CONSTITUTION OF INDIA UNIT-1 MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

UNIT -1
CHAPTER 1 -MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
COMPOSITION OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
 Jurisdiction - India
 Ratified -26 November 1949; 73 years ago
 Date effective -26 January 1950; 72 years ago
 Contain : 395 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 94 amendments,
 System -Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Republic
 Branches -Three (Executive, Legislature and Judiciary)
 Chambers :Two (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha)
 Executive :Prime minister–led cabinet responsible to the lower house of the parliament
 Judiciary : Supreme Court, High Courts and District Courts
 Last amended: 10 August 2021 (105th)
 Location: Parliament House, New Delhi, India
 Author(s): B. R. Ambedkar (Chairman of the Drafting Committee)
 B. N. Rau: (Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly)
 Surendra Nath Mukherjee: (Chief Draftsman of the Constituent Assembly)[2]
 Signatories: 284 members of the Constituent Assembly
 Supersedes: Government of India Act 1935

HISTORY: INDIAN CONSTITUTION

 6 December 1946: Formation of the Constitution Assembly (in accordance with
French practice).
 9 December 1946: The first meeting was held in the constitution hall (now the Central
Hall of Parliament House).
 11 December 1946: The Assembly appointed Rajendra Prasad as its president, H. C. Mukherjee
has its vice-chairman and B. N. Rau as constitutional legal adviser)
 13 December 1946: An "Objective Resolution" was presented by Jawaharlal
Nehru, laying down the underlying principles of the constitution. This later became
the Preamble of the Constitution.
 22 January 1947: Objective resolution unanimously adopted.
 22 July 1947: National flag adopted.
 15 August 1947: Achieved independence. India split into the Dominion of India
and the Dominion of Pakistan.
 29 August 1947: Drafting Committee appointed with B. R. Ambedkar as its Chairman.
The other six members of committee were Munshi, Muhammed Sadulla, Alladi
Krishnaswamy Iyer, N. Gopalaswami Aiyana, Khaitan and Mitter.
 16 July 1948: Along with Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, V. T. Krishnamachari was
also elected as second vice-president of Constituent Assembly.
 26 November 1949: The Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the assembly.
 24 January 1950: Last meeting of Constituent Assembly. The Constitution was
signed and accepted (with 395 Articles, 8 Schedules, and 22 Parts).
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 26 January 1950: The Constitution came into force. (The process took 2 years, 11 months
and 18 days—at a total expenditure of ₹6.4 million to finish.)
 G. V. Mavlankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of
Parliament) after India turned into a republic.
OBJECTIVES OF CONSTITUTION:
 Recognize the significance of the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land;
 Describe the composition of the Constituent Assembly and the role of the Drafting
Committee and the objectives of the Constituent Assembly;
 Describe the Preamble to the Constitution and its relevance;
 Identify the basic principles of Preamble and their reflection in the constitutional provisions;
 Identify the main features of the Constitution of India;
 Distinguish between a written and an unwritten, as well as a rigid and a flexible constitution;
 Analyze the nature of the Indian Constitution;
 Establish the importance of Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive
Principles of State policy
 Recognize the special features that distinguish the Indian Constitution from other
Constitutions of the world
SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
1. Lengthiest Written Constitution

 Constitutions are classified into written, like the American Constitution, or unwritten,
like the British Constitution.
 The Constitution of India has the distinction of being the lengthiest and detailed
Constitutional document the world has so far produced. In other words, 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 factors that contributed to the elephantine size of the Indian Constitution are:
 Geographical factors, that is, the vastness of the country and its diversity.
 Historical factors, for instance, the influence of the Government of India Act of 1935,
which was bulky.
 Single constitution for both the Centre and the States.
 The dominance of legal luminaries in the Constituent Assembly.
 The Constitution of India contains not only the fundamental principles of governance
but also detailed administrative provisions.
 Both justiciable and non-justiciable rights are included in the Constitution.
2. Drawn from Various Sources

 The Constitution of India has borrowed most of its provisions from the constitutions of
various other countries as well as from the Government of India Act of 1935 [About 250
provisions of the 1935 Act have been included in the Constitution].
 Dr. B R Ambedkar proudly acclaimed that the Constitution of India has been framed after
‘Ransacking all the known Constitutions of the World’.

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 The structural part of the Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from the
Government of India Act of 1935.
 The philosophical part of the Constitution (Fundamental Rights and the Directive
Principles of State Policy) derive their inspiration from the American and Irish
Constitutions respectively.
 The political part of the Constitution (the principle of Cabinet government and the
relations between the executive and the legislature) have been largely drawn from the
British Constitution
3. Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility

 Constitutions are classified into rigid and flexible.

 A rigid constitution is one that requires a special procedure for its amendment, as for
example, the American Constitution.
 A flexible constitution is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary
laws are made, as for example, the British Constitution.
 The Indian Constitution is a unique example of the combination of rigidity and flexibility.
 A constitution may be called rigid or flexible on the basis of its amending procedure.
 The Indian Constitution provides for three types of amendments ranging from simple to
most difficult procedures.

4. Federal System with Unitary Bias

 The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of government.

 It contains all the usual features of a federation, such as two governments, division of
powers, written constitution, the supremacy of the constitution, the rigidity of the
Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism (Govt. having two
chambers/bodies).
 However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-
federal features, such as a strong Centre, Single Constitution, appointment of state
governor by the Centre, all-India services, integrated judiciary, and so on.
 Moreover, the term ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution.
 Article 1, describes India as a ‘Union of States’ which implies two things:
 Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states.
 No state has the right to secede (withdraw) from the federation.
5. Parliamentary Form of Government

 The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary System of Government
rather than the American Presidential system of government.
 The parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination
between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on
the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.
 The parliamentary system is also known as the ‘Westminster’ model of government, responsible
Government and cabinet government.
 The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre but also in States.

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 In a parliamentary system, the role of the Prime Minister has become so significant, and
therefore it is called a ‘Prime Ministerial Government’.
6. Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy

 The doctrine of the sovereignty of Parliament is associated with the British Parliament
while the principle of judicial supremacy with that of the American Supreme Court.
 Just as the Indian parliamentary system differs from the British system, the scope of
judicial review power of the Supreme Court in India is narrower than that of what
exists in the US.
 This is because the American Constitution provides for ‘due process of law’ against
that of ‘procedure established by law’ contained in the Indian Constitution (Article
21).
 Therefore, the framers of the Indian Constitution have preferred a proper synthesis
between the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty and the American principle
of Judicial supremacy.
 The Supreme Court can declare the parliamentary laws as unconstitutional through its
power of judicial review.
 The Parliament can amend the major portion of the Constitution through its constituent power.
7. Rule of Law

 According to this axiom, people are ruled by law but not by men, that is, the basic truism
that no man is infallible. The axiom is vital to a democracy.
 More important is the meaning that law is the sovereign in democracy.
 The chief ingredient of law is custom which is nothing but the habitual practices and
beliefs of common people over a long number of years.
 In the final analysis, rule of law means the sovereignty of the common man’s collective wisdom.
 Apart from this crucial meaning, rule of law means a few more things like,
 There is no room for arbitrariness(irresponsibility)
 Each individual enjoys some fundamental rights
 The highest judiciary is the final authority in maintaining the sanctity of the law of the land.
8. Integrated and Independent Judiciary

 India has a single integrated judicial system.

 Also, the Indian Constitution establishes Independent Judiciary by enabling the Indian
judiciary to be free from the influence of the executive and the legislature.
 The Supreme Court stands as the apex court of the judicial system. Below the Supreme
Court are the High Courts at the state level.
 Under a high court, there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is district courts
and the other lower courts.
 The Supreme Court is a federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the
fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution. Hence, the
Constitution has made various provisions to ensure its independence.

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9. Fundamental Rights

 Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to all Citizens.
 Fundamental Rights are one of the important features of the Indian Constitution.
 The Constitution contains the basic principle that every individual is entitled to enjoy
certain rights as a human being and the enjoyment of such rights does not depend upon
the will of any majority or minority.
 No majority has the right to abolish such rights.
 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.
 They are justiciable in nature, that is, enforceable by the courts for their violation.
10. Directive Principles of State Policy

 According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the Directive Principles of State Policy is a ‘novel feature’ of the
Indian Constitution.
 They are enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution.
 The Directive Principles were included in our Constitution in order to provide
social and economic justice to our people.
 Directive Principles aim at establishing a welfare state in India where there will
be no concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.
11. Fundamental Duties

 The original constitution did not provide for the fundamental duties of the citizens.
 Fundamental Duties were added to our Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act of
1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
 It lays down a list of ten Fundamental Duties for all citizens of India.
 Later, the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 added one more fundamental duty.
 While the rights are given as guarantees to the people, the duties are obligations that
every citizen is expected to perform.
12. Indian Secularism

 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 distinguishing features of a secular democracy contemplated by the Constitution of India
 The State will not identify itself with or be controlled by any religion;
 While the State guarantees to everyone the right to profess whatever religion one
chooses to follow (which includes also the right to be an antagonist or an atheist), it will
not accord preferential treatment to any of them;
 No discrimination will be shown by the State against any person on account of his
religion or faith.
13. Universal Adult Franchise

 Indian democracy functions on the basis of ‘one person one vote’.

 Every citizen of India who is 18 years of age or above is entitled to vote in the
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elections irrespective of caste, sex, race, religion or status.

 The Indian Constitution establishes political equality in India through the method of
universal adult franchise.
14. Single Citizenship

 In a federal state usually, the citizens enjoy double citizenship as is the case in the USA.
 In India, there is only single citizenship.
 It means that every Indian is a citizen of India, irrespective of the place of his/her
residence or place of birth.
 All the citizens of India can secure employment anywhere in the country and enjoy all the
rights equally in all the parts of India.
 The Constitution makers deliberately opted for single citizenship to eliminate
regionalism and other disintegrating tendencies.
15. Independent Bodies

 The Indian constitution not only provides for the legislative, executive and judicial organs
of the government (Central and state) but also establishes certain independent bodies.
 They are envisaged by the Constitution as the bulwarks of the democratic
system of Government in India.

16. Emergency Provisions

 The Constitution makers also foresaw that there could be situations when the government
could not be run as in ordinary times.
 To cope with such situations, the Constitution elaborates on emergency provisions.
 President can declare 3 types of emergencies. There are three types of emergency.
 Emergency caused by war, external aggression or armed rebellion [Article 352]
 Emergency arising out of the failure of constitutional machinery in states [Article 356 & 365]
 Financial emergency [Article 360].
17. Three-tier Government

 Originally, the Indian Constitution provided for a dual polity and contained
provisions with regard to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the States.
 Later, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-
tier of government (that is, Local Government), which is not found in any other
Constitution of the world.
 The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the panchayats (rural
local governments) by adding a new Part IX and a new schedule 11 to the Constitution.
 Similarly, the 74th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the
municipalities (urban local government) by adding a new Part IX-A and a new schedule 12
to the Constitution.
18. Co-operative Societies

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 The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and
protection of cooperative societies.
 In this context, it made the following three changes in the Constitution:
 It made the right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).
 It included a new Directive Principles of State Policy on the promotion of cooperative
societies (Article 43-B).
 It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled “The Co-operative Societies”
[Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT].

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PREAMBLE OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

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CHAPTER-2

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS:

Right to equality (Article 14–18)

 14 -Equality Before Law
 15 -Prohibition of Discrimination
 16 -Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment
 17- Abolition of Untouchability
 18 -Abolition of Titles
Right to freedom (Article 19–22)
 19 -Protection of 6 Rights
 Right to freedom of speech and expression.
 Right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
 Right to form associations or unions or co-operative societies.
 Right to move freely throughout the territory of India.
 Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
 Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
 20- Protection in Respect of Conviction for Offences
 21- Protection of Life and Personal Liberty
 21-A -Right to Education
 22 -Protection Against Arrest and Detention
Right against exploitation (Article 23–24)
 23 -Prohibition of Human Trafficking and Forced Labour
 24 -Prohibition of Child Labour
Right to freedom of religion (Article 25–28)
 25 - Freedom of Conscience, Profession, Practice and Propagation
 26 - Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs
 27 - Freedom from Taxation for Promotion of a Religion
 28 - Freedom from Attending Religious Instruction
Cultural and educational rights (Article 29–30)
 29 - Protection of Interests of Minorities
 30 - Right of Minorities to Establish and Administer Educational Institutions
Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)
 32 -Right to remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights using five writs:
 Habeas Corpus - to direct the release of a person detained unlawfully.
 Mandamus - to direct a public authority to do its duty.
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 Quo Warranto - to direct a person to vacate an office assumed wrongfully.

 Prohibition - to prohibit a lower court from proceeding on a case.
 Certiorari - the power of the higher court to remove a proceeding from a lower
court and bring it before itself.
 33 -Empowers the Parliament to restrict or abrogate the fundamental rights of the Members of
the Armed Forces, paramilitary forces, police forces, intelligence agencies and analogous forces
 34 -Provides for the restrictions on fundamental rights while martial law(military rule) is in force
 35 -Empowers the Parliament to make laws on Fundamental Rights
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES:
 Fundamental Duties in India - Article 51A - 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added 10
Fundamental Duties to the Indian Constitution. 86th Amendment Act 2002 later added
11th Fundamental Duty to the list. Swaran Singh Committee in 1976 recommended
Fundamental Duties, the necessity of which was felt during the internal emergency of
1975-77.
i. Abide by the Indian Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National
Flag and the National Anthem
ii. Cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom
iii. Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
iv. Defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so
v. 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
vi. Value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture
vii. Protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and
wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures
viii. Develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
ix. Safeguard public property and to abjure violence
x. Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that
the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement
xi. 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

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DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

Directive Principles of State Policy ( DPSP’s )– Classification

 Socialistic Principles
 Gandhian Principles
 Liberal-Intellectual Principles.

DPSP – Socialistic Principles

 Definition: They are the principles that aim at providing social and economic justice and
set the path towards the welfare state. Under various articles, they direct the state to:
 Article 38 - Promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order through justice—
social, economic and political—and to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities
and opportunities
 Article 39 - Secure citizens:
 Right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens
 Equitable distribution of material resources of the community for the common good
 Prevention of concentration of wealth and means of production
 Equal pay for equal work for men and women
 Preservation of the health and strength of workers and children against forcible abuse
 Opportunities for the healthy development of children
 Article 39A- Promote equal justice and free legal aid to the poor
 Article 41 - In cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, secure citizens:
 Right to work
 Right to education
 Right to public assistance
 Article 42 - Make provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
 Article 43 - Secure a living wage, a decent standard of living and social and cultural
opportunities for all workers
 Article 43A- Take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries
 Article 47 - Raise level of nutrition and standard of living of people and improve public health
DPSP – Gandhian Principles:
 Definition: These principles are based on Gandhian ideology used to represent the
programme of reconstruction enunciated by Gandhi during the national movement.
Under various articles, they direct the state to:
 Article 40 - Organise village panchayats and endow them with necessary powers and
authority to enable them to function as units of self-government
 Article 43- Promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operation basis in rural areas
 Article 43B- Promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic
control and professional management of co-operative societies
 Article 46- Promote the educational and economic interests of SCs, STs, and other
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weaker sections of the society and to protect them from social injustice and
exploitation
 Article 47- Prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are
injurious to health
 Article 48- Prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle
and to improve their breeds

DPSP – Liberal-Intellectual Principles:

Definition: These principles reflect the ideology of liberalism. Under various articles, they
direct the state to:
 Article 44- Secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the country
 Article 45- Provide early childhood care and education for all children until they
complete the age of six years. (Note: 86th Amendment Act of 2002 changed the subject
matter of this article and made elementary education a fundamental right under Article 21
(A.)
 Article 48- Organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines
 Article 49- Protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest
which are declared to be of national importance
 Article 50- Separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State
 Article 51- Promote international peace and security and maintain just and honourable
relations between nations
 Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations
 Encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration

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