Polity YouTube Series Notes Part-1 (Arora IAS)

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Polity YouTube
Series Notes
Topic Covered
1. Salient Features of the Constitution
2. Preamble of the Constitution
3. Union and its Territory
4. Citizenship
5. Fundamental Rights
6. Directive Principles of State Policy
7. Fundamental Duties
8. Amendment of the Constitution
9. Basic Structure of the Constitution
10.Parliamentary System
Part-1
www.AroraIAS.com Telegram: https://t.me/aroraias Polity YouTube Notes Part-1

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Video Lecture Series on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwLnayJ-0zQ&list=PL-XduN-

VRcdjpZVk_zt5IFXqN1BJKDyja&index=2
Topic- SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION

➢ Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit.
➢ Borrowed from almost every Constitution of the world.
➢ Original features of the Constitution (as adopted in 1949) have undergone a substantial change.
➢ Several amendments has been made= 7th, 42nd, 44th, 73rd, 74th, 97th and 101st.
➢ 42nd Amendment Act (1976) is known as ‘Mini-Constitution’.
➢ In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court ruled that the constituent power of Parliament
under Article 368 does not enable it to alter the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution.
1. Lengthiest Written Constitution
➢ written Constitution.
➢ Originally (1949), the Constitution contained a Preamble, 395 Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8
Schedules.
➢ Presently, it consists of a Preamble, about 470 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules.
Factors contributed to the elephantine size of our Constitution

➢ Geographical factors.
➢ Historical factors.
➢ Single Constitution for both the Centre and the states.
➢ Dominance of legal luminaries in the Constituent Assembly.
2.Drawn From Various Sources

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Article 368 provides for two types of amendments:

• Some provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament, i.e., a two-third majority of the
members of each House present and voting, and a majority of the total membership of each House.
• Some other provisions can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament and with the ratification by
half of the total states.
• At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the
Parliament. These amendments do not come under Article 368.
4. Federal System with Unitary Bias
➢ ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution.

➢ Article 1= Describes India as a ‘ Union of States’ which implies two things:
1) Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states.
2) No state has the right to secede from the federation.
Indian Constitution=‘quasi-federal
5. Parliamentary Form of Government
➢ The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary System of Government rather than
American Presidential System of Government.
Parliamentary system Co-operation and co- ordination between the legislative
and executive organs.
Presidential system Separation of powers between the two organs.

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Parliamentary system= Westminster Model of Government, Responsible Government,

Cabinet Government.
The features of parliamentary government in India are:
(a) Presence of nominal and real executives;
(b) Majority party rule,
(c) Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature,
(d) Membership of the ministers in the legislature,
(e) Leadership of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister,
(f) Dissolution of the lower House (Lok Sabha or Assembly).
➢ The Indian Parliament is not a sovereign body like the British Parliament. Further, the Indian State has an
elected head (republic) while the British State has hereditary head (monarchy).
6. Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy

➢ Sovereignty of Parliament=British Parliament.
➢ Judicial supremacy= American Supreme Court.
➢ The Indian parliamentary system differs from the British system.
➢ The scope of judicial review power of the Supreme Court in India is narrower than that of what exists in US.
➢ The framers of the Indian Constitution have preferred a proper synthesis between the British principle of
parliamentary sovereignty and the American principle of judicial supremacy.
7. Integrated and Independent Judiciary

➢ The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated as well as independent.
8. Fundamental Rights
• Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to all the citizens;
• Fundamental Rights
➢ Justiciable in nature.
➢ Enforceable by the courts for their violation.
➢ The aggrieved person can directly go to the Supreme Court which can issue the writs.
➢ Not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions.
➢ Not sacrosanct and can be curtailed or repealed by the Parliament through a CAA.
➢ Suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21.
9. Directive Principles of State Policy

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➢ According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar=DPSP is a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution.

➢ Part IV
➢ Classified into three categories– socialistic, Gandhian and liberalintellectual.
➢ Promoting the ideal of social and economic democracy.
➢ Seek to establish a ‘welfare state’ in India.
➢ Constitution itself declares that ‘these principles are fundamental in the governance of the country and it
shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws’.
➢ In the Minerva Mills case(1980), the Supreme Court held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on the
bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles’.
10. Fundamental Duties
11. A Secular State

➢ The Constitution of India stands for a Secular State.
➢ does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State.
❖ provisions of the Constitution reveal the secular character of the Indian State:
(a) The term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional
Amendment Act of 1976.
(b) The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of belief, faith and worship.
(c) The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws (Article 14).
(d) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of religion (Article 15).
(e) Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment (Article 16).
(f) All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and
propagate any religion (Article 25).
(g) Every religious denomination or any of its section shall have the right to manage its religious affairs (Article
26).
(h) No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion of a particular religion (Article 27).
(i) No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution maintained by the State (Article 28).
(j) Any section of the citizens shall have the right to conserve its distinct language, script or culture (Article 29)
(k) All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Article
30).
(l) The State shall endeavour to secure for all the citizens a Uniform Civil Code (Article 44).
➢ Western concept of secularism connotes a complete separation between the religion (the church) and the
state (the politics). =negative concept
➢ The Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism, i.e., giving equal respect to all religions
or protecting all religions equally.
➢ Abolished the old system of communal representation.
12. Universal Adult Franchise

• Every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote without any discrimination of caste,
race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth and so on.
• The voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of
1988.

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• Bold experiment and highly remarkable in view of the vast size of the country, its huge population, high
poverty, social inequality and overwhelming illiteracy.
13. Single Citizenship
• Indian Constitution provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship. In countries like USA,
on the other hand, each person is not only a citizen of USA, but also a citizen of the particular state to which
he belongs.
• In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil
rights of citizenship all over the country and no discrimination is made between them.
14. Independent Bodies

➢ The Indian Constitution not only provides for the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the Government
(Central and state) but also establishes certain independent bodies.
➢ These are:
(a) Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, the state legislatures, the office
of President of India and the office of Vice-president of India.
(b) Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to audit the accounts of the Central and state governments. He
acts as the guardian of public purse and comments on the legality and propriety of Government expenditure.
(c) Union Public Service Commission to conduct examinations for recruitment to all-India services15 and higher
Central services and to advise the President on disciplinary matters.
(d) State Public Service Commission in every state to conduct examinations for recruitment to state services and
to advice the governor on disciplinary matters.
15. Emergency Provisions

The Constitution envisages three types of emergencies, namely:
(a) National emergency on the ground of war or external aggression or armed rebellion16 (Article 352).
(b) State emergency (President’s Rule) on the ground of failure of Constitutional machinery in the states (Article
356) or failure to comply with the directions of the Centre (Article 365).
(c) Financial emergency on the ground of threat to the financial stability or credit of India (Article 360).
16. Three-tier Government

➢ Originally, the Indian Constitution, like any other federal Constitution, provided for a dual polity and
contained provisions with regard to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the states.
➢ 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-tier of Government (i.e local)
which is not found in any other Constitution of the world.
➢ 73rd Amendment Act of 1992=Panchayats(Part IX, Schedule 11)
➢ 74th Amendment Act of 1992=Municipalities(Part IX-A, Schedule 12)
17. Co-operative Societies

➢ The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and protection to co-operative
societies.
➢ It made the following three changes in the Constitution:
1. It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).
2. It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on promotion of co- operative societies (Article 43-B).
3. It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as “The Co-operative Societies” (Articles 243-
ZH to 243-ZT).
➢ The new Part IX-B contains various provisions to ensure that the co- operative societies in the country
function in a democratic, professional, autonomous and economically sound manner.
CRITICISM OF THE CONSTITUTION

1. A Borrowed Constitution
➢ Described it as a ‘borrowed Constitution’ or a ‘bag of borrowings’ or a ‘hotch- potch Constitution’ or a
‘patchwork’ of several documents of the world constitutions

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➢ . While answering the above criticism in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of the
Drafting Committee, said :
“One likes to ask whether there can be anything new in a Constitution framed at this hour in the history of
the world.”
2. A Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act
• They called the Constitution as a “Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act” or an “Amended Version of the 1935
Act”
• N. Srinivasan = Indian Constitution is “both in language and substance a close copy of the Act of 1935”.
• Sir Ivor Jennings= “the Constitution derives directly from the Government of India Act of 1935.
• P.R. Deshmukh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented that “the Constitution is essentially
the Government of India Act of 1935 with only adult franchise added”.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar answered=“As to the accusation that the Draft Constitution has reproduced a good
part of the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, I make no apologies.
3. Un-Indian or Anti-Indian
• the Indian Constitution is ‘un-Indian’ or ‘anti- Indian’ because it does not reflect the political traditions
and the spirit of India. foreign nature of the Constitution makes it unsuitable to the Indian situation or
unworkable in India.
• K. Hanumanthaiya, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented : “We wanted the music of
Veena or Sitar, but here we have the music of an English band.
• “The ideals on which this draft Constitution is framed have no manifest relation to the fundamental
spirit of India.
• This Constitution would not prove suitable and would break down soon after being brought into
operation”.
4. An Un-Gandhian Constitution
• the Indian Constitution is un-Gandhian because it does not contain the philosophy and ideals of
Mahatma Gandhi
• “That is exactly the kind of Constitution Mahatma Gandhi did not want and did not envisage”.
5. Elephantine Size
• Indian Constitution is too bulky and too detailed and contains some unnecessary elements.
• Sir Ivor Jennings observed that the provisions borrowed were not always well-selected and that the
constitution, generally speaking, was too long and complicated.
➢ H.V. Kamath, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented : “The emblem and the crest that we have
selected for our assembly is an elephant. It is perhaps in consonance with that our constitution too is the
bulkiest that the world has produced”.
➢ He also said: “I am sure, the House does not agree that we should make the Constitution an elephantine
one”.
6. Paradise of the Lawyers
➢ the Indian Constitution is too legalistic and very complicated.
➢ H.K. Maheswari, a member of the Constituent Assembly, observed : “The draft tends to make people more
litigious, more inclined to go to law courts.
Table 3.3 =Schedules of the Constitution at a Glance
Table 3.4 =Sources of the Constitution at a Glance
PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q. Which one of the following Schedules of the Constitution of India contains
provisions regarding Anti-defection Act? (1998)
(a)Second Schedule
(b)Fifth Schedule
(c)Eight Schedule
(d)Tenth Schedule
It was introduced by 52nd Amendment Act, 1985

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Q. If a new state of the Indian Union is to be created which one of the following
schedules of Constitution must be amended? (2001)
(a)First
(b)Second
(c)Third
(d)Fifth
Q. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer (2003)
List I (Items in the Indian Constitution) List II (Country from which it was derived)
A. Directive Principle of State Policy 1.Australia
B. Fundamental Rights 2. Canada
C. Concurrent List in Union-State Relations 3. Ireland
D. India as a Union of States with greater power to the Union 4.UK
5.USA
Codes:
ABCD
(a) 5 4 1 2
(b) 5 4 2 1
(c) 3 4 2 1
(d) 3 5 1 2
Youtube Lecture – on Preamble of the Constitution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72AgOBWsr0E&list=PL-

XduN-VRcdjpZVk_zt5IFXqN1BJKDyja&index=4
Topic- Preamble of the Constitution
TEXT OF THE PREAMBLE

“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 this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND
GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”.
INGREDIENTS OF THE PREAMBLE

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1. Source of authority of the Constitution: The people of India.

2. Nature of Indian State: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic and Republican.
3. Objectives of the Constitution: Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
4. Date of adoption of the Constitution: November 26, 1949
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE

1. Sovereign
➢ The word ‘sovereign’ implies that India is neither a dependency nor a dominion of any other nation, but an
independent state.
➢ Though in 1949, India declared the continuation of her full membership of the Commonwealth of Nations
and accepted the British Crown as the head of the Commonwealth.
➢ Does not affect India’s sovereignty in any manner.
➢ India’s membership of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) also in no way constitutes a limitation on her
sovereignty.
➢ Being a sovereign state, India can either acquire a foreign territory or cede a part of its territory in favour of
a foreign state.
2. Socialist
• Even before the term was added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the Constitution had a socialist
content in the form of certain Directive Principles of State Policy.
• Indian brand of socialism is a ‘democratic socialism’ and not a ‘communistic socialism’
• Democratic socialism= holds faith in a ‘mixed economy’ where both public and private sectors co-exist
side by side.
• Communistic socialism= Nationalisation of all means of production and distribution and the abolition of
private property.
3. Secular
• Added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976.
• Supreme Court said in 1974, although the words ‘secular state’ were not expressedly mentioned in the
Constitution, there can be no doubt that Constitutionmakers wanted to establish such a state.
• Accordingly Articles 25 to 28 (guaranteeing the fundamental right to freedom of religion) have been
included in the constitution.
• Positive concept of secularism (same status).
4. Democratic
• Possession of supreme power by the people.
• Democracy is of two types–direct and indirect:
▪ Direct democracy=(a) The people exercise their supreme power ( Switzerland.)
o (b) Referendum, Initiative, Recall and Plebiscite.
▪ Indirect democracy= the representatives elected by the people exercise the supreme power.
o Representative democracy
o Parliamentary and presidential.
• The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is
responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.
5. Republic
➢ Monarchy and Republic.
Monarchy= the head of the state enjoys a hereditary position, e.g., Britain.
Republic= the head of the state is always elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period, e.g., USA.
➢ India has an elected head called the president. He is elected indirectly for a fixed period of five years.
➢ Vesting of political sovereignty in the people and not in a single individual
➢ The absence of any privileged class and hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any
discrimination.
6. Justice
➢ Social, Economic and Political

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➢ Social justice = equal treatment of all citizens without any social distinction based on caste, colour, race,
religion, sex .
➢ Economic justice= non-discrimination between people on the basis of economic factors. It involves the
elimination of glaring inequalities in wealth, income and property.
➢ Social justice economic justice = ‘distributive justice’.
➢ Political justice= all citizens should have equal political rights equal access to all political offices and equal
voice in the government.
➢ Social, Economic and Political= Russian Revolution (1917)
7. Liberty
➢ Absence of restraints on the activities of individuals
➢ Providing opportunities for the development of individual personalities.
➢ liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
➢ Essential for the successful functioning of the Indian democratic system.
➢ Liberty does not mean ‘license’ to do what one likes, and has to be enjoyed within the limitations.
➢ Liberty, equality and fraternity in our Preamble have been taken from the French Revolution (1789–1799).
8. Equality
➢ Absence of special privileges to any section of the society, and the provision of adequate opportunities for all
individuals without any discrimination.
➢ Civic, Political and Economic.
9. Fraternity
➢ means a sense of brotherhood.
➢ The Constitution promotes this feeling of fraternity by the system of single citizenship.
➢ fraternity has to assure two things–the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.
➢ integrity’ has been added to the preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976).
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PREAMBLE
➢ The Preamble embodies the basic philosophy and fundamental values– political, moral and religious–on
which the Constitution is based.
➢ Reflects the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the Constitution.
➢ Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Iyer=Preamble to our Constitution expresses what we had thought or dreamt so
long’.
➢ K.M. Munshi= the Preamble is the ‘horoscope of our sovereign democratic republic’.
➢ Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava=‘The Preamble is the most precious part of the Constitution. It is the soul of the
Constitution. It is a key to the Constitution. It is a jewel set in the Constitution. It is a proper yardstick with
which one can measure the worth of the Constitution.
PREAMBLE AS PART OF THE CONSTITUTION
Berubari Union case (1960)
➢ The Supreme Court said that the Preamble shows the general purposes behind the several provisions in the
Constitution
➢ Key to the minds of the makers of the Constitution.
➢ Where the terms used in any article are ambiguous or capable of more than one meaning, some assistance
at interpretation may be taken from the objectives enshrined in the Preamble.
➢ The Supreme Court specifically opined that Preamble is not a part of the Constitution
Kesavananda Bharati case (1973)
➢ The Supreme Court rejected the earlier opinion.
➢ Preamble is a part of the Constitution.
➢ Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the
Preamble.
LIC of India case(1995)
The Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution
❑ Preamble was also enacted by the Constituent Assembly.
❑ After the rest of the Constitution was already enacted.

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❑ The reason for inserting the Preamble at the end was to ensure that it was in conformity with the
Constitution as adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
❑ Non-justiciable.
❑ Not enforceable.
AMENABILITY OF THE PREAMBLE
The question as to whether the Preamble can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution arose for the first
time in the historic Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).
➢ The Supreme Court held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution.
➢ Preamble can be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment is done to the ‘basic features’ under
Article 368.
➢ Amended only once in 1976
➢ By the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act
➢ Added three new words–Socialist, Secular and Integrity–to the Preamble.
YouTube lecture – Union & its Territory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3iwM8J8-Wo&list=PL-XduN-

Topic- Union and its Territory

ARTICLES 1-4
Part 1 of the Constitution: "Union and its Territory "
➢ Name and territory of the Union
Ø India, that is, Bharat is a Union of states
Ø States are divided only for administrative convenience
Ø First schedule: Names and territorial extent of states
Ø 28 states, 8 UTs
Ø Territory of India: States+ UTs+ territories that may be acquired by Gol
Ø Union of India: only states
Ø India can acquire foreign territory as it is sovereign state
According to Article 1,
The territory of India can be classified into three categories:
1. Territories of the states
2. Union territories
3. Territories that may be acquired by the Government of India at any time.
ARTICLE 2
1. Admission or establishment of new states
2. Parliament can admit into the Union of India, or establish new states.
PARLIAMENT’S POWER TO REORGANISE THE STATES

ARTICLE 3
1. Formation of new states and alternation of areas, boundaries or names of existing states
2. Parliament can increase or decrease the area of any state
3. Alter the boundary or name of any state
4. Create new states by
I. Separating territory from any state
II. Uniting states or parts of states
III. Uniting territory with states or parts of states

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BERUBARI UNION CASE

➢ In 1960, SC examined if the power of the Parliament to diminish areas of states means that the Parliament
can cede Indian territory
➢ The Central government had decided to cede the territory of Berubari Union in West Bengal to East Pakistan
➢ SC said that the Parliament cannot cede Indian territory to a foreign country under Article 3
❑ Can only cede by amendment under Article 368
❑ 9th CA 1960
EXCHANGE OF TERRITORIES WITH BANGLADESH
100th CA, 2015
Ø For exchange of certain territories between India and Bangladesh
➢ India to Bangladesh: 111 enclaves
Ø Bangladesh to India: 51 enclaves
Ø Demarcation of 6.1 km border
INDIA-BANGLADESH BOUNDARY
Ø 4096.7 kms
Ø Determined by the Radcliffe Line, 1947
Ø Bagge Award (1950) and Nehru-Noon Agreement (1958) tried to resolve some disputes
Ø 1960: Berubari Union Case, 9th CA
Ø 1974: Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh
❑ to solve demarcation of boundary issue
❑ Not ratified as it involved some exchange of territory which would need CA
Ø 2011: Protocol to the 1974 Agreement
❑ support and concurrence of Governments of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Tripura
Ø 2015: Revised version of 1974 Agreement adopted, 100th CA
EVOLUTION OF STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES

• REORGANISATION OF STATES
➢ Demand for reorganisation on linguistic basis
➢ June 1948: Linguistic Provinces Commission appointed
1. Chairman: SK Dhar (Dhar Commission)
2. Suggested administrative convenience over Linguistic reorganisation
➢ December 1948: JPV Committee
1. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhai Sitaramayya
2. Rejected Language as basis for reorganisation.
➢ October 1953: Government forced to create Andhra Pradesh out of Madras on linguistic basis
1. Extended agitation and death of Gandhian activist and prominent Congress leader Potti
Sriramuli after a 56 day hunger strike
➢ December 1953: 3 member States Reorganisation Commission appointed under Fazl Ali, KM Panikkar and HN
Kunzru (Fazl Ali Commission)
➢ Rejected one language one state theory
➢ 4 factors should be considered while states reorganisation
a) Unity and security of India
b) Linguistic and cultural homogeneity
c) Considerations of finance, the economy and administration
d) Welfare of people and nation

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➢ Suggested 16 states and 3 UTs over the existing 4-part division of states
❑ States Reorganisation Act 1956

❑ 7th CA 1966
❑ 14 states and 6 UTs created.
EVOLUTION OF STATES & UTs

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YouTube Lecture on Citizenship - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWPSmYtRcg&list=PL-XduN-

Topic- Citizenship
Rights and Privileges on the citizens of India (and denies the same to aliens):
➢ Article 15: right against discrimination
➢ Article 16: right to equality of opportunity in public employment
➢ Article 19: freedom of speech and expression
➢ Articles 29 and 30: cultural and educational rights
➢ Right to vote, contest elections, eligibility to hold certain public office
➢ NOT available to aliens
➢ In India both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalised citizen are eligible for the office of President while in
USA, only a citizen by birth and not a naturalised citizen is eligible for the office of President
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 9=No person shall be a citizen of India = voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state.
Article 10=Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India shall continue to be such citizen, subject to
the provisions of any law made by Parliament.
Article 11=Parliament shall have the power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and
termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship.
CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955

ACQUIRING INDIA'S CITIZENSHIP
1. BIRTH

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Ø Born in India between 26 Jan 1950-July 1 1987: Indian citizen irrespective of parents nationality
Ø After july 1 1987: born in India + one parent is Indian at the time of birth
Ø After December 3 2004: born in India + one Indian parent, illegal migrant parent at the time of birth
➢ No citizenship by birth for children of foreign diplomats posted in India + enemy aliens
2. DESCENT
Ø Born outside India between January 26 1950-December 10 1992: Indian if father is Indian at the time of birth
Ø Born outside India after December 10 1992: Indian if either parent is Indian at the time of birth
Ø Born outside India after December 3 2004, of Indian descent: not a citizen unless registered at an Indian
consulate (normally within a year )
3. REGISTRATION
Central Government can register only, if he belongs to any of the following categories;
(a) person of Indian origin = resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;
(b) person of Indian origin who is resident in any country or place outside undivided India;
(c) person married to a citizen of India = resident in India for seven years before making an application for
registration
(d) minor children of persons who are citizens of India;
(e) a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India
(f) a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and is
ordinarily resident in India for 12 months immediately before making an application for registration;
(g) a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an overseas citizen of India cardholder for five
years, and who is ordinarily resident in India for twelve months before making an application for registration.
4. NATURALISATION
Ø Central government can grant certificate
Ø Naturalised citizen must take oath of allegiance
Ø Conditions:
➢ Should not be an illegal migrant
➢ Must renounce any other citizenship
➢ Should not be subject/citizen of any country where Indians cannot become citizens
➢ Resided in India or worked for Government of India for both
1. 12 months immediately before application
2. 11 years in 14 years before the 12 months
➢ Good character
➢ Knows an 8th schedule language
➢ If granted citizenship, should reside in India/ work for GoI, an international organisation of which India is a
part/ any society, company or body of persons estbd. In India.
5. INCORPORATION OF TERRITORY
➢ If a territory becomes a part of India, then its residents become citizens of India
e.g. with Daman and Diu etc
LOSING INDIA'S CITIZENSHIP
1. RENUNCIATION
➢ Must be a citizen of full age and capacity
➢ Can make a declaration of renunciation of citizenship during peace time
➢ Declaration shall be withheld during war time
➢ Minor children of a person renouncing citizenship also Lose citizenship.
May resume after they turn 18
2. TERMINATION
When an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires citizenship of another country during peace time
3. DEPRIVATION
➢ Central government has to compulsorily deprive someone of her citizenship if
➢ S/he obtained citizenship fraudulently

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➢ Shows disloyalty to the Constitution

➢ Unlawfully communicated/traded with the enemy during war time
➢ within five years after registration or naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years
➢ ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously
SINGLE CITIZENSHIP
➢ Only Indian citizenship, no state citizenship (like Canada)
➢ To mitigate against discrimination by states in favour of their own citizens
E.g.: right to vote, hold public offices
➢ To promote feeling of unity and fraternity
➢ Switzerland, USA: dual citizenship (state and nation)
➢ Exceptions
➢ Under Article 16 (right to equality of opportunity in public office), Parliament can prescribe residence as a
condition for certain employments
➢ Requirement as to Residence Act 1957 (expired 1974)
➢ Article 371-D: special provisions for Andhra Pradesh provides for residential qualification for certain public
offices
➢ Under Article 15, discrimination is prohibited on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
and not on grounds of residence
➢ Special benefits on the grounds of residence can be provided
➢ Under Article 19, freedom of movement can be restricted to protect interests of Schedule Tribes.
➢ Till 2019, J & K legislature defines who are 'permanent residents of the state, and confers special privileges
upon them like ownership of immovable property(Article 35-A)
OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA (OCI)
➢ 2000: High level committee on the Indian Diaspora under LM Singhvi was set up
To recommend measures for a constructive relationship with them
Ø Report in 2002
Ø Recommendation:
Grants of dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain countries.
Ø Action:
Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003
Made provisions for acquisition of OCI by PIOs of 16 countries (not including Bangladesh and Pakistan)
Omitted all provisions relating to & recognising Commonwealth Citizenship from the principle Act

➢ Expanded scope of OCI status to PIOs of all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh
➢ OCI not actually a dual citizenship (prohibited by Article 9 of the Constitution)
➢ Modified OCI provisions
➢ Introduced OCI Cardholder Scheme by merging PIO card scheme (introduced 2002) and OCI card scheme
(introduced 2005)
➢ PIO card scheme rescinded
➢ All existing PIO card holders deemed OCI cardholders
➢ Replaced nomenclature of “Overseas Citizens of India” with “Overseas Citizen of Indian Cardholder”.
REGISTRATION OF OCI CARDHOLDER

(1) The Central Government may, on an application register as an overseas citizen of India cardholder;
(a) Any person of full age and capacity
Who is a citizen of another country, but was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after the
commencement of the Constitution
Who is a citizen of another country, but was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the
commencement of the Constitution

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who is a citizen of another country, but belonged to a territory that became part of India after the 15th
August 1947
Who is a child or grandchild or a great grandchild of such a citizen
(b) minor child of a person
(c) A minor child, and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India
(d) Spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India
(2) The Central Government may specify the date from which the existing persons of Indian Origin Cardholders
shall be deemed to be OCI Cardholders (decided on o9-01-2015)
CONFERMENT OF RIGHTS OF OCI CARDHOLDERS

➢ Entitled to rights as specified by the Central government.
➢ NOT entitled to the following rights:
Right to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
Not eligible for election as President, Vice-President, member of Parliament or State Legislative Assembly
or State legislative Council.
Not eligible for appointment as Judge of SC or HCs, or appoints to public services and posts in connection
with affairs of the Union or of any state except when specified by the Central Government
Not to be entitled for registration as a voter
BENEFITS OF OCI CARDHOLDERS

Ø Multiple entry Lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose
But will need special permission to undertake research work
Ø Exemption from registration with Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration
officer (FRO) for any length of stay in India.
Ø Parity with NRIs in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except
in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties
Ø NRIs have all benefits available to Indian citizens subject to notifications issued by the Government from time
to time
Ø Charged same entry fee as domestic Indian visitors to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India
RENUNCIATION OF OCI CARD

Ø OCI cardholder can make a declaration in the prescribed manner to renounce the card and her registration as
a Cardholder
Ø The spouse of foreign origin of a such a person will also cease to be a OCI Cardholder
Ø Minor children of such a person will also cease to be a OCI Cardholder
CANCELLATION OF OCI CARD

Central Government can cancel the OCI Card if it is satisfied that:
➢ Card was obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact
➢ Cardholder has shown disaffection towards the Constitution of India
➢ Cardholder has unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy with which India is at war
➢ Cardholder holder has been sentenced to two or more years of imprisonment within 5 years of obtaining
the card
➢ It is necessary to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, friendly
relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interests of the general public
➢ The marriage of an OCI has been dissolved by a competent court, or has not been dissolved by the
Cardholder has also solemnised another marriage
YouTube Lecture on Fundamental Rights - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWpy1WW2Xmg&list=PL-

Fundamental Rights
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WHAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS?

➢ In Part 3 of the Constitution
➢ Articles 12-35
➢ Inspired by USA's Bill of Rights
➢ Justiciable
➢ Elaborate List in India
➢ "Magna Carta" of India
➢ Guaranteed to all citizens without discrimination
➢ Essential for all round development of individuals
FEATURES OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

1. Some of them are available only to the citizens.
2. They are not absolute but qualified. The state can impose reasonable restrictions on them
3. Most available against the State, few against private actions (e.g.: rights against untouchability)
4. Some are negative: limit the state's authority
Others are positive: confer privileges upon people
5. They are justiciable
6. They are defended and guaranteed by the Supreme Court
7. Can be curtailed by the Parliament by a CA (which does not affect the basic structure)
8. Can be suspended during national emergency (Except Article 20 and 21).
9. Limited by Articles 31A, 31B and 31C
➢ 31A: saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates etc
➢ 31B: validation of certain acts and regulations included in the 9th Schedule
➢ 31C: saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles
10. Article 33 allows the Parliament to Limit the scope of fundamental rights available to the armed forces, para
military forces, police forces, intelligence agencies etc.
11. Article 34 allows their Limitation during martial laws means military laws.
12. Only the Parliament can make a Law to enforce FR (even though most are self-executory). (Article 35)
Originally, the Constitution provided for seven Fundamental Rights viz,
1. Right to equality (Articles 14–18)
2. Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)
3. Right against exploitation (Articles 23–24)
4. Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25–28)
5. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)
6. Right to property (Article 31)
7. Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)
ARTCILE 12
Defines State
➢ State includes the following:
➢ Government and Parliament of India (Unions executive and legislative organs) o
➢ Government and legislatures of the States
➢ Local Authorities (e.g. district boards, PRIs, ULBs etc)
➢ Other authorities, statutory or non-statutory (e.g. LIC, ONGC)
➢ wide definition=include all its agencies
➢ SC: Article 12 includes even private bodies working as an instrument of the State
➢ The actions of these agency can be challenged in courts for violating FRs.
ARTCILE 13
➢ Provides for judicial review

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➢ All Laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of any FR shall be void
➢ SC under Article 32 and HC's under Article 226 have the power of judicial reviews
➢ "Law" for the purposes of Article 13 is
1) Laws enacted by legislatures
2) ordinances
3) Executive legislation like order, bye-laws, rule- regulation or notification
4) Custom or usage having the force of Laws
➢ Article 13 does not define a CA as a Law, but SC said that a CA can be challenged for violating an FR that
forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution (Keshavananda Bharati case, 1973)
RIGHT TO EQUALITY: ARTICLE 14-18

I. Article 14: Equality before the law and equal protection of laws
➢ Available to all persons (citizens, foreigners, legal persons)
➢ Aims to establish equality of legal status, opportunity and justice
EQUALITY BEFORE LAW
➢ British concept
➢ Means absence of privileges for any persons/sections of
➢ All persons are equally subject to ordinary Law, administered by ordinary courts
➢ No person is above the Laws
➢ Negative concept
EQUAL PROTECTION OF LAW
Ø American concept
Ø Equal treatment under equal circumstances
Ø No discrimination while applying laws to people situated similarly
Ø Positive concept
TREATING EQUALS EQUALLY
Ø Under Article 14, class legislation is prohibited.
Ø But reasonable classification can be done if it is not arbitrary, artificial or evasive.
Ø Should be based on 'intelligible distinctions'
RULE OF LAW
Ø Concept by British jurist AV Dicey
Ø 3 elements
Ø No arbitrary power (no punishment except for breach of law)
Ø Equality before the Laws (all citizens to be equally subject to all Laws, administered by ordinary courts)
Ø Primacy of rights of individual: constitution is the result of individual rights, not the source. In India,
Constitution is the source of rights
➢ Rule of Law is a basic feature of the Constitution
EXCEPTIONS TO EQUALITY
Ø Article 361: President and Governors of India enjoy certain immunities Like
a) There can be no criminal proceedings, no process for arrest or imprisonment, no civil proceedings etc against
them while they hold office
b) They are not answerable to courts for exercises and performance of the powers and duties of their offices.
Ø Article 361-A: freedom from civil/criminal proceedings for publication in a newspaper/TC/Radio a substantially
true report of any proceedings of LS/RS or state Legislative assemblies/councils
Ø Article 105: No proceedings against MP's for what they say or how they vote in Parliament
➢ Article 194: No proceedings against MLA's for what they say or how they vote in State Legislative
Assemblies/Councils
Ø Article 31-C: Laws made to give effect to DPSPs under the following articles cannot be challenged for being
violative of Article 14
a) Article 39(b): the quotable distribution of material resources of the community for the common good

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b) Article 39(c): prevention of concentration of wealth and means of production.

Ø Foreign rules, ambassadors, diplomats have immunity from criminal and civil proceedings
➢ UNO and its agencies have diplomatic immunity.
II. Article 15: PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION

Ø State shall not discriminate against any citizen only on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
Ø Discriminate: to distinguish unfavourably from others
· No citizen shall be subjected to any disbarility, Liability, restriction or condition on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sec or place of birth with regard to
Ø Access to shops, public restraints, hotels and places of public entertainments
Ø The use of wells, talks, bathing Ghats, roads places of public resort dedicated to the use of general public or
maintained wholly or partially by the state
Ø Thus, under the second provision, discrimination by both the state and private individuals is prohibited
· Exceptions to non-discrimination :
Ø Special provisions for women and children
Ø Special provisions for the advancement of socially and educational backward classes of citizens or for SCs and
STs regarding their admission to educational institutional, aided or unaided by the state, except minority
educational institutions (93rd CA 2005)
a) Centre enacted the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006 to give 27% quota to
OBCs
b) 2008: SC directed the central government to exclude the creamy layer of OBCs while implementing the law
III. Article 16: EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

Ø Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matter of public employment or appointment to any office under the
State.
➢ Citizens cannot be discriminated against on the grounds of only religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of
birth, or residence
Exceptions:
Ø Parliament can prescribe residence as a condition for some employments or appointments
Ø Provision as of now only for Andhra Pradesh
Ø Reservation in favour of backward classes
➢ Requirement that the incumbent of an office related to religious or denominational institution or a member
of its governing body should belong to the relevant religion
MANDAL COMMISSION (Indra Sawhney v/s Union of India)

Ø 1979: Morarji Desai government appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission under BP Mandal, an
MP
Ø Article 340: Parliament can set up a commission to investigate the conditions of the socially and educationally
backward classes. Suggest measures for their advancement
Ø 1980: Mandal Commission report
a) Identified 3743 castes as socially and educationally backward
b) Constituting 52% of the population, excluding SCs and STs
c) Recommended 27% reservation so that total reservation stays 50%
➢ 1990: VP Singh Government declared reservation of 27% of government jobs for 0BCs
Ø 1991: Narsimha Rao government introduced two changes
a) Creamy layer clause: preference to the poorer sections among the 0BCs
b) 10% reservation for poorer sections of the high castes
Ø 1992: It was challenged in SC and known as famous Mandal case
a) Determined the extent of scope of Article 16(4)
b) SC rejected the 10% reservation for poorer sections of the high castes and said no reservations in promotions
c) Creamy Layer to be excluded from reservation
d) Total reserved quota should not normally exceed 50%

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e) A permanent statutory body should be created to examine complaints of over- and under- inclusion in the
0BC List.
Ø Governments response on above SC rulings :
a) Ram Nandan Committee to identify the creamy Layer. Report in 1993, accepted
b) National Commission for Backward Classes established 1993. Bill considering its elevation to a Constitutional
Body
c) 77th CA 1995 and 85th CA 2001 creates conditions for promotions on the basis of reservations
d) 81st CA 2000; ends the 50% ceiling on reservation in backlog vacancies. State can consider the unfilled
reserved vacancies of a year as a separate class of vacancies to be filled in any succeeding year
e) 76th CA 1994: TN Reservation Act of 1994 placed in the 9th schedule (to protect it from judicial review).
Provides for 69% reservation for exceeding the 50% ceiling
IV. Article 17: ABOLITION OF UNTOUCHABILITY

Ø Abolished untouchability
Ø Exception to Secularism
Ø Its practice in any form
Ø Forbids enforcement of any disability that arises out of untouchability
Ø Untouchability offences (Act) 1955, was renamed and updated in 1976 as the Protection of Civil Rights Act
1955
Ø Civil Rights: any right accruing to a person by reason of the abolition of untouchability
Ø Term 'untouchability' not defined either in Constitution or in Act
Ø Mysore High Court: Untouchability in Article 17 does not mean untouchability literally
a) Means the practice of untouchability as it developed historically in the country
b) The social disabilities imposed on persons due to their birth in a certain caste
c) Does not cover the boycott of a few individuals
d) A person convicted of untouchability is disqualified for election to the Parliament or state legislature
e) Article 17 is available against private individuals and it is the constitutional obligation of the state to take
necessary action to ensure that this right is not violated.
Ø Offences under the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955
a) Preventing any person from entering a place of public worship or from worshipping inside it
b) Justifying or preaching untouchability
c) Denying access to any shop, hotel or places of public entertainment
d) Insulting a person belonging to a SC on the grounds of untouchability
e) Refusing admission in hospitals, educational institutions or hostels established for public benefit
f) Refusing to sell goods or render services to any person
V. Article 18:ABOLITION OF TITLES

Ø Prohibits the state from conferring titles on an person, except military and academic titles
Ø Prohibits Indian citizens from accepting titles
➢ A foreigner holding an office of profit or trust under the Indian state cannot accept any titles from foreign
governments without the consent of the President
Ø No person or foreigner holding an office of profit of trust under the state can accept any present, emolument
or office from a foreign state without the consent of the President
Ø Thus Article 18 protects the concept of equal status of all
Ø Exceptions:
1. 1954: National Awards instituted
a) Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan. And Padma Sri
b) Janata Party government discontinued them in 1977
c) Indira Gandhi government revised them in 1980
2. 1996: SC upheld their constitutional validity
a) Ruled that Article 18 only prohibits hereditary tiles of nobility like Maharaja, Raja, etc.
b) But the national awards should not be used a suffixes or prefixes to names of awardees

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Article 22: PROTECTION AGAINST ARREST AND DETENTION

❑ Grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained
❑ Detention is of two types: punitive detention and preventive detention
❑ Punitive detention: after trial and conviction
❑ Preventive detention: without trial and conviction
Thus Article 22 has two parts:
Ø First part deals with punitive detention cases of ordinary law
Ø Second part deals with cases of preventive detention law
❑ Under the ordinary Law cases, citizens have the right
➢ To be informed of the grounds of arrest and Right to consult and be defended by legal practitioner
➢ Right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours
➢ Right to be released after 24 hours unless the magistrate authorises further detention
❑ Article 22 covers only criminal and quasi-criminal acts, or activity prejudicial to public interest
❑ Does not cover arrest under the orders of a court, civil arrest, arrest on failure to pay the income tax, and
deportation of an alien
❑ Under the preventive detention cases, all persons have the following rights
Ø Detention cannot exceed 3 months unless extended by an advisory board that reports sufficient cause for
extension and Board to consist of HC judges
Ø Grounds of detention to be communicated to the detenu
§ Not necessary if it is against public interest to disclose grounds
❑ Article 22 authorises the Parliament to prescribe the cases under which a person can be detained for more
than three months under preventive detention law without the opinion of an advisory board
❑ 44th CA 1978 has reduced this period to two months, but this provision has not been enforced yet
❑ Parliament makes preventive detention laws for reasons connected with defence, foreign affairs and the
security of India.
❑ Parliament and state legislature can both make laws regarding preventive detention for security of the
state, the maintenance of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the
community.
❑ India is the only democratic country with preventive detention as an integral part of the constitution
RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION

1. Prohibition of Traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour
❑ Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings, begar (forced labour)
❑ Available to citizens and non-citizens
❑ Available against the State and private persons
❑ Traffic in human beings means
Ø Selling and buying of humans Like goods
Ø Immoral traffic in women and children including Prostitution
Ø Devadasis
Ø Slaver
➢ To prevent this, Parliament enacted the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956
➢ Begar means compulsory work without remuneration
➢ Article 23 also prohibits similar forms of forced Labour Like bonded Labour
➢ ‘Forced Labour': compelling someone to work against his will
➢ Force means Physical or legal force
Ø Compulsion from economic circumstances, like working for less than minimum wage
Parliament has enacted many Laws to uphold Article 23.
Exception to Article 23: State can impose compulsory service for public purposes
Ø Like military or social service
Ø State is not bound to pay for this

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Ø In imposing compulsory service, the State cannot make discrimination on the grounds only of religion, race,
caste or class
II. ARTICLE 24: PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN

➢ Prohibits employment of children below age of 14 years in any factory, mine or other hazardous activities
➢ Does not prohibit their employment in innocent or harmless work
➢ To enforce this FR, the Parliament enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulations) Act in 1986
➢ Many other Acts also uphold Article 24 i.e. The Employment of children Act, 1938; The Factories Act, 1948;
The Mines Act, 1952; The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958; etc.
➢ In 1996: SC mandated the establishment of Child Labour Rehabilitation Welfare Fund
➢ Offending employer has to deposit Rs. 20,000 fine for each child employed by him
➢ Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act 2005
➢ Establishes a National Commission and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights and Children's
Courts
➢ Children's Courts provide for speedy trials against offences of violating child rights or otherwise involving
children
➢ In 2006, the government banned the employment of children as domestic servants or workers in business
establishments like hotels, dhabas, restaurants, shops, factories, resorts, spas, tea-shops
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION

RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION
I. ARTICLE 25: FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND FREE PROFESSION, PRACTICE AND PROPAGATION OF RELIGION
❑ All persons have the right to freedom of conscience, and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate
religion
❑ Freedom of conscience: inner freedom to every individual to freely shape her relationship God or spirituality
in the way she desires
❑ Right to profess: to declare ones religious beliefs and faith openly
❑ Right to practice: to perform religious rituals, worship ceremonies etc
❑ Right to propagate: to transmit and share religious ideas and beliefs
II. ARTICLE 26: FREEDOM TO MANAGE RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

❑ Every religious denomination or its sections has the freedom to manage its own affairs
❑ It can establish and maintain institutions for religions and charitable purposes
❑ It can own and acquire movable and immovable property
❑ It has the right to administer such property in accordance with laws
❑ Article 25: individual rights
❑ Article 26: rights of denominations and sections
❑ Reasonable restrictions: public order, morality and health
❑ What is a religious denomination?

Ø SC: a collection of individuals with a system of beliefs which they regard as conducive to their spiritual well-
being
Ø Common organisation
Ø Distinctive Name
❑ All three conditions should be satisfied for classification as a denomination
III. ARTICLE 27: FREEDOM FROM TAXATION FOR PROMOTION OF A RELIGION

❑ No person shall be compelled to pay taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or
religious denomination
❑ The State cannot spend public money on promoting/ maintaining any religion
❑ But taxes can be used for the promotion/maintenance of all religions

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❑ Thus, the State cannot patronise one religion over the other
❑ Only prohibits taxes, not levy or fees
❑ Fees is collected for the secular administration of religious institutions, not promotion/maintenance
IV. ARTICLE 28: FREEDOM FROM ATTENDING RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS

❑ No religious instruction shall be provided in an educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds
Not applicable to educational institutions administered by the State, but established under any endowment
or trust which require the imparting of religious instruction
❑ If persons attend educational institutions recognised or funded by the State, they shall not be required to
attend any religious instruction without their consent
❑ Guardians consent in case of a minor
❑ Article 28 distinguishes between four kinds of educational institutions
❑ Ø Institutions wholly maintained out of State funds: No religious instruction is permitted
❑ Ø Institutions administered by the State but established under any endowment or trust: Religious
instruction is permitted
❑ Ø Institutions recognised by the State: Religious instruction is permitted on a voluntary basis
❑ Ø Institutions receiving aid from the State: Religious instruction is permitted on a voluntary basis
CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS
I. ARTICLE 29: PROTECTION OF INTERESTS OF MINORITIES

❖ Any section of citizens of India have a right to conserve their distinct language, script and culture
❖ No citizen can be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the state or
❖ receiving aid from the State on grounds only of religion, race, caste or Language
❖ Article 29 grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
II. ARTICLE 30: RIGHTS OF MINORITIES TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Article 30 grants the following rights
Ø Right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice o Compensation by
the State for acquisition of their property (44th A 1978)
Ø The compensation amount fixed by the State for the compulsory acquisition of any property
Ø Non-discrimination by the State when granting aid to educational institutions managed by a minority
Minorities
· The term minority, has not been defined in the Constitution
· Minorities have the right to impart education to their children in their own Language
· There are 3 kinds of minority educational institutions
Ø Those that seek recognition and aid from the state
Ø Those that seek only recognition from the State, not aid
Ø Those that seek neither recognition nor aid from the State
· The first two can be regulated by the state with regard to syllabus, academic standards etc
ARTICLE 32: RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES

❖ Right to remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of an aggrieved citizen
❖ The right to get Fundamental Rights protected is protected itself as a fundamental right
❖ Ambedkar: Article 32 is the heart and should of the Constitution/ the most important article
❖ SC: a basic feature. Hence, cannot be abridged or taken away even by the way of an amendment to the
constitution.
· Provisions under Article 32:
Ø Right to move to SC for enforcement of FRs
Ø SC can issue writs to enforce FRs
❖ Parliament can empower other courts to issues directions, order and writs
a) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on the SC

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b) Does not apply to HCs, as they already have this pouser under Article 226
❖ Right to move to SC shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution
a) President can suspend it during a national emergency
❖ Thus, SC given position of the defender and guarantor of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
❖ Purpose of Article 32: effective remedy against the violation of FRs
Ø Can only enforce FRs guaranteed by the Constitution, and not any other rights
Ø To enforce FRs, jurisdiction of the SC is original but not exclusive
Ø HCs can also enforce FRs, but citizens can move directly to the SC
Ø However, SC has ruled that where relief through HC is possible, aggrieved party should first move to a HC
WRITS–TYPES AND SCOPE

❖ HCs: Article 226 , SC: Article 32
❖ Article 32: Parliament can empower any other court to issue writs, No such provision made yet.
❖ Difference between writ jurisdictions of SC and HCs:
1. SC: only for enforcement of FRs and HC: for FRs and ordinary legal rights
2. SC: against persons/government throughout the territory o India and HC: against persons/government
within its territorial jurisdiction
a) Only outside if the cause of action arises within its territorial jurisdictiovn
3. SC cannot refuse to exercise its writ jurisdiction as remedy under Article 32 is a FR and HC: writ jurisdiction is
discretionary
HABEAS CORPUS
❖ Latin term: to have the body of
❖ Order by a court to a person who has detained another person, to produce the body of the Latter before it
❖ Court then examines legality and cause of detention
❖ This writ is a bulwark of individual Liberty against arbitrary detention
❖ Can be issued against public authorities and private individuals
❖ Not issued if the detention is lawful, proceeding is or contempt of a legislature of a court,
PROHIBITION
❖ Means to forbid
❖ Issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal
❖ Prevents lower courts/tribunals from exceeding jurisdiction or usurping a jurisdiction that it does
❖ not possess Directs inactivity (unlike mandamus, which directs activity)
❖ Not available against administrative authorities, legislative bodies and private individuals or bodies
CERTIORARI
❖ Means to be certified, or to be informed
❖ Issued by a higher court to a Lower court, tribunal or against administrative authorities affecting the rights
of individuals
❖ But not against legislative bodies and private individuals or bodies
❖ The Court issuing the writ can transfer a case pending with the lower court/tribunal to itself, or squash the
order of the latter in a case
❖ The writs of certiorari is both preventive and curative, unlike Prohibition, which is only preventive
MANDAMUS
➢ It means “we command”
➢ Issued by a court
➢ To a public official asking him to perform his official duties that he has failed to or refused to do
➢ perform or against a public body corporation, an inferior court, a tribunal or government, for the same
purpose
· Cannot be issued
Ø Against a private individual or body
Ø To enforce departmental instructions without statutes force

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Ø For discretionary duties

Ø To enforce contractual obligations
Ø Against the President of India or state governors
QUO-WARRANTO
❖ It means “by what authority or warrant”
❖ Issued by a court to inquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office
❖ Prevents illegal usurpation of public office by a person
❖ Cannot be issued against ministerial or private offices, only against substantive public office of a permanent
character created by a law or the Constitution
❖ Can be sought by any interested person, and not necessarily by the aggrieved person.
ARMED FORCES AND FR

❖ Article 33: Parliament can restrict or abrogate the FR of members of the armed forced, paramilitary forces,
police forces, intelligence agencies and analogous forces
❖ To ensure the proper discharge of their duties
❖ Maintenance of discipline
❖ Only Parliament can make such a law
❖ Laws cannot be challenged in court on grounds of contravention of FR
❖ Such Laws can cover non-combatant employees of armed forces like barbers, cooks etc.
❖ Laws can exclude court martials from the writ jurisdiction of the SC and HC as far as enforcement of FR is
concerned
MARTIAL LAW AND FR

❖ Article 34
Ø Restrictions on FR while martial law is enforced in any area of India
Ø Parliament can indemnify any government servant or any other person for any act does by her
❖ In connection with the maintenance or restoration of order where martial Law was enforced.
❖ Parliament can validate any sentence passed, punishment inflicted, forfeiture ordered or other act done
under martial laws in such area
❖ Martial Law is not defined in the Constitution
❖ Martial Law refers to a situation where civil administration is run by the military
❖ SC: Declaration of martial Law does not automatically mean the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
EFFECTING CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

ARTICLE 35
❖ The powers to makes laws, to give effect to certain specified FRs shall vest only in the Parliament and not in
the State legislatures.
❖ Ensure uniformity throughout India with regard to those FRs
❖ FRs are:
Ø Article 16: prescribing residence as a condition for certain employments or appointments in a state or UT or
Local authority or other authority
Ø Article 32: empowering courts other than the SC and HCs to issue directions, orders and writes of all kinds for
the enforcement of FRs
Ø Article 33: Restricting or abrogating the application of FRs to members of the armed forces, police forces, etc.
❖ Article 34: Indemnifying any government servant or any other person for any act done during the operation
of martial Law in any area
❖ Only Parliament, and not state legislatures, can prescribe punishments for those acts that are declare to be
offences under the FRS:
Ø Article 17: Untouchability
Ø Article 23: traffic in human beings and forced Labour
❖ Parliament has to enact Laws on these FRS

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PRESENT POSITION OF RIGHT TO PROPERTY

❖ Originally, the right to property=dealt by Article 19(1) (f) and Article 31
❖ the commencement of the Constitution, the Fundamental Right to Property has been the most
controversial. It has caused confrontations between the Supreme Court and the Parliament
❖ the commencement of the Constitution, the Fundamental Right to Property has been the most
controversial. It has caused confrontations between the Supreme Court and the Parliament
❖ Through these amendments, Articles 31A, 31B and 31C have been added
Exceptions to FRs : Article 31A, Article 31B & Article 31C
ARTICLE 31A
❖ Saves five categories of Laws from beings challenged and invalidated on the ground of contravention of FRs
conferred by Article 14 and Article 19.
❖ Concerning agricultural lands reforms, industry and commerce. These are:
Ø Acquisition of estates and related rights by the state
Ø Taking over the managements of properties by the State
Ø Amalgamation of corporations
Ø Extinguishment or modification of rights of directors or shareholders of corporations
❖ Article 31A does not immunise a state from judicial review unless an Act under it has been reserved for the
President's consideration and has received her assent.
❖ Compensation has to be paid at market value when the state acquires that land held by a person under her
personal cultivation, and the land is within the statutory ceiling Limit.
ARTICLE 31B
❖ Saves acts and regulations in the 9th Schedule from being challenged and invalidated on grounds of
contravention of FRs.
❖ Scope of Article 31B is wider than that of Article 31A.
❖ Jan 2007 SC: there cannot be any blanket immunity from Judicial review
Ø Judicial review under the 9th Schedule is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution
❖ Laws put under the 9th Schedule after April 24, 1973 are open to challenge in court
❖ The Laws included in the 9th Schedule have expanded hugely from 13 acts in 1951 to over 280
ARTICLE 31C
❖ Inserted by 25th CA 1971
Ø No Law that seeks to implement that socialistic DPSPs of Article 39(b) and 39(c) shall be void on the
contravention of FRs under Article 14, or 19.
Ø No Law containing a declaration that it is for giving effect to such policy shall be questioned on the ground
that it does not give effect to such policy. (Keshavananda Bharati case as unconstitutional and invalid. Judicial
review is basic structure)
❖ 42nd CA 1976 tried to extend the first part of the article to include all DPSPs and not just Article 39 b and c.
❖ Declared as unconstitutional and invalid by the Supreme Court in the by the Minerva Mills case (1980)
CRITICISM OF FR
1. Excessive Limitations
❖ The critics remarked that the Constitution grants Fundamental Rights with one hand and takes them away
with the other.
❖ Jaspat Roy Kapoor=renamed as ‘Limitaions on Fundamental Rights’ or ‘Fundamental Rights
2. No Social and Economic Rights
❖ Not comprehensive as it mainly consists of political rights
Makes no provision for important social and economic rights
3. No Clarity

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❖ Phrases and words used in the chapter like ‘public order’, ‘minorities’, ‘reasonable restriction’, ‘public
interest’ and so on are not clearly defined.
❖ Sir Ivor Jennings called the Constitution of India a ‘paradise for lawyers’.
4. No Permanency
❖ Parliament can curtail or abolish them
❖ Become a play tool in the hands of politicians having majority support in the Parliament
5. Suspension During Emergency
❖ provision cuts at the roots of democratic system in the country by placing the rights of the millions of
innocent people in continuous jeopardy.
6. Expensive Remedy
❖ judiciary has been made responsible for defending and protecting these rights
❖ judicial process is too expensive and hinders the common man from getting his rights enforced through the
courts
7. Preventive Detention
❖ It confers arbitrary powers on the State and negates individual liberty
❖ No democratic country in the world has made preventive detention as an integral part of their Constitutions
as has been made in India.
8. No Consistent Philosophy
❖ The chapter on fundamental rights is not the product of any philosophical principle
❖ Sir Ivor Jennings=Fundamental Rights proclaimed by the Indian Constitution are based on no consistent phi-
losophy
❖ Creates difficulty for the Supreme Court and the high courts ininterpreting the fundamental rights.
RIGHTS OUTSIDE PART III

❖ 'Constitutional rights' or legal rights' or non-fundamental rights’
· Article 265: No tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of Law. (Part XII)
· Article 300A: No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of Law. (Part XII)
· Article 301: Trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free. (Part XIII)
· Article 326: The elections to the LS and the State Legislative Assembly shall be on the basis of adult
suffrage(Part XV)
YouTube Lecture on DPSP - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO2UiRARoxw&list=PL-XduN-

Directive Principles of State Policy

❑ Part IV
❑ Articles 36-51
❑ Idea from the Irish Constitution (which borrowed from the Spanish Constitution)
❑ Resemble the Instrument of Instructions of the GoI Act 1935
❑ BR Ambedkar: DPSPs are a novel feature" of our Constitution
❑ Conscience of the Constitution
❑ DPSP+FR = soul of the Constitution, contains the philosophy of the Constitution
❑ Article 36: Definition of state (same as definition under Article 12)
❑ Article 37: DPSPs are fundamental in the governance of the country
Ø It is the duty of the State to apply DPSPs while making laws
Ø This implies that there is a moral obligation on the state to apply DPSP
Ø Ambedkar: public opinion will force governments to abide by DPSPs
❑ Aim at achieving justice, equality and fraternity
❑ Express the concept of welfare state
❑ Non-justiciable , legally non-enforceable
❑ Courts use DPSP's to determine the constitutional validity of a Laws
❑ Scholars have categorised them as socialist, Gandhian and Liberal- intellectual Directives

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CLASSIFICATION OF THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

❑ The Constitution does not contain any classification of Directive Principles.
❑ On the basis of their content and direction ,classified into three broad categories, viz, socialistic, Gandhian
and liberal-intellectual.
• Socialistic Principles
❑ They direct the state:
❑ (ARTICLE 38).=To promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order permeated by justice–social,
economic and political–and to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities
❑ ARTICLE 39: To secure
➢ The right to adequate means of Livelihood for all citizens
➢ Equitable distribution of material resources of the community for the common good
➢ Prevention of concentration of wealth and means of production
➢ Equal pay for equal work for men and women
➢ Preservation of health and strength of workers and children against forcible abuse
➢ Opportunities for healthy development of children (Added by 42nd CA 1976
❑ ARTICLES 39A:
➢ To promote equal justice
➢ Provide free legal aid to the poor (Added by 42nd CA 1976)
➢ ARTICLES 41: To secure the right to work, to education, and to public assistance in cases of unemployment,
old age, sickness and disablement
➢ ARTICLES 42: To make provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
➢ ARTICLES 43:
Ø To secure a Living wage, a decent standard of life and social and cultural opportunities for all workers
Ø To promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperation bases in rural areas
Ø Minimum wage: bare needs Like food, shelter, clothing
Ø Living wage: minimum wage + education, health, insurance etc
Ø Fair wage: between Minimum wage and Living wage
❑ ARTICLE 43A:
Ø To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries(Added by 42nd CA 1976)
Ø To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of people and to improve the public health
ARTICLES 47:
Ø To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of Living of people and to improve public health
Ø To prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health
Gandhian Principles
❑ They require the State:
➢ ARTICLES 40: To organise village panchayats and endow them with necessary powers and authority to
enable them to function as units of self-government
➢ Article 43:To promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operation basis in rural areas
➢ Article 43B: To promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional
management of cooperative societies
➢ ARTICLES 46: To promote the educational and economic interests of SCs, STs and other weaker sections of
the society and to protect them from social injustice and exploitation
❑ ARTICLES 47:
Ø To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of Living of people and to improve public health
Ø To prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health
❑ ARTICLES 48:
Ø To prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other mulch and draught cattle and to improve their breeds
Ø To organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific Lines
Liberal-Intellectual Principles
❑ They direct the state:

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➢ ARTICLES 44: To secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the country
➢ ARTICLES 45: To provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of
six years
➢ ARTICLES 48: To organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines
➢ ARTICLES 48A: To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife Added by 42nd
CA 1976
➢ ARTICLES 49: To protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest which are declared to
be of national importance
❑ ARTICLES 50: To separate the judicial from the executive in the public services of the state
❑ ARTICLES 51:
➢ To promote international peace and security and maintain just and honourable relations between nations
➢ To foster respect for international Laws and treaty obligations
➢ To encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration
❑ The framers of the Constitution made the Directive Principles non- justiciable and legally non-enforceable
because:
1. The country did not possess sufficient financial resources to implement them.
2. The presence of vast diversity and backwardness in the country would stand in the way of their
implementation.
3. The newly born independent Indian State with its many preoccupations might be crushed under the burden
unless it was free to decide the order, the time, the place and the mode of fulfilling them.
CRITICISM OF THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

1. No Legal Force
➢ K.T. Shah=‘a cheque on a bank, payable only when the resources of the bank permit’
➢ Nasiruddin=these principles are ‘no better than the new year’s resolutions, which are broken on the second
of January’
➢ T.T. Krishnamachari = ‘a veritable dustbin of sentiments
2. Illogically Arranged
➢ N Srinivasan=the Directives are neither properly classified nor logically arranged
➢ Sir Ivor Jennings = no consistent philosophy
➢ mixes up relatively unimportant issues with the most vital economic and social questions.
➢ It combines rather incongruously the modern with the old and provisions
3. Conservative
➢ Sir Ivor Jennings, the Directives are based on the political philosophy of the 19th century England
➢ Directives ‘are deemed to be suitable in India in the middle of the twentieth century
4. Constitutional Conflict
K Santhanam has pointed out that the Directives lead to a constitutional Conflict
(a) between the Centre and the states,
(b) between the President and the Prime Minister
(c) between the governor and the chief minister.
UTILITY OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

❑ Directive Principles useful in the following ways:
1. They are like an ‘Instrument of Instructions’ or general recommendations addressed to all authorities in the
Indian Union.
2. They have helped the courts in exercising their power of judicial review
3. They form the dominating background to all State action, legislative or executive and also a guide to the
courts in some respects.
4. They amplify the Preamble, which solemnly resolves to secure to all citizens of India justice, liberty, equality
and fraternity.
CONFLICT BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

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❑ FR: justiciable
❑ DPSPs: non-justiciable, but morally binding (Article 37)
❑ This has caused conflict between the two.
❑ 1951: Champakar Dorairajan case
Ø SC: FR prevails over DPSP in cases of conflict
Ø But Parliament can amend FR
❑ Thus Parliament made the following amendments to implement DPSPs
a) 1st CA 1951: State can make provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes
➢ Saving of Laws for the acquisition of estates (curtailing right to property)
➢ 9th Schedule to protect Land reform laws and other Laws from judicial reviews
➢ Added new grounds for restriction of freedom of speech etc
b) 4th CA 1955: More acts in the 9th schedule to curtail Right to property. Broadened Article 31A
c) 17th CA 1964: Curtailed Right to Property further under the 9th schedule
➢ And by creating conditions for payment of compensation (Land should be agricultural, within statutory
ceiling Limits and under personal cultivation
1967: Golaknath case

➢ Ø SC: Parliament cannot abridge FR to implement DPSPs
➢ Ø Parliament's response
➢ Ø 24th CA 1971: Parliament can abridge FR by CA
➢ Ø 25th CA 1971:
➢ (a)Laws abridging Articles 14, 19 or 31 for implementation of Articles 39(b) and 39%c) shall not be void on
grounds of abridging the above FRs
➢ (b) Shall not undergo judicial review for violating Articles 14, 19 and 31.
1973: Keshavananda Bharati case

Ø SC: judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution, cannot be abridged by Constitutional Amendments
Ø Thus point (b) of the 25th CA 1971 is invalid
Ø Point (a) was held to be valid.
Ø The 42nd CA 1976 tried to expand Point (b) of the 25th CA to include all DPSPs and not just Article 39 (b) and
(c)
1980: Minerva Mills case
Ø The above provision of the 42nd CA 1976 was declared void.
Ø DPSPs subservient to FR
Ø BUT Articles 39 (b) and (c) not subservient to Articles 14, 19 and 31
IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

1. Through 5 year plans, which aimed towards socio-economic justice and reducing inequalities
2. Through Laws (Central and State)
3. Article 39: Equal pay for equal work for men and women {Equal Remuneration Act (1976)}
4. Article 42: To make provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief {Maternity
Benefits (Amendment) Act (2016)}
5. Article 40: To organise village panchayats and endows them with necessary powers and authority to enable
them to function as units of self-government (73rd CA 1992)
6. Similarly, states have made various laws to implement DPSPs like Land reform Laws.
7. We are working towards realisation of the DPSPs: e.g.: UCC (Article 44)
DIRECTIVES OUTSIDE PART IV

❑ Outside of Part IV
❑ Non-Justiciable as well
❑ Equally Important
❑ The constitution must be read as a whole

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❑ Article 335: (Part XVI)- Claims of SCs and STs to services

❑ Article 350A: (Part XVII)- Instruction in mother tongue
❑ Article 351: (Part XVII)- Development of Hindi Language
YouTube Lecture on Fundamental Duties - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo2tAlnEbkk&list=PL-XduN-

Fundamental Duties
• Part IV-A added containing Article 51-A
• Rights and duties of the citizens are correlative and inseparable,
• Original constitution contained only the fundamental rights and not the fundamental duties.
• Inspired by USSR
• Other major democracies do not list FDs in their constitutions (like Germany, USA etc)
• Japanese Constitution= contains a list of duties of citizens.
• FDs added with the 42nd CA 1976.
• One more through the 86th CA 2002
SWARAN SINGH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

❖ In 1976, the Congress Party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to make recommendations about
fundamental duties
❖ Committee recommended the inclusion of a separate chapter on fundamental duties
Accepted:
➢ Part IV-A added containing Article 51-A
➢ ØSuggested 8 fundamental Duties, most of which were included in the Constitution under the 42nd CA 1976
Not Accepted:
➢ Penalty/punishment for non-observance of FDs
➢ These laws cannot be declared unconstitutional for abridging FRs or infringing on other provisions of the
Constitution
➢ Duty to pay taxes a FD.
LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

❖ Article 51-A: It shall be the duty of every citizen,
1. To abide by the Constitution, respect its ideals an institutions, the National Flag, and the National Anthem
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom
3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so
5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending
religious, Linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women
6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of the country's composite culture
7. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for Living creatures
8. To develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
9. To safeguard pubic property and to abjure violence
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises
to higher levels of endeavour and achievement
11. To provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years.(86th CA
2002)
FEATURES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
➢ Some of them are moral duties while others are civic duties.
➢ They refer to such values which have been a part of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions and practices

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➢ confined to citizens only and do not extend to foreigners

➢ fundamental duties are also non- justiciable.
CRITICISM OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not cover other important duties like casting vote, paying taxes,
family planning and so on
2. Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and difficult to be understood by the common man like ‘noble
ideals’, ‘composite culture’, ‘scientific temper’ and so on
3. Non-justiciable: Just a code of moral precepts
4. Unnecessary inclusion in the Constitution
5. Included after DPSPs, not after FRs (Part III). This reduces their value and significance
SIGNIFICANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. Serve as a reminder to the citizens that while enjoying their rights, they should also be conscious of duties
they owe to their country
2. Warning against the antinational and antisocial activities
3. Serve as a source of inspiration for the citizens and promote a sense of discipline and commitment
4. Remind citizens of their necessity in achieving national goals.
5. Help courts in examining constitutional validity of Laws: may consider some laws a reasonable restricting
Articles 14 and 19 for the implementation of FDs
VERMA COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS

❖ Identified the existence of legal provisions for the implementation of some of the Fundamental Duties. They
are mentioned below:
1. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the Constitution of India, the
National Flag and the National Anthem
2. criminal laws in force provide for punishments for encouraging enmity between different sections of people
on grounds of language, race, place of birth, religion
3. The Protection of Civil Rights Act4 (1955) provides for punishments for offences related to caste and religion.
4. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) declares the imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration as
punishable offences.
5. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967
6. The Representation of People Act (1951) provides for the disqualification of members of the Parliament or a
state legislature
7. The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits trade in rare and endangered species.
8. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 checks indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forest land for
nonforest purposes.
YouTube Lecture on Amendment of the Constitution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOgHDD3K34o&list=PL-

Topic- Amendment of the Constitution

➢ Like any other written Constitution, the Constitution of India also provides for its amendment in order to
adjust itself to the changing conditions and needs.
➢ Article 368: Power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure therefore
➢ Ø Parliament can add, change, or repeal any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure.
➢ Ø SC in Keshavananda Bharati case (1973): Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution.
PROCEDURE FOR AMENDMENT

❖ For an amendment, a bill needs to be initiated in either House of the Parliament
❖ Cannot be initiated in a State legislature

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❖ Does not require prior permission of the President

❖ Both private members and minister can initiate a CA bill
❖ Should pass in each house with a special majority
❖ More than 50% of all members, and more than 2/3 of those present and voting
❖ No provision of a joint sitting. Thus each House must pass the bill separately
❖ Half of the states need to ratify that bill in case it intends to amend a federal provision
❖ After passed, presented to the President, who must give his assent (24th CA 1971)
❖ cannot withhold the bill, or return it for reconsideration.
❖ After the Presidents assent, the Constitution stands amended
TYPES OF AMENDMENTS
Constitution can be amended in three ways:
(a) Amendment by simple majority of the Parliament,
(b) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament,
(c) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament and the ratification of half of the state legislatures.
By Simple Majority of Parliament

❖ Such amendments are not considered amendments for the purposes of Article 368
❖ Can be used for the following provisions:
1. Admission or establishment of new states.
2. Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states.
3. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.
4. Second Schedule–emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the president, the governors, the
Speakers, judges, etc.
5. Quorum in Parliament
6. Salaries and allowances of the members of Parliament.
7. Rules of procedure in Parliament.
8. Privileges of the Parliament, its members and its committees.
9. Use of English language in Parliament.
10. Number of puisne judges in the Supreme Court.
11. Conferment of more jurisdiction on the Supreme Court.
12. Use of official language.
13. Citizenship–acquisition and termination.
14. Elections to Parliament and state legislatures.
15. Delimitation of constituencies.
16. Union territories.
17. Fifth Schedule–administration of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes.
18. Sixth Schedule–administration of tribal areas.
By Special Majority of Parliament

❖ All other provisions that can be amended. E.g.: Fundamental Rights, DPSP
❖ Special Majority: More than 50% of the total membership of each house and a majority of two-thirds of the
members of each house present and voting.
Ø Total membership means the total number of members comprising the house irrespective of fact whether
there are vacancies or absentees.
By Special Majority of Parliament and Consent of States

❖ Related to federal provisions (Amendments under Article 368)
❖ No time limit in which the states have to respond
❖ Once affirmative response of half the states is received, the response of the rest of the states does not
matter (whether negative, positive or withheld)
❖ Provisions that can be amended in such a way:

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Ø Election of the President and its manner

Ø Executive and legislative power of the Union and the States
Ø Supreme Court and High Courts
Ø 7th Schedule
Ø Representation of states in Parliament
Ø Article 368 itself
CRITICISM OF THE AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

❖ No special body Like in the USA (Constitutional Convention)
❖ Major part can be amended by the Parliament alone.
❖ States cannot initiate a bill except a resolution for creating/disbanding a legislative council
Ø Even here, the Parliament can approve, disapprove, or not take any action
❖ No time Limit for the state legislatures to ratify or reject amendments submitted to them.
❖ No provision for joint sitting
❖ Procedure for amendment very similar to the ordinary Legislative process Except for the special majority
❖ Wide scope for taking matters to the Judiciary.
Youtube lecture on Basic Structure of The Constiution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOgHDD3K34o&list=PL-XduN-VRcdjpZVk_zt5IFXqN1BJKDyja&index=13
Topic- Basic Structure of the Constitution
EMERGENCE OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE
❖ question whether Fundamental Rights can be amended by the Parliament under Article 368
❖ Shankari Prasad case (1951),

➢ Constitutional validity of the First Amendment Act (1951), which curtailed the right to property, was
challenged
➢ SC=power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution under Article 368 also
➢ Includes the power to amend Fundamental Rights
➢ Word ‘law’ in Article 13 includes only ordinary laws and not the constitutional amendment acts
➢ Parliament can abridge or take away any of the Fundamental Rights by enacting a constitutional
amendment act and such a law will not be void under Article 13.
➢
In 1967: Golaknath case
❖ 17th CA: included more acts in the 9th Schedule, removing them from the scope of judicial reviews
❖ SC: FRs are 'transcendental and immutable’
Ø Parliament cannot abridge them
Ø CA's are laws under Article 13
❖ Parliaments reaction:
§ 24th CA 1971
§ Amended Article 13: CA not a Law under the definition of Article 13
§ Amended Article 368: Parliament has the power to take abridge/take away FRs
❖ In 1973: Keshavananda Bharati Case

Ø SC overruled its Golaknath judgement
Ø Upheld 24th CA: Parliament can abridge FRs
Ø Created the doctrine of 'basic structure'/basic features’
Ø Parliament cannot alter this basic structure under Article 368
❖ Indira Nehru Gandhi case (1975)

➢ Doctrine of basic structure applied by the Supreme Court

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➢ Invalidated a provision of the 39th Amendment Act (1975) which kept the election disputes involving the
Prime Minister and the Speaker of Lok Sabha outside the jurisdiction of all courts
❖ Parliaments reaction:
§ 42nd CA 1976
§ Amended Article 36s: there is no Limitation on the constituent power of the Parliament to amend the
constitution
§ Amendments cannot be judicially reviewed
❖ In 1980: Minerva Mills Case

Ø SC said: Judicial Review is a basic feature of the constitution & the parliament cannot abridge it
Ø Parliament has a limited power to amend the constitution
Ø It can’t use the limited powers to give itself unlimited powers
❖ In 1981: Waman Rao case

Ø SC said: The basic structure doctrine to apply to all CAs enacted after 24th April 1973, i.e. after the
Keshavananda Bharati Judgement
ELEMENTS OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE

❖ From the various judgements, the following have emerged as ‘basic features’ of the Constitution
➢ Supremacy of the Constitution
➢ Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity
➢ Secular character of the Constitution
➢ Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary
➢ Federal character of the Constitution
➢ Unity and integrity of the nation
➢ Welfare state (socio-economic justice)
➢ 8. Judicial review
➢ 9. Freedom and dignity of the individual
➢ 10. Parliamentary system
➢ 11. Rule of law
➢ 12. Harmony and balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
➢ 13. Principle of equality
➢ 14. Free and fair elections
➢ 15. Independence of Judiciary
➢ 16. Limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution
➢ 17. Effective access to justice
➢ 18. Principles (or essence) underlying fundamental rights
➢ 19. Powers of the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136, 141 and 142
➢ 20. Powers of the High Courts under Articles 226 and 227
YouTube Lecture on Parliamentary System - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UioOE-kYWAs&list=PL-XduN-

Topic- Parliamentary System
❖ India=parliamentary form of government
❖ Articles 74 and 75 deal with the parliamentary system at the Centre
❖ Articles 163 and 164 in the states
❖ democratic governments=parliamentary and presidential
❖ The relationship between the executive and the legislature is the basis for classification of democracies
as parliamentary or presidential.
❖ Presidential: executive is independent

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❖ Parliamentary: executive is responsible to the o of the legislature

❖ Parliamentary: Cabinet government, responsible government, Westminster model, prime ministerial
government
Eg: Britain, Japan, Canada, India
❖ Presidential: non-responsible, non-parliamentary, fixed executive system
Eg: USA, Brazil, Russia, Sri Lanka
FEATURES OF PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

1. Nominal and Real Executives
❖ Nominal: de jure, titular (( President ))
❖ Real: de facto (( Prime Minister ))
❖ Article 74 says that advice of the council of ministers, led by the Prime Minister is binding on the President
2. Majority Party Rule
❖ Secures majority seats in the Lok Sabha forms the government
❖ leader of that party is appointed as the Prime Minister by the President
❖ Other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the prime minister
3. Collective Responsibility
❖ Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75)
❖ They can be removed if the Lok Sabha passes a vote of no-confidence
4. Political Homogeneity
❖ Members of the council of ministers usually belong to the same political party
❖ Share the same political ideology.
5. Double Membership
❖ ministers are members of both the executive and the legislature
❖ minister who is not a member of the Parliament for a period of six consecutive months ceases to be
minister.
6. Leadership of the Prime Minister
❖ Prime Minister plays the leadership role in this system of government
❖ leader of council of ministers, leader of the Parliament and leader of the party in power
7. Dissolution of the Lower House
❖ Dissolution of the Lok Sabha before the end of its term
❖ Possible on recommendation of the Prime Minister to the President
❖ The executive enjoys the right to get the legislature dissolved in a parliamentary system
8. Secrecy
❖ The ministers operate on the principle of secrecy of procedure
❖ Ministers take an oath of secrecy before entering office, administered by the President
❖ They cannot divulge information about their proceedings, policies and decisions

Polity YouTube Series Notes Part-1 (Arora IAS)

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Polity YouTube Series Notes Part-1 (Arora IAS)

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Page 1 of 37

www.AroraIAS.com Telegram: https://t.me/aroraias Polity YouTube Notes Part-1

Video Lecture Series on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwLnayJ-0zQ&list=PL-XduN-

Topic- SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION

Factors contributed to the elephantine size of our Constitution

2.Drawn From Various Sources

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Article 368 provides for two types of amendments:

➢ ‘Federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution.

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Parliamentary system= Westminster Model of Government, Responsible Government,

6. Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy

7. Integrated and Independent Judiciary

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➢ According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar=DPSP is a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution.

11. A Secular State

12. Universal Adult Franchise

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14. Independent Bodies

15. Emergency Provisions

16. Three-tier Government

17. Co-operative Societies

CRITICISM OF THE CONSTITUTION

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PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

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Youtube Lecture – on Preamble of the Constitution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72AgOBWsr0E&list=PL-

Topic- Preamble of the Constitution

TEXT OF THE PREAMBLE

INGREDIENTS OF THE PREAMBLE

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1. Source of authority of the Constitution: The people of India.

KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE

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YouTube lecture – Union & its Territory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3iwM8J8-Wo&list=PL-XduN-

Topic- Union and its Territory

PARLIAMENT’S POWER TO REORGANISE THE STATES

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BERUBARI UNION CASE

EVOLUTION OF STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES

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❑ States Reorganisation Act 1956

EVOLUTION OF STATES & UTs

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YouTube Lecture on Citizenship - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWPSmYtRcg&list=PL-XduN-

CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955

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➢ Shows disloyalty to the Constitution

Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005

REGISTRATION OF OCI CARDHOLDER

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CONFERMENT OF RIGHTS OF OCI CARDHOLDERS

BENEFITS OF OCI CARDHOLDERS

RENUNCIATION OF OCI CARD

CANCELLATION OF OCI CARD

YouTube Lecture on Fundamental Rights - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWpy1WW2Xmg&list=PL-

WHAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS?

FEATURES OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

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RIGHT TO EQUALITY: ARTICLE 14-18

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