1ST Assignment Questions

INDIAN CONSTITUTION

1. Explain the sailent features of Indian Constitution.

 Lengthiest Written Constitution – The Constitution of India is

the lengthiest of all the written Constitutions of the world. It is a very
comprehensive and detailed document.

 Drawn from Various Sources – The Constitution of India has borrowed

most of its provisions from the Government of India Act of 1935 as well as
from the constitutions of various other countries.

 Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility – Constitutions are classified into

– rigid (requires a special procedure for its amendment) and flexible (can be
amended in the same manner as ordinary laws are made).
o The Constitution of India is neither rigid nor flexible, but a synthesis of
both.

 Federal System with Unitary Bias – The Constitution of India establishes

a federal system of government and contains all the usual features of a
federation. However, it also contains a large number of unitary or non-
federal features.

 Parliamentary Form of Government – The Constitution of India has

adopted the British Parliamentary System of Government. The parliamentary
system is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination between the
legislative and executive organs.

 Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy – The

synthesis of parliamentary sovereignty and judicial supremacy in India
represents a delicate balance between the authority of the legislature to
enact laws and the power of the judiciary to review and interpret these laws
in light of constitutional principles.

 Integrated and Independent Judiciary – The Indian Constitution

establishes an integrated and independent judicial system in the country.
o An integrated judicial system means that a single system of courts,
comprising of Supreme Court, High Courts, and Subordinate Courts,
enforces both the central laws as well as the state laws.
o An independent judicial system means that the Indian judiciary
operates autonomously, free from the influence of the executive and
legislative branches of government.
 Fundamental Rights – The Indian Constitution guarantees 6 fundamental
rights to all citizens, which promotes the idea of political democracy in the
country.
 Directive Principles of State Policy – The Indian Constitution contains a
set of principles in the form of Directive Principles of State Policy
(DPSPs),
o The Directive Principles seek to establish a ‘Welfare State’ in India
by promoting the ideal of social and economic democracy.

 Fundamental Duties – The fundamental duties are a set of moral and

civic obligations outlined in the Constitution of India.
o These duties serve as a guide for citizens to contribute towards
building a strong and harmonious nation.

 A Secular State – The Constitution of India does not uphold any particular
religion as the official religion of the Indian State. Instead, it mandates that
the state treat all religions equally, refraining from favoring or
discriminating against any particular religion.

 Universal Adult Franchise – The Indian Constitution adopts universal adult

franchise as the basis of elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative
Assemblies.
o Every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to
vote without any discrimination based on caste, race, religion, sex,
literacy, wealth, and so on.

 Single Citizenship – Single citizenship is a constitutional principle in India

whereby all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside
enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizenship all over the country, and
no discrimination is made between them.

 Independent Bodies – The Indian Constitution has established certain

independent bodies which are envisaged as the bulwarks of the
democratic system of Government in India.

 Emergency Provisions – The Indian Constitution contains emergency

provisions to enable the President to meet any extraordinary situation
effectively.
o The rationale behind the incorporation of these provisions is
to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity, and security of
the country, the democratic political system, and the
Constitution.

 Three-tier Government – The three-tier government refers to the division

of governmental powers and responsibilities among three levels- the central
government, state governments, and local governments (Panchayats
and Municipalities).
 o This decentralized system allows for effective governance by
delegating authority to address regional and local issues, promoting
participatory democracy and grassroots development.

 Co-operative Societies – The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of

2011 gave constitutional status and protection to co-operative societies.

2. Explain the objectives enshrined in Preamble.

Preamble:

 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.
Components of Preamble

 It is indicated by the Preamble that the source of authority of the

Constitution lies with the people of India.
 Preamble declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and
democratic republic.
 The objectives stated by the Preamble are to secure justice, liberty,
equality to all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain unity and
integrity of the nation.
 The date is mentioned in the preamble when it was adopted i.e. November
26, 1949.
Key words in the Preamble

 We, the people of India: It indicates the ultimate sovereignty of the

people of India. Sovereignty means the independent authority of the State,
not being subject to the control of any other State or external power.
 Sovereign: The term means that India has its own independent authority and
it is not a dominion of any other external power. In the country, the legislature
has the power to make laws which are subject to certain limitations.
 Socialist: The term means the achievement of socialist ends through
democratic means. It holds faith in a mixed economy where both private and
public sectors co-exist side by side.

o It was added in the Preamble by 42nd Amendment, 1976.

 Secular: The term means that all the religions in India get equal respect,
protection and support from the state.

o It was incorporated in the Preamble by 42 nd Constitutional Amendment,

1976.
 Democratic: The term implies that the Constitution of India has an established
form of Constitution which gets its authority from the will of the people
expressed in an election.
 Republic: The term indicates that the head of the state is elected by the
people. In India, the President of India is the elected head of the state.
Objectives of the Indian Constitution or Preamble

 The Constitution is the supreme law and it helps to maintain integrity in the
society and to promote unity among the citizens to build a great nation.

o The main objective of the Indian Constitution is to promote harmony

throughout the nation.
 The factors which help in achieving this objective are:

o Justice: It is necessary to maintain order in society that is promised

through various provisions of Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy provided by the Constitution of India. It
comprises three elements, which is social, economic, and political.

 Social Justice – Social justice means that the Constitution wants to

create a society without discrimination on any grounds like caste,
creed, gender, religion, etc.
 Economic Justice – Economic Justice means no discrimination can
be caused by people on the basis of their wealth, income, and
economic status. Every person must be paid equally for an equal
position and all people must get opportunities to earn for their living.
 Political Justice – Political Justice means all the people have an
equal, free and fair right without any discrimination to participate in
political opportunities.
o Equality: The term ‘Equality’ means no section of society has any special
privileges and all the people have given equal opportunities for everything
without any discriminations. Everyone is equal before the law.
o Liberty: The term ‘Liberty’ means freedom for the people to choose their
way of life, have political views and behavior in society. Liberty does not
mean freedom to do anything, a person can do anything but in the limit
set by the law.
o Fraternity: The term ‘Fraternity’ means a feeling of brotherhood and an
emotional attachment with the country and all the people. Fraternity helps
to promote dignity and unity in the nation.

3. Explain Article 12 with the help of decided cases.

Article 12 defines the term 'State' in Part III of the Constitution. It says
that the term 'State' includes the following:

1. The Government and Parliament of India, i.e. Executive and Legislature of the
Union.
2. The Government and Legislature of each State, i.e. Executive and Legislature
of the State.
3. All Local and Other Authorities within the Territory of India.
4. All Local and Other Authorities are under the control of the Government of
India.

The term 'State' thus includes executive as well as the legislative organ of
the Union and State. It is, therefore, the actions of these bodies that can be
challenged before the courts as violating fundamental rights.

 Shantha Bai V university of Madras.

The Madras High Court ruled that a university is not a state because it is not
similar to the government, legislatures, or local authorities.
 Smt. Ujjam Bai Vs State of Uttar Pradesh.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Principle of Ejusdem Generis is not useful
in interpreting the expression “other authorities” in Article 12.

 Rajasthan State Electricity Board v/s Mohanlal, 1967:

The Supreme Court held that a State Electricity Board, set up by a statute having
some commercial function falls within the meeting of the authority of Article 12.

 Sukhdev v/s Bhagatram, 1975:

The Supreme Court held that three statutory bodies i.e Life Insurance
Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Commission and the Finance Corporation falls
within the term of Article 12.

 In R.D Shetty v. Airport Authority of India Justice P.N Bhagwati gave 5

Point test This is a test to determine whether a body is an agency or
instrumentality of the state and goes as follows –

o Financial resources of the State, where State is the chief funding source
i.e. the entire share capital is held by the government.
o Deep and pervasive control of the State
o The functional character being Governmental in its essence, meaning
thereby that its functions have public importance or are of a governmental
character.
o A department of Government transferred to a corporation.
o Enjoys “monopoly status” which State conferred or is protected by it.
This was elucidated with the statement that the test is only illustrative and not
conclusive in its nature and is to be approached with great care and caution.
 Judiciary

 The Judiciary is not expressly mentioned in Article 12 and a great amount of

dissenting opinions exist on the same matter.

 However, in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra the Apex Court reaffirmed
and ruled that no judicial proceeding could be said to violate any of the
Fundamental rights and that it is a settled position of law that superior courts
of justice did not fall within the ambit of ‘state’ or ‘other authorities’ under
Article 12.

Note: NCERT is not a state.

4. Explain Article 14 with the help of decided cases.

Article 14: Equality before law - “The State shall not deny to any person
equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of
India.”

 The first expression “equality before law” is of England origin and

 The second expression “equal protection of law” has been taken from the American
Constitution.
 Equality is a cardinal principle enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution of India as
its primary objective.
 It is a system of treating all human beings with fairness and impartiality.
 It also establishes a system of non-discrimination based on grounds mentioned in Article
15 of the Constitution of India.
Case laws
Air India v Nargesh Meerza
K. A. Abbas v Union of India
Exceptions of Article 14
 Article 361A provides special privileges to the Members of Parliament (MP) and
Members of State Legislative Assembly (MLA) to not be present before any court during
the session.
 Articles 105 and 194 prevent the MLAs and MPs from being answerable before the court
for their speeches and opinions.
 President and Governors are privileged for not being answerable to any court with
respect to the functioning of their duties and powers under Article 361.
 Article 31C is an exception to Article 14.

Test for Reasonable Classification

 Article 14 forbids class legislation however, it does not forbid reasonable classification of
persons, objects and transactions by the legislature for the purpose of achieving specific
ends.
 Two conditions were demarcated in the case of State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali
Sarkar (1952)
 There must be a presence of intelligible differentia, where application of law must not
be universal upon each human.
 The differentia applied must align with the cardinal objective of the state.

Doctrine of Arbitrariness
 Fairness and Arbitrariness are antithetical to each other, both concepts cannot be
present in a single box.
 Hence, the court of law attempted to bring an evolution in the list of reasonable
classification by excluding the decision containing arbitrariness.
 This doctrine was coined in the case of E.P Rayappa v. State of Tamil Nadu
(1973), where the bench termed equality as a dynamic concept and the ambit of
reasonable classification cannot be altered by the usage of arbitrariness.
 The doctrine was later applied to the cases of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
(1978) and R.D. Shetty v. International Airport Authority (1979) into which
courts opined that arbitrariness refers to deprivation of equality.