INTRODUCTION TO - Harshvardhan

Tripathi
CONSTITUTION
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I. Basics of Indian Constitution
1. Introduction: The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays
down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the
structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and
sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It
is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world,
containing 448 articles in 25parts, 12 schedules and 97 amendments.
Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi translation.
The Constitution of a country sets out the fundamental canons of
governance to be followed in that country and also delineates the division of
power, privileges and responsibilities between different organs of
government. The Indian Constitution, prepared after hectic deliberations by
the Constituent Assembly, is possibly the lengthiest document of its kind in
the world and has far more detailed provisions than any other comparable
document. The tradition of having a written constitution started with the
USA, which had adopted the first-ever written constitution in the world, after the
end of the Civil War there in 1776.
Much water has flown down the Ganges since. Still, England does not have a
written constitution till date. The British judiciary and other parts of the
polity work on the basis of conventions that have been evolved
after centuries of collective experience. The Indian Constitution is the
outcome of the debate, deliberations and research of a sovereign
Constituent Assembly. Various Subject Committees like the Committee On
Fundamental Rights and Union Constitution Committee had submitted their
respective proposals and after a general discussion on all the proposals, a
Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. BR Ambedkar was appointed. The
Drafting Committee had the full authority to add, modify or delete any of the
proposals submitted by the committees. The finalized draft of he Indian
Constitution got the signature of the President of the Constituent Assembly,
Dr. Rajender Prasad on Nov 26, 1949, which is referred to as the Date of
Passing. Since the Constituent Assembly, which finalized the Constitution was
duly elected by means of indirect election by the people of India, The
Constitution of India derives its authority from the people of India. The Constitution
was thus enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and
came into effect on 26 January 1950.
The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj
declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India
officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and
it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental
governing document
The Indian Constitution has borrowed heavily from other constitutions of
the world and can be called “beautiful patchwork”. India could not have
afforded to experiment with something entirely new at a crucial juncture in
its history. So the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution preferred to
rely on the time-tested value of experience elsewhere and adopted those
provisions which had proved to be successful and workable in other
countries. Some of the prominent features which have been borrowed
are as under.
INDIAN POLITY
Feature Source / Inspiration
1. Fundamental Rights USA
2. The Parliamentary System of Government UK
3. Directive Principles of State Policy Ireland (Eire)
4. Emergency Provisions Germany (Third Reich)
5. Amendment Procedure South Africa
6. Permeable To The Constitution of India France
7. Federal Model of Governance Canada
2. Salient Features of Constitution:
1. It is the longest written constitution in the world.
2. It proclaims India a Sovereign Democratic Republic.
3. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed to all citizens of India.
4. Directive Principles of State Policy are incorporated.
5. It established the parliamentary system of government, i.e., the President
of the Union is the constitutional head, the Council of Ministers or the Union
Cabinet is the real executive and is responsible to the Lok Sabha.
6. It is federal in form (in normal times) but unitary in spirit (in
emergencies).
7. It is neither too rigid (as some provisions can be amended by a simple
majority) nor flexible (as some provisions require special majority for
amendment).
8. It declares India a secular state.
9. It guarantees single citizenship to all citizens.
10. It introduced adult franchise, i.e., every adult above 18 years has the
right to vote and the system of joint electorates.
11. It established an independent judiciary; the Supreme Court acts as a
guardian of the Constitution in place of the Privy Council.

3. Structure:
The Constitution, in its current form, consists of a preamble, 22 parts
containing 448 articles, 12 schedules, 2 appendices and 97 amendments to
date (latest being related to co-operative societies in 2012).
The Preamble: The draft of the Preamble was prepared by Jawaharlal Nehru
and is based on the American model. The 42nd Amendment added the words
``Secular and Socialist'' and now the preamble reads as follows.
“We the People of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its
citizens :
Justice; social, economic and political;
Liberty; of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
Equality; of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all;
Fraternity; assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of
the nation;
In our Constituent Assembly, November 26, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact
and give to ourselves this constitution”.

The Preamble is, technically, not a part of the Constitution (and this has been
confirmed by the SC also), but it contains the basic philosophy of the whole
Constitution and the ideals of the constitution-makers. It can be used by the
Courts to help them in interpretation of the Constitution in certain matters
where the Constitution itself is silent.

Parts: The individual Articles of the Constitution are grouped together into the
following Parts:
Preamble
Part I – Union and its Territory
Part II– Citizenship.
Part III – Fundamental Rights.
Part IV] – Directive Principles of State Policy
Part IVA – Fundamental Duties.
Part V – The Union.
Part VI – The States.
Part VII – States in the B part of the First schedule(Repealed).
Part VIII– The Union Territories
Part IX – The Panchayats.
Part IXA – The Municipalities.
Part IXB – The Cooperative Societies
Part X – The scheduled and Tribal Areas
Part XI – Relations between the Union and the States.
Part XII – Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
Part XIII – Trade and Commerce within the territory of India
Part XIV – Services Under the Union, the States.
Part XIVA – Tribunals.
Part XV – Elections
Part XVI – Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes.
Part XVII – Languages
Part XVIII – Emergency Provisions
Part XIX – Miscellaneous
Part XX – Amendment of the Constitution
Part XXI – Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
Part XXII – Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi
and Repeals

Articles of the Constitution

Part Article Deals with
Part I Articles 1-4 Territory of India,, admission,, establishment or formation
of new states
Part II Articles 5-11 Citizenship
Part III Articles 12-35 Fundamental Rights
Part IV Articles 36-51 Directive Principles of State Policy
Part IV A Article 51-A Duties of a citizen of India. It was added by the 42nd
Amendment in 1976
Part V Articles 52-151 Government at the Union level
Part VI Articles 152-237 Government at the State level
Part VII Article 238 Deals with states in Part B of the First Schedule. It was
repealed by 7th Amendment in 1956
Part VIII Articles 239-241 Administration of Union Territories
Part IX Article 242-243 Territories in Part D of the First Schedule
and other territories. It was repealed by 7th Amendment in 1956
Part X Articles 244-244 A Scheduled and tribal areas
Part XI Articles 245-263 Relations between the Union and States
Part XII Articles 264-300 Finance,, property,, contracts and suits
Part XIII Articles 301-307 Trade,, commerce and travel within the
territory of India
Part XIV Articles 308-323 Services under the Union and States
Part XIV-A Articles 323A-323B Added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976
and deals with administrative tribunals to hear disputes and other
complaints
Part XV Articles 324-329 Election and Election Commission
Part XVI Articles 330-342 Special provision to certain classes ST/SC
and Anglo Indians
Part XVII Articles 343-351 Official languages
Part XVIII Articles 352-360 Emergency provisions
Part XIX Articles 361-367 Miscellaneous provision regarding exemption of the
President and governors from criminal proceedings
Part XX Article 368 Amendment of Constitution
Part XXI Articles 369-392 Temporary,, transitional and special provisions
Part XXII Articles 393-395 Short title, commencement and repeal
of the Constitution

Schedules: Schedules are lists in the Constitution that categorize and tabulate
bureaucratic activity and policy of the Government.
First Schedule (Articles 1 and 4)- This lists the states and territories of
India, lists any changes to their borders and the laws used to make that
change.
Second Schedule (Articles 59, 65, 75, 97, 125, 148, 158, 164, 186 and
221)- – This lists the salaries of officials holding public office, judges, and
Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
Third Schedule (Articles 75, 99, 124, 148, 164, 188 and 219)—Forms of
Oaths – This lists the oaths of offices for elected officials and judges.
Fourth Schedule (Articles 4 and 80) – This details the allocation of seats in
the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) per State or Union Territory.
Fifth Schedule (Article 244) – This provides for the administration and
control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (areas and tribes needing
special protection due to disadvantageous conditions).
Sixth Schedule (Articles 244 and 275)— Provisions for the administration
of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
Seventh Schedule (Article 246)—The union (central government), state,
and concurrent lists of responsibilities.
Eighth Schedule (Articles 344 and 351)—The official languages.
Ninth Schedule (Article 31-B) – Originally Articles mentioned here were
immune from judicial review on the ground that they violated fundamental
rights. but in a landmark judgement in 2007, the Supreme Court of India
held in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu and others that laws included in
the 9th schedule can be subject to judicial review if they voilated the
fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 15, 19, 21 or the basic
structure of the Constitution
Tenth Schedule (Articles 102 and 191)—"Anti-defection" provisions for
Members of Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures.
Eleventh Schedule (Article 243-G)—Panchayat Raj (rural local government)
Twelfth Schedule (Article 243-W)—Municipalities (urban local
government).

II. The Federal System & Territory Of The Union

1. The Federal System:
Article 1 of the Indian Constitution describes India as a “Union of
States”. The term “Union” implies that:
I. The Indian federation is not the result of a voluntary agreement by the
states themselves. As is well known, after India’s independence, more than
550 states were integrated in to the Union of India by the then Home
Minister, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, leading to his being branded as the “Iron
Man of India”. So their inclusion in India is purely involuntary.
II. The components of the Indian Union have no freedom to secede from it.
(unlike the erstwhile USSR or the present-day USA where such freedom
was/is vested in the states).
The Indian federal system is unique in the sense that inspite of its being
a federal set-up, it still does not have many features characteristic of a
typical federal set-up (like the USA). In general, the Indianset-up has been
mostly described as quasi-federal or semi-federal due to the fact that the
balance of power tilts heavily in favour of the Centre i.e. the states enjoy
comparatively lesser powers in most spheres as compared with the Centre.
Some of the noteworthy points of difference, which illustrate the
predominant role of the Centre Vs. States are as follows.
I. The States in India do not have any separate constitution of their own
(except Jammu and Kashmir which has a separate constitution as per the
special agreement signed at the time of its accession to India). They derive
their authority from the same Constitution of India.
II. The States are dependent on the Centre for grants-in-aid and plan
assistance to meet their development expenditures. The taxes collected by
the States are not wholly appropriated by them, but they are distributed
among the States as per the Finance Commission recommendations.
III. The States do not have any say in the matter of Constitutional
amendments (except for a few instances where their consultation may be
obtained by the President or in certain special matters where at
least half of the States must ratify the legislation after being passed by the
Parliament))
IV. The Centre can alter, modify or change the boundaries, area or name of
any state.
V. There is no separate citizenship of a state (Single citizenship prevails in
India whichever state a person is living in India) unlike the US where every
state has a separate citizenship apart from the Union Citizenship (Double
Citizenship).
VI. The President may assume all executive and legislative powers of any
state if he is satisfied that the government of a state cannot be carried out
according constitutional provisions (Art. 356)
2. Territory of the Union
The territory of India comprises the entire geographical territory over
which the sovereignty of India, for the time being, prevails. On the other
hand, the Union of India includes only those component units, i.e., the
states, which share power with the Centre. The UTs are centrally
administered areas governed by the President acting through an
Administrator appointed by him. As on date, the territory of India consists of
29 states, 6 UTs and 1 National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT- Delhi is
neither a full state nor a UT).
India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary
system consisting of 29 states and 7 union territories. All states, as well as
the union territories of Pondicherry and the National Capital Territory of
Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments, both patterned on the
Westminster model. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by
the centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States
Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis. Since then,
their structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union
territory is further divided into administrative districts.
The state and union territory capitals are sorted according to the
administrative, legislative and judicial capitals. The administrative capital is
where the executive government offices are located, the legislative capital is
where the state assembly convenes, and the judicial capital is the location of
the state or territorial High Courts of India.
The States Reorganization Act, 1956 reorganized the boundaries of
different Indian States in order to meet local and linguistic demands.
Interestingly, the Union Parliament can by passing a resolution in
both Houses of Parliament.
1. form a new state
2. increase the area of any state
3. diminish the area of any state
4. alter the boundaries of any state
5. or alter the name of any state (Art. 4)
Making use of this provision, several landmark changes have been brought
about in the political composition of the Indian territory, some of which are
found in the table below.
ACT/LEGISLATION CHANGE
1. States Reorganization Act, 1956 Andhra, Kerala formed (Andhra-first state on
linguistic basis)
2. Bombay Reorganization Act, 1960 Gujarat, Maharashtra born as new states
3. The Panjab Reorganization Act, 1966 Panjab, Haryana and Chandigarh created
4. Mysore State Act, 1973 The name Mysore changed to Karnataka
5. State of Mizoram Act, 1986 Mizoram, earlier a UT, made a State
6. State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 Arunachal Pradesh elevated to statehood
7. Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganization Act, 1987 Goa made a state

III. Fundamental Rights & Duties, Directive Principles of State Policy

1. Fundamental Rights: The Constitution of India embodies a number (six) of
Fundamental Rights in
Part III of the Constitution to act as limitations on the Executive
(government) as well as legislative
powers (law-making). Though these rights are modelled on the US pattern,
the Indian Constitution makes
a compromise between the principles of Parliamentary Sovereignty and
Judicial Supremacy. In the US, the
American President enjoys the power to nullify any decision made by the
Federal Court while in the UK,
whatever the Parliament says, is law. The Indian Constitution is a via-media
between these two extremes.
These fundamental rights help not only in protection but also the prevention
of gross violations of human
rights. They emphasize on the fundamental unity of India by guaranteeing to
all citizens the access and use of the same facilities, irrespective of
background. Some fundamental rights apply for persons of any
nationality whereas others are available only to the citizens of India. The
right to life and personal liberty is available to all people and so is the right
to freedom of religion. On the other hand, freedoms of speech
and expression and freedom to reside and settle in any part of the country
are reserved to citizens alone, including non-resident Indian citizens. The
right to equality in matters of public employment cannot be conferred to
overseas citizens of India.
Fundamental rights primarily protect individuals from any arbitrary state
actions, but some rights are enforceable against individuals. For instance,
the Constitution abolishes untouchability and also prohibits
begar. These provisions act as a check both on state action as well as the
action of private individuals. However, these rights are not absolute or
uncontrolled and are subject to reasonable restrictions as necessary for the
protection of general welfare. They can also be selectively curtailed. The
Supreme Court has ruled that all provisions of the Constitution, including
fundamental rights can be amended. However, the Parliament cannot alter
the basic structure of the constitution. Features such as secularism and
democracy fall under this category. Since the fundamental rights can only be
altered by a constitutional amendment, their inclusion is a check not only on
the executive branch, but also on the Parliament and state legislatures.
A state of national emergency has an adverse effect on these rights. Under
such a state, the rights conferred by Article 19 (freedoms of speech,
assembly and movement, etc.) remain suspended. Hence, insuch a situation,
the legislature may make laws which go against the rights given in Article
19. Also, the President may by order suspend the right to move court for
the enforcement of other rights as well.
Right to equality: Right to equality is an important right provided for in Articles
14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 ofthe constitution. It is the principal foundation of all
other rights and liberties, and guarantees the
following:
Equality before law: Article 14 of the constitution guarantees that all
citizens shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It means that
the State cannot discriminate any of the Indian citizens on the basis of their
caste, creed, colour, sex, gender, religion or place of birth.
Social equality and equal access to public areas: Article 15 of the
constitution states that no person shall be discriminated on the basis of
caste, colour, language etc. Every person shall have equal access to public
places like public parks, museums, wells, bathing ghats and temples etc.
However, the State may make any special provision for women and children.
Special provisions may be made for the advancements of any socially or
educationally backward class or scheduled castes or scheduled tribes.
Equality in matters of public employment: Article 16 of the constitution
lays down that the State cannot discriminate against anyone in the matters
of employment. All citizens can apply for government jobs. There are some
exceptions. The Parliament may enact a law stating that certain jobs can
only be filled by applicants who are domiciled in the area. This may be
meant for posts that require knowledge of the locality and language of the
area. The State may also reserve posts for members of backward classes,
scheduled castes or scheduled tribes which are not adequately represented
in the services under the State to bring up the weaker sections of the
society. Also, there a law may be passed which requires that the holder of
an office of any religious institution shall also be a person professing that
particular religion. According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003,
this right shall not be conferred to Overseas citizens of India.
Abolition of untouchability: Article 17 of the constitution abolishes the
practice of untouchability.
Practice of untouchability is an offense and anyone doing so is punishable by
law. The Untouchability Offences Act of 1955 (renamed to Protection of Civil
Rights Act in 1976) provided penalties for preventing a person from entering
a place of worship or from taking water from a tank or well.
Abolition of Titles: Article 18 of the constitution prohibits the State from
conferring any titles. Citizens of India cannot accept titles from a foreign
State. The British government had created an aristocratic class known as Rai
Bahadurs and Khan Bahadurs in India — these titles were also abolished.
However, Military and academic distinctions can be conferred on the citizens
of India. The awards of Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan cannot be used
by the recipient as a title and do not, accordingly, come within the
constitutional prohibition". The Supreme Court, on 15 December 1995,
upheld the validity of such awards.
Right to freedom: The Constitution of India contains the right to freedom, given
in articles 19, 20, 21 and 22, with the view of guaranteeing individual rights
that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution. The right to
freedom in Article 19 guarantees the following six freedoms:
Freedom of speech and expression, which enable an individual to
participate in public activities. The phrase, "freedom of press" has not been
used in Article 19, but freedom of expression includes freedom of press.
Reasonable restrictions can be imposed in the interest of public order,
security of State, decency or morality.
Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms, on which the State can
impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order and the
sovereignty and integrity of India.
Freedom to form associations or unions on which the State can impose
reasonable restrictions on this freedom in the interest of public order,
morality and the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India though
reasonable restrictions can be imposed on this right in the interest of the
general public, for example, restrictions may be imposed on movement and
travelling, so as to control epidemics.
Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India which is
also subject to reasonable restrictions by the State in the interest of the
general public or for the protection of the scheduled tribes because certain
safeguards as are envisaged here seem to be justified to protect indigenous
and tribal peoples from exploitation and coercion. Article 370 restricts
citizens from other Indian states and Kashmiri women who marry men from
other states from purchasing land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.
Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade
or business on which the State may impose reasonable restrictions in the
interest of the general public. Thus, there is no right to carry on a business
which is dangerous or immoral. Also, professional or technical qualifications
may be prescribed for practicing any profession or carrying on any trade.
The constitution guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, which in
turn cites specific provisions in which these rights are applied and enforced:
Protection with respect to conviction for offences is guaranteed in the
right to life and personal liberty.
According to Article 20, no one can be awarded punishment which is more
than what the law of the land prescribes at that time. This legal axiom is
based on the principle that no criminal law can be made retrospective, that
is, for an act to become an offence, the essential condition is that it should
have been an offence legally at the time of committing it. Moreover, no
person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against
himself. "Compulsion" in this article refers to what in law is called "Duress"
(injury, beating or unlawful imprisonment to make a person do something
that he does not want to do). This article is known as a safeguard against
self incrimination. The other principle enshrined in this article is known as
the principle of double jeopardy, that is, no person can be convicted twice
for the same offence, which has been derived from Anglo Saxon law. This
principle was first established in the Magna Carta.
Protection of life and personal liberty is also stated under right to life and
personal liberty. Article 21 declares that no citizen can be denied his life and
liberty except by law. This means that a person's life and personal liberty
can only be disputed if that person has committed a crime. However, the
right to life does not include the right to die, and hence, suicide or an
attempt thereof, is an offence.
(Attempted suicide being interpreted as a crime has seen many debates. The
Supreme Court of India gave a landmark ruling in 1994. The court repealed
section 309 of the Indian penal code, under which people attempting suicide
could face prosecution and prison terms of up to one year. In 1996 however
another Supreme Court ruling nullified the earlier one.) "Personal liberty"
includes all the freedoms which are not included in Article 19 (that is, the six
freedoms). The right to travel abroad is also covered under "personal liberty"
in Article 21.
In 2002, through the 86th Amendment Act, Article 21(A) was
incorporated. It made the right to primary education part of the right to
freedom, stating that the State would provide free and compulsory education
to children from six to fourteen years of age. Six years after an amendment
was made in the Indian Constitution, the union cabinet cleared the Right to
Education Bill in 2008. It is now soon to be tabled in Parliament for approval
before it makes a fundamental right of every child to get free and
compulsory education.
Rights of a person arrested under ordinary circumstances is laid down in
the right to life and personal liberty. No one can be arrested without being
told the grounds for his arrest. If arrested, the person has the right to
defend himself by a lawyer of his choice. Also an arrested citizen has to be
brought before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours. The rights of a
person arrested under ordinary circumstances are not available to an enemy
alien. They are also not available to persons detained under the Preventive
Detention Act. Under preventive detention, the government can imprison a
person for a maximum of three months. It means that if the government
feels that a person being at liberty can be a threat to the law and order or to
the unity and integrity of the nation, it can detain or arrest that person to
prevent him from doing this possible harm. After three months such a case
is brought before an advisory board for review.
The constitution also imposes restrictions on these rights. The government
restricts these freedoms in the interest of the independence, sovereignty
and integrity of India. In the interest of morality and public order, the
government can also impose restrictions. However, the right to life and
personal liberty cannot be suspended. The six freedoms are also
automatically suspended or have restrictions imposed on them
during a state of emergency.
Right against exploitation: The right against exploitation, given in Articles 23
and 24, provides for two provisions, namely the abolition of trafficking in
human beings and Begar (forced labor), and abolition of employment of
children below the age of 14 years in dangerous jobs like factories and
mines. Child labour is considered a gross violation of the spirit and
provisions of the constitution. Begar, practised in the past by landlords, has
been declared a crime and is punishable by law. Trafficking in humans for
the purpose of slave trade or prostitution is also prohibited by law. An
exception is made in employment without payment for compulsory services
for public purposes. Compulsory military conscription is covered by this
provision.
Right to freedom of religion
Right to freedom of religion, covered in Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28, provides
religious freedom to all citizens of India. The objective of this right is to
sustain the principle of secularism in India. According to the Constitution, all
religions are equal before the State and no religion shall be given preference
over the other. Citizens are free to preach, practice and propagate any
religion of their choice.
Religious communities can set up charitable institutions of their own.
However, activities in such institutions which are not religious are performed
according to the laws laid down by the government.
Establishing a charitable institution can also be restricted in the interest of
public order, morality and health. No person shall be compelled to pay taxes
for the promotion of a particular religion. A State run institution cannot
impart education that is pro-religion. Also, nothing in this article shall affect
the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any
further law regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or
other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice,
or providing for social welfare and reform.
Cultural and educational rights: As India is a country of many languages,
religions, and cultures, the Constitution provides special measures, in
Articles 29 and 30, to protect the rights of the minorities. Any community
which has a language and a script of its own has the right to conserve and
develop it. No citizen can be discriminated against for admission in State or
State aided institutions. All minorities, religious or linguistic, can set up their
own educational institutions to preserve and develop their own culture. In
granting aid to institutions, the State cannot discriminate against any
institution on the basis of the fact that it is administered by a minority
institution. But the right to administer does not mean that the State can not
interfere in case of maladministration. In a precedent-setting judgment in
1980, the Supreme Court held that the State can certainly take regulatory
measures to promote the efficiency and excellence of educational standards.
It can also issue guidelines for ensuring the security of the services of
the teachers or other employees of the institution. In another landmark
judgement delivered on 31 October 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that in
case of aided minority institutions offering professional courses, admission
could only be through a common entrance test conducted by State or a
university.
Even an unaided minority institution ought not to ignore the merit of the
students for admission.
Right to constitutional remedies: Right to constitutional remedies empowers the
citizens to move a court of law in case of any denial of the fundamental
rights. For instance, in case of imprisonment, the citizen can ask the court to
see if it is according to the provisions of the law of the country. If the court
finds that it is not, the person will have to be freed. This procedure of asking
the courts to preserve or safeguard the citizens' fundamental rights can be
done in various ways. The courts can issue various kinds of writs. These writs
are habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari. When a
national or state emergency is declared, this right is suspended by the
central government.
Amendments: Changes to the fundamental rights require a constitutional
amendment which has to be
passed by a special majority of both houses of Parliament. This means that
an amendment requires the
approval of two-thirds of the members present and voting. However, the
number of members voting
should not be less than the simple majority of the house — whether the Lok
Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
The right to education at elementary level has been made one of the
fundamental rights under the Eighty-
Sixth Amendment of 2002.
Right to property: The Constitution originally provided for the right to property
under Articles 19 and 31. Article 19 guaranteed to all citizens the right to
acquire, hold and dispose of property. Article 31 provided
that "no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law." It
also provided that compensation would be paid to a person whose property
has been taken for public purposes.
The provisions relating to the right to property were changed a number of
times. The Forty-Forth Amendment of 1978 deleted the right to property
from the list of fundamental rights] A new provision,Article 300-A, was
added to the constitution which provided that "no person shall be deprived of
his property save by authority of law". Thus if a legislature makes a law
depriving a person of his property, there would be no obligation on the part
of the State to pay anything as compensation. The aggrieved
person shall have no right to move the court under Article 32. Thus, the
right to property is no longer a fundamental right, though it is still a
constitutional right. If the government appears to have acted
unfairly, the action can be challenged in a court of law by citizens.
The liberalisation of the economy and the government's initiative to set up
special economic zones has led to many protests by farmers and have led to
calls for the reinstatement of the fundamental right to private property. The
Supreme Court has sent a notice to the government questioning why the
right should not be brought back but in 2010 the court rejected the PIL .As
in 2007 the supreme court unanimously said that the fundamental rights
are a basic structure of the constitution and cannot be removed or diluted.
Right to Education: Article 21A - On 1 April 2010, India joined a group of few
countries in the world, with a historic law making education a fundamental
right of every child coming into force. Making elementary education an
entitlement for children in the 6-14 age group, the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act will directly benefit children who do not go to
school at present.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the operationalization of the Act.
Children, who had either dropped out of schools or never been to any
educational institution, will get elementary education as it will be binding on
the part of the local and State governments to ensure that all children in the
6-14 age group get schooling. As per the Act, private educational institutions
should reserve 25 per cent seats for children from the weaker sections of
society. The Centre and the States have agreed to share the financial
burden in the ratio of 55:45, while the Finance Commission has given Rs.
25,000 crore to the States for implementing the Act. The school
management committee or the local authority will identify the drop-outs
or out-of-school children aged above six and admit them in classes
appropriate to their age after giving special training.
2. Fundamental Duties: The 42nd Amendment Act has introduced a set of 10
Fundamental Duties to be observed by all the citizens of India. Please note
carefully that there is no constitutional provision for direct enforcement of
these duties. The duties are:
1. To abide by the Constitution and respect the National Flag and the
National Anthem.
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle
for freedom.
3. To protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
4. To defend the country
5. To promote brotherhood among the Indian people.
6. To preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
7. To protect and improve the natural environment
8. To develop scientific temper and the spirit of enquiry
9. To safeguard public property
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective
activity.
3. Directive Principles of state policy: Contained in Part IV of the Indian
Constitution, the directive principles are basic guidelines for the government
to perform certain things and to achieve certain goals by these actions.
Though they are non-justiciable in nature (cannot be enforced in a Court of
Law), yet they are treated as fundamental canons in the governance of the
country regardless of the political ideology of the party in power at the
Centre.
Most of these aim at the establishment of the social and economic
democracy described in the Preamble to the Constitution. Some of the more
important directives and the extent of the progress made inimplementing
them is discussed below.
The directive under Art.39 has made one of the more remarkable progress
stories so far as its implementation is concerned. It enjoins upon the State
that it should try to ensure that ownership and control of material resources
of the community are distributed so as to serve common good.
In pursuance of this goal, intermediaries or zamindari has been abolished and
land reform laws have been enacted in many states to ensure that the
agricultural land is not monopolized by a few people. Under the relevant
laws, surplus land (beyond the permissible limit, which varies from state to
state) is distributed among the landless laborers. Of course, it is another
story that land reforms in India have not been very successful due to vested
political interests and the unwillingness of the landlords to give surplus land
to the government.
The directive in Art. 40 enjoins upon the government to have village
panchayats as units of local self-government.
With the 73rd Amendment Act, this has become a reality, wherein all
villages in the country are supposed to have panchayats and regular elections
are conducted after every five years. It might be noted that the
Village panchayats enjoy both civic and judicial authorities to an extent.
Art. 45 contains a directive to the government to ensure Free Elementary
Education up to 14 years of age. It has been made into a Fundamental
Right, with the passage of the 93rd CAA by Parliament.
Art. 47 advises the enactment of prohibition of liquor and intoxicating drinks
and drugs. Subsequent to this, many states have initiated some steps in this
direction, but the results so far have not been very encouraging.
Art. 44 : Enjoins upon the State to have a common set of personal laws (
personal laws deal with topics like marriage, divorce, succession etc.) which
at the moment are different for different religious communities.
The issue has been pending for want of sufficient political will.

IV. Procedure For Amendment: The Indian Constitution is both flexible and rigid
and contains many provisions to modify, add, delete or change it according
to the changing needs and circumstances. An easier method has been
prescribed for changing those provisions, which do not primarily affect the
federal system. This has been done in two ways,
1. By providing that the changes in certain constitutional provisions shall not
be deemed to be amendments.
2. Other provisions are changeable by following an amendment procedure
described in Art. 368. (Even this has two categories)
I. A Constitutional Amendment Bill may be initiated in either house of
Parliament and can be passed in each house by following the procedure
below:
1. A majority (more than 50%) of the total membership of the House must
be present on the day of voting
2. And out of those present and voting, at least two-thirds must vote for the
bill.
3. If the above two conditions are fulfilled, the bill is deemed to have been
passed in the respective House. It goes to the other House thereafter, where
the same procedure is repeated. Upon passage in both the Houses in this
manner, the bill goes to the President for his assent. The bill becomes an act
only after getting presidential assent.
II. However, if an amendment bill seeks to make any changes to any of the
following provisions namely:
A. The manner of Presidential elections.
B. Extent of Executive powers of the Union and the States.
C. The Supreme Courts and High Courts.
D. Distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the States.
E. Representation of the States in Parliament.
The amendment bill in such cases must be ratified by at least 50% of the
State Legislatures before the bill goes for Presidential assent. The President
cannot refuse assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill as is the provision in
case of ordinary bills. Thus the President is not competent to veto any
amendment bill presented to him for assent.
The States in India cannot initiate any bill for constitutional amendment.
Notably, the procedure for a Joint Sitting of the Houses to resolve a deadlock
between them in such cases, is not applicable to amendment bills. In
essence, if one house passes an amendment bill and the other house does
not, the bill lapses and will have to be introduced afresh in order to pass it.
As of January 2012, there have been 97 amendments to the Constitution of India
since it was first enacted in 1950. Some of the important amendments are
shown below:-
Constitutional
Amendment Act(CAA)
PROVISIONS
1st CAA’51 Restrictions imposed on Right to Speech and Expression
24th CAA’71 Education shifted to the Concurrent List, Parliament has the
power to amend
any part of the Constitution
35th CAA’75 Sikkim made an associate State of India
36th CAA’75 Sikkim made a full state of India
42nd CAA’76 Words Socialist, Secular added to the Preamble
DPSPs were given priority over FRs
Fundamental Duties were added
44th CAA’78 Fundamental Right To Property Abolished
61st CAA’89 Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 years
73rd CAA’93 Panchayati Raj (Local Self-Government)
74th CAA’93 Urban Local Bodies
84th CAA’99 Women’s Reservation Bill
93rd CAA’02 Education made a Fundamental Right
97th CAA’12 Added the words "or co-operative societies" after the word "or
unions" in Article 19(l)(c) and insertion of article 43B i.e., Promotion of Co-
operative Societies and added Part-IXB i.e., THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES
The Basic Features Theory: Until 1971, it was widely thought that since the
Indian Constitution does not contain any mention of the provisions which can
be amended under this article or not, any part of the Constitution was
amendable provided it fulfilled the requirements laid down in Art. 368. But in
the legendary Keshvanand Bharati Vs. State of Kerala Case, it was ruled
(overruling its own judgment in the Golak Nath Case) by the SC that though
not expressly mentioned, there are certain provisions in the Constitution,
which make up its “basic structure”, and therefore are not changeable at all.
This decision is widely known as the “basic features theory”.
The basic features as spelt out by the SC are:
1. Sovereignty and territorial integrity of India
2. The federal system
3. Judicial Review
4. Parliamentary system of government
Strangely enough, fundamental rights have not been included in this theory.
Consequently, in theory at least, it is competent for the Parliament to
change or abolish any or all FRs contained in the Constitution.
Very recently, secularism has been included in this list by the SC in the BJP
Ruled States Vs. Union of India Case.
The above attempt of the SC to assert its authority was nullified by the 42nd
AA which aimed at excluding all kinds of judicial review by the SC. Reacting
to this, the SC ruled in the Minerva Mills Case that judicial review is one of the
basic features and that it can not be taken away by any law. Summing up
this complicated scenario, the net position is like this:
1. Any part of the Constitution is amendable according to Art. 368 provided
it does not change any of the “basic features” mentioned above.
2. No Constituent Assembly needs to be convened nor any referendum
needs to be conducted to make any amendment to the Constitution.
V. The Union Executive & The Union Council Of Ministers
1. The Union Executive:
The President and the Vice-President: At the head of the Union Executive stands
the President of India, who is elected by indirect election i.e. by an electoral
college, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by a
single transferable vote.
This electoral college comprises A. Elected members of both Houses of
Parliament B. Elected members of State Legislative Assemblies
Eligibility Conditions:
In order to contest for Indian Presidency, a person must
1. be a citizen of India
2. have completed 35 years of age
3. be eligible election to the Loksabha
4. not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or any State
Government or under any local or other authority subject to the control of
Central/State Governments.
However, the sitting President or the Vice-President, the State Governor and
a Minister at the Centre or in states are eligible to contest for presidential
elections. The President is not a member of either House of Parliament or
any State Legislature, and if such a person becomes President, he will be
deemed to have vacated his seat in that House the moment he assumes
Presidential office.
His office tenure is 5 years from the date of assuming office, but he will be
eligible for re-election. There is no bar on the number of times for which a
person can become the President of India. However, his office
may terminate before 5 years in case of
1. his resignation in writing which is addressed to the Vice-President of India
2. his removal by impeachment.
Impeachment (Art. 61): Impeachment is a semi-judicial procedure to remove
the President of India. The President of India can be removed from office on
one ground only i.e. violation of Constitution. The parliament may initiate a
motion of impeachment in either House, which is then investigated by the
other House.
1. A resolution of impeachment must be moved at least after 14 days of
written notice, signed by at least one-fourths of the total members of that
House.
2. The resolution is then discussed is passed by at least two-thirds of the
total membership of the House.
The President has the right to defend himself during such investigations. If,
subsequently, a resolution is passed by at least two-thirds of the total
membership of the House in which it originated, it will have the
effect of removing the President from his post with effect from the date of
passing.
Emoluments and Allowances: The President gets a monthly salary of Rs.
150000/- only apart from an official residence for use (free of cost). He is
also eligible for an annual pension, if he is not re-elected as
President.
Normally, elections for choosing a new President are held before the expiry
of the term of the outgoing President. Until a new President assumes charge,
the outgoing President must continue to discharge his duties. In case of any
vacancy in the President’s office due to death, resignation, impeachment
etc., the elections must be held within 6 months of occurrence of such a
vacancy. In such cases, the Vice-President discharges his duties. Any dispute
regarding Presidential election shall be decided by the Supreme Court
of India, whose decision will be exclusive and final in this regard.
Powers, Privileges, Duties: The Constitution says that the all the executive
powers of the Union are vested in the President, making him the Head of the
Indian State. Executive functions are those, which are left after taking out
legislative and judicial functions. But these powers are circumscribed by
many provisions like
1. The executive powers are exercisable by the President, in accordance with
the advice of his Council of Ministers (Art 74).
2. However, the President may send back any Cabinet resolution, asking the
Cabinet to reconsider it. But if the resolution again comes back to him for his
assent, it is obligatory for him to sign it. The right to send back any
resolution to the Cabinet can be exercised only once. The net result is that
the President cannot act at his discretion or “sweet will” except in certain
marginal cases referred to by the Supreme Court.
Different Powers:
A. Administrative Powers: The Indian President remains the formal Head of the
Union Administration and as such, all executive functions of the Union are
expressed to be taken in his name. Further, all officers of the Union shall be
subordinate to him and “He will have a right to be informed of the affairs of the
Union”. (Art 78)
Put simply, it means that he can ask for any file/document or information
relating to the affairs of the Union.
The administrative power includes the power to appoint and remove certain
high dignitaries of the State.
The President enjoys the power to appoint
1. The Prime Minister
2. Other Central Ministers on PM’s advice
3. The Attorney-General of India
4. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
5. Supreme Court Judges including the CJI
6. High Court Judges including the Chief Justice
7. The Governor of a State
8. The Finance Commission
9. The Union Public Service Commission and Joint Commission for a group of
States
10. A special officer for SC/STs
11. A Commission on Scheduled Areas
12. A Commission on Official Languages
13. A special officer for Linguistic Minorities
14. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
15. A Commission for Backward Classes
He is competent to remove
1. the Union Ministers (on the advice of the PM)
2. the Attorney-General of India
3. the Chairman or a member of the Union Public Service Commission on the
report of the Supreme Court.
4. a Supreme Court/High Court Judge/Election Commissioner, on an address
of Parliament.
B. Military Powers: The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces in India and as such, has the right to declare war or peace with any
country. However, such powers are subject to parliamentary control.
C. Diplomatic Powers: The task of negotiating international treaties and
agreements belongs to the President, who acts according to ministerial
advice in such matters. This again is subject to ratification by
the Parliament.
D. Legislative Powers : The President is component part of the Union
Parliament (though not a member of either House) and enjoys the following
legislative powers :
1. Summoning, Prorogation, Dissolution: The President has the power to
summon (call) or prorogue (end the session) the Houses of Parliament and
to dissolve the Loksabha.
2. He also enjoys the right to call a Joint Sitting of both the Houses to
resolve a deadlock over any bill.( Art 108)
3. He addresses the first session after each general election and at the first
session of each year.
4. He can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha from persons with
special achievements/experience
in literature, science, art and social service. Similarly, he has the right to
nominate 2 Anglo-Indians to the Loksabha, if he feels their representation is
not sufficient.
It is obligatory to obtain Presidential sanction beforehand in case of certain
bills like
1. a bill for forming a new state/change of state boundaries
2. a money bill
3. a bill affecting taxation in which states are also interested
A Bill becomes an Act only after getting Presidential assent. The President is
competent to take any of the following steps if a Bill is presented to him for
his assent:
A. He may give assent to the Bill enabling it to become a law
B. He may withhold his assent
C. He may return the Bill for reconsideration (except Money Bills) to the
Parliament. If the Bill is represented to him in this case after
reconsideration, it is obligatory for him to give his assent to it.
The above is true of ordinary bills (bills except Money and Amendment Bills).
The President of India cannot refuse to sign a bill. At the most, he can
withhold his assent from the bill, which is the equivalent of not approving a
Bill. Also, there is no time-limit prescribed for him to give his assent to a Bill.
Theoretically speaking, he may keep the Bill in his pocket for an indefinite
time. An example in this regard is Mr. Zail Singh’s, who kept the Postal
Amendment Bill with him and it lapsed without his approval once he retired
from office. This type of veto power is known as “Pocket Veto”. In
case of sending back the Bill for re-consideration, if the Bill again comes
back to him, the only effect of sending back the bill is suspending the
process of assent for some days. This is referred to as “Suspensive
Veto”.
Ordinance-Making Power: The President enjoys the power to issue an ordinance
at a time, when the Parliament is not in session. An ordinance, for all
practical purposes, has the effect of a normal law passed
by the Parliament. This power is exercised by him on Cabinet advice. The
ordinance issued by the President must be passed by the Parliament within 6
weeks of reassembly otherwise it will cease to be in operation. (Art 123)
The Pardoning Powers: He can grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension,
remission or commutation in punishment in cases where death sentence is
awarded by the Courts (even by a Court-Martial). He is the only authority for
pardoning a death sentence.
Miscellaneous Powers:
1. Power to draw up and notify the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes for each state separately and UTs.
2. To refer any matter to the Supreme Court for its advice (Art. 143)
Emergency Powers (Part XVIII)
Three types of emergency have been prescribed under the Constitution to
deal with exigencies. The President can
A. declare a “Proclamation of Emergency” due to threat to the security of India or
any part of it. It can be imposed even in the anticipation of such a threat. The
proclamation of emergency must be passed by both Houses with special
majority within one month of its issuance. It can last for six months by
passing each such resolution by the requisite majority.
Because of war, external attack or armed rebellion. (Art.352). An example is the
infamous emergency imposed in 1975 by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Please note
that whenever the word “Emergency” alone is used, it refers to the National
Emergency.
During such an Emergency, the Union can direct the States to perform their
Executive functions in the manner specified by it, thus bringing the States
under the complete control of the Union (without suspending it). During such
times, the Parliament will be authorized to make laws in respect of the State
List also (which it normally does not do). Whenever a proclamation of
emergency is issued, the rights granted by Art. 19 are immediately
suspended. Any other FR can be suspended depending on a special
presidential order except the Right To Life. But since the emergency order
has to be ultimately approved by the Parliament and it is within its right to
disapprove it, the final authority to suspend any FR in India remains the Indian
Parliament.
B. proclaim a state emergency (Art 356) due to breakdown of governmental machinery
in any state if he is satisfied that the government there cannot be carried out
according to Constitutional provisions. Such breakdown may occur due to a
political deadlock (as in UP where no government could be formed even
after election owing to a hung assembly) or failure of the state government
to comply with directions of the Union.
In such cases, the President suspends the assembly of that state and rules
the state through the Governor, who is his nominee. That is why this is
popularly known as the “President’s Rule”. It has been applied more than
106 times till date. In such cases, the President may assume to himself any
or all of the powers of the State Legislature. Normally, it is imposed for two
months initially, and is to be approved by the Parliament. This duration can
be extended, however, by six months each upto maximum of three years by
passing resolutions in the Parliament.
C. declare a Financial Emergency under Art. 360 if he feels that the
creditworthiness of India or any part of it is in danger. The objective of such
an emergency is to maintain financial stability of India by controlling the
expenditures and by reducing the salaries of all government servants. Such
an emergency has never been imposed so far.
2. The Union Council of Ministers: While the Prime Minister is selected by the
President, all other ministers are appointed by him on the advice of the
Prime Minister. While selecting a Prime Minister, the President is restricted to
the leader of the majority party at the Centre or the person who is in a
position to form a government and prove his majority later on. The
allocation of portfolios to the Ministers is also done by the President as per
the Prime Ministerial advice.
The PM is at the head of the Council of Ministers and the Council cannot
continue to exist in the event of resignation or death of the Prime Minister.
The term Council of Minister refers to all the Ministers, whether Cabinet,
State or Deputy Ministers. In reality, there is no classification of ministers in
our Constitution. All this done has been following the
British practice in this regard.
The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Loksabha (Art 75).
Theoretically, if a no-trust motion is passed against even one of the
ministers in the Parliament, the whole Council is supposed to resign as a
consequence (which has not taken place so far).
The entire Council of Ministers seldom meets as a single body. It is the
Cabinet, an inner group within the
Council, which takes all major decisions and which shapes the government
policy. While Cabinet Ministers can attend all Cabinet meetings as a matter
of right, the Deputy Ministers and Ministers of State can come to the
meeting only if they are invited.
Ministers may be chosen from either House of Parliament or a minister, who
is member of one house, has a right to speak and participate in the
proceedings of the other House, but he cannot vote there. A person who is
not a member of either, can be appointed a minister, but he must get
elected to either House of Parliament within 6 months of his appointment.

VI. The Attorney and Comptroller & Auditor-General Of India

1. The Attorney General of India: The Attorney-General of India is the first law
officer of the GOI and he is expected to give advice on legal matters
referred to him by the President. He also represent and defends the cases
against the GOI in different Courts. The AGI is possibly the only person
under the Indian system who can take part in the proceedings of the
Parliament or any parliamentary committee, but cannot vote.
The AGI is appointed by the President and holds officer at the latter’s
pleasure. A person, in order to be appointed the AGI, must have the
qualifications, which are required of an SC Judge. He receives a monthly
retainer.
2. The Comptroller And Auditor-General: The CAG performs the duties of
1. auditing and reporting on all expenditures from the Consolidated Fund of
India and the Contingency Fund of India and of each state to determine
whether the expenditure has been as per law.
2. auditing and reporting on all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss
account etc. kept by any department of the Union or a State.
The CAG report is kept before the Parliament and is examined by the Public
Accounts Committee of Parliament, which brings to the notice of Parliament
any discrepancies found by it.
To be appointed by the President, the CAG will have a normal term of office
for 6 years or until 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. However, he may
resign any time by writing to the President. Otherwise, the only grounds
and mode for his removal are the same as that of an SC Judge i.e. on
impeachment by an address of Parliament.
3. Public Accounts Committee: This Committee examines the Appropriation
Accounts and report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India so that
the irregularities noticed by the CAG may be discussed by the House and
remedial steps taken. It investigates whether the money is legally
distributed for its intended purpose or not.
VIII. The Union Legislature: Comprises the President, the Loksabha and the
Rajyasabha.
1. The Loksabha: Has a mixed composition with a total sanctioned strength of
550 elected members (530 from States and 20 at the most from UTs). A
maximum of 2 members from the Anglo-Indian community may be
nominated to the Loksabha by the President if he feels that they are not
sufficiently represented.
Members of the Loksabha are elected by an electoral college of all adult
citizens (of not less 18 years and who is not disqualified for non-residence,
unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practices-
Universal Adult Franchise –Art. 326). The normal duration of a Loksabha is 5
years, unless dissolved earlier by the President. The duration can be
increased by a maximum of 1 year at a time only during an
Emergency.
2. The Speaker: The Speaker is the person who presides over the Loksabha
sittings. Soon after its formation, the new Loksabha chooses its Speaker and
the Deputy Speaker. Since the newly –constituted Loksabha is yet to elect a
Speaker who can administer the oath of office and secrecy to all the new
MPs, the House normally elects a Pro Tem (sort of temporary) Speaker to
conduct the business during that time. The Speaker conducts the business of
the House as per the Rules of Business. The Speaker may cease to be so
1. if he loses the Loksabha membership for some reason
2. if he submits his resignation in writing to the Deputy Speaker and vice-
versa.
3. If he is removed from the post by a Loksabha resolution supported by a
majority all the members of the House.
Normally, the Speaker exercises the casting vote in case of a tie over a bill in
the House.
Besides, the LS Speaker presides over a Joint Sitting of both the Houses.
The Speaker also ratifies a bill as Money Bill and his decision in this matter is
final. During a vacancy in the office of the LS Speaker, the Deputy Speaker
performs his duties. After the first General Elections in 1951, GV Mavlankar
became the first Speaker of the Loksabha.
3. The Rajyasabha: It is a permanent House (cannot be dissolved) with a
member having a term of 6 years. One-thirds of its members retire after
every two years. Consequently, there will be an election of one-thirds of the
Rajyasabha at the beginning of every 3rd year.
It is the duty of the President to summon both Houses of Parliament at such
intervals that not more than 6 months elapse between two successive
sessions.
The Vice-President of India is the ex-office Chairman of the Rajyasabha.
During his absence, the Deputy Chairman discharges his duties in the House.
4. Legislative Procedures
For Bills Other Than Money Bills: May be introduced in either House by a
Minister or a private member. A private member has to seek prior
permission of the House before introducing the Bill, which is normally
given. After introduction in the House, the Bill is discussed by the House and
is thereafter put to vote. In case of bills other than Money Bills, a simple
majority is required to pass them (at least 50 percent of those present and
voting in the House must approve it.)
After being passed in this manner in one House, Bill goes to the other
House. Upon receipt in the other House, it undergoes all the stages again as
it has in the earlier House. The other House may subsequently
1. reject the Bill altogether
2. pass the Bill with amendments. If on return to the originating House, the
amendments are accepted by
it, the Bill goes to the President for his assent. However, if the originating
House does not agree to the amendments proposed by the other House,
there is a deadlock and the provision of a Joint Sitting may be applied in
such cases.
3. may take no action on it. If more than 6 months elapse in this manner, a
Joint Sitting may be summoned by the President.
Though in most spheres, the LS and the RS are equal in the matter of their
rights, there are certain special privileges enjoyed by the LS and the RS
separately. For example,
1. only the Rajyasabha can recommend the creation of one or more All-India
Services.
2. Only the Rajyasabha can pass a resolution to enable the Parliament to
make a law on any thing contained in the State List.
Similarly, the Loksabha enjoys certain special powers like the unique ability
to introduce a money bill and its dominant role in passing it.
Money Bills: A Bill is defined as a Money Bill if it contains any of the following
provisions ONLY:
A. imposition, abolition, reduction, alteration, remission or regulation of any
tax
B. taking out/depositing money from/into the Consolidated Fund/
Contingency Fund of India (Art. 110)
On the other hand, a Financial Bill is a Bill which deals with taxation plus
some other provisions. That is why the Annual Budget is known as the
Annual Finance Bill because it contains many provisions apart from those
related to taxes.
A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Loksabha on the
recommendations of the President. The decision of the Speaker of the LS is
final in certifying whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not. The Rajyasabha
cannot initiate a Money Bill nor can it reject or amend it after passage by the
Loksabha. The Rajyasabha must return a Money Bill within 14 days of
receipt, after which the Loksabha may accept any of its recommendations.
In case the RS recommendations are accepted by the LS, the Bill will be
deemed to have been passed by both the Houses. In case the LS does not
accept the RS recommendations, the Bil will be deemed to have been passed
by both the Houses.
If the RS does not return the Bill within 14 days of its receipt, it will be
deemed to have been passed.
The net result is that the RS does not have much say in matters of Money or
Finance Bills. For example, in case of Annual Budget, the Rajyasabha can
discuss it or propose amendments to it but it is not obligatory
for the LS to accept them.
The President is bound to give his assent to a Money Bill so passed in the
first instance itself and cannot withhold his assent or send it back to
Parliament.
In the Loksabha, estimates of expenditures are submitted in the form of
Demands-For-Grants on particular heads and are followed by a vote of the
House on each of those heads. After voting, the grants so made by the LS
and the expenditures charged on the Consolidated Fund of India (which are
non-votable like the salaries of SC./HC Judges, President’s salary and other
office expenses) are included in an Appropriation Bill, providing legal
authority for drawing money from the Consolidated Fund of India.
VIII. The State Executive: Our Constitution provides for a federal set-up and
contains provisions for the administration of the Union and the State
governments. The procedure laid down for the governance of the States is
equally applicable to all, except Jammu and Kashmir.
1. The Governor: The State Governor is largely parallel to the Union President
in matters of his role in the legislative and executive process. The Governor,
appointed by the President, holds office at the President’s pleasure and
enjoys the formal executive authority in a state. Any Indian Citizen above 35
years of age is eligible for Governorship, but he must not hold any office of
profit, nor he be a member of the Union or a State Legislature. The powers
of appointment to the State Council of Ministers, the Advocate-General,
recommending Money- Bills etc. enjoyed by the Governor are largely
analogous to those held by the President at the Centre.
The normal office term of a Governor is 5 years, terminable earlier by
resignation to the President or dismissal by the President.
Salary, Allowances: The Governor gets a monthly salary plus an official
residence free of cost and other allowances and privileges as per law.
CHIEF MINISTER
He is the real executive and Head of the Government at the State level. The
position of Chief Minister at the State level is parallel to that of the Prime
Minister at the Centre. Chief Ministers are appointed by the respective
Governors. Other Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of
the Chief Minister.
The Chief Ministers is the chief link between the Governor and the Council of
Ministers. He keeps the Governor informed of all decisions of the Council of
Ministers.
 STATE LEGISLATURE IN INDIA
Can be
1. Unicameral – [One House]
2. Bicameral – [Two House]
BICAMERAL STATUS (6 States) - Bihar, J & K, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh.
The Legislative Council can be created or abolished on the recommendation
of Legislative Assembly.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL [VIDHAN PARISHAD]
Also known as the Upper House. Like the Rajya Sabha, it is also a
permanent house and CANNOT be dissolved.
STRENGTH
Its total strength cannot exceed 1/3 rd of the strength of the Legislative
Assembly, subject to a minimum of 40 members.
TENURE
Six years, with 1/3 rd members retiring every two years.
QUALIFICATION
Same as for the Lok Sabha, except the age which is 30 yrs.
CHAIRMAN
The Council elects a Chairman and a Vice-chairman from amongst its
members.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY [VIDHAN SABHA]

 Also known as Lower House, just like the Lok Sabha.

 Consists of directly chosen representatives.
 Has a term of 5 years but can be dissolved by the Governor earlier. Its
term can be extended by one year during national emergency.
 The Council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Assembly. The
Chief Minister is the leader of the house.
ELIGIBILITY CONDISTIONS
Same as for the Lok Sabha or Legislative Council except the minimum age,
which is 25 years in this case.
SPEAKER/DEPUTY SPEAKER
Every Legislative Assembly chooses its Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
With reference to a Money Bill, the position is the same as prevails at the
Union level: the Bill can be introduced only in the Assembly; the will of the
Assembly prevails; If the State does not comply with the directives of the
Centre, the latter may invoke Art. 356 and take over the administration of
the State to itself.
FINANCIAL RELATIONS
The States in India are greatly dependent on the Centre. The Constitution
provides inadequate sources of revenue to the States. Therefore, they have
to depend on the Centre for subsidies and other financial contributions.
The Union exercises financial control through the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India, who audits the accounts of the States and reports on them.

3. Special Status of J&K: Under Art. 370, the State of Jammu and Kashmir
enjoys certain special privileges as compared to other States in the Union
e.g.
1. J&K has its separate State Constitution which no other state in India has.
2. No Constitutional Amendment Act passed by the Parliament is applicable
to J&K unless it is extended so by a Presidential order
3. The President’s rule (Art.356) cannot be applied in J and K.
4. No proclamation under Art.352 (National Emergency) can be applied to
J&K, without the concurrence of the State Government.
5. The Directive Principles of State Policy do not apply to J&K and the
Fundamental Right To Property still exists in the State.
IX. The Indian Judicial System: The Supreme Court of India sits at the apex of
the judicial system in India and the Parliament is competent to make any
changes regarding its constitution, jurisdiction and the salaries payable to its
judges. The Supreme Court comprises a Chief Justice of India and 25 other
Judges. Besides, the CJI, with presidential consent, can request a retired SC
Judge to act as a Temporary Judge in case of lack of quorum.
Qualifications and Tenures of Judges
A person, in order to be appointed an SC Judge must
1. be a citizen of India
2. Be either a distinguished jurist or have at least 10 years’ High Court
practice as an advocate OR
3. have been a High Court Judge for at least 5 years.
No minimum age nor any fixed tenure has been prescribed. An SC Judge
may cease to be so
1. on attaining the age of 65 years
2. by sending his resignation to the President
3. being impeached
The only grounds upon which an SC Judge can be removed are:
A. proven misbehaviour B. incapacity
An SC Judge gets a monthly salary of Rs. 90,000/- plus an official residence
free of cost while the CJI receives a monthly salary of Rs.1,00,000/-, apart
from an official residence free of cost. The Constitution secures the
independence of the SC judges by several means, i.e.
1. In matters of appointments to the SC, the President is required to consult,
apart from his Council, the CJI. It has been recently ruled by the SC that
consultation here means that the advice so given by the CJI is binding on
the government and it cannot supersede the advice so made by the CJI.
2. They cannot be removed except on a Joint Address by both chambers on
specified grounds.
3. That the SC Judges' salaries cannot be changed to their disadvantage
during their tenure.
4. That no SC judge shall act or plead in any Court in India after retirement.
Jurisdiction: The SC enjoys an overriding power to entertain appeal, without
any limitation upon its discretion. An appeal to the Supreme Court lies not
only from the decision of any lower Courts within India, but also from the
decisions of any tribunal in India.
As A Federal Court: Art 131 gives the Supreme Court exclusive power to
decide on disputes between the Union and the States or between two or
more States. Since such a case will always go to the Supreme Court only,
this is known as the original jurisdiction of the SC. Only certain classes of
disputes are excluded from this category i.e. a dispute arising out of
interference with inter-state water supplies, matters referred to the Finance
Commission.
As A Court of Appeal: An appeal to the SC always lies if a death sentence has
been given to a person by any of the lower courts/tribunals. But appeals to
the SC in civil cases decided by an HC will be entertained only if the case
involves an important question of law and constitutional interpretation and is
certified so by the HC concerned. Of course, the SC enjoys unlimited power
of judicial review by means of its Special Leave Petition, to hear any case
arising from any Court / Tribunal within India, except Military Tribunals.
Advisory Jurisdiction: Under Art. 143, the Supreme Court can give its advice on
any matter refereed to it by the President. However, it is to be noted once a
presidential reference is made to the SC on an issue, it is not bonding on the
SC to give its advice nor is it binding on the GOI to accept such advice. A
case in point is the presidential reference to the SC on the Ayodhya dispute.
In this case, the SC had declined to give any advice, saying that it was a
purely political question.
As A Guarantor of The Constitution: The Supreme Court is the final interpreter
the Constitution and Other laws. It tries to ensure adherence to both and
thus acts a guarantor of individual rights in India granted by the law and
the Constitution.
The high Courts: A High Court stands at the head of the judiciary in each state.
But the Parliament has the power to establish a common High Court for two
or more states (like the common HC for the North-Eastern states). A High
Court comprises a Chief Justice and a number of other Judges, as may be
decided by the President.
The HC enjoys the jurisdiction over the territorial limits of the state and has
the power of superintendence and control over all Courts and Tribunals in
that area.
In order to be appointed an HC Judge, a person must:
1. be an Indian citizen
2. not be above 62 years of age
3. have held a judicial office in India OR
4. have been an advocate of an HC or of two more such courts in succession
In appointing HC Judges, the President shall consult the CJI, the State
Governor (and also the CJ of the State HC in case a judge other than the CJ
is to be appointed) an HC Judge holds office till 62 years of age. However,
the Judge may vacate his post:
1. by resignation in writing to the President
2. on appointment as an SC Judge
3. by impeachment in Parliament.
The mode of removal of both SC and HC Judges is the same i.e.
impeachment by Parliament and both
hold office during “good behviour”. Both categories of Judges, in addition to
a monthly salary, are entitled
to the use of an official residence, free of cost.
X. The Finance Commission: A Finance Commission will be appointed by the
President every five years (Art. 280) to report on the distribution of financial
resources between the Union and the States. It is the duty of the FC to
report on the:
1. allocation of divisible tax resources between the Centre and the States.
2. the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the States’
revenues out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
3. any other matter referred to the Commission by the President.
XI. The Union and State Public Service Commissions: There is a Union Public
Service Commission to conduct examinations for appointment to Union
posts, advise on any matters referred to it by the President,
transfers/promotions and other service matters. The number of the UPSC
members is decided by the President.
The Commission members shall hold office for 6 years from the date of
appointment. Sufficient provisions have been made to guard the
independence of the UPSC. For example, a UPSC member can be removed
by the President only on the report of the SC, which will conduct an enquiry
into the case. The UPSC presents an annual report to the government on its
functioning and this report is tabled in the parliament.
Please note that the work of the Commission is purely advisory and the
government may refuse to implement the recommendations for
appointments made by the UPSC, for which it has give reasons. The
final appointing authority for the All-India Services is the President.
In each state, there is a State Public Service Commission, appointments to
which are made by the Governor concerned. A Joint Commission may also
be constituted by the President on the states’ request.
XII. Elections in India: The Indian Constitution does not describe the details of
the election process, it prescribes only essential guidelines, the rest is left to
legislation. In India, the general principle of elections is Universal Adult
Franchise i.e. every citizen who is 18+ years of age is entitled to vote for
Loksabha elections regardless of any consideration of caste, color, creed,
sex, place of residence and the like. (provided he has not been disqualified
otherwise on grounds of non-residence, crime, unsoundness of
mind, corrupt or illegal practices)
In pursuance of the authority granted by the Constitution, the
Representation of People’s Act-1951 and the Delimitation Commission Act-
1962 have been enacted, which describe in detail the electoral process to
be followed in elections and the mode of formation of electoral
constituencies. All electoral disputes connected with LS/RS elections are
challengeable only in a High Court by means of an Election Petition,
with an appeal to the Supreme Court while the disputes concerning any
Presidential elections can be taken to the Supreme Court only.
The Constitution provides for an Election Commission consisting of a Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, as may be decided
by the President from time to time (Art 324). The Election Commission is
charged with the duty of conducting, supervising and controlling the entire
machinery and the procedure for elections to Parliament, State Legislative
Assemblies, offices of President and Vice-President of India. The CEC cannot
be removed from his post except in a manner similar to an SC Judge i.e.
proved misbehaviour/incapacity. The other Commissioners may be removed
by the President on the CEC’s recommendation.
The election process regarding the Loksabha elections is initiated on the
recommendations of the Home Ministry. A specified period is given for filing
nomination, which must be supported by at least 10 electors.
A security deposit is also to be given with the Returning Officer of the
constituency, which is forfeited if the candidate fails to get at least one-sixth
of total valid votes polled in that election. The results are declared by the
Returning Officer of the constituency concerned. The results can, however,
be withheld by the EC in cases
1. where the constituency has been identified as being communally sensitive
2. the victory margin between two topmost competing candidates is less
than 5 percent of valid votes polled
Recounting may be ordered in such cases by the EC.
The EC also performs the task of recognizing political parties. Around 43
recognized political parties exist in India, which may be either of the two
types:
1. National parties are those parties, which secure a minimum of 5% total
votes in any previous Loksabha elections OR 5 percent votes in at least 4
State Assembly Elections e.g. the Congress, the BJP.
2. All other parties which do not fulfill the above criteria are classified as
regional parties e.g. Akali Dal, Muslim league, Revolutionary Socialist Party.
Notably, the increase or decrease in the no. of districts in any state has no
impact on the number of Loksabha constituencies which is fixed by the
Delimitation Commission. For instance, the current no. of seats is based on
the 1971 Census Report. The number of LS of seats has now been frozen till
2026 in Sdeference to requests by some states.
XIII. Some Important Political Terms
1. Lameduck Government: Is defined as that government which has lost the
motion of no-confidence in the Loksabha and does not have the
constitutional authority to run the government. Still on being asked
by the President, such a government has to continue until alternative
arrangements are made. Such a government is referred to as a lameduck
government.
2. Left Parties: Are those parties that adopt a radical political ideology. For
instance, the CPI, CPI(M) and RSP etc.
3. Right Parties: Are defined as those parties which adopt a politically
conservative ideology e.g. the BJP, Shiv Sena etc.
4. Centrist Parties: Are those which adopt a political position which is a via
media between the leftist and the rightist political ideologies.
5. Cut Motion: A motion moved to effect a cut in the Annual Budget. If an
insignificant cut is proposed, such a motion is known as a token cut-motion.
It has great political significance because if it is carried through in the
Parliament, the government is under moral obligation to resign as a
consequence.
6. Zero Hour: That time during parliamentary proceedings in the day when
any matter of urgent national importance without any prior notice.
7. Starred Question: Those the answers to which are given orally by the
Minister concerned in the Parliament.
8. Unstarred Questions: The answers to which are given in writing in
Parliament by the Minister concerned.
9. Vote-On–Account: Is passed without discussions pending final approval by
the Parliament if money is required urgently.
10. Guillotine: A motion is said to be guillotined if it is passed without any
discussion on it in parliament in view of urgency of the issue under question.
11. Filibuster: Is a person who, in order to block the passage of a bill in
Parliament, makes a long speech just before voting is going to take place.
This term has British origins. Such a person and such a speech, both are
referred to as filibuster.
12. Whip: A whip is a person who regulates the presence and conduct of the
members of a particular political party in Parliament. He is supposed to
ensure their presence and voting on particular days and in a particular
manner. Before voting on any matter in Parliament, an order is issued by the
whip to all party MPs. Such an order is also known as a whip. Under the
provisions of the Anti-Defection Law, violating a party whip can attract
disqualification from Parliament. However, as per current provisions, which
are likely to undergo drastic change in future, party splits (i.e. if one-thirds
or more legislators from a particular party leave it and join another one) are
not termed as defections and do not attract penal provisions.
List of High courts of India:

Estab. Territorial
Name Seat
year Jurisdiction

West Bengal,
Kolkata ( Bench of
Kolkata 1862 Andman & Nicobar
port Blair)
Islands

Mumbai (Bench at
Maharastra, Dadar,
Panaji,
Bombay 1862 & Nagar Haveli.
Aurangabad and
Goa, Daman Diu
Nagpur)

Tamil Nadu & Chennai (Bench at

Chennai 1862
Pondicherry Madurai)

Allahabad (Bench
Allahabad 1866 Utter Pradesh
at Lucknow)

Bengaluru (Bench
Karnataka 1884 Karnataka at Dharwad and
Gulbarga)

Patna 1916 Bihar Patna

Jammu & Sri Nagar &

1928 Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir Jammu
Punjab & Punjab, Haryana ,
1947 Chandigarh
Haryana Chandigarh

Assam, Nagaland, Guwahati (Bench

Guwahati 1948 Mizoram and at Kohima, Aizawl
Arunachal Pradesh and Itanagar

Orissa 1948 Orissa Cuttack

Jodhpur ( Bench –
Rajasthan 1949 Rajasthan
Jaipur)

Andhra
1954 Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad
Pradesh

Madhya Jabalpur (Bench –

1956 Madhya Pradesh
Pradesh Indore , Gwalior)

Kerala &
Kerala 1958 Ernakulam
Lakshadweep

Gujarat 1960 Gujarat Ahmedabad

Delhi 1966 Delhi Delhi

Himachal
1966 Himachal Pradesh Shimla
Pradesh

Sikkim 1975 Sikkim Gangtok

Chhattisgarh 2000 Chhattisgarh Bilaspur

Uttarakhand 2000 Uttarakhand Nainital

Jharkhand 2000 Jharkhand Ranchi

Tripura 2013 Tripura Agartala

Manipur 2013 Manipur Imphal

Meghalaya 2013 Meghalaya Shillong

Latest & Updated List of Cabinet Ministers of India

Sr.
Minister Portfolio
No

Prime Minister and also in-charge

of:
– Ministry of Personnel
– Public Grievances and Pensions
– Department of Atomic Energy

1. Shri Narendra Modi – Department of Space

All important policy issues and all

other
portfolios not allocated to any
Minister.

2. Shri Raj Nath Singh Minister of Home Affairs

3. Smt. Sushma Swaraj Minister of External Affairs

– Minister of Finance
4. Shri Arun Jaitley
– Minister of Corporate Affairs

– Minister of Road Transport

& Highway
– Minister of Shipping
5. Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari
– Minister of Water
Resources, River Development &
Ganga Rejuvenation
6. Suresh Prabhu Minister of Commerce & Industry

Minister of Statistics &

7. D.V Sadananda Gowda
Programme Implementation

Minister of Drinking Water &

8. Sushri Uma Bharati
Sanitation

9. Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Defence

10. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister of Minority Affairs

Minister of Consumer Affairs,

11. Shri Ramvilas Paswan
Food & Public Distribution

Minister of Women
12. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi
& Child Development

-Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers

13. Shri Ananth Kumar
– Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

– Minister of Law & Justice

14. Shri. Ravi Shankar Prasad – Minister of Electronics &
Information Technology

Minister of Health
15. Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda
& Family Welfare

Ashok Gajapathi Raju

16. Minister of Civil Aviation
Pusapati

Minister of Heavy
17. Shri. Anant Geete
Industries & Public Enterprises
 Minister of Food
18. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Processing Industries

– Minister of Rural Development

19. Shri Narendra Singh Tomar – Minister of Panchayati Raj &
Mines

Shri Chaudhary Birender

20. Minister of Steel
Singh

21. Shri Jual Oram Minister of Tribal Affairs

Minister of Agriculture
22. Shri Radha Mohan Singh
& Farmers Welfare

Minister of Social
23. Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot
Justice & Empowerment

– Minister of Textiles
24. Smt. Smriti Irani – Minister of Information
& Broadcasting

– Minister of Science & Technology

– Minister of Earth Sciences
25. Dr Harsh Vardhan
– Minister of Environment, Forest
& Climate Change

26. Prakash Javadekar Human Resource Development

– Minister of Railways
27. Piyush Goyal
– Minster of Coal
 – Minister of Petroleum
& Natural Gas
28. Dharmendra Pradhan
– Minister of Skill Development
& Enterprise

List of presidents of India:

President Year

Dr. Rajendra 1950-

Prasad 1962

Dr. Sarvepalli 1962-

Radha Krishna 1967

Zakir 1967-
Hussain 1969

VV Giri
1969
(Acting)

Mohammad
Hidayatullah 1969
(Acting)

1969-
VV Giri
1974

Fakhruddin
1974-
Ali
1977
Ahmed

B.D.
Jatti 1977
(Acting)

Neelam
1977-
Sanjiva
1982
Reddy
 Giani Zail 1982-
Singh 1987

R 1987-
Venkataraman 1992

Shankar
1992
Dayal
1997
Sharma

1997-
KR Narayanan
2002

APJ Abdul 2002-

Kalam 2007

Pratibha 2007-
Patil 2012

Pranab 2012-
Mukherji 2017

Takes office
Ram Nath
25th
Kovind
July 2017

Presidents of India – Important Facts for Exams

 Dr.Rajendra Prasad

 He was the first President of India.

 Also, he is the longest serving President of India.

 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

 He served as First Vice President of India.

 Moreover, before his Political Career, he was a professor of Philosophy in notable

colleges and served as Vice Chancellor of Universities like Andhra
University & Banaras Hindu University.
  Furthermore, his birthday, 5th September, is celebrated as Teacher’s day in India.

 Zakir Hussain

 Firstly, he was the first Muslim President of India.

 Also, he co founded the Jamia Milia Islamia University.

 He died during his office tenure and became the shortest serving President.

 Varahagiri Venkata Giri

 He became Acting President in 1969 due to death of then President Zakir Hussein.

 Later, he resigned from both the posts, Vice President & ActingPresident as he was
a candidate for next presidential Elections.

 As a result, Mohammad Hidayatullah acted as President for a month.

 V. V. Giri is known as the Rubber Stamp President of India.

 Kocheril Raman Narayanan

 He was the first Dalit President of India.

 Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

 He was known as the Missile Man of India as he helped in the development of

ballistic missile and launch vehicles.

 He was known as People’s President.

 Smt. Pratibha Patil

 She is the first women president of India.

List of vice presidents of India:
No. Name Elected Tenure
1. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1952-1957 13 May, 1952 – 12 May, 1962
2. Zakir Husain 1962 13 May, 1962 – 12 May, 1967
3. Varahagiri Venkata Giri 1967 13 May, 1967 – 3 May, 1969
4. Gopal Swarup Pathak 1969 31 August, 1969 – 30 August, 1974
5. Basappa Danappa Jatti 1974 31 August, 1974 – 30 August, 1979
6. Mohammad Hidayatullah 1979 31 August, 1979 – 30 August, 1984
7. Ramaswamy Venkataraman 1984 31 August, 1984 – 24 July, 1987
8. Shankar Dayal Sharma 1987 3 September, 1987 – 24 July, 1992
9. Kocheril Raman Narayanan 1992 21 August, 1992 – 24 July, 1997
10. Krishan Kant 1997 21 August, 1997 – 27 July, 2002
11. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 2002 19 August, 2002 – 21 July, 2007
12. Mohammad Hamid Ansari 2007 – 2017 11 August, 2007 – 10 August, 2017
13. Venkaiah Naidu 2017 11 August, 2007 – Incumbent

Prime Ministers of India:

Prime Minister Year

Jawaharlal Nehru 1947-1964

Gulzarilal
1964
Nanda

Lal Bahadur Shastri 1964-1966

Gulzarilal Nanda 1966

Indira Gandhi 1966-1977

Morarji Desai 1977-1979

Charan Singh 1979-1980

Indira Gandhi 1980-1984

Rajiv Gandhi 1984-1989

Vishwanath
1989-1990
Pratap Singh
 Chandra Shekhar 1990-1991

P.V Narasimha Rao 1991-1996

Atal Bihari Vajpayee 1996

HD Deve Gowda 1996-1997

Inder Kumar Gujral 1997-1998

Atal Bihari Vajpayee 1998-2004

Manmohan Singh 2004-2014

Narendra Modi 2014-till date

Once you have seen the list of Prime Ministers in India also read some major
contributions made by them for the sake of betterment of the society.

Prime Ministers in India – Major Contributions & Facts

 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

 He is the first Prime Minister of India.

 Also, he brought the reform of the Ancient Hindu Civil Code.

 Gulzarilal Nanda

 He was the first interim prime minister of India as, he served twice as the acting PM
of India.

 Lal Bahadur Shastri

  He gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan and also promoted White Revolution in
India.

 Indira Gandhi

 She was named the Women of the Millennium and is the first lady to receive Bharat
Ratna.

 She also got Bangladesh Swadhinata Samman. She is world’s longest serving PM.
Her courage and boldness helped India win over Pakistan in 1971 Indo-Pak war.

 Morarji Desai

 He was the first PM who resigned without completing his office tenure.

 Also, he formally ended the state of emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi.

 Moreover, he is the only Indian Prime Minister who got Nishaan-e-Pakistan

(Pakistan’s highest civilian award)

 Charan Singh

 He removed the Zamindari System and brought Land Reform Acts in India.

 Rajiv Gandhi

 He was the youngest PM.

 Also, he brought computers in India.

 Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao

 He is known as the Father of Indian Economic Reforms.

 Atal Bihari Vajpayee

 He improved India’s telecom industries.

 Also, he took initiatives to improve Indo- Pak relationships.

 Inder Kumar Gujral

 He resisted signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which paved the path to
the Pokhran Nuclear Tests.

 Dr Manmohan Singh

 He founded 8 new IITs to India.

 He also initiated the National Rural Health Mission.

 Narendra Modi

 He has brought many reform policies in India till date.

List of Governors In India:
State Governor From
Andhra Pradesh E.S.L. Narasimhan 27-Dec-09
Joginder Jaswant
Arunachal Pradesh 24-Jan-08
Singh
Janaki Ballabh
Assam 27-Nov-09
Patnaik
Bihar Devanand Konwar 24-Jul-09
Chhattisgarh Shekhar Dutt 23-Jan-10
Shivinder Singh
Goa 22-Jul-08
Sidhu
Gujarat Dr. Kamla Beniwal 27 November, 2009
Haryana Jagannath Pahadia 27 July, 2009
Himachal Pradesh Urmila Singh 25-Jan-10
Jammu and Kashmir Narinder Nath Vohra 25-Jun-08
M.O. Hasan Farook
Jharkhand 22-Jan-10
Maricar
Karnataka Hans Raj Bhardwaj 29-Jun-09
Ramkrishnan
Kerala 10-Jul-08
Suryabhan Gavai
Madhya Pradesh Rameshwar Thakur 1-Jul-09
Maharashtra K. Sankaranarayanan22-Jan-10
Manipur Gurbachan Jagat 23-Jul-08
Ranjit Shekhar
Meghalaya 1-Jul-08
Mooshahary
Lt. Gen. M.M.
Mizoram 25-Jul-06
Lakhera
Nagaland Nikhil Kumar 15-Oct-09
 Murlidhar
Orissa Chandrakant 21-Aug-07
Bhandare
Punjab Shivraj Patil 22-Jan-10
Rajasthan Shivraj Patil (Acting) 27-April-2010
Sikkim Balmiki Prasad Singh 9-Jul-08
Tamil Nadu Surjit Singh Barnala 3-Nov-04
Dnyandeo
Tripura 27-Nov-09
Yashwantrao Patil
Uttarakhand Margaret Alva 19-Jul-09
Uttar Pradesh Banwari Lal Joshi 28-Jul-09
West Bengal M.K. Narayanan 24-Jan-10
List of Chief Ministers of India:
Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu

Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu

Assam Sarbananda Sonowal

Bihar Nitish Kumar

Chhattisgarh Raman Singh

Delhi Arvind Kejriwal

Goa Manohar Parrikar

Gujarat Vijay Rupani

Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar

Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh

Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti

Jharkhand Raghubar Das

Karnataka Siddaramaiah

Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan

Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan

 Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis

Manipur N. Biren Singh

Meghalaya Mukul Sangma

Mizoram Lal Thanhawla

Nagaland TR Zeliang

Odisha Naveen Patnaik

Puducherry V. Narayanasamy

Punjab Amarinder Singh

Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje

Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling

Edappadi
Tamil Nadu
K. Palaniswami

Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao

Tripura Manik Sarkar

Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath

Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat

West Bengal Mamata Banerjee

Some Trivia about Chief Ministers in India

 Of the thirty-one possible states and union territories, three Chief Minister of Indian
States are women, namely – Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Mehbooba Mufti in
Jammu and Kashmir, and Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan.

 Sikkim’s Pawan Kumar Chamling has the longest incumbency, serving since
December 1994 (for 21 years, 161 days).
 Parkash Singh Badal (born 1927) of Punjab is the oldest of all chief ministers in India.

List of commissions:
1. Palekar Tribunal : Journalists’ Pay reforms
2. U.C. Banerjee Commission : Enquiry into Godhra carnage (railways)
3. Sarkaria Commission : Centre-State relations
4. Srikrishna Commission : 1992 Bombay riots
5. Thakkar Commission : Indira Gandhi assassination case
6. Phukan Commission & Saharya Committee : Tehelka tapes
7. Malimath Commission : Criminal Justice
8. Upendra Commission : Inquiry on rape and murder Thangjam
Manorama Devi
9. Malhotra Committee : Insurance Reforms
10. Janaki Ram Committee : Security scam
11. Ajay Vikram Singh Committee : Faster promotions in army
12. Rajinder Sachar Committee {1} : Companies and MRPT Act
13. Rajindar Sachar Committee {2} : Report on the social, economic and
educational status of the Muslims of India
14. Jyoti Basu Committee : Report on Octroi abolition
15 Balwant Rai Mehta Committee : Recommendations on decentralization
system
16. Sawant Committee : Enquiry on corruption, charges against ministers
& Anna Hazare
17. Chelliah Committee : Eradicating black money
18. Kothari Commission : Educational reforms
19. Wanchoo Committee : Tax enquiry
20. Bhanu Pratap Singh Committee : Agriculture
21. Aggarwal Committee : Nepotism in granting petrol pump, LPG
connections
22. Rangarajan Committee : Reforms in private sector
23. Naresh Chandra Committee : Corporate governance
24. Chakravarti Committee : Banking sector reforms
25. Rekhi Committee : Structure of indirect taxation
26. G.V.Ramakrishna Committee : Disinvestment in PSU shares
27. Kelkar Committee : First committee on backward castes
28. P.C.Hotha Committee : Restructuring of civil services
29. Justice B.N.Kirpal Committee : 1st chairman National Forest
Commission
30. Godbole Committee : Enron Power Project
31. J.C.Kumarappa Committee : Congress agrarian Reforms Committee
32. Swaminathan Committee : Population policy
33. Rangarajan Committee : Statistics
34. Wardha Committee : Inquiry on murder of Graham Staines
35. N.N. Vohra Committee : Criminalization of politics
36. Kelkar Committee {2} : Direct-Indirect Taxes
37. Alagh Committee : Civil Service Examinations
38. Abid Hussain Committee : Recommendations on Small scale industries
39. Narasimham Committee : Banking sector reforms
40. Chelliah Committee : Tax reforms
41. Mashelkar Committee : National Auto Fuel Policy
42. Boothalingam Committee : Recommendations on integrated wages,
income and price policy
43. Omkar Goswami Committee : Industrial sickness
44. Yashpal Committee : Review of School Education system
45. Ram Nandan Prasad Committee : Constitution of creamy layers
among Backward Castes
46. Kelkar Committee{3} : Enquiry on Kargil defense deals.
47. M.M. Punchhi Commission : Centre-State Relations [note- this
committee has been set up recently- after the sad demise of Justice (Retd.)
Sarkaria]
48. Thorat Committee : Caste-based discrimination against students in
AIIMS
49. R.K.Raghavan Committee : Ragging in colleges
51. James Lyngdoh Committee– Student politics and student-body
elections in colleges.
52. E.M.S. Nachiappan Committee : Reforms in the higher judiciary
53. Soli Sorabjee Committee : Police Reforms [it was constituted after the
Judgement of the Supreme Court in Parkash Singh vs Union of India (2006)]
54. Ganguli Committee : Review of health facility planning and healthcare
engineering and management
55. Percy Mistry Committee : Making Mumbai an IFC (International
Financial Centre)
56. K.T. Thomas Committee– to look into ways of enhancing the effectives
of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act
57. Fali S. Nariman Committee– Accountability and damages with regard
to destruction of public property
58. Satwant Reddy Committee– review of laws relating to registration of
pharmaceutical drugs and clinical trials
59. Raghuram C. Rajan Committee– financial sector reforms
60. Shah Commission (1966)– reorganisation of States
61. Tarkunde Committee– composition of the Election Commission and
other electoral reforms
62. Dinesh Goswami Committee– electoral reforms
63. G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985) – set up by the planning commission in
1985, to look into the Administrative Arrangement for Rural Development
and poverty Alleviation Programmes.
64. Butler Committee : Relation between Indian states & paramount power
(the Queen of Britain)
65. Hurtog Committee : Growth of British India education-its effects
66. Muddiman Committee : Working of Diarchy as in Montague
Chelmsford reforms

List of committees:
1. Central Information Commission: Receiving and inquiring into
complaints from aggrieved persons.
2. Central Vigilance Commission: Probing offences by Central
Government officers, Officers of societies, corporation and local authority
under the Central Government.
3. Commission for Centre-State Relations: Review of working of existing
arrangements between Union and States i.e. power, functions, and
responsibilities in all spheres.
4. Commission of Enquiry (Tehelka Commission): To enquire into the
definite matter of public importance with the power of civil court.
5. Commission of Enquiry into Oil-for-Food Scam: To inquire into the
Oil-for-Food Scam.
6 Commission on Criminal Justice: Reformation of criminal justice
system, compensation to victims, and effective investment etc.
7. Committee on Reforming Bureaucracy: Best practices of Bureaucracy
8. Competition Commission of India: To curb monopolies, to ensure fair
competition in India by prohibiting adverse trade practices and to pass order
for granting interim relief and to impose penalties in case of defaults.
9. Delimitation Commission: Readjustment of the allocation of seats in
Lok Sabha to several States and total number of seats in the Legislative
Assembly of each State.
10. Election Commission: Preparation of the electoral rolls, direction,
superintendence, and control of elections to Parliament and State
Legislatures, recognition of political parties and allotment of symbols and
also conducting elections to offices of Presidents and Vice-Presidents of
India.
11. Finance Commission: Distribution of financial resources between Union
and States, proceeds from taxes, principles governing grants-in-aid to
revenue of States out of consolidated fund of India, etc.
12. Justice Nanavati Commission: To inquire into 1984 Riot case (Indira
Gandhi Assassination Riot).
13. Kalelkar Commission: Adhering to Article 340, the First Backward
Classes Commission was set up by a presidential order on January 29, 1953
14. Khosla Commission: A one-man commission headed by Justice GD
Khosla established July 1970 to re-investigate the circumstances
surrounding the supposed death of Subhas Chandra Bose. The commission
reached the same conclusions as Shah Nawaz Committee.
15. Law Commission: To suggest for implementation and development in
constitutional and legal matters including the human way of death penalty
16. Liberhan Commission: To enquire into demolition of Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya.
17. Mandal Commission: Headed by Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to
consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress
caste discrimination, and used eleven social, economic, and educational
indicators to determine “backwardness.”
18. Mukherjee Commission: A one-man board of Justice Manoj Mukherjee,
a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India which was instituted in 1999
to enquire into the controversy surrounding the reported death of Subhas
Chandra Bose in 1945.
19. National Commission for Backward Classes: Inclusion of castes as
backward class in OBC lists and to deal with the related matters.
20. National Commission for Denotified,Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic
Tribes (NCDNSNT): A national commission set under Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment, to study various developmental aspects of
denotified and nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes in India.
21. National Commission for Scheduled Castes: To investigate and
monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the SCs, to
inquire into specific complaints on deprivation of rights of SCs to participate
and advice on the planning process of socioeconomic development of SCs.
22. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes: To investigate and
monitor the matters relating to safeguards provided for STs, to inquire into
specific complaints on deprivation of rights of STs.
23. National Commission for Women: Investigation and examination of
all matters relating to safeguards provided for women, take up cases relating
to women to other authorities and to look into complaints relating to
deprivation of women’s rights.
24. National Commission on Labour: To review and suggest improvement
of labour standard.
25. National Commission on Minorities: To evaluate the progress of the
development of minorities under the Union and States, look into complaints
regarding the deprivation of minorities rights.
26. National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution of
India : Study of working of Constitution. in key area.
27. National Forest Commission: Review and assessment of existing
forest policy, legal frame work on scientific and economic point of
examination of current statutes of forest administration and institutions and
policy on development and wild life management.
28. National Human Rights Commission: Receiving complaint from
victim, directions to Government, etc. and rehabilitation to victims.
29. National Judicial Commission: Appointment of Judges in high
judiciary and transfer of High Court Judges.
30. National Knowledge Commission: On 13 June, 2005 , the Prime
Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, constituted the National Knowledge
Commission, as a think-tank charged with considering possible policy that
might sharpen India’s comparative advantage in the knowledge-intensive
service sectors. The Commission was to recommend reform of the education
sector, research labs, and intellectual property legislation; as well as
consider whether the Government could itself upgrade its use of the latest
techniques to make its workings more transparent. The NKC website was
launched in February 2006.
31. Planning Commission: To oversee the 5 years planning program for
the economic development etc. in India.
32. Sahariya Commission: To review the POTA implementation in Centre
and various States.
33. Sarkaria Commission : It was set up in June 1983 to examine the
relationship and balance of power between state and central governments in
the country and suggest changes within the framework of Constitution of
India. It was headed by Justice Rajinder Singh Sarkaria, a retired judge of
the Supreme Court of India.
34. Shah Commission: inquire into all the excesses committed in the
Indian Emergency (1975 – 77). It was headed by Justice J.C. Shah
35. Shah Nawaz: Committee was an enquiry committee established in
1956 to investigate the supposed death of Indian Subhas Chandra Bose in
August 1945. The Committee included Shah Nawaz Khan.
36. States Reorganisation Commission: constituted by the Central
Government of India under the States Reorganisation Act and consisted of
Hon. Fazal Ali, K.M. Panikker, and H.N. Kunzru. The Report submitted by the
Committee in 1955 known as SRC Report went in to the problems of
Telangana and Andhra regions, and the arguments for and against the
merger of two regions.
Important committees formed during
2016-17: