)
State Executive
Part VI of the Constitution containing Articles 153 to 167 deals with the government in the
States. The state executive consists of the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Council of Minister
and the Advocate General of the state.
# Governor
THE GOVERNOR
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 The Governor is the constitutional head of the State Government.
 He plays a twofold function as the constitutional head of the State Government and as a
link between the Centre and the state government.
 The Governor of a State is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
 Articles 153 says that three should be a Governor for each state. But under the 7th
Amendment Act, 1956, the same person can be appointed as Governor of one or more
States.
 Qualifications: In order to be appointed as Governor, a person (Article 157)
o Must be a citizen of India;
o Must have completed the age of 35 years.
o In addition, three are two conventions that have come to develop with regard to
appointment of the Governor.
 Must not belong to the state where he is appointed and
 Consult the Chief Minister of the state where to be appointed
o Article 156 – Term of Office
 Normally holds office for five year but can be removed at any time before
that by the President.
 Thus, Governors remain in office during the pleasure of the President.
o The Governor may resign at any time by writing to the President.
Conditions of Office
 He cannot be a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. If he has been a member of
either of the house, he should vacate the seat on his first day as Governor in the office.
 He should not hold any office of profit.
 For his residence, Raj Bhavan is provided to him without the payment of rent.
 Parliament decides his emoluments, allowances and privileges.
 When a governor is responsible for two or more states, the emoluments and allowances
payable to him are shared by the states in such proportion as the President may
determine.
 Parliament cannot diminish his emoluments and allowances during his term of office.
 He is given immunity from any criminal proceedings, even in respect of his personal acts
 Arrest or imprisonment of Governor cannot take place. Only civil proceedings can be
initiated for his personal acts that too after giving two months’ of prior notice.
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Powers and Functions of Governor
Executive Powers
 Every executive action of the state government is taken in his name.
 How an order that has been taken up his name is to be authenticated, the rules for the
same can be specified by the Governor.
 He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of business of the state
government.
 Chief Ministers and other ministers of the states are appointed by him.
 He appoints the advocate general of states and determines their remuneration
 He appoints the following people:
o State Election Commissioner
o Chairman and Members of the State Public Service Commission
o Vice-Chancellors of the universities in the state
 A constitutional emergency in the state is recommended to the President by him.
 The governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President during the
President’s rule in the state.
 It is his responsibility to appoint Tribal Welfare Minister in the states of Chattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
Legislative Powers
 Article 174 – Power to prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the state legislative
assemblies
 Article 176 – He addresses the state legislature at the first session of every year
 If any bill is pending in the state legislature, Governor may/may not send a bill to the
state legislature concerning the same
 If the speaker of the legislative assembly is absent and same is Deputy Speaker, then
Governor appoints a person to preside over the session.
 Governor appoints 1/6th of the total members of the legislative council from the fields of
– Literature, Science, Art, Cooperative Movement and Social Service.
 Governor nominates 1 member in state legislative assembly from Anglo-Indian
Community.
 He can consult Election Commission for the disqualification of members
 Article 200 – With respect to the bill introduced in the state legislature, he can:
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o Give his assent
o Withhold his assent
o Return the bill
o Article 201 – Reserve the bill for the President’s consideration (In instances
where the bill introduced in the state legislature endangers the position of state
High Court).
Governor can reserve the bill for the President’s consideration in the following cases When
provisions mentioned in the bill:
 Violates the constitution (Ultra-Vires)
 Oppose Directive Principles of State Policy
 Hinders the larger interests of the country
 Concern the national importance
 Mention the acquisition of property that is dealt with Article 31A in the constitution.
 Article 213 – An ordinance can be promulgated by him when either the Legislative
Assembly or Council (Unicameral/Bicameral) are not in session.
 The following reports are laid by him:
o State Finance Commission
o State Public Service Commission
o Comptroller and Auditor General (Concerning the state finance)
Financial Powers
 He looks over the state budget being laid in the state legislature
 His recommendation is a prerequisite for the introduction of money bill in the state
legislature
 He recommends for the demand for grants which otherwise cannot be given
 Contingency Fund of State is under him and he makes advances out that to meet
unforeseen expenditure
 State Finance Commission is constituted every five years by him. (Read about Finance
Commission of India in the linked article.)
Judicial Powers
 President consults the Governor while appointing judges of High Court
 In consultation with state High Court, Governor makes appointments, postings and
promotions of the district judges
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 In consultation with the state high court and state public service commission, he also
appoints persons to the judicial services.
Pardoning Power (ARTICLE 161)
 Power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend,
remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted in any offence against a state law.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PARDONING POWERS OF PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR
 The scope of the pardoning power of the President under Article 72 is wider than the
pardoning power of the Governor under Article 161. The power differs in the following
two ways:
 The power of the President to grant pardon extends in cases where the punishment or
sentence is by a Court Martial but Article 161 does not provide any such power to the
Governor.
 The President can grant pardon in all cases where the sentence given is sentence of death
but pardoning power of Governor does not extend to death sentence cases.
Constitutional Discretion of Governor
Unlike the President of India, the Governor is conferred with explicit constitutional power to act
at his own discretion in the following instances:
 When they have to reserve the bill for the consideration of the President of India,
Governors can decide on their own without the advice of the Council of Ministers
 When he has to recommend for the President’s rule in the state, he can act at his own
discretion
 When he is given an additional charge as the administrator of the Union Territory, he can
take actions at his own discretion
 When he has to determine the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from
licenses for mineral exploration
 When he calls upon the Chief Minister to seek information regarding administrative and
legislative affairs
# Chief Minister
CHIEF MINISTER
The Governor is a state’s de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the Chief
Minister. So, Chief Minister is the real executive of the Government.
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 Article 164 of the Constitution says that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the
governor.
 Constitution does not specifically mention about the qualification to be appointed as
Chief Minister (CM).
 He advises the Governor to appoint any person as a minister. It is only according to the
advice of CM the Governor appoints ministers.
 Allocation and reshuffling of portfolios among ministers.
 In case of difference of opinion; he can ask minister to resign.
 Directs, guides and controls activities of all the ministers.
 He is the leader of the MLAs elected by the general public of the state.
 If the Chief Minister resigns then full cabinet has to resign.
Article 167 – The Chief Minister acts as a link between Governor and state council of
ministers. The functions with respect to the Governor are as follows:
 CM has to communicate to the Governor all the decisions of the council of ministers
relating to the administration of the states.
 Whenever the Governor calls for any information relating to the decisions taken or
regarding the administration, the CM has to provide him the same
 The Governor can ask for consideration of council of ministers when a decision has been
taken without the consideration of the cabinet.
 CM advises Governor regarding the appointment of important officials like Attorney
General, State Public Service Commission (Chairman and Members), and State Election
Commission etc.
With Respect to State Legislature
 All the policies are announced by him on the floor of the house.
 He recommends dissolution of legislative assembly to the Governor.
 He advises the Governor regarding summoning, proroguing the sessions of State
Legislative Assembly from time to time.
Other Functions
 At the ground level he is the authority to be in contact with the people regularly and
know about their problems so as to bring about policies on the floor of the assembly.
 He acts as the chairman of State Planning Commission.
 He is the vice chairman of concerned zonal council in rotation for a period of one year.
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 During emergencies he acts as the crisis manager in the state.
 Centre and State Judiciary
Supreme Court of India
 The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial court and the final court of appeal
under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of
judicial review.
 India is a federal State and has a single and unified judicial system with three tier
structure, i.e. Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts.
What is the Brief History of the Supreme Court of India?
 The promulgation of Regulating Act of 1773 established the Supreme Court of
Judicature at Calcutta as a Court of Record, with full power & authority.
 It was established to hear and determine all complaints for any crimes and also to
entertain, hear and determine any suits or actions in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
 The Supreme Courts at Madras and Bombay were established by King George – III
in 1800 and 1823 respectively.
 The India High Courts Act 1861 created High Courts for various provinces and
abolished Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and also the Sadar
Adalats in Presidency towns.
 These High Courts had the distinction of being the highest Courts for all cases till the
creation of Federal Court of India under the Government of India Act 1935.
 The Federal Court had jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal
states and hear appeal against Judgements from High Courts.
 After India attained independence in 1947, the Constitution of India came into being on
26 January 1950. The Supreme Court of India also came into existence and its first
sitting was held on 28 January 1950.
 The law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all Courts within the territory of
India.
 It has the power of judicial review – to strike down the legislative and executive action
contrary to the provisions and the scheme of the constitution, the distribution of power
32
between Union and States or inimical to the fundamental rights guaranteed by the
Constitution.
What are the Constitutional Provisions?
 The Indian constitution provides for a provision of Supreme Court under Part V (The
Union) and Chapter 6 (The Union Judiciary).
 Articles 124 to 147 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the organisation,
independence, jurisdiction, powers and procedures of the Supreme Court.
 The Indian constitution under Article 124(1) states that there shall be a Supreme Court of
India constituting of a Chief Justice of India (CJI) and, until Parliament by law prescribes
a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges.
 The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India can broadly be categorised into original
jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction and advisory jurisdiction. However, there are other
multiple powers of the Supreme Court.
What is the Organisational Structure of the Supreme Court?
 At present, the Supreme Court consists of thirty-one judges (one chief justice and thirty
other judges).
o Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Bill of 2019 has added four judges to
strength. It increased the judicial strength from 31 to 34, including the CJI.
 Originally, the strength of the Supreme Court was fixed at eight (one chief justice and
seven other judges).
 The Parliament is authorised to regulate them.
 Seat of Supreme Court
o The Constitution declares Delhi as the seat of the Supreme Court. It also
authorises the CJI to appoint other place or places as seat of the Supreme Court.
o He can take decision in this regard only with the approval of the President. This
provision is only optional and not compulsory. This means that no court can
give any direction either to the President or to the Chief Justice to appoint any
other place as the seat of the Supreme Court.
 Appointment of Judges
o The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President. The CJI is
appointed by the President after consultation with such judges of the Supreme
Court and high courts as he deems necessary.
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 The other judges are appointed by the President after consultation with
the CJI and such other judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts as
he deems necessary. The consultation with the chief justice is obligatory
in the case of appointment of a judge other than Chief justice.
o Appointment of Chief Justice From 1950 to 1973: The practice has been to
appoint the senior most judge of the Supreme Court as the chief justice of India.
This established convention was violated in 1973 when A N Ray was appointed
as the Chief Justice of India by superseding three senior judges. Again in
1977, M U Beg was appointed as the chief justice of India by superseding the then
senior-most judge.
o This discretion of the government was curtailed by the Supreme Court in
the Second Judges Case (1993), in which the Supreme Court ruled that
the senior most judge of the Supreme Court should alone be appointed
to the office of the Chief Justice of India.
What is the Controversy over Consultation and Evolution of Collegium system?
 The Supreme Court has given different interpretations of the word ‘consultation’ in the
above mentioned provisions.
o In the First Judges case (1982), the Court held that consultation does not mean
concurrence and it only implies exchange of views.
o In the Second Judges case (1993), the Court reversed its earlier ruling and
changed the meaning of the word consultation to concurrence.
o In the Third Judges case (1998), the Court opined that the consultation process
to be adopted by the Chief Justice of India requires ‘consultation of plurality
judges’.
 The sole opinion of the CJI does not constitute the consultation process.
He should consult a collegium of four senior most judges of the
Supreme Court and even if two judges give an adverse opinion, he
should not send the recommendation to the government.
 The court held that the recommendation made by the chief justice of
India without complying with the norms and requirements of the
consultation process are not binding on the government.
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What is Collegium System?
 Collegium system was born through “three judges case” and it is in practice since 1998.
It is used for appointments and transfers of judges in High courts and Supreme Courts.
 There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in
successive amendments
Who Heads the Collegium System?
 The SC collegium is headed by the CJI (Chief Justice of India) and comprises four
other senior most judges of the court.
 A HC collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court.
o Names recommended for appointment by a HC collegium reaches the
government only after approval by the CJI and the SC collegium.
 Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system and the
government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.
What is the Working of the Collegium System and The National Judicial Appointments
Commission?
 The collegium recommends of the names of lawyers or judges to the Central
Government. Similarly, the Central Government also sends some of its proposed names
to the Collegium.
 Collegium considers the names or suggestions made by the Central Government and
resends the file to the government for final approval.
o If the Collegium resends the same name again then the government has to give
its assent to the names. But time limit is not fixed to reply. This is the reason that
appointment of judges takes a long time.
 Through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 the National Judicial
Commission Act (NJAC) was established to replace the collegium system for the
appointment of judges.
 However, the Supreme Court upheld the collegium system and struck down the NJAC
as unconstitutional on the grounds that the involvement of Political Executive in
judicial appointment was against the “Principles of Basic Structure”. I.e. the
“Independence of Judiciary”.
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What are the Qualifications Required for the Appointment of Judges?
 A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following
qualifications:
o He should be a citizen of India.
o He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for
five years; or
o He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession)
for ten years; or
o He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president.
 The Constitution has not prescribed a minimum age for appointment as a judge of the
Supreme Court.
What are the Oaths or Affirmations?
 A person appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, before entering upon his office, has
to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before the President, or some other
person appointed by him for this purpose. In his oath, a judge of the Supreme Court
swears:
o to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India;
o to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India;
o to duly and faithfully and to the best of his ability, knowledge and judgement to
perform the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; and
o to uphold the Constitution and the laws.
What is the Tenure of Judges?
 The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the Supreme Court. However, it
makes the following three provisions in this regard:
o He holds office until he attains the age of 65 years. Any question regarding his
age is to be determined by such authority and in such manner as provided by
Parliament.
o He can resign his office by writing to the President.
o He can be removed from his office by the President on the recommendation of the
Parliament.
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How does the Removal of Judges take place?
 A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from his office by an order of the
President. The President can issue the removal order only after an address by Parliament
has been presented to him in the same session for such removal.
 The address must be supported by a special majority of each House of Parliament (ie, a
majority of the total membership of that House and a majority of not less than two-thirds
of the members of that House present and voting). The grounds of removal are two—
proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
 The Judges Enquiry Act (1968) regulates the procedure relating to the removal of a
judge of the Supreme Court by the process of impeachment:
o No judge of the Supreme Court has been impeached so far. Impeachment
motions of Justice V Ramaswami (1991–1993) and the Justice Dipak Misra
(2017-18) were defeated in the Parliament.
How are Salaries and Allowances Determined?
 The salaries, allowances, privileges, leave and pension of the judges of the Supreme
Court are determined from time to time by the Parliament. They cannot be varied to
their disadvantage after their appointment except during a financial emergency.
 In 2021, the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of
Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha
 The Bill seeks to amend the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act,
1954, and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.
Why is it Important for the SC to be Independent?
 The Supreme Court is a Federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of
the fundamental rights of the citizens and guardian of the Constitution.
o Therefore, its independence becomes very essential for the effective discharge of
the duties assigned to it. It should be free from the encroachments, pressures and
interferences of the executive (council of ministers) and the Legislature
(Parliament). It should be allowed to do justice without fear or favour.
 The Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the
independent and impartial functioning of the Supreme Court:
o Mode of appointment
o Security of tenure
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o Fixed service conditions
o Expenses charged on the consolidated fund
o Conduct of judges cannot be discussed
o Ban on practice after retirement
o Power to punish for its contempt
o Freedom to appoint its staff
o Its jurisdiction cannot be curtailed
o Separation from Executive
What are Jurisdiction and Powers of Supreme Court?
What is Original Jurisdiction?
 As a Federal court, the Supreme Court decides disputes between different units of the
Indian Federation. More elaborately, any dispute between:
o the Centre and one or more states; or
o the Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other;
or
o between two or more states.
 In the above federal disputes, the Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction.
 Further, this jurisdiction of the Supreme Court does not extend to the following:
o A dispute arising out of any pre-Constitution treaty, agreement, covenant,
o engagement, sanad or other similar instrument.
o A dispute arising out of any treaty, agreement, etc.,which specifically provides
that the said jurisdiction does not extent to such a dispute.
o Inter-state water disputes.
o Matters referred to the Finance Commission.
o Adjustment of certain expenses and pensions between the Centre and the states.
o Ordinary dispute of Commercial nature between the Centre and the states.
o Recovery of damages by a state against the Centre.
What is Writ Jurisdiction?
 The Supreme Court is empowered to issue writs, including habeas corpus, mandamus,
prohibition, quo-warranto and certiorari for the enforcement of the fundamental rights
of an aggrieved citizen.
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o In this regard, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in the sense that an
aggrieved citizen can go directly to the Supreme Court, not necessarily by way of
appeal.
o However, the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is not exclusive. The High
Courts are also empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental
Rights.
What is Appellate Jurisdiction?
 The Supreme Court is primarily a court of appeal and hears appeals against the
judgements of the lower courts. It enjoys a wide appellate jurisdiction which can be
classified under four heads:
o Appeals in constitutional matters
o Appeals in civil matters
o Appeals in criminal matters
o Appeals by special leave
What is Advisory Jurisdiction?
 The Constitution under Article 143 authorises the President to seek the opinion of the
Supreme Court in the two categories of matters:
o On any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is
likely to arise.
o On any dispute arising out of any pre-constitution treaty, agreement, covenant,
engagement, sanador other similar instruments.
What is a Court of Record?
 As a Court of Record, the Supreme Court has two powers:
o The judgements, proceedings and acts of the Supreme Court are recorded for
perpetual memory and testimony. These records are admitted to be of evidentiary
value and cannot be questioned when produced before any court.
o They are recognised as legal precedents and legal references.
o It has power to punish for contempt of court, either with simple imprisonment
for a term up to six months or with fine up to 2,000 or with both.
What is the Power of Judicial Review?
 Judicial review is the power of the Supreme Court to examine the constitutionality of
legislative enactments and executive orders of both the Central and state governments.
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o On examination, if they are found to be violative of the Constitution (ultra-
vires), they can be declared as illegal, unconstitutional and invalid (null and
void) by the Supreme Court. Consequently, they cannot be enforced by the
Government.
What are the Recent issues in Supreme Court?
 Master of Roster: It refers to the privilege of the Chief Justice to constitute Benches to
hear cases.
o The controversy has emerged in the Supreme Court over absolute power of
Chief Justice on the judicial administration.
o The SC has upheld a number of times that “the Chief Justice is the master of the
roster and he alone has the prerogative to constitute the Benches of the Court and
allocate cases to the Benches so constituted.”
o Be it the Chief Justice of India or Chief Justice of any high court it is he or she
who heads the administrative side. This includes allocation of matters before a
judge as well.
 So, no Judge can take up the matter on his own, unless allocated by the
Chief Justice of India.
The High Courts of India are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction. There are present
in most states. In the case of small states, a high court is present for 2 to 3 states. Their territory
is merged and is under the jurisdiction of one high court. This is why we have 29 states but we
only have 25 high courts.
Important Points
The first high court was the Calcutta. The Bombay and Madras High Court was established in
the year of 1862. While there were 24 high courts, the number increased to 25 in 2019. This is
due to the high court built in Amaravati. Delhi is the only Union Territory which has a separate
high court.
Composition
The head of the High Court is the Chief Justice of the High Court. There is one Chief Justice.
The number of judges is not fixed by the Constitution of India and leaves it up to the discretion
of the president.
Qualifications To Become A High Court Judge
A judge of the High Court should be a:
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 Citizen of India,
 Holding a judicial office for not less than 10 years in a territory of India,
 An advocate of the High Court for at least 10 years in succession.
Appointment Of Judges
The judges and the Chief Justice of the High Courts are appointed officially by the President.
The Chief Justice is appointed by the President in consultation with Chief Justice of India and
Governor of the state which the High Courts jurisdiction falls under.
For the appointment of other judges of the High Court, they are appointed by the President on the
advice of the Chief Justice of India, the governor of that state and the Chief Justice of the High
Court.
Oath of Office
The Chief Justice of the High Courts and judges of the High Court take an oath before the
Governor of state or some person appointed by him.
Thus while their appointment and removal are done by the President, they take an oath they take
in front of the governor.
Term of Office
A judge of the High Court holds his office until he attains the age of 62. If he wants to resign, he
can resign by writing to the president. He can also be removed by the President on the
recommendation of the Parliament. A High Court judge after retirement can practice either in
Supreme or High Court in which he has not served.
Process of Removal of Judges
A judge can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Parliament on grounds
of proved incapacity or misbehavior.
A motion to remove the judge of HC can be introduced in any house of parliament. It must be
introduced by at least 100 members in Lok sabha or 50 members in Rajya Sabha whenever it is
introduced.
The Speaker or Chairman may reject this proposal or set up a 3 member committee to investigate
the concerns.
When the committee finds him guilty, then the motion has to be passed by both houses by a
special majority. Then, the President gives his assent and Judge of HC is removed.
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History
While Calcutta might be the place where the first high court was built it was Bombay where the
East Indian company had placed its first laws. This lead to the establishment of ‘Mayor Courts’
in Bombay and they were later on established in Calcutta and Madras. They established uniform
jurisdiction but due to unrest among Indians, Indians were not included in the jurisdiction of the
courts.
After the Battle of Plassey, the English had to bring law and order to the state of Bengal. Warren
Hasting suggested that they set up provincial courts in all the districts having civil jurisdiction.
They were called Mofussul Diwani Adalats. Similar courts called the Faujdari Adalat having
criminal jurisdiction were established. These courts could appeal to the Sadar Nizamat Adalats
which was run by Company servants.
The next step was the Regulating Act of 1733, which not only made important changes in the
legislature of Bengal but also authorized that a Supreme Court of Judicature is set up in Calcutta
with a bench of three judges, appointed by the king. This court was however limited to British
citizens. Later on, courts of these nature were set up in Madras and Bombay.
But the Act was very vague and did not establish the extent of its powers and it influences over
the East Indian Company. In the famous Nandakumar case, it was stated that these Supreme
Courts did not have power over cases that dealt with revenue. Its jurisdiction was clearly mapped
out as well as the jurisdiction of the Companies and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat courts.
Sadly, this dual administration did not last for long as there were clashes between the Supreme
Court and the Sadar Adalat. Thus, the Indian High Court Act of 1861 was passed. It abolished
the old Supreme Courts and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat that established High Courts in Calcutta,
Madras, and Bombay. These courts were open to Indian lawyers who had no British
qualifications could take part in the administration of the courts. They were an amalgamation of
original jurisdiction (the old Supreme Courts) and the appellate jurisdiction (the Sadar Nizamat
Adalats). The judge Bench consisting of a Chief Justice and up to 15 Judges. They could either
be Barristers with 5 years of experience or civil servants with 10 years of experience.
The Government of India Act 1935 rejected the rule of the High Courts that said one-third of the
judges must be barristers and one third should be members of the Indian Civil Service.
Article 225 of the Indian constitution removed their restriction on reviewing cases relating to
revenue. Their jurisdiction was also expanded to enforcing Fundamental rights through writ
petitions.
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Jurisdiction of the High Court
Original Jurisdiction
Article 226 defines the powers of the high court. It gives the power to the High Court to issue
writs. They have the power to issue orders or writs to ‘any person, authority, or Government
which falls within the territories under their jurisdiction to enforce the Fundamental Rights.
These writs are-
Habeas Corpus
It is a writ requiring a person under arrest of illegal detention to be brought before a judge or
brought into court. This is especially to ensure that the person be released if lawful grounds for
detention can not be proved.
In a recent case, the Bombay High Court stated that a writ of Habeas Corpus will not be
maintainable even if the remand order was illegal if other remedies like a bail application are
available to the aggrieved. The MP HC also stated that a writ of habeas corpus is not
maintainable if the aggrieved has been detained under the Witness Protection Scheme 2018.
Mandamus
A writ issued as a command to an inferior court or ordering a person to perform their job or
public or statutory duty.
The Supreme Court held that a writ of mandamus cannot be issued to legislate or amend a law.
Prohibition
This writ is issued as a command to prevent an inferior court or tribunal from exceeding its
jurisdiction.
Quo Warranto
This writ is to inquire into the legality of the claim of a person or public office. It stops people
from holding an office which they are not entitled to. This writ is applicable to the public offices
only and not to private offices.
The Supreme Court held that the HC cannot issue Quo warranto unless it is based on
indisputable facts.
Certiorari
This writ is passed to squash an order passed by an inferior court.
Appellate Jurisdiction
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In civil cases, an appeal can be made against a district court’s decision. They can also make an
appeal directly from a subordinate court if the dispute has a value higher than Rs 5000, or if there
is a substantial question of law.
For criminal cases, appeals can be made against the Session and Additional Session courts. This
is if the sessional judge has given imprisonment for 7 years or more, or has awarded capital
punishment.
They also have jurisdiction over cases relating to State and Center law. With regards to
constitutional cases, the case must have a substantial question of law in order to be considered by
the high court.
The relation between the Supreme Court and the High Court
SUPREME COURT HIGH COURT
The Supreme Court is the apex court The High Court is the highest court of authority in the
of Justice. state its jurisdiction falls under.
The Chief Justice of India heads it. The Chief Justice of the High Court heads it.
Supreme Court has supreme power The High Court has supreme power over only the
over all the courts in India. tribunal and other subordinate courts in its state.
The Chief Justice of India is The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President
appointed by the President and the on the recommendation of Chief Justice of India and
other judges of the Supreme Court Governor of the state. The judges of the high court are
are appointed by the President on the appointed by the President of India after consulting the
recommendation of the CJI. Chief Justice of India, the governor of that state and the
Chief Justice of the High Court.
The judges of the Supreme Court The judges of the high court retire at 62.
retires at 65.
The Supreme Court is the highest The judge of the high court can plead to the Supreme
court of appeal and there is no other Court.
court above it.
There is one Supreme Court in India. There is a total of 25 High Courts in India.
Problems faced by the High Court
One of the main problems of the High Court’s is the issue of pending cases. In the right
conscious world, people are filing many more petitions that must be reviewed and analyzed by
the high court of India. The government also contributes to excessive litigation and is the largest
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litigant in India. While there are a number of these cases are important, a majority of their cases
are usually one department suing another department due to disputes and leaving it up to the
courts to decide.
Despite the increase in litigations, the current judge population is 10 to a million. And this is not
because of a paucity of seats. Half the judge seats are vacant due to the judiciary and executive
locking heads when it comes to the appointment of judges.
Pending cases are a big hurdle to the path to justice. When there is a delay injustice, the common
man loses his faith in the justice system. The judicial system becomes overburdened with all the
cases and becomes more inefficient.
Solutions
It is clear that the High Courts are overburdened with cases. Some ways to help with that are
setting up parallel courts that can help resolve matters at the grass-root level. Some of these
courts are-
Fast Track Courts
By the recommendations of the 11th Finance Commission, these courts were sanctioned to
dispose of old pending cases. It has helped to clear more than 10 lakhs cases out of 19 lakh
cases.
Mobile Courts
These courts go from door to door in rural India to help with the backlog of cases in those areas.
They not only educate rural folk about their rights and responsibilities, but they also create a
bond between the judiciary and the community.
Lok Adalats
The Legal Services Act of 1987 enabled weaker sections of society to receive free and competent
legal services to ensure their justice. Thus Lok Adalats were set up and are alternative dispute
redressal mechanisms. Lok Adalats have no court fee and are presided over by the members of
the Lok Adalat. It is their job to persuade the parties to come to an agreement.
Conclusion
In this article, we have not only discussed the history and executive structure of the High Court,
but we have also tried to identify it’s problem areas and state what solutions the government has
taken in order to solve them.
 Local Self Government
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What is the Panchayati Raj System?

The Panchayati Raj system in India is a decentralized form of government that aims to bring
governance closer to the grassroots level by establishing elected local self-government
institutions in rural areas.
The term “Panchayati Raj” literally translates to “rule by the five,” where “panch” means “five”
and “raj” means “rule.” These institutions play a vital role in local governance, rural
development, and participatory democracy.
The Panchayati Raj system in India is organized into a three-tier structure, comprising:
 Gram Panchayat (Village Level): This is the lowest tier and represents a single village
or a group of villages. It is the basic unit of the Panchayati Raj system.
 Panchayat Samiti (Block/Mandal Level): The Panchayat Samiti is the intermediate tier
that covers a block or a mandal, which typically consists of several villages.
 Zila Parishad (District Level): At the top of the hierarchy is the Zila Parishad, which
covers an entire district. It coordinates and supervises the activities of the lower tiers.
History of local administration
The history of local administration in India is a long and diverse one, shaped by the evolution of
political, cultural, and administrative systems over millennia. India has a rich tradition of local
governance dating back to ancient times, and this system has evolved through various dynasties,
empires, and colonial periods.
Ancient Period:
 In ancient India, the political landscape was divided into numerous Janapadas, or small
kingdoms and republics. These Janapadas had their systems of local governance, with
councils and assemblies known as “Sabhas” and “Samitis” that handled administrative
and judicial matters.
 Under the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE), Emperor Ashoka established a system of
local administration with officials known as “Mahamatras” responsible for the welfare of
the people in various regions. He also inscribed edicts on pillars and rocks to
communicate his policies to the local population.
Medieval Period:
 Feudal System: During the medieval period, India experienced the emergence of
feudalism. Feudal lords and local chieftains governed their territories with varying
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degrees of autonomy. The Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire introduced the
system of “jagirs” or land grants to nobles in exchange for revenue collection and
military service.
 Local Chiefs and Rajas: Regional rulers, such as Rajas and Zamindars, exercised local
authority and governed their territories independently, often collecting revenue from
peasants.
Colonial Period:
 The British East India Company and later the British Crown introduced a centralized
administrative system that significantly altered local governance. They established a
revenue collection system, where land revenue was collected directly from peasants or
through intermediaries known as zamindars
 The British also introduced local self-government institutions such as municipalities and
panchayats. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) and the Government of India Act
(1935) allowed for some degree of local representation in governance.
The village panchayat, as a system of administration, began in the British days, as their offer to
satisfy the demands for local autonomy.
They opened up the governance of the lowest levels to the citizens. The GoI Act, of 1935 also
authorizes the provinces to enact legislation.
Evolution of local self-government in India
Even though such minor forms of local governance were evident in India, the framers of the
constitutions, unsatisfied with the existing provisions, included Article 40 among the Directive
Principles, whereby:
“The state shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers
and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.”
Later, the conceptualization of the system of local self-government in India took place through
the formation and effort of four important committees from the year 1957 to 1986. It will be
helpful if we take a look at the committee and the important recommendations put forward by
them.
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)
Originally appointed by the Government of India to examine the working of two of its earlier
programs, the committee submitted its report in November 1957, in which the term ‘democratic
decentralization‘ first appears.
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The important recommendations are:
 Establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system – gram panchayat at the village level
(direct election), panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district
level (indirect election).
 District Collector to be the chairman of Zila Parishad.
 Transfer of resources and power to these bodies to be ensured.
The existing National Development Council accepted the recommendations. However, it did not
insist on a single, definite pattern to be followed in the establishment of these institutions.
Rather, it allowed the states to devise their patterns, while the broad fundamentals were to be the
same throughout the country.
Rajasthan (1959) adopted the system first, followed by Andhra Pradesh in the same year.
Some states even went ahead to create four-tier systems and Nyaya panchayats, which served as
judicial bodies.
Ashok Mehta Committee (1977-1978)
The committee was constituted by the Janata government of the time to study Panchayati Raj
institutions. Out of a total of 132 recommendations made by it, the most important ones are:
 Three-tier system to be replaced by a two-tier system.
 Political parties should participate at all levels in the elections.
 Compulsory powers of taxation are to be given to these institutions.
 Zila Parishad is to be made responsible for planning at the state level.
 A minister for Panchayati Raj is to be appointed by the state council of ministers.
 Constitutional recognition to be given to Panchayati Raj institutions.
Unfortunately, the Janata government collapsed before action could be taken on these
recommendations.
G V K Rao Commitee (1985)
Appointed by the Planning Commission, the committee concluded that the developmental
procedures were gradually being taken away from the local self-government institutions,
resulting in a system comparable to ‘grass without roots’.
 Zila Parishad is to be given prime importance and all developmental programs at that
level are to be handed to it.
 Post of DDC (District Development Commissioner) to be created acting as the chief
executive officer of the Zila Parishad.
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 Regular elections are to be held
L M Singhvi Committee (1986)
Constituted by the Rajiv Gandhi government on ‘Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj institutions
for Democracy and Development, its important recommendations are:
 Constitutional recognition for PRI institutions.
 Nyaya Panchayats to be established for clusters of villages
Though the 64th Constitutional Amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1989 itself,
the Rajya Sabha opposed it. It was only during the Narasimha Rao government’s term that the
idea finally became a reality in the form of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment
Acts, of 1992.
Panchayati Raj System: 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment acts, 1992
The acts of 1992 added two new parts IX and IX-A to the constitution. It also added two new
schedules – 11 and 12 which contain the lists of functional items of Panchayats and
Municipalities.
It provides for a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in every state – at the village, intermediate,
and district levels.
Read: Panchayati Raj
What are Panchayats and Municipalities?
 Panchayat and Municipality are the generic terms for the governing body at the local
level. Both exist as three-tier systems – at the lower, intermediate, and upper levels.
 The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act provides for a Gram Sabha as the foundation of
the Panchayati Raj system. It is essentially a village assembly consisting of all the
registered voters in the area of the panchayat. The state has the power to determine what
kind of powers it can exercise, and what functions it has to perform at the village level.
 The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act provides for three types of Municipalities:
1. Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area between a rural and urban area.
2. Municipal Council for a small urban area.
3. Municipal Corporation for a large urban area.
 Municipalities represent urban local self-government.
 Most of the provisions of the two acts are parallel, differing only in the fact that they are
being applied to either a Panchayat or a Municipality respectively.
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 Each Gram sabha is the meeting of a particular constituency called a ward.
 Each ward has a representative chosen from among the people themselves by direct
election.
 The chairperson of the Panchayat or Municipality at the intermediate and district level is
elected from among these representatives at the immediately lower level by indirect
election.
Types of Urban Local Self-Governments
There are eight types of urban local governments currently existing in India:
1. Municipal Corporations.
2. Municipality.
3. Notified area committee.
4. Town area committee.
5. Cantonment board.
6. Township.
7. Port trust.
8. Special purpose agency
How are the elections held in the local government bodies?
 All seats of representatives of local bodies are filled by people chosen through direct
elections.
 The conduct of elections is vested in the hands of the State election commission.
 The chairpersons at the intermediate and district levels shall be elected indirectly from
among the elected representatives at the immediately lower level.
 At the lowest level, the chairperson shall be elected in a mode defined by the state
legislature.
 Seats are reserved for SC and ST proportional to their population.
 Out of these reserved seats, not less than one-third shall be further reserved for women.
 There should be a blanket reservation of one-third of seats for women in all the
constituencies taken together too (which can include the already reserved seats for SC
and ST).
 The acts bar the interference of courts in any issue relating to the election of local bodies.
What are the Qualifications needed to be a member of the Panchayat or Municipality?
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Any person who is qualified to be a member of the state legislature is eligible to be a member of
the Panchayat or Municipality.
“But he shall not be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has
attained the age of 21 years”
This means that, unlike the state legislature, a person needs to attain only 21 years of age to be a
member of a panchayat/municipality.
What is the duration of the Local Government bodies?
 The local governing bodies are elected for a term of five years.
 Fresh elections should be conducted before the expiry of the five-year term.
 If the panchayat/municipality is dissolved before the expiry of its term, elections shall be
conducted within six months and the new panchayat/municipality will hold office for the
remainder of the term if the term has more than six months duration.
 And for another five years if the remaining term is less than six months.
What are the Powers invested in these Local Self-Government bodies?
The powers of local bodies are not exclusively defined. They can be tailor-fitted by the state
governments according to the environment of the states. In general, the State governments can
assign powers to Panchayats and Municipalities that may enable them to prepare plans for
economic development and social justice. They may also be authorized to levy, collect, or
appropriate taxes.
Summary
To conclude, local self-government is one of the most innovative governance change processes
our country has gone through. The noble idea of taking the government of a country into the
hands of the grassroots level is indeed praiseworthy.
However, like any system in the world, this system is also imperfect. Problems of
maladministration and misappropriation of funds are recurring. But this shall not stand in the
way of efficient governance; and if these ill practices are rooted out, there would be no
comparisons around the world to our system of local self-government.
Unit-v Other Important Constitutional Provisions

 Emergency Provisions under Indian Constitution
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India i.e. Bharat is an “own kind” federal republic. During an emergency, it possesses unitary
functionality. That’s why Dr. B. R Ambedkar declared the Indian Federal structure special
because throughout an emergency it becomes fully unitary. In an emergency, the mechanism
becomes a unitary trait as the constitutional apparatus fails. Part XVIII of the Constitution,
Article 352 to 360 includes the emergency provisions.
The word emergency can be described as an unexpectedly occurring situation that causes public
authorities to act instantly within their particular powers. The emergency is a disturbance from
which a human’s civil rights, except perhaps in Articles 20 and 21, are removed. An emergency
is due to the breakdown of the administrative machinery that triggers or allows the government
to urgently respond.
“Emergency, according to the Black Law Dictionary, demands urgent intervention and imminent
warning because such a circumstance poses a danger to people and liberty within the region. The
socioeconomic structure struggles to achieve fair working standards. The definition of
emergency has become a political phenomenon. The key idea of creating clear legislative
arrangements for crises was to safeguard against the accidental advent of autocracy in
conjunction with domestic chaos, foreign assault, or war.
There is indeed a different aspect for all the emergency clauses contained in the Constitution Of
India. Consequently, Part XVIII is an aspect of our Constitutional creativity. Often a country is
surpassed by incidents and powers that place its stability and the wellbeing of its people critically
at risk. It is unpredictable. Such conditions could entail the temporary suspension of the
individual freedoms of people to resolve the threats facing the world.
Democratic regimes are brought in emergency situations into a real problem by having a clash
among their primary duty to protect the dignity of the government and their similarly significant
responsibility to defend the human interests of their people and those beyond their competence.
The State is obligated to choose between opposing sacrifices. This is the reason for emergency
provisions that are set down for the revocation of protected constitutional rights in certain
national constitutions.
Emergency steps are a peculiar aspect of the Indian Constitution, which enables the Centre to
assume expansive powers to deal with particular situations. Any state can be completely
managed by the Centre in an emergency. It also permits the Centre to suspend citizens’ rights
through the emergency clause. There are significant reasons why scholars refuse to name the
Constitution Of India completely democratic. The constitution contains emergence clauses.
52
The way natural Federalism will respond to an emergency situation is a noteworthy aspect of the
Constitution Of India. Consequently, declaring an emergency is a very critical topic that has a
negative impact on people’s freedom. It must however only be released under extraordinary
conditions. A President can proclaim an emergency in compliance with Article 352(1), if he is
comfortable that there is a security concern to or part of India. The problem under consideration
will be whether the President’s happiness is justifiable or not.
“In a variety of occasions, the courts have discussed the effect of the declaration of an
emergency on compulsory incarceration, the effect of the revocation of Article 19 of the
Emergency Proclamation and on the effect, according to Article 359, of the President’s order.
These decisions are debated as and where necessary.” Dr. B.R. Ambedkar advocated the idea of
India as a federal republic, stating that even though citizen’s are split into separate nations, they
are representatives of India, which really is a federation of the countries.
The concession of emergency powers was debated but Dr. Ambedkar said those papers would
never work and remained dead letters. However, it was seen that Article 356 is furthermore
violated, abused but scarcely used.
Types of emergency in the Indian Constitution
The State may override the different individual freedoms in the presidential state of emergency
and enforce those federal standards in Section XVIII of the Constitution.
Article 352 to Article 360 of the Indian Constitution allows for emergency arrangements.
 National emergency (Article 352)
 State emergency (Article 356)
 Financial emergency (Article 360)
National emergency
Article 352 of the Constitution stipulates national emergency. National emergency. The national
emergency coincides with statutory requirements to be enforced when an unusual situation
affects or threatens part of the nation’s harmony, defence, prosperity, and administration.
In compliance with Article 352 of the Constitution, emergency implementation when conditions
preceding were also present-
(i) Attack,
(ii) External intrusion or
iii) Internal rebellion.
53
Article 352 states that if, because of outside aggression or armed revolt, the President is
‘comfortable’ that a dangerous situation occurs which endangers the protection of India or
indeed any portion of it, he will make a declaration in that respect with or for almost all of India.
Such a declaration, though, may only be made through authorized advice of the cabinet of the
Nation in clause 3. Such a declaration must be put before the legislative house and accepted from
each chamber, or it will lapse after a month from the declaration.
It must be remembered that it has been accounted for in the clarification of Article 352 that
neither the foreign invasion nor violent revolution has really taken place in the event of an
emergency declaration. It may be declared even though foreign violence or military revolt is
likely.
National emergencies in India
During the War with China, the first emergency was proclaimed and lasted for six years between
October 1962 and January 1968. The battle against China concluded on 21 October 1962, but
another war against Pakistan only began after the emergency. In the end, the Tashkent deal was
reached after international pressure and in January the then government dropped the emergency.
The second emergency declaration was due to the war between India and Pakistan. Three acts
were performed during that time. Maintenance of SA, Coffee POS Act, and In order to avoid
arrest it was decided to retain the Govt Protection of the Rule. However, these three actions were
extensively grossly overused, and numerous convictions, jail shootings, and gatherings were
observed this time. The war with Pakistan came to an end, but the emergency persisted, and
before the second emergency was revoked 3rd emergency was declared.
The third emergency has been proclaimed due to internal unrest and this is India’s most
contentious emergency. The polls at which the court considered Smt. Indira Gandhi was barred
from public service for six years to be engaged in unethical practices it was held in the Allahabad
High Court.
She had brought the judgment to the Supreme court, but the court had been on holiday at that
moment. On 25 June 1975, the Historical day, Smt. Indira Gandhi wrote to then-Honourable
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed a message to declare an emergency, despite the approval of the
members of the cabinet. The much more stringent and compressed emergency was this
emergency. On 23 March 1977, it was withdrawn.
In the case of Minerva Mills vs the Indian Union, the legitimacy of the president’s motivation
and determination through Article 351 is not impeded by judicial review. However, the
54
jurisdiction of the Court is confined to investigating is not whether the restrictions of the
Constitution were met. It will decide whether or not the President’s happiness is true. It is not at
all happiness, where fulfillment is founded on mistrust, irony, or irrelevance.
The procedure of proclaiming emergency
The President of the country can make a statement, but there is just something that is already
provided for. Only if the Cabinet requests in writing that the President order quite an emergency.
The Houses of Parliament must, by an overwhelming vote, approve quite an emergency
declaration, and perhaps even the 2/3rd majority of the members present and voting inside one
month, or the declaration shall stop functioning.
“If Lok Sabha is abolished or would not be at an Emergency management meeting, it shall be
accepted in the month and subsequently in the month after the beginning of this next meeting by
Rajya Sabha. The emergency continues to exist six years after the date of declaration until
ratification by Parliament.” Which ought to be continued after six months, the Legislature must
enact another provisional decision. This proved to be an emergency forever.
The procedure of revoking emergency
The President of India may revoke the emergency by another declaration if the condition
improves. The 44th constitutional amendment requires ten percent or more Lok Sabha leaders to
share an application for and in the meeting of the Lok Sabha; they may disagree with the
emergency, or cancel it by a mere majority. In such an incident, it is unserviceable automatically.
State emergency
The Union Government’s responsibility is to ensure that perhaps the administration of a State
takes action in accordance with the Constitution’s requirements. Article 356 states that, whether,
on the reception of a briefing from the Governor of the State, and otherwise, the President is
pleased that a state government is unable to carry on in a smooth manner, a state emergency
declaration may be issued by that Leader.
In this case, the President’s declaration of emergency is labelled ‘announcement because of the
breakdown (or collapse) of legislative mechanisms.’
An emergency of this kind may have the following effects:
1. the President, with the exception of the High Court, may assume all or any of the
responsibilities of state governments;
2. announce that state legislative powers should be exercised by, or under, Parliament’s
responsibility;
55
3. make the declaration subject matter necessary or suitable for its execution.
Nevertheless, the President is not allowed to presume or terminate any statutory obligation
relating to the High Court. The President of India has instituted a 126-fold rule in India until
2018. The presidential rule has been used for a record of 35 occasions under Indira Gandhi’s
rule.
The procedure of proclaiming state emergency
Such an announcement, like the National Emergency, should have been sent for ratification
before all the Houses of Parliament. Permission must be issued in this situation within two
months; therefore the declaration shall cease operating. If the Lok Sabha is disbanded after some
of these two months and has been authorized by the Rajya Sabha then the resolution shall cease
to function on the 30th day after its restoration on the date of the first session of the Lok Sabha
because if the Lok Sabha has been approved well before expiry.
An announcement so authorized immediately stops to act at the end of a six-month cycle
following the date of the announcement, until withdrawn. Without revocation, its life can be
prolonged by six months, most times but not after three years. Afterward, the Reign of the
President has to be finished and the State has to restore regular legislative machinery.
A new clause was added in the 44th Amendment, which restricted Parliament’s jurisdiction to
the degree of an announcement made after 1 year under Article 356.
The procedure of revoking state emergency
Any such declaration can by a subsequent proclamation be repealed or varied. In each of the
following forms, a proclamation made in compliance with Article 356(1) expires:
1. Unless accepted before both Houses of Parliament within two months of its creation
[Article 356(3)].
2. In case of failure to gain the consent of either House within two months after sending the
declaration to the Houses of Parliament [Article 356(3)].
3. If no other proposal is adopted by the House of Parliament, following the adoption of a
first proposal [Article 356(4)], following six months from the date of the declaration.
Subject to the overall maximum limit of three years from the date of the declaration following
six months from the date of the passing of the last resolutions authorizing the Chamber of
Parliament. The following conditions contained in article 356(5) must be fulfilled to extend the
proclamation after one year:
 Global Disaster in place already; or whether
56
 The Electoral Commission classifies that it cannot hold elections to the Legislative
Council.
 The date on which the proclamation of revocation is issued by the President [Article
356(2)].
Emergency provisions: effects and impact
Dicey says federalism is weak as it requires power-sharing between the centre. This is a
dysfunctional democratic government. Even so, all existing federations managed to escape this
deficiency by ensuring the federal government assumes extraordinary leverage where there is a
need, because of emerging new internal or external conditions, for concerted intervention. [The
Constitution Of India] gives exceptional powers to the union for specific forms of emergency.
The constitutional main sources of energy authorize the federal government, as necessary, to
achieve the power of a unitary structure.
The Indian Constitution provides for three distinct types of irregular conditions that require that
the constitution created a divergence from the usual legislative machinery:
1. A war-related emergency, an outside invasion or armed revolt [Article 352]. It is also
recognized as a national pressing matter.
2. Failure of states with legislative machinery [Article 356]. Established as the Presidential
Guideline, too.
3. Financial Emergency [Article 360].
Difference between Article 352 and 356
S.N National Emergency (352) President’s Rule (356)
.
1. Only if the stability of India or a part It may be argued if, because of causes that could
of it is threatened with invasion, have no relation with any war, an external attack,
foreign interference or military revolt or armed insurrection, the government of a State
may it be declared. cannot be carried out in compliance with the
conditions of the Constitution.
2. The State Executive and the The State Governor would then be removed and
Legislature continue acting and the State assembly dissolved or disbanded during
exercise their legislative functions. its service. It is ruled by the president and the
The Centre has concomitant parliament creates regulations for the
regulatory and legislative powers in administration. In short, the Center assumes the
57
the province. administrative and legislative functions of the
Administration.
3. Parliament may only legislate on its The Parliament may assign to the President and
own, i.e. not assign the same with any other jurisdiction defined by it the power to
any other agency or jurisdiction, on legislate for the Government. To date, the
the matters mentioned in the State President’s procedure has already been in
List. collaboration with parliamentarians from that state
and make legislation for the state.
There is a cumulative duration of three years for
its service. It must then be done
4. For its service, no limit duration is For its service, a period of 3 years is
recommended. The House will recommended. It must be done after that and the
continue for every six months usual constitutional mechanism of the State must
continually with its acceptance. be reinstated.
5. This makes a transition to the This will change only the interaction of the
arrangement between the Core and emergency state with both the Centre.
all the Nations.
6. It affects people’s fundamental This has no influence on peoples’ constitutional
human rights (FR). rights.
7. A special majority should be adopted Each Parliament resolution that accepts or
with any proposal accepted by preserves the proclamation cannot be accepted by
Parliament to proclaim or continue a single majority.
the declaration.
8. A proposal may be passed by Lok Such a clause is not in effect. It is only at its own
Sabha to cancel it. choice that the President will relocate it.
Financial emergency
The financial emergency provided for in Article 360, is the third kind of emergency. It stipulates
that even if the President is convinced that India or any of its economic stability or credibility is
at risk, he may declare a financial emergency. The executive and legislative competencies would
take center stage in such a circumstance. It must also be accepted by Parliament, as some of the
other 2 emergencies. Both Members of Parliament must approve it within two months. As long
58
as the process requires, the financial catastrophe can exist and might even be lifted with a
corresponding declaration.
This Article has never been used
A declaration is given pursuant to Art. 360—
 a corresponding proclamation may be withheld or varied
 every House of Parliament shall be placed before it
 ceases to exist at the completion of two months, except as authorized in resolutions of the
two Houses of Parliament even before the expiration of that time.
Effect of the proclamation of emergency
Effects of national emergency
The establishment of national emergencies has an effect both on people’s interests and on the
sovereignty of states:
1. The key consequence is that the constitution’s style of federalism becomes unitary. The
Centre’s powers are increasing and the Parliament assumes authority, except in the fields
alluded to in the State List, to make legislation for the whole country or part thereof.
2. The Government of India is willing to provide orders to the countries about how to
exercise their executive authority.
3. The Lok Sabha will prolong the tenure by one year at a time during an emergency era.
But the same could be expanded beyond 6 months after the expiration of the
proclamation. It is possible to prolong the term of state legislatures in the same way.
4. The President is allowed during an emergency to change the laws on the allocation
between the Union and the States of wealth.
5. Under Article 19, human rights shall immediately be revoked and this restriction shall
extend until the conclusion of the emergency.
But according to the 44th amendment only in case of a declaration on the grounds of war or
external invasion, liberties specified under Article 19 can be restricted. Everything becomes clear
from the debate above that emergencies not only suspend the sovereignty of the States but also
make the federal system of India unitary. It remains important because of its comprehensive
powers to deal with these irregular circumstances for the Union Government.
Effect of state emergency
The emergency declaration triggered by the dissolution of a state’s legislative machinery has the
beneficial specifications:
59
1. The President may take over all or any of the positions of the State Government or can
appoint the Governor or any other administrative authority for all or any of these roles.
2. The President is allowed to dissolve or terminate the State Legislative Assembly. On
behalf of the Government Legislature, he will authorize Parliament to enact laws.
3. To give effect to the intent of the declaration, the President may make any more adverse
or subsequent clause appropriate.
Effects of financial emergency
A financial emergency declaration could have the following implications:
1. The government of the Union may provide guidance in economic affairs to all the other
States.
2. The President can recommend that the States minimize the wages and benefits of any or
all levels of the government officials.
3. After the State Legislature has approved them, the President can order States to allocate
all the money bills for Parliamentarians attention.
4. The President may provide instruction to the national government personnel, including
supreme court judges and the high courts, to reduce their pay and compensation.
Effects of the proclamation of emergency on the fundamental rights
 State laws will be overridden by federal law and the Union is allowed to control the areas
(such as policing) that are usually transferred to States.
 The Union is therefore authorized to take over or even directly manage the mechanisms
of fiscal and fiscal revenue. The Union is entitled to make definitive decisions in the
enactment by the State legislature of financial actions in the case of financial crises.
 Any or more basic rights enshrined in Section III (articles 12 to 35) of the Constitutional
may be suspended by the Union – that may contain:
 freedom to practice any profession, occupation, trade, or business;
 freedom to assemble peacefully;
 freedom of equality before the law;
 freedom for movement across Indian territory;
 freedom to practice or propagate religion;
 freedom of speech and expression.
 Furthermore, it might be possible to revoke the ability to appeal the infringement of the
privileges alluded to above (the right to constitutional remedies). However, the
60
infringement of Articles 20 and 21 governing individual liberty, the right to secrecy,
protection from dual-threat, and protection from illegitimate prosecution and detention
will not be included under those provisions. Any person who believes that his/her rights
under those same categories are unfairly suspended may appeal a court of law revocation.
 The Union can intend to revoke the constitutional role of a state parliamentary assembly
for a duration of six months and enforce federal legislation. This suspension status can be
extended at the end of this term (indefinitely several times) under parliamentary elections
until the Indian Electoral Commission certifies that free and equal elections in the state
are feasible to reinstate parliamentary elections.
 The House of Parliament can, however, enact every order for the above-mentioned
consequences as quickly as possible after the order is made.
 Election Commission
The Constitution provides the Election Commission of India with the power of direction,
superintendence, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of president
of India and the office of vice-president of India.
The Election Commission is an all-India body that is common to both the Central government
and the State governments. It must be noted here that the commission does not deal with the
elections to the Municipalities and Panchayats in the states. Hence, a separate State Election
Commission is provided by the Constitution of India.
Constitutional Appointment of ECI
Since its inception in 1950 and till 15 October 1989, the election commission was a one-member
body with only the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) as its sole member.
 On 16 October 1989, the voting age was changed from 21 to 18 years. So, two more
election commissioners were appointed by the president in order to cope with the
increased work of the election commission.
 Since then, the Election Commission was a multi-member body that consisted of 3
election commissioners.
61
 Later on, the two posts of election commissioners were eliminated in January 1990 and
the Election Commission was reverted to the previous position.
 This was repeated again later in October 1993 when the president appointed two more
election commissioners. Since then, the Election Commission functions as a multi-
member body comprising of 3 commissioners.
 The chief and the two other election commissioners have the same powers and
emoluments including salaries, which are the same as a Supreme Court judge.
 In case of a difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and/or two
other election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Commission by a majority.
 The office is held by them for a term of 6 years or until they attain 65 years, whichever
happens first. They can also be removed or can resign at any time before the expiry of
their term.
Aspirants can find the list of Chief Election Commissioners of India in the linked article.
Independence of the Election Commission

Article 324 of The Constitution of India mentions the provisions to safeguard and ensure the
independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission which is as follows.
 The chief election commissioner is provided with security of tenure. He cannot be
removed from his office except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge
of the Supreme Court. In other words, he can be removed by the President on the basis of
a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with a special
majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
 Thus, he does not hold his office until the pleasure of the president, though he is
appointed by him.
 The service conditions of the chief election commissioner cannot be varied to his
disadvantage after his appointment.
 Any other election commissioner or a regional commissioner cannot be removed from
office except on the recommendation of the chief election commissioner.
 Though the constitution has sought to safeguard and ensure the independence and
impartiality of the Election Commission, some flaws can be noted, ie:
o The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications (legal, educational,
administrative or judicial) of the members of the Election Commission.
62
o The Constitution has not specified the term of the members of the Election
Commission.
o The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners from any
further appointment by the government.
Powers, Functions, and Responsibilities of Election Commission
Among the major Constitutional Bodies in India, Election Commission is a permanent
Constitutional Body. It was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January
1950.
 The Constitution has vested to this body superintendence, direction and control of the
entire process for conduct of elections.
 The Commission’s functions and powers with respect to elections to the offices of the
President, the Vice President, the state legislators and the Parliament are divided under
three headings:
o Administrative
o Advisory
o Quasi-judicial
Powers of Election Commission of India
In details, these powers of the Election Commission of India are:
 Determining the Electoral Constituencies’ territorial areas throughout the country on the
basis of the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.
 Preparing and periodically revising electoral rolls and registering all eligible voters.
 Notifying the schedules and dates of elections and scrutinising nomination papers.
 Granting recognition to the various political parties and allocating them election symbols.
 Acting as a court to settle disputes concerning the granting of recognition to political
parties and allocating election symbols to the parties.
 Appointing officers for inquiring into disputes concerning electoral arrangements.
 Determining the code of conduct to be followed by the political parties and candidates
during elections.
 Preparing a program for publicising the policies of all the political parties on various
media like TV and radio during elections.
 Advising the President on matters concerning the disqualification of MPs.
 Advising the Governor on matters concerning the disqualification of MLAs.
63
 Cancelling polls in case of booth capturing, rigging, violence and other irregularities.
 Requesting the Governor or the President for requisitioning the staff required for
conducting elections.
 Supervising the machinery of elections throughout the country for ensuring the conduct
of free and fair elections.
 Advising the President on whether elections can be held in a state that is under the
President’s rule, in order to extend the period of emergency after 1 year.
 Registering political parties and granting them the status of national or state parties
(depending on their poll performance).
The Commission is aided in its function by deputy election commissioners. The deputy ECs are
taken from the civil services and they are appointed by the Commission. They have a fixed
tenure. They are aided by the secretaries, deputy secretaries, joint secretaries and under-
secretaries posted in the commission’s secretariat.
Functions of Election Commission
1. To direct and control the entire process of conducting elections to Parliament and
Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India.
2. To decide the election schedules for the conduct of periodic and timely elections, whether
general or bye-elections
3. To decide on the location of polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations,
location of counting centres, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and
counting centres and all allied matters
4. To prepare electoral roll and issues Electronic Photo Identity Card (EPIC)
5. To grant recognition to political parties & allot election symbols to them along with
settling disputes related to it
6. To sets limits of campaign expenditure per candidate to all the political parties, and also
monitors the same
7. To advise in the matter of post-election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament
and State Legislatures.
8. To issue the Model Code of Conduct in the election for political parties and candidates so
that no one indulges in unfair practice or there is no arbitrary abuse of powers by those in
power.
64
Composition of Election Commission
Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions with regard to the composition
of the election commission:
 The President appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and other election
commissioners.
 When any other EC is so appointed, the CEC acts as the Election Commission’s
Chairman.
 The President can also appoint regional commissioners to assist the Commission, if
necessary after consulting with the Election Commission.
 The tenure of office and the conditions of service of all the commissioners shall be
determined by the country’s President.
Importance of Election Commission for India
 The Election Commission has been successfully conducting national as well as state
elections since 1952. Now, it plays an active role to ensure the greater participation of
people.
 The Commission has brought discipline among the political parties with a threat of
derecognizing if the parties failed in maintaining inner-party democracy.
 It supports the values preserved in the Constitution viz, equality, equity, impartiality,
independence; and rule of law in superintendence, direction, and control over the
electoral governance.
 ECI helps in conducting elections with the highest standard of credibility, fairness,
transparency, integrity, accountability, autonomy and professionalism.
 In the electoral process, it ensures the participation of all eligible citizens in an inclusive
voter-centric and voter-friendly environment.
 The Election Commission of India engages with political parties and all stakeholders in
the interest of the electoral process.
 It creates awareness about the electoral process and electoral governance amongst
stakeholders (political parties, voters, election functionaries, candidates and people at
large) to enhance and strengthen confidence and trust in the electoral system of this
country.
65
Challenges faced by Election Commission
1. Increased violence and electoral malpractices under influence of money have resulted in
political criminalization, which ECI is unable to arrest.
2. Election Commission is not adequately equipped to regulate the political parties. It has no
power in enforcing inner-party democracy and regulation of party finances.
3. ECI is becoming lesser independent of the Executive which has impacted its image.
4. Allegations of EVMs malfunctioning, getting hacked and not registering votes, corrodes
the trust of the general masses in ECI.
Way Forward – ECI
 Until the controversy related to glitches in EVM settles down, the commission needs to
establish its trust amongst people by installing ( Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
System ) VVPATS in more and more constituencies.
 The challenge before ECI is to be vigilant and watchful against the collusion at the lower
level of civil and police bureaucracy in favour of the ruling party of the day.
 2nd ARC report recommended that collegium headed by the Prime Minister with the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister
and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as members should make recommendations
for the consideration of the President for the appointment of the Chief Election
Commissioner and the Election Commissioners.
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Constitution of India

Historical Background and Philosophy of Indian Constitution

Societies before and after adoption of Indian Constitution

Introduction to Indian Constitution

Role of Constituent Assembly

Preamble of Indian Constitution

Name of Countries Borrowed Features of the Constitution

South Africa 1. Election of members of the Rajya Sabha

Unit-II Fundamental Rights and Duties

Swaran Singh Committee in 1976 recommended Fundamental Duties to be added in the

Unit-=III Directive Principles of State policy

Characteristics of State Policy Directive Principles

THE IMPORTANCE OF STATE POLICY DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

 These principles reflect the programme of reconstruction ideology propagated by Gandhi

Comparison of Parliament and State Legislature

 Centre and State Executive

 Centre and State Judiciary

Supreme Court of India

 Local Self Government

What is the Panchayati Raj System?

Unit-v Other Important Constitutional Provisions

Independence of the Election Commission

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