Polity Notes

Basic Concept of Polity

Monarchy
Monarch

Legislature Executive Judiciary

 In autocarcy, all the three powers are vested with the King, means threre is a centralization
of powers, which makes the Monarch often unaccountable.
 French thinker Montesquieu gave the concept of separation of power, which means that all
the three functions of state should be separated. Therefore democracy is based on separa-
tion of powers.
Democracy

Permanent Temporary Supreme Court

Bureaucracy Ministers and
High Court
 India had dual polity which means there are separate legislatures at centre and different
states.
 India has dual executive which means there are separate council of ministers at centre and
different states.
 India has an integrated judiciary which means the High Courts are under the control of the
Supreme Court.
 India has a Parliamentary system of governance, therefore no clear separation of powers as
executive is a part of legislature.

Legislature
Judiciary
Executive

Parliamentary System of Governance in India

 Britain also has a Parliamentary system of governance therefore no separation of powers is
there. In Britain, the executive and judiciary are a part of legislature. Therefore Parliament
is supreme there, whereas in India the Constitution is Supreme.

Parliament
House of Commons House of Lords
Executive

Britain's Parliamentary System of Governance

 In USA there is Presidential system of governance, therefore clear separation of powers is

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found there.
State:
A State is a community of persons, occupying a definite territory, possessing an organized
government, and enjoying independence form external control.
Fundamental Elements of State:
1. Territory
2. Population
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
Note: Some contemporary thinkers consider only three elements of state as according to
them every government of a state is sovereign, therefore a government and sovereignty
cannot be considered as separate. But since this view is not widely accepted 4 elements of
state are considered.
Organs of state according to Kautaliya's Arthashastra
1. Durga (The Fortified Capital)
2. Swami (The Ruler)
3. RajKosha (The Treasury)
4. Sena (The Army)
5. Amatya (The Minister)
6. Mitra (Ally and Friend)
7. Kshetra (The Territory)
State and nation
 Nation: A nation is defined as an aggregation of people, people that exists as an organized
society, generally inhabiting a particular region, speaking the same language, following
similar customs possessing historical continuity.
 While the nation is closer to the racial or ethnic concept, the state is closer to a political
concept.
 The term nation used in the United Nations refers to 'State' rather than 'Nation'.
 'Arab nation' is a 'nation' concept rather than a state which includes many states like Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, UAE etc.
 The USA is a state consisting of many nations such as - Caucasian, African, Chinese and
Indian nations
 Japan and Israel are states in which the characteristics of the nation are also seen, so these
are examples of nation-states.

1. Divine Origin Theory: The king is the representative of God on earth and he enforces the
orders of God in his kingdom. Therefore, on the basis of divine principle, the states came
into existence.
2. Patriarchal Theory: After man's permanent residence, the family and the joint families came
into existence, who later organized as clans. The head of this clan was a 'man' whose in-
structions were mandatory for everyone in the clan to obey. The same unit was established
as a patriarchal state.
3. Matriarchal Theory: Some thinkers believe that in the absence of the concept of pre-perma-
nent residence and marital relations from the patriarchal state, the offspring of the primi-
tive human beings were identified by their mother in which the orders of the most senior
woman were paramount. This established a matriarchal state.
4. Power Theory: A state established by a powerful person on the basis of organized power.
5. Theory of Social Contact: This principle was given by Lock, Hobbs and Roussos. Accord-
ing to this principle, there was a situation of 'fisheries justice' before the concept of a state
with only uncertainty. So the people established the state on the basis of social accord.
Under this, all the people handed over some of their rights to the head of the state, and on
the other hand the king guaranteed the safety of his people. Even in a democracy at present,
the people give him power by choosing the ruler through voting.

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Constituent Assembly
 In 1895, Bal Gangadhar Tilak first demanded a Constituent Assembly.
 In 1922 Mahatma Gandhi demanded the Constituent Assembly.
 In 1928, the Nehru Committee demanded a Constituent Assembly.
 In 1934, Manvendra Nath Rai demanded a Constituent Assembly.
 In 1935, the Congress Party officially demanded the Constituent Assembly.
 In 1938 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as a representative of Congress demanded a Constituent
Assembly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise
 In August 1940, the British accepted the demand of the Constituent Assembly for the first
time.
The word 'Constituent Assembly' was not mentioned in it.
 The Cripps Mission in 1942 had a provision of a Constituent Assembly to be indirectly
elected by the members of the lower house of the provincial legislatures.
 The Constituent Assembly was elected in 1946 on the basis of recommendations of Cabinet
Mission.
It was elected by the members of the lower house of the provincial legislature by the system
of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
Total Members of
the Constituent Assembly (389)

296 members from British India. 93 members from Princely States

(Elected) (Nominated)

Members from Member from the Chief

Provinces Commissioner Provinces (4)
(292) 1. Delhi
2. Ajmer Merwara
3. Coorg
4. Baluchistan
Constituent Assembly Election
 A representative was elected on a population of 10 lakhs.
 'Proportional representation method was used for election. Members were elected by 'single
transferable vote'.
 Three categories were created under proportional representation -
1. Muslim (reserved seats-78)
2. Sikhs (reserved seats -04)
3. General (reserved seats-210) (Hindu, Jain, Christian, etc.)
 Constituent Assembly was elected indirectly.
 Electoral College: The Constituent Assembly was elected by the members of the lower
house of the provincial legislature.

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 Constituent Assembly was elected in July-August 1946.
 208 members of Congress Party were elected in the assembly.
 On the common seat - 199
 Sikh reserved seat - 03
 On Muslim reserved seat - 03
 Chief Commissioner provinces
 73 members of the Muslim League were victorious.
The Muslim League boycotted the Constituent Assembly just after the Constituent Assembly
elections.
 Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah did not contest the Constituent Assembly.
 15 women members were elected in the Constituent Assembly-
1. Ammu Swaminathan 2. Dakshayani Velayudhan
3. Begum Aizaz Rasul 4. Durgabai Deshmukh
5. Hansa Jivraj Mehta 6. Kamla Chaudhary
7. Leela Roy 8. Malati Choudhury
9. Purnima Banerjee 10. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
11. Renuka Ray 12. Sarojini Naidu
13. Sucheta Kriplani 14. Vijalakshami Pandit
15. Annie Mascarene
 Jayaprakash Narayan and Tej Bahadur Sapru resigned from the Constituent Assembly.
 On December 9, 1946, the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held, the senior-
most member, Sachchidananda Sinha, was made the temporary chairman.
 On December 11, 1946, the second meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place. Dr.
Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent president. H.C. Mukherjee was elected vice-
president.
BN Rau was appointed as constitutional advisor. Later on , VT Krishnamachari was elected
the second Vice president of the Constituent Assembly.
 BN Rau drafted the first draft of the constitution while the final draft was prepared by the
drafting committee.
 The third meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 13 December 1946. 'Objective
Resolution' was presented by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
 On 22 January 1947, the Constituent Assembly passed an objective resolution.
Key features of the Objective Proposal
 To Establish independent sovereign republic of India and framing constitution for it.
 Independent Indian Union should include the following areas: -
1. British India
2. Indian states (princely states)
3. Other Indian regions (Goa, Puducherry etc.)
4. Other states or territories which are willing to join India voluntarily.
 States in the Indian Union should be given autonomy and residuary powers should be
given to the states.
 In independent India, all powers and authorities of governance should be derived from
people. (Democracy)

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Social
 Justice to all citizens of the country Economic
Political

Thought
Expression
Belief
Freedom In the realm of
Faith
law and Morality
Worship
Vocation
Association
Action

Status
Equality Opportunity Will be
ensured
Before the law
 Special measures should be taken to protect the interests of the following
1. Minority
2. Backward and tribal areas
3. Socially backward and deprived class/depressed and other backward classes
 Maintaining the integrity of the Indian territory and maintaining sovereign right over the
water, land and sky under it.
 Since ancient times, India has a special place in the world, to maintain that place and to
promote world peace and welfare of mankind.

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Criticisms of the Constituent Assembly

1. The Constituent Assembly was not directly elected and members of princely states were
also nominated, so it did not represent the Indian public.
 But the above criticism is not justified because direct elections to the Constituent Assembly
were extremely difficult under the circumstances. For which the following reasons were
responsible: -
 The national movement was at its peak.
 There was political instability.
 Communal riots were taking place in the country.
 There was not enough infrastructure and machinery to conduct elections.
 There was a lack of time.
 There was a lack of political awareness and education in the public.
 There was a lack of means of communication.
As far as the princely states are concerned, even an indirect election of members couldn't
take place there because there were no public representative institutions in the princely
states, which means there was a lack of infrastructure for elections and merging them in
India was a main challenge.
2. The Constituent Assembly was not a sovereign body as it was formed on the basis of the
recommendations of the Cabinet Mission.
But the above criticism is not justified because:
 On 15 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a sovereign body. It was completely
free from the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission.
 The Indian Independence Act 1947 clearly stated that the Constituent Assembly would be
free from the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission.
 The Constituent Assembly itself passed a resolution that it would take all its decisions
independently.
3. Wastage of time: The Constituent Assembly of India completed the Constitution in 2 years,
11 months and 18 days whereas the US Constitution was completed in just 4 months.
This criticism is not justified because-
 India and America had different conditions. India is a multicultural, multi-religious, multi-
lingual and multi-ethnic country and our social structure is highly complex with many dis-
advantaged and backward classes and tribes, so the Constitution had to make special pro-
visions for the interests of all.
While there was not so much diversity in American society, nor in the US constitution
special provisions were made for the interests of the disadvantaged sections (people of
American and African origin).
 Indian constitution is the largest constitution in the world, it had 395 articles whereas the
US constitution is very brief which has only 7 articles.

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 Indian constitution includes constitution of both Union and State i.e. states do not have
separate constitution whereas US constitution is only constitution of Union and states have
separate constitution.
4. Most of the members of the Constituent Assembly were from the Congress, therefore it
only gave importance to the ideology of the Congress, other political ideologies were ig-
nored.
This criticism is not justified because:
 Indian constitution is a balanced constitution; it does not have the influence of any one
ideology but has given importance to all ideologies.
 The draft of constitution was prepared by the Drafting committee. The Chairman of the
Drafting Committee, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar himself was not from Congress and Congress
had only two members in the drafting committee (KM Munshi, VT Krishnamachari)
However, the national movement was led by the Congress. The Congress was the largest
political party. Its social base was more extensive so more members of Congress were elected
in the Constituent Assembly.
5. Most of the members of the Constituent Assembly were Hindus. Therefore the Indian Con-
stitution is influenced by Hinduism.
The above criticism is not justified because:
 The Constituent Assembly was elected with a proportionate representation system, be-
cause the number of Hindus was more at that time, so they were elected in large numbers
and after the partition of the country most of the Muslims became part of Pakistan, so the
proportion of Hindus increased.
 Despite this, the Indian Constitution does not have religious implications. The Indian Con-
stitution is a secular constitution. Rule of law prevails here. All are equal before the law.
The state does not discriminate on the basis of religion. Religious freedom is a fundamental
right.
 Therefore, it is fair to say that the Indian Constitution does not give special importance to
any religion, but treats all religions in the same manner.
6. Most of the members of the Constituent Assembly were politicians and lawyers. The other
sections were not given adequate representation in this and the language of the constitution
is highly complex due to lawyers.
The above criticism is not justified because:
 The constitutions of most of the countries of the world are prepared by lawyers and leaders
only because they are experts in the constitution. Politicians often represent all sections of
society, so the members of the Constituent Assembly were representatives of different
sections of society and the Indian Constitution has protected the interests of all sections of
society. Special measures have been taken for the interests of weaker and disadvantaged
sections.
 According to the British tradition, everything in the Indian Constitution has been explained
in detail, so the language of the Constitution has become complex.

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Sources of Indian Constitution

The members of the drafting committee studied the constitutions of about 60 countries and
the Indian Constitution has been drafted with regard to their better provisions.
Following were the major sources of the constitution: -
Government of India Act 1935
 Federal structure (autonomy of states)
 Governor's post
 Judicial system
 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
 Emergency Provision
 Administrative Structure
 Special provision for scheduled and tribal areas
 Bicameral system
 Concurrent list
 Post of Comptroller and Auditor General
 Government of India Act 1935 was the most important source of our Constitution. About 2/
3 of the provisions of the Constitution have been taken from this Act.
Constitution of Britain
 Parliamentary system of Governance
 Bicameral system
 Collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers towards the following
 Cabinet system
 Equality before the law
 Single citizenship
 Legislative Procedure
 Issue of writ
 Post of Comptroller and Auditor General
 Procedure established by the law
 Parliamentary Privilege
Constitution of America
 Independent judiciary
 Judicial review
 Procedure for removal of judges
 Public Interest Litigation;
 Fundamental Rights
 Impeachment process on President

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 Post of Vice President
 First Line of Preamble (We the People of India)
 Equal Protection of Law
 Due process of law
Constitution of Canada
 Federal system in which residuary powers are vested in the centre
 Appointment of Governor in states by the Centre
 Advisory jurisdiction of Supreme Court The President can consult the Supreme Court.
Constitution of Ireland
 Directive Principles of State Policy
 Method of election of President
 Nomination of 12 members in Rajya Sabha
Constitution of South Africa
 Process of amending the Constitution
 Election of Rajya Sabha members
Constitution of Australia
 Concurrent list
 Joint sitting of both houses of parliament
 Language/Draft of constitution
 Freedom of interstate trade, commerce and intercourse
Constitution of France
 Republic
 Ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the preamble
Constitution of the Soviet Union
 Fundamental duties
 Ideal of justice (social, economic and political) in the preamble
Constitution of Germany (Weimar Republic)
 Suspension of Fundamental Rights during National Emergency
Constitution of Japan
 Procedure established by law

Q. Is the Indian Constitution a bag of borrowing?

Ans : The drafting committee studied the constitutions of about 60 countries and drew inspira-
tion from their better provisions and drafted the Indian constitution, hence some critics call
it a bag of borrowing.
But it is not fair to say because framers of our constitution did not follow them blindly they
just drew inspiration from them . Dr. B.R. According to Ambedkar, when we were framing
the constitution.
According to Dr. BR Ambedkar, at the time when we were making the constitution,
hundreds of years before that, many countries had made the constitutions and had gained
the experience to implement them, so we had the option to take advantage of their experi-
ences. Also, there was nothing new to do at that time.
The framers of the Constitution gave more importance to pragmatism than to original-
ity and newness. They adopted only those provisions which were in accordance with the

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circumstances and needs of the Indian society. Instead of adopting these provisions un-
changed/as it is, changes were made in our requirements.
Like:
 We took parliamentary system of governance from Britain, but instead of their monarchy,
we adopted republic and unlike them we adopted the concept of independent judiciary.
 We took the provision of the Republic from France, but the position and powers of the
President of India are different from the President of France.
 The provision of bicameral system was taken from Britain but the constitution and powers
of Rajya Sabha in India is different from the House of Lords.
 The concept of independent judiciary was derived from the US, but instead of their dual
judiciary, India adopted an integrated judiciary.
 The process of impeachment of the President was adopted from America, but it is different
from them in many ways.
 The post of Vice President is taken from the US Constitution, but the election process and
powers of the Indian Vice President are different from the American Vice President.
It is clear from the above examples that the framers of our constitution have not blindly
copied other constitutions but they just drew inspiration from them and changed them
according to circumstances. Hence the constitution cannot be called a mere bag of
borrowing.All cultures take inspiration from each other. If we have taken inspiration from
them in democratic matters, then those countries have also taken inspiration from Indian
culture in many cases.

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PREAMBLE
 ‘We the people of India’
means sovereignty lies in the people.

 Sovereign

Socialist
India
Secular

Democratic

Republic

 and to all his citizens

Thought
Expression
Social
Liberty Belief
Justice Economic
Faith
Political
Worship

Status
Equality
Opportunity

Dignity of Individual
Fraternity
Unity and integrity of the nation
 Date : - 26 November 1949A.D.
(Miti Margashirsha Shukla Saptami Samvat 2006 Vikrami)

 Adopt
Constitution Enact
Give to ourselves

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Polity Notes
Q. Is the Preamble Part of the Constitution?
Ans:Berubari case In 1960, the Supreme Court ruled that the Preamble is not a part of the Con-
stitution. In 1973, the Supreme Court overturned its earlier decision and considered that
the preamble is part of the Constitution.
But it is not as effective as the articles. It neither confers any kind of power to the Parlia-
ment nor imposes any control on the power of the Parliament. It is not enforceable by the
court.
Q. Can the Preamble be amended?
Ans.In Kesavananda Bharti case 1973 Supreme Court ruled that any part of the Constitution can
be amended by the Parliament, so the Preamble can also be amended but this should not
affect the basic structure of the Constitution.
By amending the Preamble by the 42nd Constitution Amendment 1976, three new words
were added -
1. Socialist
2. Secular
3. Integrity

The Preamble is the philosophy of the Indian Constitution. The following features of the
Republic of India are stated in the preamble.
1. Sovereignty:
Sovereignty means that a country is completely independent, that is, it makes all its own
decisions and in no way is subject to any other country / authority.
On 15 August 1947, India became a Dominion State. Although India became independent,
but our governance system was governed by the provisions of the Indian Independence
Act 1947, such as-
 Government of India Act 1935" was used as our constitution.
The Constituent Assembly also served as the legislature.
The British Privy Council was our highest/supreme appellate court.
 India became a sovereign nation on 26 January 1950.
 Pakistan remained Dominion State till 1956 AD.
 Canada, Australia , New Zealand are still Dominion States as the British Crown is their
Head of State.
 At present, almost all countries have to follow the instructions of international organiza-
tions and they also have to accept international political pressure.
But it does not limit sovereignty as each country accepts them keeping in mind its national
interests and it is free to renounce membership of international organizations at any time.
2. Socialism:
India is a socialist country but our socialism is different from communism. It does not sup-
port violent revolutions but instead it endorses changes in a democratic way.
 Recognizes personal property.
 Emphasizes the equitable distribution of resources, i.e. distribution on the basis of merit.
 Resists harmful concentration of resources.
 Emphasizes giving special protection to the vulnerable/weaker section.
 Indian socialism is close to Fabian socialism.

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Communism Socialism
1 It supports violent revolution. 1 It opposes violence and supports
democratic movement.
2 It opposes private property. There should 2 It recognizes private ownership over the
be public sector authority over resources. means of production.
3 It does not believe in nationalism. 3 It recognises nationalism.
4 They do not believe in religion according 4 It supports religion.
to them religion is opium.
5 Class Struggle 5 Both class struggle and class cooperation
6 Equal or need-based distribution of 6 Distribution of resources according to
resources merit, as well as special protection to
weaker sections.
7 No faith in democracy, faith in the 7 Support of democracy
dictatorship of the proletariat
Maoism:
It is a form of socialism. Its promoter was Mao tse Tung. On 1 October 1949, there was a
revolution in China under his leadership. It differs from Marxism in the following cases:
 According to this, farmers can make a revolution, while according to Marx, workers can
go on revolution if there is extreme development of industrialisation.
 It believes in nationalism.
 'It does not support world revolution according to it communism can be safe in one
country only.
3. Secularism:
India is a secular country because India has no national religion. 'India has rule of law, All
are equal before the law here.
 The state does not discriminate on the ground of religion.
 Equal opportunities are provided to all religions in public employment.
 Religious freedom is a fundamental right.
 The state does not levy any religious tax.
 All citizens have freedom of speech and expression.
But Indian concept is different from western concept of secularism because secularism has
been adopted at both places for different reasons.
 Western world adopted secularism due to renaissance, religious reform movement, en-
lightenment. In which it was believed that religion is a matter of faith.
In this, rationality/reason was not given much importance. Hence superstition and social
evils arose in it, hence religion was separated from the state and it was considered as a
personal matter. And the state will not give importance to religious beliefs at the time of
law making, instead the basis of law making should be humanism and scientific approach.
 People of all religions live in India, so there should be no discrimination on the basis of
religion and all religions should get equal protection, hence secularism was adopted. Reli-
gion in India is not separated from the state, rather the state provides equal protection to all
religions. Therefore, our secularism is "Sarvadharmsambhav".
It is for this reason that the state recognizes religious identity. Minority class status is given.
There are separate civil codes based on religious beliefs. The state conducts religious pro-
grams. Subsidy is provided for religious works.

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Polity Notes
 The word dharma originated from the word dhrita which means 'wearable'/Bearable. The
meaning of wearable is 'Duty'
Hence, traditionally, religion meant 'Duty'. Therefore, the Hindi translation of Secularism
is 'Panth Nirpekshata' and not 'Dharm Nirpekshata'.
4. Democracy:
Governance of the people, by the people and for the people is called democracy. There are
2 types of democracy.
(I) Direct democracy (II) Indirect democracy
(I) Direct democracy: If there is direct involvement of the people in governance, that is, impor-
tant decisions related to executive and legislature are taken by the people. Direct democ-
racy has the following forms: -
(i) Referendum: The opinion taken from the public which is legally binding to implement.
It is often used in foreign affairs.
(ii) Plebiscite : Opinion taken from the public which is not legally binding to implement. It
is used in matters related to domestic policy making.
(iii)Right to Recall: The public has the right to call back their elected representatives before
the completion of their term i.e. they can be removed from office.
(iv)Initiative (Initiative): In this, the public is given the right to take initiative to formulate
the law. If a certain number of people sign a resolution, then it is binding to introduced
it in the legislature. This provision is in Switzerland.
 Direct democracy may be possible in small countries. India is geographically vast and has a
large population. Therefore, direct democracy is not possible here. There is also a lack of
means of communication in India, as well as lack of education and understanding of politi-
cal subjects among the people.
(II) Indirect Democracy: If there is indirect participation of the people in governance, i.e., if
elected representatives of the public take important decisions related to executive and leg-
islature, then it is called indirect democracy. It has many forms.
i. 'Parliamentary Governance' : India, Britain
ii. Presidential Governance : America
iii. 'Dual Executive' : France
iv. 'Plural Executive' : Switzerland
 Indirect democracy can also be divided into another form.
(i) Unitary Governance': All the powers are vested in the Central Government. (Britain)
(ii) Federal Governance': States get more powers.
 There is indirect democracy in India and a Quasi-federal structure has been adopted here
under parliamentary governance.
5. Republic:
If the head of a country is not hereditary, it is called a republic. This is the anti-ideology of
the monarchy.

Head of state not hereditary  Republic

Govt.

Public participation in Governance  Democracy

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Polity Notes
 Britain is a democracy but not a republic. There is a democratic monarchy.
 There is no democracy in China because there is no public participation in governance but it
is a republic because there is no hereditary head of state.
 'India, America, France are democratic states.
 There is a monarchy in Brunei.
6. Justice:
The following types of justice are given in the Preamble.
(i) Social Justice: A society that does not discriminate on the following grounds - reli-
gion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, colour, age, sexual orientation (LGBT,
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) etc.
 There should be equality in the society and the society should be free from social
stereotypes, traditions, superstitions, pomp, etc.
 'The person should have a clean and free environment available for development.
(ii) Economic Justice: Economic justice means the equitable distribution of resources, i.e.
distribution on the basis of merit, but special provisions should be made for the de-
prived and weaker sections. Employment should be available to all, there should be no
economic exploitation, minimum wage rates should be fixed, basic needs are met, there
is no harmful concentration of wealth and means of production.
(iii) Political Justice: All citizens should have freedom to vote and contest elections, There
should be a fair and transparent election system, No use of money power and muscle
power in elections, No use casteism, regionalism and communalism etc. in elections.
(Election should be done/conducted on development issues)
Criticisms of the Preamble
 The Preamble is not original but it is a copy because its first line is taken from the US
Constitution and the rest of the draft is taken from the Australian Constitution
 The preamble is not as effective as the articles in spite of being part of the constitution.
Because it neither confers any power to the Parliament nor imposes any control on the
powers of the Parliament. It is not enforceable by the court.
 The meaning of the term 'socialism' used in the preamble is unclear because India is not a
communist country. India recognizes private property, there is economic inequality in India
and after 1991 we are constantly moving towards capitalism, hence the term 'socialism' has
become irrelevant.
 The meaning of the word 'secularism' is also unclear because in India religion has not been
separated from the state but the state protects all religions and the civil codes are based on
religious beliefs and so there is no equality before the law.

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Schedules of the Constitution

 There are 12 schedules of the Indian Constitution. Originally there were only 8 schedules.
Rest were added later through Constitutional amendments.
 Ist Schedule
 Name and boundaries of the States and Union Territories.
 IInd Schedule
 Expenses charged upon Consolidated fund of India
Centre State
1. President. 1. Governor
2. Rajya Sabha - Chairman 2. Legislative Council - Chairman
-Deputy Chairman. - Deputy Chairman
3. Lok Sabha - Speaker 3. Legislative Assembly - Speaker
- Deputy Speaker. - Deputy Speaker
4. Judges of Supreme Court 4. Judges of High Court
5. CAG
 Pensions of HC judges is given from the Consolidated fund of India
 IIIrd Schedule
 Form of Oath
Centre State
1. MP candidates 1. MLA/MLC candidates
2. MP. 2. MLA/MLC
3. Minster. 3. Minister
4. Judge of SC. 4. Judge of HC
5. CAG ( oath same as SC judge)
 Article 60 has provisions for the oath of President.
 Article 69 has the provisions for the oath of Vice President.
 Article 159 has the provisions for the oath of Governor.
Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Lok
Sabha do not have any separate oath.
 Chairman and Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly also do not have any separate
oath.
 IVth Schedule
 Allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha for states and Union territories.
 Vth Schedule
 Provisions relating to administration and control of scheduled and tribal areas.

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Polity Notes
 VIth Schedule
 Provisions relating to administration and control of schedules and tribal areas of Assam,
Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram state.
 VIIth Schedule
 Distribution of Subjects between Union and States
Originally Present
(i) Union List 97 98
(ii) State List 66 59
(iii) Concurrent List 47 52
 By 42nd Constitutional Amendment 5 subjects were transferred from state list to concur-
rent list.
1. Forest 2. Wildlife 3. Measurement Units
4. Judicial Administration 5. Education
 VIIIth Schedule
 Constitutionally recognised languages.
 Initially 14 languages were given recognition
1. Assamese 2. Bangla 3. Gujarati 4. Hindi 5. Kannada
6. Kashmiri 7. Malayalam 8. Marathi 9. Odiya 10. Punjabi
11.Sanskrit 12.Tamil 13.Telgu 14. Urdu
Note: In 2011, the name of Udia was changed to Odia.
15.Sindhi
Note: 21st Constitution Amendment 1967
16.Konkani 17.Manipuri 18. Nepali
Note: 71st Constitution Amendment 1992
19.Bodo 20.Dogri 21. Maithili 22. Santhali
Note: 92nd Constitution Amendment 2003
 IXth Schedule – Protection from Judicial review
 This was added by 1st Constitutional Amendment 1951.
 Under this, Acts have been provided protection from judicial review.
 Any Act included in this schedule is immune from judicial review
 Acts passed by Parliament to abolish Zamindari system and for implementing land re-
forms, are kept in this schedule
 Originally 13 Acts were included. Presently there are around 282 Acts.
 In Cohelo Case 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Acts included after 24 April,1973 are
now open to judicial review, because on this date decision on Keshavananda Bharti Case
was given which gave the concept of 'Basic Structure' of the Constitution and judicial
review was declared as the part of Basic structure.

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Polity Notes
 Xth Schedule – Anti defection provisions
 This was included by the 52nd Constitution Amendment (1985)
 This has provisions regarding termination of membership of members of Parlaiment and
Legislative Assembly on the account of defection.
 Some changes were made in it through 91st Constitution Amendment (2002)
 If any member changes his/her political party after election, then their membership
ends.
 2/3rd members can collectively change their parties
 Independent members cannot join any political party
 Nominated members can join any political party within 6 months of their nomina-
tion.
 If any MP violates instructions of the whip, and the political party does not forgive
them in 15 days then he/she will lose membership of the house.
 XI Schedule
th

 This schedule was included by 73rd Constitutional Amendment 1992 (Implemented in

1993).
 Subjects are given to Panchayati Raj institutions.
 There are a total of 29 subjects.
 In Rajasthan, 22 subjects have been provided.
 XIIth Schedule
 This schedule was included by 74th Constitutional Amendment 1992 ( included in 1993).
 Subjects are given to Urban Local Bodies.
 There are a total of 18 subjects.

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Polity Notes

Parts of Indian Constitution

1. Union and Its Territory – Article 1-4
2. Citizenship – Article 5-11
3. Fundamental Rights – Article 12-35
4. Directive Principles of State Policy – Article 36-51
4A. Fundamental Duties – Article 51-A
5. Union – Article 52-151
6. State – Article 152-237
7. .... – Article 238
8. Union Territories – Article 239-242
9. Panchayati Raj – Article 243-243O
9A. Urban Local Bodies – Article 243P-243ZG
9B. Cooperatives – Article 243ZH-243ZT
10. Scheduled of Tribal Areas – Article 244 - 244(A)
11. Legislative and Administrative relations – Article 245-263
of Union and States
12. Financial relations between the Union and the State – Article 264-300(A)
13. Inter-state Trade, Commerce & Intercourse – Article 301-307
14. Services under Union and States – Article 308-323
14A. Tribunal – Article 323(A), 323(B)
15. Election – Article 324-329
16. Special Provisions for Certain Classes – Article 330-342
17. Official Language – Article 343-351
18. Emergency Provisions – Article 352-360
19. Miscellaneous – Article 361-367
20. Constitutional Amendment – Article 368
21. Temporary Provisions – Article 369-392
22. Short Titles & Hindi Translation – Article 393-395

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Polity Notes

Part of Indian Constitution

(Article 1-4) Union and its States

 Article 1- Union and its states

 India that is "Bharat"which is a union of states.

 This article clarifies two things-
1. Name of the country
2. Nature of polity

 The word 'union' has been used in the constitution. The word 'federal' is not used
anywhere.

State State

State State State State

Centre Centre

State State State State

Federal Union
States more powerful Centre more powerful

 According to B R Ambedkar- Indian constitution is federal during peace time and unitary
during emergencies. According to him the word 'federal' is not used in Indian constitution
as unlike USA, India is not a result of an agreement between the states. Since ancient
times India is a country and it has made states and not the other way around.
 Indian Constitution is quasi-federal as it has features of both union and federation.
 India is an indestructible union of destructible states, whereas USA is a destructible
union of indestructible states.
 Territory of India:
1. States
2. Union Territories
3. Other occupied territories / regions.
 Article- 2: To admit states and Establish the state
Parliament has been given the power to admit new states into the union(this is for external
states to India).

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Polity Notes
 Article 3- Formation of new State
 Parliament can divide any state to form a new state , can change name, area or boundary
of any state.

 Procedure for formation of a new state

 President sends the motion for creating new state to the concerned state legislature.
 The motion is presented in the state legislature
 There is no impact of acceptance or rejection by the state legislature on the motion
 Bill for formation of a new state is introduced with the prior approval of President.
 The bill can be introduced in the either House of Parliament
 The bill has to be passed with simple majority by both the Houses of Parliament
 There is no provision for joint sitting
 President cannot return this bill for reconsideration
 Article 4
 Changes made in Ist and IInd schedule will not be considered as Constitutional
Amendment.
 In Beru Bari Case 1960- the Supreme Court ruled that any Indian territory cannot be
transferred to any other country without Constitutional Amendment. ( Article 4 does
not give protection to it).
 9th Constitutional Amendment(1960)- Beru Bari was given to Pakistan.
 1969- Supreme Court gave the decision that settlement of boundary dispute can be
done by an executive action.
 100th Constitutional Amendment 2015- areas were exchanged with Bangladesh 111
enclaves were given to Bangladesh Bangladesh gave 51 enclaves to India.

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Polity Notes

Unification of India
 October 1947: Jammu Kashmir was merged into India (Ruler Hari Singh signed instrument
of accession)
 Feburary 1948: Junagarh princely state was merged with India through a referendum after
it's ruler fled to Pakistan.
 November 1948: Hyderabad was merged with India by the Police action which was called
Operation Polo.
 1954 : Pondicherry, Yanam, Karaikal, Mahe, Chanranagar we're freed from France.Dadar
and Nagar Haveli were freed from Portugal
 1961: Goa, Daman and Diu were freed from Portugal.
 10th Constitution Amendment 1961: Dadar and Nagar Haveli were merged with India
and were made UT.
 12th Constitution Amendment 1962: Goa, Daman and Diu were merged with India
 14th Constitution Amendment 1962: Pondicherry, Yanam, Karaikal, Mahe, Chandranagar
were merged with India. Chandranagar was merged with W.Bengal and rest were made
UT of Pondicherry.
 Sikkim:
 Sikkim was under the rule of Chogayal
 Sikkim was given the status of protectorate.
 Sikkim had given 3 subjects to India
i) Foreign affairs
ii) Security
iii)Communications
 35th Constitution Amendment 1974:
 Stronger relations with Sikkim
 Sikkim was provided with the status of Associated State
 For this Article 2A and 10th Schedule was added into the Indian constitution in which
special provisions for Sikkim were made.
 In future,when Sikkim was merged into India,people voted in favour of this move in a
referendum.
 36th Constitution Amendment 1975:
 Sikkim was completely merged into India
 Article 2A and 10th Schedule was repealed

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Polity Notes

Reorganization of States
 Dhar Commission 1948
 This commission rejected the demand for reorganisation of states on the basis of lan-
guage.
 J.V.P. Committee 1948
 3 members: J.Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pattabhi Sitarramaya.
 The task of this committee was to review the recommenations of Dhar Committee.
 This committee also rejected the demand for linguistic reorganisation of states. How-
ever demand for linguistic reorganisation of states was increasing in the country.
 1953- Potti Shreeramallu- died after 53 day hunger strike for demanding a separate state
of Andhra. The movement became aggressive and the government had to accept their
demands.
 In 1953- Andhra Pradesh was established as the first linguistic based state. After this
other parts of the country also demanded new states and Fazl Ali Commission was
constituted.
 Fazl Ali Commission 1953:
 Two Members- K.M. Panicker, H.N. Kunzru
 Submitted their report in 1955.
They excepted the demand for linguistic states. But while re-organising a state there
should be no compromise with the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the nation.
 Recommenation 1955
 Preservation and strengthening of the unity and security of the country should be taken
into account during reorganization of states.
 Linguistic and cultural homogeneity should be maintained.
 Financial, economic and administrative development of the country should not be ham-
pered.
 Planning should be promoted for welfare of the people in states as well as nation.
 Four fold classification of states should be abolished and there should be only two cat-
egories of states.
(i) State (ii) Union Territories
 By the seventh Constitutional Amendment act - recommendations of Fazl Ali commis-
sion were implemented. On 1 November 1956 seventh Constitutional amendment was
implemented.
 14 states and six UTs were formed.
14 States :
1. Andra Pradesh 2. Assam 3. Bihar 4. Bombay
5. Jammu & Kashmir 6. Kerala 7. Madhya Pradesh 8. Madras

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Polity Notes
9. Mysore 10. Orissa 11. Punjab 12. Rajasthan
13. Uttar Pardesh 14. West Bengal
6 Union Territories
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2. Laccadive
3. Delhi 4. Himachal Pradesh
5. Manipur 6. Tripura

 1960 : Gujarat was separated from Bombay

Bombay was made the state of Maharashtra.
 1961 : Dadar Nagar Haveli
 1962 : Goa, Daman Diu and Pondicherry.
 1963 : Nagaland (from Assam)
 1966 : Haryana (from Punjab)
Chandigarh was made UT
 1971 : Himachal Pradesh
 1972 : Manipur, Tripura (UTs)
Meghalaya (subordinate state under Assam)
By 22nd constitutional amendment Meghalaya was made a subordinate state
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram (they both were made UTs)
 1975 : Sikkim was merged into India and given full statehood.
 1987 : Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram (UTs) Goa (state)
 2000 : Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Jharkhand were by bifurcated Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar respectively.
 2014 : Telangana was formed by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
 2019 : Jammu and Kashmir into 2 UTs
(i) Kashmir (ii) Ladakh
 Name Changes
Year Maiden Name Changes Name
 1950  United Provins  Uttar Pradesh
 1966  Madras  Tamil Nadu
 1973  Mysore  Karnataka
 1973  Laccidive  Lakshadweep
 1992  U.T. of Delhi  National capital region of Delhi
 2006  Uttaranchal  Uttarakhand
 2006  Pondicherry  Puducherry
 2011  Orissa  Odisha.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
 Article 12: The definition of ‘State’ includes the following.

 Union Legislature and Executive

 State Legislature and Executive

 State Authorities

 Public sector undertaking

 State funded institution

 Article 13:

13(1) A law which is inconsistent with the Fundamental Rights shall be void to the
extent of inconsistency. (For pre-constitutional law)

13(2) If Law made by State is inconsistent with fundamental rights, it shall be void to
the extent of inconsistency. (For post-Constitution laws)

13(3) In this, the law is defined.

 Laws in enacted by the Parliament or the state Legislature

 Ordinance issued by President or state governors.

 Orders, Bye-laws, Rule, Regulation or Notifications

 Custom or usage having the force of law.

13(4) It was added by the 24th Constitution Amendment 1971. According to it, Article
13 (2) applies only to ordinary laws, it does not apply to amendments made
under Article-368.

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Polity Notes

Right to Equality
 Article 14: 'Rule of Law'

 Equality before the Law

 Equal protection of the Law
Equality before the Law:

This concept is negative explanation of the Rule of Law.

No person is above the law, all are equal before the law, no person is high or low.
This concept is taken from Britain.
Equal protection of the Law:
Its positive explanation of the Rule of Law.
The Law will treat equally under equal circumstance.
Law can make reasonable classification. I.E. Privileges for President, Governor, M.P.,
M.L.C.

This concept is taken from U.S.A.

Exceptions to the Right to Equality:

1. Immunities available to President/Governor ( Art.361)

 The President/Governor is not answerable to courts for performance of official duties.

 No criminal or arrest proceedings against President/Governor during their term of
office.
 Civil proceedings against President/Governor only after 2 months notice for acts
done in personal capacity.
2. Publication of substantially true report of proceedings of Parliament/State Legislature
will not lead to any civil/criminal proceedings in court.(Art.361-A)
3. Under Article 105, privileges available to the members of Parliament.

4. Under Article 194, privileges to members of State Legislature.

5. Under Article 31(c), Directive Principles described in Article 39(b), 39(c) are given priority
over Article 14.

6. Immunity to foreign sovereigns (rules) and diplomat from civil & criminal proceedings.

7. Immunity to UNO and its agencies.

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Polity Notes

Right to Equality
Article 15: 'Prohibition of discrimination on certain grounds'
15(1) The state shall not discriminate among citizens on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex
and place of birth.
15(2) There shall be no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth at
private institutions, hotels, restaurants, public wells, ponds, Bathing Ghats, temples etc.
Exception:
15(3) Special schemes and programs can be made for the welfare of women and children.
15(4) The state can make special schemes and programs for socially and educationally back-
ward classes.
15(5) Reservation can be given in educational institutions for socially and educationally back-
ward classes. (There may be reservation in both government and private educational
institutions but reservation cannot be given in minority educational institutions.)
15(6) Special schemes and programs can be made for Economically Backward Section (103rd
Constitution Amendment 2019)
Article 16 : Equality of opportunity in public employment
16(1) The state will provide equal opportunities to all citizens in public employment.
16(2) In public employment, any citizen will not be discriminated only on the grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, descent and residence.
Exception:
16(3) The state can have residence as a condition in local jobs in particular states and UT.
16(4) Posts are reserved for socially and educationally backward classes who are not ad-
equately represented in state services.
Article 16 (4)(a) : Reservation in promotion.
Article 16 (4)(b) : More than 50% reservation in backlog filling.
16(5) Posts can be reserved for the same religion in religious institutions.
16(6) Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (103rd Constitution Amendment 2019)
Indira Sawhney Case 1992 A.D.
 The Supreme Court ruled that the reservation limit cannot exceed 50%.
 The Supreme Court gave the concept of creamy layer in O.B.C. i.e. the benefit of
reservation is not given to the citizens belonging to creamy layer.
Article 17 :'End of Untouchability'

The state will abolish all forms of untouchability.

 It is an absolute right because there is no exception to it.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Article-18 'Abolition of titles'
18(1) The state shall not confer any title except for a military or academic distinction.
18(2) An Indian citizen cannot obtain any title from any foreign state.
18(3) A foreign national who is in the service of the Government of India cannot accept any
title from any foreign state without the consent of the President.
18(4) An Indian citizen appointed to state service cannot accept any present, emolument or
office from any foreign state without the consent of the President.
Balaji Raghwan Case 1996
 In this, the Supreme Court ruled that Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan
etc. do not amount to titles but these are honour, So these are not violative to the
theory of equality.
 However, the court also ruled that awardees should not use these awards as suffixes or
prefixes to their name. Otherwise, they should forfeit the awards.
Right to Freedom
Article 19
19(i)(3) : Freedom of speech and expression
(i) Freedom of press
(ii) Freedom of commercial advertisement
(iii) Freedom of silence
(iv) Right against tapping of telephonic conversation.
(v) Right to know about government activities.
(vi) Right to demonstration or picketing but not right to strike.
19(i)(b): Right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

19(i)(c): The right to form an association + the right to continue with it. (Associations, Union,
Co-operative Societies) (It includes - Companies, NGOs, Political Parties, Committees,
Clubs etc.)

19(i)(d): Freedom of Movement

19(i)(e): Freedom of Residence

19(i)(f): Right to property (it has been removed from the Fundamental Rights by the 44th Con-
stitution Amendment)

19(i)(g): Right to livelihood

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Polity Notes
19(2) : Restriction on freedom of speech and expression.
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Security of State
3. Friendly relations with foreign states
4. Contempt of Court
5. Defamation
6. Morality
7. Public Order
8. Incitement to an offence
19(3) : Restrictions on freedom of Assembly
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order
19(4) : Limits of freedom to form an Association
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order
3. Morality
19(5) : Restriction on free movement and freedom of residence
1. In the interest of general public
2. The protection of interests of any scheduled tribes.
19(6) : Restrictions on freedom of profession
1. In the interest of general public

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Article-18 'Abolition of titles'
18(1) The state shall not confer any title except for a military or academic distinction.
18(2) An Indian citizen cannot obtain any title from any foreign state.
18(3) A foreign national who is in the service of the Government of India cannot accept any
title from any foreign state without the consent of the President.
18(4) An Indian citizen appointed to state service cannot accept any present, emolument or
office from any foreign state without the consent of the President.
Balaji Raghwan Case 1996
 In this, the Supreme Court ruled that Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan
etc. do not amount to titles but these are honour, So these are not violative to the
theory of equality.
 However, the court also ruled that awardees should not use these awards as suffixes or
prefixes to their name. Otherwise, they should forfeit the awards.
Right to Freedom
Article 19
19(i)(3) : Freedom of speech and expression
(i) Freedom of press
(ii) Freedom of commercial advertisement
(iii) Freedom of silence
(iv) Right against tapping of telephonic conversation.
(v) Right to know about government activities.
(vi) Right to demonstration or picketing but not right to strike.
19(i)(b): Right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

19(i)(c): The right to form an association + the right to continue with it. (Associations, Union,
Co-operative Societies) (It includes - Companies, NGOs, Political Parties, Committees,
Clubs etc.)

19(i)(d): Freedom of Movement

19(i)(e): Freedom of Residence

19(i)(f): Right to property (it has been removed from the Fundamental Rights by the 44th Con-
stitution Amendment)

19(i)(g): Right to livelihood

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Polity Notes
19(2) : Restriction on freedom of speech and expression.
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Security of State
3. Friendly relations with foreign states
4. Contempt of Court
5. Defamation
6. Morality
7. Public Order
8. Incitement to an offence
19(3) : Restrictions on freedom of Assembly
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order
19(4) : Limits of freedom to form an Association
1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
2. Public order
3. Morality
19(5) : Restriction on free movement and freedom of residence
1. In the interest of general public
2. The protection of interests of any scheduled tribes.
19(6) : Restrictions on freedom of profession
1. In the interest of general public

Page No. [2]

 3
Art. 12 – Art. 35

ekSfyd vf/kdkj
Fundament Rights

Fundamental Rights
 ^vijk/kksa ds fy, nks"k flf¼ ds laca/k esa laj{k.k*
Article 20 'Protection in Respect of Conviction for Offences

This right is available for citizens, foreigners, legal persons.

Article 20 (1)

No ex-post-facto law
fdlh Hkh O;fDr dks mlh dkuwu ds rgr nf.Mr fd;k tk ldrk gS tks vijk/k ds le; ykxw Fkk vFkkZr~
vkijkf/kd dkuwu dk Hkwry{kh fØ;kUo;u ugha fd;k tk ldrkA
Any person
Article can be punished under the same law which was in force at the time of
20 (2)
commission of offense i.e. the criminal law cannot be implemented retrospectively.
( No ex-post-facto law)
Article
ukxfjd20dkuw
(3)u dk Hkwry{kh fØ;kUo;u fd;k tk ldrk gSA
Civil law can be imposed retrospectively

Preventive detention. Demanding security from a person

 Article 20
Article 20 (1)
No double Jeopardy:
Article
,d 20 (2)
vijk/k ds fy, fdlh O;fDr dks nks ckj ltk ugha nh tk ldrhA
A person cannot be punished twice for the same offence. (No Double
jeopardy)
 foHkkxh; dk;Zokgh vyx ls dh tk ldrh gSA
Departmental proceedings can be taken separately.

Article 20 (3)
 Article 20
Article 20 (1)
No self-incrimination:
Article 20 (3)
fdlh Hkh O;fDr dks Lo;a ds fo:¼ xokgh nsus ds fy, ckè; ugha fd;k tk ldrk gSA
No person can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
;g vf/kdkj l'kjhj mifLFkfr] vaxwBs dk fu'kku] [kuw dk uewuk] gLrk{kj vkfn nsus
laj{k.k ugha nsrk gSA
This right does not provide for compulsory exhibition of body,
thumb impression, blood specimen, specimen signature etc.
flfoy ekeyksa eas ;g vf/kdkj ekU; ugha gksrk gSA
This right doesn’t extend to civil cases.
 3
Art. 12 – Art. 35

ekSfyd vf/kdkj
Fundament Rights

Fundamental Rights
 Article 21 ^izk.k o nSfgd Lora=rk dk vf/kdkj*
'Right to life and personal liberty'
 fdlh Hkh O;fDr dks fof/k ds }kjk LFkkfir izfØ;k ds fcuk izk.k o nSfgd Lora=rk ls oafpr ugha fd;k tk
ldrkA
A person can’t be deprived from life and personal liberty without the procedure
established by the law.
 A.K. Gopalan v/s State of Madras Case 1950
 bl dsl esa U;k;ky; us vuqPNsn&21 dh ^ladh.kZ* O;k[;k dh
The Supreme Court gave a narrow interpretation of Article 21.
 ftlesa ^fof/k }kjk LFkkfir izfØ;k* ls rkRi;Z gS fd U;k;ikfydk dsoy dk;Zikfydk ds
LosPNkpkjh dk;ksZa dh leh{kk dj ldrh gSA ;g fo/kkf;dk ds LosPNkpkjh dk;ksaZ dh leh{kk ugha
dj ldrhA
According to the “procedure established by the law” means the judiciary can
review arbitrary act of legislature and not arbitrary act of executive.
 A.K. Gopalan v/s State of Madras Case 1950
 U;k;ikfydk dks dkuwu dk v{kj’k% ikyu djuk gksrk gSA ;fn dksbZ dkuwu vrkfdZd]
vU;k;iw.kZ] vuqfpr gS] ;g uSlfxZd U;k; ds fo:) gS rc Hkh U;k;ikfydk mudh leh{kk ugha
dj ldrh gSA
The judiciary is bound to follow the letters of law. This means if any law is
unreasonable, unjust, unfair and even against the ‘natural justice’; then also the
courts cannot review them.
 blh izdkj izk.k o nSfgd LorU=rk ds vf/kdkj dh Hkh U;k;ky; us ladh.kZ O;k[;k dh rFkk
ekuk fd thou ds vf/kdkj ls rkRi;Z gS thfor jguk rFkk ca/kd ugha cuk;k tkuk vFkkZr~
fdlh dks Hkh thou ls oafpr ugha fd;k tk ldrkA
The judiciary also gave a narrow interpretation of right to life and personal
liberty and the ruled that right to life only means to be alive and not be
confined that is no one can be deprived of life.
 Maneka Gandhi v/s Union of India Case1978
 bl okn esa mPpre U;k;ky; us vius iwoZorhZ fu.kZ; dks myV fn;k rFkk vuqPNsn&21 dks O;kid
vFkZ esa fy;kA
The Supreme Court reversed the previous decision and gave a wider
interpretation of article 21.
 U;k;ky; ds vuqlkj ^fof/k }kjk LFkkfir izfØ;k* dks ^fof/k dh lE;d izfØ;k* ds vFkZ esa fy;k
tkuk pkfg,A
According to the judiciary “procedure established by the law should be taken as
due process of law.
 ftlds rgr U;k;ikfydk dk;Zikfydk o fo/kkf;dk nksuksa ds LosPNkpkjh dk;ksZa dh leh{kk dj
ldrh gSA
It means the judiciary can review arbitrary act of legislature along with arbitrary
act of executive.
 Maneka Gandhi v/s Union of India Case1978
 vFkkZr~ ;fn dksbZ dkuwu vrkfdZd] vU;k;iw.kZ] vuqfpr gks rFkk ;g uSlfxZd U;k; ds fo:) gks rks
U;k;ky; mldh leh{kk dj ldrk gSA
This means if any law is unreasonable, unjust, unfair and it is against the ‘natural justice’
then the courts can review it.
 U;k;ky; fdlh dkuwu ds v{kj’k% ikyu ds fy, ck/; ugha gSA
Now the judiciary is not bound to follow the letters of law.
 blh rjg ls U;k;ky; us ^thou ds vf/kdkj* dh Hkh O;kid O;k[;k dhA
The judiciary also gave wider interpretation of life and personal liberty
 U;k;ky; us ekuk fd dsoy thfor jguk ;k lk¡ls ysuk thou ugha gS] i'kqor~ thou thus dks thou ugha
dgk tk ldrkA
The Court held that mere living or breathing is not a life, living an animal life cannot be
called life.
 thou dk vFkZ gS ^ekuoh; xfjek ls ;qDr thou&lEiw.kZ xq.koÙkkiw.kZ ewY;oku vFkZiw.kZ thou gksuk pkfg,A
Life means life with human dignity- it should be complete meaningful and worth living.
xfjekiw.kZ thou ds fy, fuEufyf[kr vf/kdkjksa dk gksuk vfuok;Z gS&
1- ekuoh; izfr"Bk ds lkFk thus dk vf/kdkj
2- LoPN i;kZoj.k ¼iznw"k.k jfgr ty o ok;q
gkfudkjd m|ksxksa ls lqj{kk½
3- thou j{kk dk vf/kdkj
4- futrk dk vf/kdkj
5- vkJ; dk vf/kdkj
6- LokLF; dk vf/kdkj
7- 14 o"kZ ls de vk;q rd fu%’kqYd f’k{kk
8- fu%’kqYd dkuwuh lgk;rk dk vf/kdkj
9- vdsys dkjkokl esa can gksus ds fo:)
vf/kdkj
1. The right to live with human dignity
2. Clean environment (pollution free
water and air, protection against
dangerous industries)
3. Right to survival
4. Right to privacy
5. Right to shelter
6. Right to health
7. Free education up to 14 years of age
8. Free legal aid right
9. Right against solitary confinement
xfjekiw.kZ thou ds fy, fuEufyf[kr vf/kdkjksa dk gksuk vfuok;Z gS&
10- Rofjr lquokbZ dk vf/kdkj
11-gFkdM+h yxkus ds fo:) vf/kdkj
12- vekuoh; O;ogkj ds fo:) vf/kdkj
13- nsj ls Qk¡lh d fo:) vf/kdkj
14-fons’k ;k=k djus dk vf/kdkj
15-ca/kqvk etnwjh djus ds fo:) vf/kdkj
16-fgjklr esa 'kks"k.k ds fo:) vf/kdkj
17-vkikrdkyhu fpfdRlk lqfo/kk dk
vf/kdkj
18-ljdkjh vLirkyksa esa le; ij mfpr
bykt dk vf/kdkj
10. Right to speedy hearing
11. Right against handcuffs
12. Rights against inhuman behavior
13. Rights against delayed execution
14. Right to travel abroad
15. Right against bonded labor
16. Right against exploitation in custody
17. Right to emergency medical facility
18. Right to timely treatment in
government hospitals
xfjekiw.kZ thou ds fy, fuEufyf[kr vf/kdkjksa dk gksuk vfuok;Z gS&
19- jkT; ds ckgj uk tkus dk vf/kdkj
20- fu"i{k lquokbZ dk vf/kdkj
21- dSnh ds fy, thou dh ewyHkwr
vko’;drkvksa dk vf/kdkj
22- efgykvksa ds lkFk vknj o lEekuiw.kZ
O;ogkj dk vf/kdkj
23- lkoZtfud Qk¡lh ds fo:) vf/kdkj
24- lquokbZ dk vf/kdkj
25- lwpuk dk vf/kdkj
26- izfr"Bk dk vf/kdkj
27- ltk ds QSlys ij vihy dk vf/kdkj
19. Right not to go outside the state
20. Right to fair hearing
21. The right to basic necessities of life for the
prisoner
22. Right to respectful and dignified behavior
with women
23. Rights against public hanging
24. Right to hearing
25. Right to information
26. Right to reputation
27. Right to appeal on the verdict of sentence
xfjekiw.kZ thou ds fy, fuEufyf[kr vf/kdkjksa dk gksuk vfuok;Z gS&
28- lkekftd lqj{kk o ifjokj dh lqj{kk dk
vf/kdkj
29- lkekftd o vkfFkZd U;k; o l’kfDrdj.k dk
vf/kdkj
30- csfM+;ksa ds f[kykQ vf/kdkj
31- mfpr thou chek ikWfylh dk vf/kdkj
32- lksus ¼uhan½ dk vf/kdkj
33- /ofu iznw"k.k ls eqfDr dk vf/kdkj
34- fctyh dk vf/kdkj
28. Right to social security and family
protection
29. Right to social and economic justice
and empowerment
30. Right against fetters
31. Right to a appropriate life insurance
policy
32. Right to sleep.
33. Right to freedom from noise pollution
34. Right to electricity
Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Article 21(A): "Right to Education"
 According to this children between the age of 6 to 14 years, should be provided with
free and compulsory education.
 This article was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment act 2002.
 Earlier it was a directive principle under Article 45.
 Right to free and compulsory Education Act was passed in 2009 and was implemented
from 1 April 2010.
It had the provisions for reserving 25% seats in private schools for poor people who's
fee will be paid by the government.
Article 22: "Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases"
 At the time of arrest, the person is given three rights-
1. Right to be informed about the ground of detention.
2. Right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner.
3. Right to be presented before the magistrate within 24 hours.(This does not include
travelling time)
 These rights are unavailable for-
1. Aliens - citizens of enemy country.
2. A person detained under preventive detention laws.
 Person arrested under preventive detention laws is provided with some rights
1. He/she can be retained for maximum of three months. To extend the detention period
there should be recommendation of an advisory board constituted by the High Court
judges or persons who have qualifications of H.C. Judge.
2. Right to know the ground of detention, but he/she can be denied to be informed about
the same facts in the public interest.
3. Detenu should have opportunity to make his representation against detention order.
 Parliament makes the following provisions.
 In circumstances and classes of cases detention period can be more than 3 years.
 Maximum period of detention
 Procedure to be followed by advisory board in an inquiry.
 44th Constitution Amendment (1978): detention period has been reduced from three months
to 2 months but not yet implemented.
 Parliament and state legislator both have the right to frame preventive detention laws.

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Polity Notes

 On the following subjects only Parliament can make preventive detention laws.
1. Defense
2. External Affairs
3. Security of the India
 Parliament and state legislator both have the right to frame preventive detention laws for
the following subjects:
1. Security of State
2. Public Order
3. Maintenance of supply and services essential for community

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Examples of Preventive Prevention Laws
1. Preventive detention act 1950 (Ended in 1969)
2. Internal Security Act (MISA) 1971 (abolished in 1978)
3. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA),
1974
4. National Security Act (NASA), 1980
5. Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supply of Essential Commodities Act
(PBMSECA), 1980
6. Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1985 (Ended in 1995)
7. Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PITNDPSA),
1988
8. Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002 (Repealed in 2004)
9. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 amended in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2019

Right Against Exploitation

Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour

 Under human trafficking, there is a ban on buying and selling of humans (men, women
and children)

 Under this slavery, prostitution and devadasi system is prohibited.

 Parliament has enacted The Immoral Traffic and (Prevention) Act, 1956 to punish acts
done under this.

 This Article also prohibits Begar system (compulsory work without remuneration ),
forced labour and bonded labour (forced labour- compelling a person to work against
his will)

 Forced labour also includes force arising from the compulsion of economic circumstances-
working for less than the minimum wage.

 However State can impose compulsive service for public purposes like military service
or social service is allowed but for which State is not bound to pay for it.
 Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976
 Minimum Wages Act 1948
 Contract Labour Act 1970

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Polity Notes
 Equal Remuneration Act 1976
Article 24: Prohibition of employment of Children up to 14 years of age in Hazardous factories
and mines
 Child Labour and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation ) Act, 2016- This prohib-
its employing children under the age of 14 years in any type of commercial activities. How-
ever they can assist in family enterprise.

 The Amendment Act prohibits employing 'adolescent' (14 to 18 years) in hazardous

occupations.

 On violation of provisions, imprisonment - 6 months to 2 years, Fine- Rs 20,000 to 50,000.

 Imprisonment on repetition of crime- 1 to 3 years.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28)

Article 25:
o Freedom of conscience
o Right to profess
o Right to practice
o Right to propagation.

Limitations:
o Public order
o Morality
o Health
o Other Fundamental Rights

Article 26
o Right to manage religious affairs
o To organise religious programmes.
o Right to form religious organisations.
o Right to look after the management of the organisation.
o Right to own and administrate religious property.

Limitations:
o Public order
o Morality
o Health

Article 27: State shall not impose any religious tax.

Article 28:
o Right to be not present in class during religious instructions in schools.
o Religious instructions cannot be imparted in government schools.
o Religious instructions can be imparted in private schools.
o Religious instructions can be imparted in any school administered by the state which
is established for any specific religion.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Cultural and Educational Rights(Art.29,Art.30)
Article 29: "Protection of interests of minority classes"
 Any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language,
script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
 No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution funded by the
State on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or language.
Article 30:
 Right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational insti-
tutes for the protection of their language, culture and script.
 While providing financial assistance to the educational institutions, the State will not
discriminate in any kind with the above institutes.
Article 31. "Right to Property"
 Through The 44th Constitutional Amendment, this right has been removed and placed
in article 300-A (Part 12) of the Constitution.
 Presently it is not a Fundamental Right, but a Constitutional right.
 According to this, no person shall be deprived of his property except by authority of
law.
Article 31(a):
 State can acquire any private property for the objective of social welfare. Also they can
nationalize any type of private enterprise.
 The compensation paid for it cannot be challenged in the courts.
Article 31(b):
 Acts that are placed in the Ninth Schedule are immune from judicial review.
Article 31(c):
 No law that seeks to implement objectives specified in Article 39(b) or 39(c) shall be void
on the ground of contravention of the fundamental rights conferred by Article 14, 19 or
31
 Such type of law cannot be challenged in any court.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Article 32 : Right to Constitutional Remedies
 Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar has called this articles as 'heart and soul of the Constitution'.
 According to this article, a person can approach the Supreme Court on violation of his
fundamental rights.
 Supreme Court has been considered as the defender and guarantor of the fundamental
rights of the citizens.
 If there is a violation of the fundamental rights of any person, then the Supreme Court can
issue five types of writs.-
1. Habeas Corpus :- If any person is illegally detained then the courts can issue this writ to
present the detained person in front of the court.
 This writ can be issued against both government as well as private persons or institu-
tions.
 If this writ is issued against government, then it is issued to the Chief Secretary.
 This writ cannot be issued in cases for contempt of legislature or court or when the
detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.
 It is a Latin term which literally means 'to have the body of'.
2. Mandamus:- It literally means 'we command'
 If any public official does not perform his/her official duties, then in such cases this writ
can be issued against that official to perform the duties.
 Its objective is to make inactive active
 It can also be issued against any public body or corporations.
 This writ cannot be issued against the following
1. President 2. Governor.
3. Private individual or organization 4. When the duty is discretionary
5. To enforce a contractual obligation 6. Chief Justice of a High Court
3. Prohibition:- Literally, it means 'to forbid'
 This writ is issued by a higher court against lower court, if the lower court is functioning
out of its jurisdiction.
 This writ makes active inactive.
 It can be issued only against judicial authorities.
 It is not available against administrative authorities, legislative bodies, and private indi-
viduals or bodies.
4. Certiorari:- In the literal sense, it means 'to be certified' or 'to be informed'
 It is issued by the higher court against the lower court, if the lower court is working
outside of its jurisdiction.
 The Higher Court transfers the case to itself and hears the case.
 In 1991, the Supreme Court gave the decision that this writ can also be issued against the
executive.

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Polity Notes
 It is also not available against legislative bodies and private individuals or bodies.

Prohibition Certiorari
1. In Prohibition, the upper court only 1. In this the higher court stops the lower
stops the lower court from doing some court from doing work and calls the
work. case to itself for hearing.
2. This writ can only be issued when the 2. This can be issued during the hearing
lower court is hearing a case. of a case and also after the verdict has
been given.
3. This can only be issued against the judiciary. 3. Can be issued against both the judiciary
and the executive.
5. Quo Warranto: In the literal sense, it means 'by what authority or warrant'.
 If any person is appointed to a political or administrative post for which that person is
not eligible then this writ can be issued.
 It is only issued against appointed person and cannot be issued against the appointing
authority.
 It cannot be issued in cases of ministerial office or private office.

From the above facts it is clear that the writ jurisdiction of the High Court is wider
than that of the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court High Court
Article 32 Article 226
1. Supreme Court is bound to issue the writ 1. High Court is not bound to issue writs
as Article 32 is our Fundamental Right. because Article 226 is not a Fun
damental Right.
2. Supreme Court can issue writs only in the 2. High Court can issue writs in matters
cases of violation of Fundamental Rights relating to violation of Fundamental
and not in any other matters. Rights along with other matters also.
3. During National Emergency, fundamental 3. During National Emergency, Article
rights can be suspended and if Article 32 is 226 cannot be suspended. Therefore
suspended then Supreme Court cannot even during National Emergency the
issue a writ. High Court has the power to issue
writs.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights
Article 33 : Fundamental Rights of the members of armed forces, paramilitary forces, police,
intelligence agencies etc. can be restricted.

Article 34 : Fundamental Rights can be curtailed in areas where martial law is in place.
 Martial law is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.
Article 35 : Only Parliament has the power to curtail Fundamental Rights.
 Parliament can curtail only those Fundamental Rights for which there is a provi-
sion of curtailing in the Constitution.
Article 35(a): Added to the Constitution in 1954 by the order of the President and also removed
by the order of the President.
 This was a special provision for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
 Only permanent residents can purchase immovable property, avail benefits of state
government's scholarships and the schemes.

Fundamental rights only available to the citizens of India.

Article 15 : Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, gender or place
of birth.
Article 16 : Equality of opportunities in matters of public employment.
Article 19 : Right to Freedom
Article 29 : Right of Minorities to conserve their language, script and culture
Article 30 : Right of Minorities to establish educational institutions

Suspension of Fundamental Rights during National Emergency

Article 358 : With the declaration of National Emergency all Fundamental Rights given under
Article 19 are automatically suspended.
44th Constitutional Amendment-
If the National Emergency is declared on the basis of 'armed rebellion' then Ar-
ticle 19 will not be suspended.

Article 359: During the National Emergency, President can suspend other Fundamental Rights
by issuing a Presidential Order.

44th Constitutional Amendment-

During the national emergency Fundamental Rights given under Article 20 and 21
can never be suspended.

If Fundamental Rights are suspended and at that time Parliament makes any law,
which violate Fundamental Rights, then it must me clearly specified in the law
that this law has been made during National Emergency. The law is only valid if
this is mentioned otherwise not.

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Polity Notes

Amendments in Fundamental Rights

Amendments in Fundamental Rights
 Article 13(2): It has clearly been mentioned that Parliament cannot make any law which
curtails the Fundamental Rights.
 Article 368: has provisions that Parliament can amend the Constitution and there is no
restriction on Constitutional Amendment, which means Parliament can amend any part of
the Constitution and hence Fundamental Rights can also be amended.
Shankari Prasad v/s Union of India (1951):
 The Supreme Court ruled that article 13(2) is not applicable on article 368.
 Article 13(2) is only applicable on ordinary law which means Parliament cannot amend
Fundamental Rights through ordinary law.
 This means the Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights only through a Constitutional
Amendment as it is not an ordinary law.
Sajjan Singh v/s State of Rajasthan (1965)
 In this case the Supreme Court reiterating the previous judgement, said that Fundamental
Rights can be curtailed through a Constitutional Amendment.
Golaknath v/s State of Punjab(1967):
 The Supreme Court reversed its earlier verdict and considered a Constitutional Amend-
ment made under Article 368 also a law, therefore article 13(2) is applicable on Article 368.
Therefore Parliament cannot curtail Fundamental Rights by Constitutional Amendment.
 The Supreme Court also made it clear that there will be no retrospective implementation of
this verdict, which means the Fundamental Rights which were curtailed earlier shall con-
tinue to prevail. But in future the Parliament cannot amend the Fundamental Rights.
24th Constitutional Amendment (1971):
 Article 13(4) and Article 368(1) were added to the Constitution
 This had the provisions that Article 13(2) is only applicable to ordinary laws and Constitu-
tional Amendment under Article 368 is not an ordinary law and therefore Article 13(2) is
not applicable on Article 368.
25th Constitutional Amendment(1971):
 Article 31(c) was added to the Constitution.
 It made provisions that if Parliament makes any law to achieve the objective of Article 39(b)
and 39(c) and this law violates Fundamental Rights under Article 14, 19 and 31, then on this
ground alone, the law will not be declared void.
 In this way, the law cannot be challenged in the court.

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Polity Notes
Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973):
 In this case the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments were challenged.
 The Supreme Court created a constitutional bench of 13 judges and it gave its decision with
7: 6 majority.
 The Supreme Court declared both 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendment legal, which
means the Parliament can reduce fundamental rights by Constitutional Amendment under
Article 368
 But according to Supreme Court, it cannot distort the basic structure of the Constitution.
 The second part of 25th Constitutional Amendment was declared void because it deprives
the court of the power of judicial review, which is part of basic structure of the Constitu-
tion.
42nd Constitutional Amended (1976):
 Article 31(c) was enlarged.
 To achieve the objectives of all directive principles, if the Parliament makes any law and this
law violates fundamental Rights under the Articles 14, 19, 31 then on such grounds, this law
will not be void.
Minerva Mills v/s Union of India (1980) :
 Enlargement of Article 31(c) was challenged in Supreme Court.
 The Supreme Court declared this enlargement of Article 31(c) unconstitutional and restored
Article 31(c) to its previous form.
 The Supreme Court made it clear that to achieve the objective of Directive Principles Funda-
mental Rights cannot be curtailed.
 Supreme Court held that Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles are not contra-
dictory and aim of both is 'public welfare' meaning both are complementary.
 Even after this, if there is a contradiction between the two, Fundamental Rights are to be
given primacy over Directive Principles.

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Polity Notes

Basic Structure of the Constitution

Emergence of Basic Structure
 The debate over which among Article 13(2) and Article 368 is superior, started with the
implementation of the Constitution.

Shankari Prasad Case (1951)

 Under Article 368, the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution includes that of
amending Fundamental Rights.
 Article 13(2) is only applicable on ordinary law and not on Article 368.
 This means the Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights.

Sajjan Singh Case (1965)

 Supreme Court reiterated its previous judgement, saying that Fundamental Rights can be
amended through a Constitutional Amendment.

Golaknath Case (1967)

 Article 13(2) is applicable on Article 368 hence Parliament cannot curtail Fundamental Rights.
 The Supreme Court reversed its earlier verdict.
 However, amendments made in Fundamental Rights before this judgement were termed
constitutional by the court.

24th Constitutional Amendment

 Article 13(4) and Article 368(1) were added to the Constitution and made provisions that
 Article 13(2) is not applicable on Article 368 and hence Parliament under Article 368 can
amend Fundamental Rights.

Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973)

 The Supreme Court declared 24th Constitutional Amendment as valid.
 It gave the 'doctrine of basic structure' for the first time.
 It held that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution including Fundamental Rights
but it cannot distort the basic structure of the Constitution. Which means basic structure
cannot be eliminated or changed.
 According to Supreme Court, basic structure is not a fact but a doctrine, and therefore
according to conditions of the country with time, its definition can change. Therefore, Courts
will keep defining it from time to time.

Indira Nehru Gandhi Case (1975)

 Under this, judiciary again reinforced the doctrine of basic structure.

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Polity Notes
 In this, judiciary termed one provision of 39th Constitutional Amendment, which kept the
disputes relating to the election of Prime Minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha outside the
preview of courts, against the basic structure of the Constitution and invalidated it.

42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976)

 Under this Article 368 was amended to make legislative powers of Parliament unlimited
and any amendment made by the Parliament will not be termed as violation of Constitution
or cannot be challenged in the courts

Minerva Mills Case (1980)

 The court declared the above provisions done through 42nd Constitutional Amendment as
unconstitutional.
 Because they restricted the power of 'judicial review' the judiciary, which is a basic struc-
ture of the Constitution.

Waman Rao Case (1981)

 The court specified that the judgement of Basic Structure will be applicable on judgements
after 24 April 1973 (Kesavananda Bharti Case)

The court through its various judgements define the basic structure of the
Constitution as -
1. Supremacy of the Constitution
2. Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity
3. Secular character of the Constitution
4. Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary
5. Federal character of the Constitution
6. Unity and integrity of the nation
7. 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

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Polity Notes
The ADM Jabalpur Case
 On 25 June, 1975 the President of India declared Emergency (Article 352- internal distur-
bance)
 Under Article 359 the President suspended the right of any person to move any Court for
the enforcement of the rights under Articles 14, 21 and 22 for the period of Emergency
(after 44th Constitutional amendment, enforcement of Article 20 and 21 can never be sus-
pended).
 Emergency imposition led detention of politicians and activists which was challenged be-
fore various High Courts. 9 High Courts accepted the right of detainees to file writs under
habeas corpus. (Article 226).
 The Central government appealed in the Supreme Court against these judgements, in the
case of ADM Jabalpur v/s Shivkant Shukla, which was referred to 5-judge Constitution
Bench (Chief Justice A.N. Ray, Justice M. Hameedullah Beg, Justice P.N. Bhagwati ,Justice
Y.V. Chandrachud and Justice H.R.Khanna). The majority of 4 out of 5 judges ruled in the
favour of the government.
 Supreme Court held that no person can file any writ petition under Article 226 to challenge
the order of detention. It upheld Article 359 of Constitution which provided that on proc-
lamation of Emergency, the President may declare that the right to move any court for the
enforcement of fundamental rights remains suspended.
 Supreme Court also held that with the proclamation of emergency, and the subsequent
suspension of enforcement of Article 21, no writ lies in court against detention of a person.
 Any pre-constitution rights which were now included in Article 21, cannot be enforced if
Article 21 is suspended. Article 21 was now the sole repository of rights to life and personal
liberty.
 Justice H.R. Khanna dissented from the majority judgement: He opined that if the right
to life is suspended, then this would be the end of rule of law. The distinction between a
lawless society and one governed by laws would cease to exist.
 Right to life and personal liberty was not the creation of the Constitution. Such rights ex-
isted before the Constitution came into force. And even in the absence of Article 21 the
State has got no power to deprive a person of his life or liberty. Right to life was not only
provided by Article 21 but also by common law and penal laws.
 K.S. Puttaswamy v/s UOI (Right to Privacy Case): Supreme Court overruled the decision
of ADM Jabalpur. It held that no civilized state can contemplate an encroachment upon life
and personal liberty.

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Polity Notes

Directive Principles of State Policy

(Part -4, Article - 36 to 51)
 Directive Principles are 'philosophy and soul of the Constitution'.
 There are Constitutional directions or recommendations to the State regarding legislative,
executive and administrative matters.
 Their objective is to establish a 'welfare state'.
 Directive Principles are 'non-justiciable in nature' which means that one cannot approach
courts to get them implemented.

Article 36 - Definition of State (same as Article 2).

 Legislature and Executive of Union
 Legislature and Executive of State
 Public Organisations
 Institutions funded by the State
Article 37:
 Directive Principles are not enforceable by the court.
Article 38:
 State shall establish social order, for the promotion of welfare of the people.
Article 39:- Certain principles of policy to be followed by the state.
(a) Equal opportunity of employment to males/females.
(b) Physical resources should be distributed in such a manner that all the section of society
are benefited.
(c) Management of economy should be in a manner that there should be no centralization
of wealth and products.
(d) Equal wages for equal jobs to both male and females.
(e) Preservation of health and strength of workers and children against forcible abuse.
(f) Opportunities for healthy development of children.
Article 39(A):
 To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid.
Article 40:
 Establishment and empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Article 41:
 To secure the right to work, education and to public assistance in case of unemploy-
ment, old age, sickness and disablement.

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Article 42:
 To make provisions for just and humane condition for work and maternity relief.
Article 43:
 To secure a living wage, a decent standard of life and social and cultural opportunities
for all workers.
Article 43 (A):
 To take steps to secure the participation of worker in the management of industries.
Article 43 (B):
 Promotion to Cooperative Societies (97th Constitutional Amendment).
 Labourers should be allowed to form Cooperative Societies
Article 44: Uniform civil code
 Civil Matters (Individual v/s individual) marriage, divorce, will, property dispute
 Criminal Matters (individual v/s state) murder, robbery, theft, quarrel.
Article 45:
 To provide for early childhood care and education for all children until they complete
the age of 6 years [by 86th Constitutional Amendment-Article 21(a)].
Article 46:
 Economic and educational assistance for SC/STs.
Article 47:
 Nutrition, living standard and health.
 To raise the level of nutrition and living standard of people and to improve public
health.
(Prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs.)
Article 48: Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry.
 To organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines.
(To prohibit the slaughter of cows, clan of other milch and draught cattle and to im-
prove their brands.)
Article 48(A):
 To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forest and wildlife.
Article 49:
 Protection of monuments, places and objects of national importance.
Article 50:
 Separation of judiciary from executive.
Article 51:
 Promotion of international peace and security.
 Maintain just and honourable relations between nations;
 Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organized
peoples with one another
 Encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

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Polity Notes

Fundamental Rights v/s Directive Principles

Champakam Dorairajan Case (1951): -
 SC Ruled that if there is any contradiction between Fundamental Rights and Directive Prin-
ciples then in such cases Fundamental Rights should be given priority.
 To achieve the objectives of Directive Principles, Fundamental Rights can't be violated.

1st Constitutional Amendment(1951):

 By this Amendment Article 31(a) and 31(b) were added to the Constitution and limited the
right to property.
 Stated that the State can acquire the private property with the objective of public welfare
and equitable distribution of resources.
 Laws made with these objectives can't be judicially reviewed if they are included in IXth
Schedule.

4th Constitutional Amendment (1955) :

 For the objective of public welfare, state can nationalise any private business and the com-
pensation amount provided by the state cannot be challenged in the court.
 Some new Acts were included in IXth Schedule.
 The 1st and 4th Constitutional Amendment gave primacy to Directive Principles over Fun-
damental Rights.
Kerala Education Case (1958) -
 Under this 1st and 4th Constitutional Amendment were challenged, but court ruled that
both the amendments as legal.
17th Constitutional Amendment (1964) :
 44 new Acts were added in IXth schedule which were restricting the Fundamental Rights.
 but if government acquires agricultural land from the farmers, then it has to pay adequate
compensation.
Golaknath Case(1967) :
 The Supreme Court opined that Parliament cannot amend or abrogate any Fundamental
Rights
 This means that to implement any Directive Principles, Fundamental Rights cannot be
amended.
24th Constitutional Amendment (1971)
 Under this, Parliament was given right to amend or abrogate any Fundamental Rights
through a Constitutional Amendment.

25th Constitutional Amendment (1971)

 Article 31(c) was added to the Constitution.
 It provided that, if Parliament makes any law to achieve objectives under Article 39(b),
39(c) and these laws restrict Fundamental Rights under Article 14,19 and 31, then on these
grounds those laws cannot be termed unconstitutional.
 This type of law cannot be challenged in the courts.

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Kesavananda Bharti Case(1973):
 Supreme Court termed 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendment as constitutional.
 This means Parliament can curtail Fundamental Rights.
 However, the second provision of Article 31(c) was termed unconstitutional on the grounds
that power of judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and cannot be taken
away.
42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976)
 Article 31(c) was extended.
 If Parliament makes any law to achieve objectives under all Directive Principles and these
laws restrict Fundamental Rights under Article 14, 19 and 31, then on these grounds those
laws cannot be termed unconstitutional.
Minerva Mills Case (1980):
 In this, enlargement of Article 31(c) was challenged.
 Supreme Court termed this enlargement as unconstitutional and restored Article 31(c) to its
previous position.
 Supreme Court held that Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles are not contra-
dictory and aim of both is 'public welfare' meaning both are complementary.
 They are like two wheels of a chariot. The balance between the two is an essential feature of
the basic structure of the Constitution.
 Even after this, if there is a contradiction between the two, Fundamental Rights are to be
given primacy over Directive Principles.
Present Position:
 Fundamental Rights are superior to Directive Principles.
 However, Directive Principles under Article 39(b) and 39 (c) are superior to Fundamental
Rights under Article 14 and 19.

Fundamental Rights Directive Principles of State Policy

These were implemented along with
Constitution. No laws are required to
implement them.
These are enforceable by the courts.
They establishes political democracy.
They are individual in nature.
They are negative in nature.
Not implemented along with
Constitution. Separate laws re required
to implement them.
Not enforceable by the courts.
DPSP establish social and economic
democracy.
These are social/communitarian in
nature.
They are positive in nature.

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Fundamental Duties
 They were included through 42nd Constitutional Amendment under the recommendation of Sardar
Swaran Singh Committee.

 While the committee recommended adding only 8 Fundamental Duties in the Constitution, but in
1976, 10 Fundamental Duties were added.

 Some of the duties are moral (to cherish the noble ideas of freedom struggle) while others are
civic duties (like to respect National Flag and National Anthem)

 These Fundamental Duties are only for Indian citizens and not for foreigners.

 These are non-justiciable

 The Parliament can implement them by making appropriate laws.

 Fundamental Rights inspire Indian traditions, ideals religion and lifestyle. (are a representative
of them)

 The Fundamental duties are noted in the constitution as follows:

1. To abide by the constitution and respect its ideal and institutions, the National Flag and national
anthem.

2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our 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 whenever 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 to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women.

6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

7. To protect and improve the national environment including forest, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to
have compassion for living creatures.

8. To develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual of collectives activity so, that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavours of achievements.

11. To provide opportunities for education of a child between the age of 6-14 by parent or guardian.

 The 11th Fundamental Duty was added to the Constitution by the 86th Constitutional
Amendment,2002.

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Polity Notes

The Union Government

Union (Art. 52 to 151)
 Executive – Art. 52 – 78
 Legislature – Art. 79 -123
 Judiciary – Art. 124 – 147
 CAG – Art. 148 – 151
Executive (Art. 52 – 78)
• Art. 52 : There shall be a President of India.
• Art. 53: All the executive powers of the union will be vested in President.
• Art. 74 : There shall be a council of ministers to provide aid and assistance to President,
headed by the Prime Minister.
President shall work with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers ( added by the
42nd Constitutional Amendment)

Important Facts related to Election of the President

• Notification for the election of President and Vice President is issued by Election
Commission.
• Notification for the election Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is issued by the President.
• Notification for elections to State Legislative Assembly and Councils is issued by
Governor.
• For being the candidate for President’s post, a person must be backed by 50 proposers
and 50 seconders.
• For being the candidate for Vice President’s post, a person must be backed by 20
proposers and 20 seconders.
• The deposit fee for the post of both President and Vice- President is Rs 20,000.
This fee can be deposited either with the Election Commission or Reserve Bank.
 Earlier only 10 proposers and 10 seconders were required and the deposit fee was Rs
2500. (Changed in 1997)
• Election officer for President’s election is the General Secretary of Lok Sabha.
• Election officer for Vice President’s election is he General Secretary of Rajya Sabha.
Art. 54 : Electoral College of President
i. All elected members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
ii. Elected members of state legislative assembly.
iii. Elected members of Delhi and Puducherry legislative assembly (1992).

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Polity Notes
The following are not allowed to vote :
i. Nominated members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
ii. Nominated members of state legislative assembly
iii. Members of state legislative council.

Art. 55 : Manner of election of the President

 President is elected by the members of the lower house through proportional
representation by way of single transferable vote.
 Required votes to win =

N – Total Number of Votes.

n – Total Number of seats.

𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 1971 1

𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝐿𝐴′ 𝑠 𝑉𝑜𝑡𝑒 = ×
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝐿𝐴 1000

Rajasthan MLA’s Vote value is = 129

UP’s MLA’s have got highest vote value = 208.
Sikkim MLA’s has got lowest vote value = 7
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝐿𝐴′𝑠
𝑀𝑃′ 𝑠𝑉𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑃

Value of vote of 1 MP= 708

 Article 56 – Tenure of the President
o 5 years from taking oath
 Article 57 – Re-election.
o The President can be Re-elected
 Article 58 – Qualifications of the President
o Any candidate for the Post of President has to fulfil following conditions
o Citizen of India
o Attained 35 years of age
o Eligible to be a member of Lok Sabha
o Not occupying any office of profit in Union or State or Local or Public
Enterprises.
 Article 59 – Conditions of President’s Office
 Article 60 - Oath by the President
o Constitution and law –
Preserve
Protect
Defend
o Serve the population of India and will work for its development.
o Oath is administered by Chief Justice of India and in his absence any other
senior most judge of the Supreme Court.

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Polity Notes
 Article 61 – Procedure for Impeachment of the President
Impeachment is a quasi-judicial process
o Cause – Violation of the Constitution.
o Resolution can be introduced in either house (RS/LS)
o The 1st House in which the resolution is being presented, there it shall be backed
by the signature of 1/4th members of that house.
o After 14 days’ prior notice to President, the house discuss the resolution.
o 1st House can only impose the charges and the resolution should be passed by
the House with 2/3rd majority.
o 2nd House investigates the charges and the President is given a chance to defend
himself either personally or through a representative.
o In 2nd House also if the allegations are found true, the resolution is passed
with 2/3rd majority in that House.
o If passed, the President is automatically removed.
Nominated member can also participate in President’s impeachment
Article 62
o Next President should be elected before the expiry of tenure of the existing
President.
o If this is not done then the current President shall remain on post till the election
of the next President
o If the post of the President is vacated (death, impeachment or resignation) then
the next President shall be elected within 6 months.

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Powers of President
1. Executive Power –
• President is the head of the executive.
• All the executive powers of Union are vested in President.
• All executive powers of the Union are exercised in the name of the President.
• President appoints Prime Minister and appoints other ministers on
recommendation of Prime Minister.
• Ministers remains on their post till the pleasure of the President.
• President can make rules-regulations for the efficient working of executive
• President appoints Governors in all the states.
• Appoints Lieutenant Governors and Administrator in the UT’s.
• Appoints Comptroller and Auditor General.
• Appoints Attorney General, who remains on his post till the pleasure of the
President.
Appoints members and chairperson of various Constitutional bodies
1. Election Commission
2. Finance Commission
3. Commission for Schedule Castes
4. Commission for Schedule Tribes
5. Commission for Other Backward Classes (102nd Amendment)
6. Union Public Service Commission
Appoints members and chairperson of various statutory bodies.
1. Women Commission
2. Human Rights Commission
3. Minority Commission
4. Information Commission
5. Vigilance Commission
Executive Commission- Niti Aayog (advice of council of ministers)
• Constitutes Inter-State Council
• Declares Schedule and Tribal Areas
2. Legislative Powers
• President is a part of Parliament.

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Polity Notes
• President can dissolve Lok Sabha(but on the end of tenure Lok Sabha, it dissolves
by itself)
• President summons and prorogation sessions of both the Houses of the
Parliament
• Nomination of 12 members of Rajya Sabha.
* President can nominate 2 Anglo Indians in Lok Sabha.
• President can send messages to the Parliament and can address both houses of
the Parliament.
• President can give special address in both the houses of Parliament (1 st session
after general election and 1st address of 1st session every year).
• President decides on the question of disqualification members of Parliament
(on the recommendation of Election Commission).
• If the posts of Chairman and Deputy- Chairman are vacant, President can appoint
a temporary Chairman of the Lok Sabha
• If the posts of Speaker and Deputy- Speaker are vacant, President can appoint a
temporary Speaker of the Lok Sabha
• President can call the ‘joint sitting’ of members of both the Houses
• Some Bills can only be introduced after the prior approval of President eg –
Money Bill, Bill for the formation of New State etc.
• Demands for the grants can be introduced only after the prior approval of the
President.
• After being passed in the Parliament (both house) every bill in sent to the
President, and only after the assent of President it becomes a law.
• President has 3 options –
 To give assent the bill.
 To withhold his assent (Reject)
 Can return the bill for reconsideration.
• If the Governor can reserve bills passed by State Legislature for the consideration
of the President, he can return the bill for reconsideration any number of times
(while President can only return a law passed by the Parliament only once)
• President can make rules and regulations for the peace, development and good
governance Union Territories.
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Dadar and Nagar Haveli
3. Daman and Diu
4. Lakshadweep
• President lays following reports before the Parliament-
1. Report of Union Public Service Commission

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Polity Notes
2. Report of Comptroller and Auditor General
3. Report of Finance Commission
• President can promulgate ordinance.
3. Financial Powers
• Budget is presented by the President.
• Money bill is presented after prior permission of President.
• Demands for grants are introduced after the prior approval of the President.
• President constitutes Finance Commission, and appoints its members and
chairperson are appointed by him.
• Contingency fund of 500 cr lies under the control of the President.
4. Judicial Powers
• President appoints the judges of Supreme Court.
• President appoints the judges of High Court.
• President can seek advice from the Supreme Court.
• President has pardoning powers.
5. Diplomatic Powers
i. All the international agreements and treaties with the other nations are done in
the name of President. But these have to be ratified by the Parliament.
ii. He appoints ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries.
iii.He receives diplomats like ambassadors, high commissioners from other
countries..
6. Military Powers
o He is the Supreme Commander of the 3 armed forces of India.
o He can declare war or conclude peace, subject to the approval of Parliament.
7. Emergency Powers
President can declare 3 types of Emergencies-
1. National Emergency(Article 352)
2. President Rule in States(Article 356)
3. Financial Emergency(Article 360)

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Veto Powers of President

President of India can exercise 3 types of veto powers namely absolute, suspensive and
pocket veto.
1. Absolute Veto:
• If President withholds his assent, meaning he rejected the bill.
• Generally it is used in 2 conditions.
a. Private Bill( presented by a member of Parliament who is not a minister)
b. Regarding government bill, if council of minister has been changed.( if the bill is
passed pending President’s assent and new council of ministry as him not to)
This veto power how been used two times
1st – 1954 – for the PEPSU Appropriation Bill by Rajinder Prasad.
2nd – 1991 – R. Venkataraman – regarding the salaries and allowances of members of
Parliament
2. Suspensive Veto:
• If President returns any bill for the reconsideration to Parliament, it is called
Suspensive veto.
• President can only return the bill for reconsideration once.
• This veto cannot be used by President for money bill.
3. Pocket Veto:
• There is no time limit prescribed by the Constitution for the President to sign a bill.
• President neither ratifies nor rejects nor returns the bill, but simply keeps the bill
pending for an indefinite period. This power of the President not to take any action
is known as the pocket veto.
• Used only once in 1986 – By then President Giani Zail Singh relating to Indian Post
Office (Amendment) bill.
• Constitution of India does not prescribe any time-limit within which President has
to take the decision with respect to a bill presented to him for his assent.

Veto in United States of America:-

1. Pocket Veto- United States Constitution has given the President 10 days’ time to sign a
bill. If the President does not sign the bill within 10 days and the session of Congress
ends, then this bill lapses and this only is called Pocket Veto.
2. Qualifying Veto –
• If President rejects any bill and Congress again passes it with super majority then it
becomes an Act. There is no need for the assent of the President again.
• There is no provision for the Qualifying into in the Indian Constitution.

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Pardoning powers of President

Article 72
President can grant pardon in following matters-
i. For the crime concerned with the subject of the Union list.
ii. Punishment by the Court Martial.
iii. All cases of Capital punishment (Death Sentence)
The pardoning power of the President includes the following:
1. Pardon :
Under this the person is given complete pardon and it means the person come to the pre-
crime condition. All ineligibilities due to the sentence lapse.
2. Commutation:
Under this the nature of the punishment is changed eg. death sentences is converted in life
imprisonment.
3. Remission:
To reduce the quantum of the punishment. eg. reducing 10 year imprisonment to 5 years.
4. Respite:
To change both nature as well as the quantity of the imprisonment eg. 4 year rigorous
imprisonment reduced to 2 years simple imprisonment.
Used in special conditions like pregnant lady, handicapped prisoner.
5. Reprieve:
Gives a temporary stay upon execution of any punishment for a period of time. Generally
granted in the case of an appeal pending for capital punishment.

Pardoning Powers of the Governor (Article 161)

i. If the crime is related to the subject of the state list, then Governor can pardon the offender.
ii. Cannot be used in the case of court martial.
iii. Cannot grant complete pardon in case of capital punishment. But he can reprieve, respite,
remit or commute the sentence.

Supreme Court Examined the Pardoning powers of the President and laid
down the following principles
o The petitioner for mercy has no right to an oral hearing by the President. Because it is of
excutive nature/not judicial. (Kehar Singh v/s Union of India 1991)
o The President can re-examine the evidence and take a view different from the view taken
by the court.
o The power is to be exercised by the President on the advice of the union cabinet. (Maruram
v/s Union of India 1980) (Dhanajoy Chaterjee v/s West Bengal 1994)
o The President is not bound to give reasons for his decision because it is President's discre-
tionary mercy. (Ranga Billa case 1978)
o The President can offer relief not only from a sentence but also from an evident mistake.
o There is no need for the Supreme Court to lay down specific guidelines for the exercise of

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this power by the President.
o This power of the President can not be judicially reviewed. This is a discretionary mercy
but not a privilege, therefor it should be used for discharge of duties and in public interest.
If the decision of President is arbitrary, irrational, malafide or discriminatory, than it can be
judicially reviewed. (Epuru Sudhakar v/s Andhra Pradesh State 2006)
o If the President has rejected the mercy petition then to stop the execution of the punishment
another petition cannot be filed.
o If the President does not take a decision on mercy petition for death sentence in a reason-
able time than death penalty can be commuted. (Schizophrenia and Mentally ill persons
should not be awarded death sentence. (Shatrughan Chauhan v/s Union of India 2014)

Pardoning Powers of the President

Arguments in Opposition
1. It is a system of Colonial period. At that time and in those conditions Britishers need this
system to protect their people from punishment.
2. It is against the concept of separation of powers because Executive is given judicial power.
3. It is against the dignity of Judiciary because President's decision may differ from Judiciary's
and the President is not bound to tell the reason behind his decision. President givens his
decision without any investigation.
4. Most of the mercy Petitions remain pending with the President for a long time which vio-
lates the rights of Justice seeker and the criminal both.
5. It is misused also for political objectives. Political parties use this for their benefit.

Arguments in Favour
1. It is constitutional because it is provide in the constitution. It is in accordance with the
emotions of Constitution makers.
2. It is an additional opportunity to rectify the error of the Judiciary because it is believed that
99 culprits can escape but a\one innocent should not be punished.
3. The Judiciary gives its decision on the basis of witness and evidences but sometimes human
Emotions and feelings have to be valued. So President can given his decision on the basis of
human emotions. For example - Pregnant women..
4. Judicial Process that has more stages is considered to be better.
5. It can be used in Emergency Conditions like….
6. Usually Executive is provided with special powers..
7. Mercy is also considered a great value in Ethics and Traditional beliefs.
8. Supreme Court has also considered it to be valid.

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Power of President to Promulgate Ordinances

o If both the Houses of Parliament are not in session of government urgently requires any
law, then in such condition President can promulgate an ordinance.
o If both houses of parliament are in session then President cannot promulgate ordinance.
o If house of Parliament is in session and other house in not in session then in such condition
President can promulgate ordinance.
o Ordinance is a temporary law.
o Ordinance is as effective as any Parliamentary Act.
o There can be amendments made in Parliamentary Act through an ordinance. However,
Constitutional Amendment cannot be done through an ordinance.
o Like a Parliamentary Act, ordinances can also be retrospectively implemented.
o The life of ordinance is limited-
It has to be passed within 6 weeks from the day of starting of sessions of both the Houses.
o President can take back the ordinance any time.
o Parliament can end any ordinance.
o When an ordinance is presented in the Parliament, the government has to give clarification
about the urgency of the law.
o There can be judicial review of the circumstances leading to the promulgation of ordinance.
38th Constitutional Amendment Act (1975)
By this Amendment, provision was made that there can be no judicial review and President's
satisfaction is final.
44th Constitutional Amendment:
Provision was made that courts can review the immediate circumstances leading to the
promulgation of ordinances.
DC Wadhwa Case (1987) -
o The Supreme Court said that the same ordinance cannot be issued with same text repeat-
edly without trying to get it passed through legislature.
o If this is done, it would be considered an encroachment on the powers of legislature by the
executive.
o In Bihar from 1967 to 1981, 256 ordinances were issued which was a misuse of the power to
issue ordinances.
o In 2017 also, the Supreme Court reiterated its earlier verdict and repeated it.

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Q. Is the President of India just a Rubber stamp?
Ans.We have adopted the Parliamentary system like Britain in which there are two heads of the
executive one is nominal and other one is real. Since the real executive powers remains in
the Prime Minister there, some critics considers president as a rubber stamp like the British
Crown. But, actually the President of India is not just a rubber stamp because he has got
many discretionary powers for eg. -
i. If in any general election none of the political party gets a clear majority then the President
himself decides to who should be invited to form the govt.
ii. If no confidence motion is passed against the Council of Ministers, then President decides
whether to dissolve the Lok Sabha or someone else to be invited to form the government.
iii. If the Lok Sabha dissolves then the council of ministers can't take important policy deci-
sions. In this condition, President is not bound to follow all the recommendation of the
Council of Ministers.
iv. President can return a bill once for the reconsideration on the recommendation of Council
of Ministers.(Article 74)
v. Before the declaration of National Emergency, the President makes sure that whether the
document of recommendation has the signature of all the members of the Cabinet.
vi. President can demand information from government regarding legislative and executive
matters and it is the duty of Prime Minister to provide those information.
vii. If any minister has taken any decision and the Council of Minister has not discussed the
matter, the President can expect from Prime Minister to get that issue discussed in Council
of Ministers.
o At present due to the activeness of the media, every statement or comment of the President
is taken seriously and it creates a moral pressure on government.
o In a coalition government, the President's role becomes more important as he is elected
through the support of more than one political party, thus there is no influence of one
particular party.
From the above mentioned points it can be said that President is not just a rubber stamp as
he has got many discretionary powers and plays an effective and important role in the
government.

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Vice President
Article 63 : There shall be one Vice President of India.
Article 64 : The Vice President will be ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Article 65 : In the absence of the President, Vice President will perform his duties.

The post of Vice-President has been taken from USA. In USA, Vice-President is ex-officio
chairman of Senate. However, in the condition of the post of President being vacant, Vice-Presi-
dent will remain on the post for the rest of the term. Whereas in the case of vacant post in India,
Vice-President will remain on the post till the next President is elected.

Article 66 : Qualification, conditions, election for the post of Vice President.

Electoral College:
All members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (elected and nominated)
Manner of election -
Required votes to win through proportional representation by single transfer-
able vote (50%+1)
Article 67 : Term of office and Removal procedure
- Term- 5 years (from day of oath)
- Reasons for removal not mentioned in Constitution.
- The resolution for removal can only be introduced in Rajya Sabha.
- After giving 14 days resolution, the House can have discussion.
- During the discussion, Vice President can be present in the House and participate
in the proceedings, but cannot be the presiding officer of the House on that day.
- But he cannot vote as he is not a member of the House.
- The resolution has to be passed by the majority of then members (Effective Ma-
jority)
- After this, the resolution has to be passed by the Lok Sabha by simple majority.
Article 68 : If the post of the Vice President is the vacant - (resignation, death, removal) then
new Vice President should be elected as soon as possible. There is no require-
ment of 6 months like President)
Elections for the next vice president shall be conducted in advance before the
expiry of the term of Vice President.
Article 69 : Oath of the Vice President.
Vice- Presidents who later became President of India.
1. Dr. Radhakrishnan
2. Dr. Zakir Hussain
3. V V Giri
4. R Venkataraman
5. Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
Article 70 : In other contingency situations, discharge of President's Functions
- If the post of both the President and the Vice President is vacant then the Parlia-
ment can make law for discharging the functions of the president.
- In 1969 the Parliament made the law that in this kind of situation the Chief Justice
of India will discharge the functions of President.

Page No. [1]

Polity Notes
- If the Chief Justice is not available then the senior most judge of the Supreme
Court will discharge the President's functions.
Article 71 : Dispute regarding the elections of the President and the Vice President can only
be heard by the Supreme Court.
Article 72 : Pardoning powers of the President.
Article 73 : Extension of executive powers of the union.
(i) To the matters with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws.
(ii) Power received by Government of India through any treaty or agreement.
Article 74 :
- There shall be a council of minister to aid and advice the President headed by a
Prime Minister.
42nd constitutional Amendment,1976:
- The President will discharge his duties according to the advice of the Council of
ministers
44th Constitutional Amendment ,1978:
- The President can return the advice of Council of ministers only once
Article 75 : Other provisions as to Ministers
- The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers
shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed
15% of the total strength of Lok Sabha.
- Person disqualified under anti-defection provisions cannot be made a minister
during tenure of that Lok Sabha even after winning a new election (by-election).
- Ministers stay on their post during the pleasure of the President.
- Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to Lok Sabha and individually
responsible to the President.
- A minister has to be become a Member of Parliament within 6 months, in order
to continue on his ministerial post.

Article 76: Attorney General of India
l He is the First law minister of Central
Government.
l He is appointed by the President.
l Qualifications are same as Supreme
Court judge. Salary is determined by the
President.
l He remains on his post during pleasure
of President.
l He gives opinion to central Government
on legal matters.
l He represents Central Government in
courts.
l He can practice in any court of India
but not against Central Government in
any case.
l He can participate in Parliament's
proceedings and parliamentary
committees. But he cannot vote.
l Solicitor General is there to assist him.
Article 165: Advocate General of State
l He First law minister State Government.
l He is appointed by the Governor.
l Qualifications are same as High Court judge.
Salary is determined by the Governor.
l He remains on his post during pleasure of
Governor.
l He gives opinion to State Government on
legal matters.
l He represents State Government in courts.
l He can practice in any court of India but not
against State Government in any case.
l He can participate in State Legislative
Assembly and Council's proceedings and in
their committees. But he cannot vote.
l Additional Advocate Generals are there to
assist him.

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Polity Notes
Article 77 : Conduct of Government Business.
- All executive action of the Government of India shall be expressed to be taken in
the name of the President.
- The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the busi-
ness of the Government, and for the allocation of work among Ministers.
- Under this 4 types of ministers are made in India-
1. Cabinet Minister
2. Minister of State (independent charge)
3. Minister of State
4. Deputy-minister
Article 78 : Duties of the Prime Minister as respect to furnishing of information to the Presi-
dent.
- It is duty of Prime minister to communicate to the President all decisions of the
Government.
- To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the
Union and proposals for legislation as the President may call for.
- If the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of
Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister (but which
has not been considered by the Council).
Types of Majority:
i. Simple majority- majority of the members present in the house.
ii. Effecting majority - majority of the then members (Then members= Total members of the
House - Vacant seats)
iii. Absolute majority: majority of total members.
iv. Special majority: conditions shall be fulfilled -
Absolute majority - 2 conditions have to be fulfilled-
1. Majority of total members
2. 2/3rd of majority of the present members.
v. For provisions impacting center-state relations, special majority is required in both the Houses
of Parliament along with validation by majority of State Legislatures (by simple majority.)
* For the impeachment of the President a majority of 2/3 members of the total strength is
required. (Only for President)

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Polity Notes

Legislature
(Article 79-123)
Article 79 : Parliament (President+ Rajya Sabha + Lok Sabha)
Article 80 : Rajya Sabha
 The name 'Rajya Sabha' was given in 1954. Earlier it was called ' Council of States'
 Other Names- Rajya Sabha, Upper House, Permanent House, Secondary Chamber.

Member of Rajya Sabha

Maximum
Member Present Member
(250) (245)

Elected Nominated Elected Nominated

(238) (12) (233) (12)

Science From States From U.T.

Art (225) (8)
Literature
Social Service
4 Jammu Kashmir
3 - Delhi
1 - Delhi
 8 states send 1-1 representative to Rajya Sabha- (Rest of the Union Territories do not
1. Meghalaya 2. Manipur send any representative to Rajya Sabha
3. Nagaland 4. Tripura because their population is less)
5. Arunachal Pradesh
6. Goa 7. Mizoram
8. Sikkim
 3-3 representatives come from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
 Maximum from Uttar Pradesh- 31 representatives
 From Rajasthan- 10 representatives.
 Rajya Sabha is a representative of our federal structure but all states have not been given
equal representation like USA's senate where every state sends 2 representatives, whereas
in India it is given on the basis of proportion of population.
 Election- Members are elected indirectly
 Electoral College: Elected members of state legislatures.
 Manner of Election: by means of proportional representation by means of single transfer-
able vote.
 Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and cannot be dissolved. Tenure of members is 6 years
(Not mentioned in the Constitution) . 1/3rd members are retired every 2 years.

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Polity Notes

Special powers of Rajya Sabha

Article 249: Power of Parliament to legislate on matters listed in State list.
 Rajya Sabha can give permission by passing a resolution by 2/3rd majority (present).
 This law is applicable for only 1 year.
 Same process has to be repeated to increase duration of this kind of law.
Article 312: All India Services
 Rajya Sabha can allow Parliament, to create a new All India Service by passing a resolu-
tion by 2/3 majority.
 Presently there are 3 All India Service-
(i) IAS - ICS (1947)
(ii) IPS - IP (1947)
(iii) IFS (1966)
Article 67:
 Resolution for removal of Vice President can only be brought first in Rajya Sabha.
Article 81: Lok Sabha
 Name given in 1954
 Earlier name- House of People
 Other names- Lower House, 1st Chamber, Temporary House, Popular House (directly
elected).

Member of Lok Sabha

Maximum
Member Present Member
(552) (545)

Elected Nominated Elected Nominated

(550) (2) (543) (2)

Anglo-India
From States From U.T.
(524) (19)

Lok Sabha members from States (524) Lok Sabha members from Union Territories (19)
Nagaland- 1 Ladakh- 1
Mizoram- 1 Jammu Kashmir- 5
Sikkim- 1 Delhi- 7
Goa- 2 Rest of the Union Territories- 1 each
Arunachal Pradesh- 2
Meghalaya- 2
Manipur- 2
Tripura- 2
Rajasthan- 25
Uttar Pradesh - 80

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Polity Notes
Article 82 : Delimitation Commission
 It is constituted after every census to readjust the seats of Lok Sabha and State Legisla-
tures.
 It is constituted by the Central government.
 Till now 4 times, Delimitation Commission has been constituted.( 1952, 1962, 1972,2002).
 It's recommendations cannot be challenged in the courts.
42nd Constitutional Amended:
 Froze the number of seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures on the basis of 1971 census
till 2002.
84th Constitutional Amended (2002):
 Extended the ban on readjustment of seats in LS and state legislatures till 2026
 Had provisions for establishing 4th Delimitation Commission,
 Which will readjust seats within the states on the basis of 1991 Census without changing
the total number of states within the states.
 Readjustment of seats reserved for SCs and STs on the basis of 1991 population.
87 Constitutional Amendment (2003):
th

 The fourth Delimitation Commission will use population figures of 2001 census instead
of 1991 census for reorganization of seats in the states.
4th Delimitation Commission:
 Constituted in 2002
 Submitted report in 2008.
 Did delimitation for 22 states and 2 UTs.
 6 states where delimitation was not done- J&K, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,
Nagaland, Jharkhand.
 Presently seats reserved for - Scheduled Castes 84, Scheduled Tribes 47
 Rajasthan- Scheduled Castes 4, Scheduled Tribes 3
Article 83:
 Term of the Houses
 Lok Sabha- 5 years
 President can dissolve it before completion of term
 During National Emergency, term of Lok Sabha can be increased 1 year at a time.
 Till now, term of Lok Sabha has been increase once in 1976.
 Rajya Sabha- permanent house
Article 84 : Qualifications of MP
 Citizen of India
 Lok Sabha- 25 years.
 Rajya Sabha- 30 years
 Must be listed in voter list of any constituency of India.
Article 85: Sessions of Parliament.
 The President summons, prorogues, and adjourn the session of Parliament.
 There should not be a gap of more than 6 months between any two sessions.
 At present there are 3 sessions of Parliament-
1. Budget Session
2. Monsoon Session
3. Winter Session

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Polity Notes
 In addition, special sessions can also be called.
Article 86:
 The President can send messages to Parliament, and also address the Parliament.
Article 87: Special address by President
 President can address both Houses of Parliament jointly.
 after every election of Lok Sabha and during the 1st session every year.
Article 88:
 Ministers and Attorney General can both participate in the proceedings of both Houses
of Parliament and in Parliamentary committees of which they are members
 but cannot vote in these.
 Attorney General can be a member of Parliamentary committee.

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Polity Notes

Lok Sabha Speaker

 The post of Lok Sabha speaker came into existence by Govt. of India Act 1919.
 Fredrick White was the 1st speaker (1921). Sachiddanad Sinha was deputy speaker.
 1925- Vitthalbhai Patel was 1st Indian elected speaker.
 G. V. Mavalankar was the 1st speaker after independence.

Election of Speaker:
 Members of Lok Sabha elects speaker and deputy-speaker from among themselves.
Tenure:
 Tenure of speaker does not end after Lok Sabha is dissolved. Speaker remains in office
till the 1st sitting of the newly elected Lok Sabha.
Removal Procedure:
 After giving 14 days resolution, Lok Sabha can discuss the resolution for removal of
speaker. Resolution should be passed by effective majority.
 Speaker cannot preside the proceedings of Lok Sabha, when this resolution is being
discussed. He can take part in the proceedings and can vote, but cannot give a casting
vote.
 In UK, the speaker after being elected, resigns from the membership of the party.
Powers of the Speaker:
 Presides over the sittings of Lok Sabha.
 Ensures rules and regulations of Lok Sabha are enforced and obeyed.
 In case of a tie, he can cast a casting vote.
 Certifies whether a bill is Money Bill or not, and his certification is final, and can't be
challenged in any court.
 He decides on anti-defection by members.
 Accepts resignation of members.
 Leads the parliamentary delegation of India at international forums and platforms.
 Appoints chairman of Parliamentary Committees
Protem Speaker:
 In the newly elected LS, President appoints the senior most member as Protem Speaker
(French tradition).
 17th Lok Sabha- Dr. Virender Kumar
 16th Lok Sabha- Kamal Nath
 He has two functions-
(i) To administer oath to the members of Lok Sabha
(ii) To conduct the elections of the speaker
 After election of speaker, post of protem speaker automatically ends.
 President administers oath to protem speaker (as a member).
Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha:
 Election- same as speaker.
 Tenure- till the end of Lok Sabha.

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Polity Notes
 Removal- same as speaker.
Function- presides over sitting of Lok Sabha in the absence of speaker.
 While presiding, he has powers similar to that of the Speaker.
 He is always the chairman of any committee, of which he is a member.
10 Member Panel:
 This panel is constituted by the members of Lok Sabha.
 Member from this panel presides in the absence of Speaker and Deputy-speaker.
 If the post of speaker and deputy speaker are vacant, President appoints any one of them
as temporary speaker.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha:
 Vice President is the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha.
 Powers- same as speaker of Lok Sabha except
I) Money Bill
II) Joint Sitting
III) Leading the parliamentary delegation.
Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha:
 Appointment and removal procedure similar to that of the Speaker and deputy Speaker.
 He presides over the sittings of Rajya Sabha in the absence of the Chairman.
 Enjoys all the powers of the Chairman while presiding over the sittings of Rajya Sabha.
Member's Panel:
 This panel is constituted by the Rajya Sabha.
 Number of members in the panel is not fixed, like the Lok Sabha.
 A member of panel presides the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of both
the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.
 If the posts of both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are vacant, then the President
appoints a temporary Chairman.

Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha

Article 89: Chairman- (Ex officio)
Deputy Chairman- (elected)
Article 90: Tenure and removal procedure of
Deputy Chairman
Article 91: Unavailable – Deputy Chairman-
Panel
Both vacant- temporary
appointment by President
Article 92: not presiding officer on day of
removal proceedings
Article 93: Speaker and Deputy Speaker
(elected)
Article 94: Tenure and removal procedure of
Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Article 95: Both Unavailable - Panel
Both vacant- temporary
appointment by President
Article 96: not presiding officer on day of
removal proceedings

Leader of the House:

 Prime Minister is the leader of the House of which, he is a member.
 In the other House, any minister declared by the Prime Minister is the leader of the
house.
Leader of the Opposition:
 This post was created in 1969 and given statutory status in 1977 according to which, he is
equivalent to a cabinet minister. Facilities and allowances are equal to the cabinet minis-
ter
 Lok Sabha- Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
 Rajya Sabha- Ghulam Nabi Azad
 Minimum of 10% seats in Lok Sabha are required to get the status of Leader of Opposi-
tion Parties.

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Polity Notes
Whip:
 Every political party appoints its whip in the House. He controls the behavior of mem-
bers .All members of political parties have to obey the instructions of their Whip in the
house.
 If any member fails to follow instructions of the whip and is not pardoned by his party
within 15 days, then he is held guilty of defection.
 During a secret vote, whip is not issued (President's election).
Shadow Cabinet:
 It is a British tradition.
 Opposition party declares its shadow cabinet so that citizens can compare shadow min-
ister with the real minister.
 This is done to create a moral pressure on the government.
Kitchen Cabinet:
 Prime Minister and his core advisors are called kitchen cabinet.
 It is an informal term and is often used by the media.
 Even a non-minister can be a part of it.
Hung Parliament:
 If in any general elections, no party or coalition gets the majority then it is called a hung
parliament.
Lame Duck Session:
 The last session of the previous Lok Sabha after the election of new Lok Sabha is called
lame duck session. Because the members which have not been re-elected to the new Lok
Sabha are called lame ducks.
Article 97:
 Speaker, deputy Speaker, Chairman, deputy Chairman- Salaries and allowances-
Article 98:
 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha both have their own separate secretariat.
Article 99:
 It is mandatory for members of Parliament to take an oath. They will take oath in front
of the President's representative (Protem Speaker)
Article 100: Quorum-
 According to the Constitution- 10%membes are required
 According to the rules of Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha- 1/3rd members are required.
Article 101: Vacation of Seats
 If a person is elected for both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, if within 10 days he/she does
not vacate membership of one of the house, his/her Rajya Sabha seat will automatically
be vacated.
 If any person is already a member of any house and later elected for another house, then
his membership of previous house will automatically end.
 If a person is elected for 2 seats in the Lok Sabha, then within 14 days, have to leave 1
seat, or else both the seats will be vacated.
 If a person is elected of both the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures, then within 14 days
that person has to vacate 1 seat, else Lok Sabha seat would be vacated automatically.
 If a member is elected President or Vice- President.
 If a member is appointed as Governor.
 If a court declares the election of a member null and void.
 If any person remains absent consecutive for 60 days (consecutive vacation of 4 or more
days will not be included) then his/her seat will be vacated.
 If a member gives resignation letter to Chairman/Speaker.

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Polity Notes
Article 102: Disqualification of Member of Parliament
 If a Member of Parliament is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily taken citizenship of
another country or accepted its sovereignty.
 If anyone holds the office of profit under Union Government or any State Government.
 If a person is declared insolvent by court.
 If a court declares someone mentally retarded.
 Other disqualifications laid down by the Parliament-
Representation of Peoples Act 1951-
 Disqualification on conviction for certain election offences and corrupt practices in the
election.
 A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two
years. However arrest under preventive detention is not considered.
 Disqualification for failure to lodge account of election expenses within prescribed time.
 Disqualification on grounds of interest in government contracts, works or services.
 Disqualification for office of profit under Government Company or director or manager
of a company with more than 25% stake of government.
 Disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty from government service.
 Disqualification for promoting enmity between different groups or for the offence of
bribery
 A person must not have been punished for preaching and practicing social crimes such as
untouchability, dowry, sati etc.
The decision of President regarding the above disqualifications is final however the Presi-
dent has to take decision according the recommendation of Election Commission.
Article 103:
 President decides on the question of disqualification of Members of Parliament on the
recommendation of Election Commission).
Article 104:
 Rs 500 fine per day (if a person is not a member and attends the proceedings of the
Parliament)

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Polity Notes

Article 105: Privileges of- (Parliamentarians, Parliamentary Committees, the Houses)

Collective Privileges- With respect to both the Houses of Parliament

 It has the right to publish its reports, debates and proceedings and also the right to
prohibit others from publishing the same.

– The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restored the freedom of the press to publish true re-
ports of parliamentary proceedings without prior permission of the House. But this is
not applicable in the case of a secret sitting of the House.
 It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold secret sittings to discuss some
important matters.
 It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the conduct of its business and to
adjudicate upon such matters.
 It can punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its privileges or its contempt by
reprimand, admonition or imprisonment (also suspension or expulsion, in case of mem-
bers).
 It has the right to receive immediate information of the arrest, detention, conviction,
imprisonment and release of a member.
 It can institute inquiries and order the attendance of witnesses and send for relevant
papers and records.
 No person (member or outsider) can be arrested, and no legal process (civil or criminal)
can be served within the vicinity of the House without the permission of the presiding
officer.
 The courts are prohibited to inquire into the proceedings of a House.

Individual Privileges - of Parliamentarians

 They cannot be arrested during the session of Parliament and 40 days before the begin-
ning and 40 days after the end of a session (only in civil cases).
 They have freedom of speech in Parliament which is non justiciable. No member is liable
to any proceedings in any court for anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament
or its committees.
 They are exempted from jury service. They can refuse to give evidence and appear as a
witness in a case pending in a court when Parliament is in session.
Article 106: Salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament.
Article 107: Provisions as to introduction and passing of ordinary bills.
Two types of ordinary bills-
1. Government Bill- Introduced by a member of Parliament who is a minister
2. Private Bill- presented by a non- minister member.
1st Reading:
 General introduction about the bill
 No discussion allowed at this stage and there can be no amendments to the bill.
o If the bill has already been published in the Gazette, then it will be considered as the 1st
readings.
2nd Reading:
 There are 3 stages of second reading
i. General discussion
 It may take the bill into consideration immediately or on some other fixed date.
 It may refer the bill to a select committee of the House.

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Polity Notes
 It may refer the bill to a joint committee of the two Houses; and
 It may circulate the bill to elicit public opinion (publish in newspapers).
2. Stage: Committee level
 Bill is divided into parts
 Every part of the bill is discussed and amended if needed.
3. Stage 3: Consideration stage
 The house considers the provisions clause by clause.
 Amendments can be passed if required.
 Each clause is discussed and voted separately.
3rd Reading:
 Discussion on the whole bill (for and against)
 No provision for amendment at this stage
 Grammatical errors can be removed.
 The bill is voted upon as a whole and passed.
 After bill is passed by the first house, it is sent to the other house.
 The same procedure is followed by the second house
 The second house can withhold or delay the bill for a maximum of 6 months.
 If the second house passes the bill with amendments, then it is sent back to the first
house.
 The bill has to be passed in the same form by both the Houses.
 After the bill is passed by both the houses, it is sent to the President for his assent.

Article 108: Joint Sitting

 If there is a disagreement between both the houses of the bill (one House passes the bill
and the other does not) then the President can summon both the Houses to meet in a
joint sitting.
 Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting.
 Speaker- deputy Speaker- deputy Chairman-member from themselves elected one to
preside.
 The joint sitting is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha.
 Joint Sitting can only be called regarding ordinary bill and finance bill.
 Joint Sitting cannot be called regarding money bill and Constitutional Amendment Bill.
 Till now joint sitting has been called three times-
1. 1962- Dowry Prohibition Act,1961.
2. 1978- Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Act,1977
3. 2002- Prevention of Terrorism Act,2002.

Article 110: Definition of Money Bill.

 Imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
 Regulation of the borrowing of money by the Government of India.
 Custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of
moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such Fund
 Appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
 Declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of
India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure
 The receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account
of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union
or of a State
 Any other provision related to above mentioned provisions.
If any bill has only the above mentioned provisions, and does not contain any other provi-
sions then it is called Money Bill.

Article 109: Special procedure in respect of Money Bill.

 A money bill can be introduced on the recommendation of the President.
 A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha

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Polity Notes
 Any bill is money bill or not, is decided by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and his decision is
final.
 The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill. It can withhold the bill for a maxi-
mum of 14 days.
 It can only make the recommendations. The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or
any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.
 The President cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses.
 Money Bill is a government bill.
Finance Bill
Article 110 Article 117(1) Article 117(3)
If any bill has provisions only If any bill has provisions of If any bill has no provisions of
of Article 110 and no other Article 110, and along with Article 110, but there are
provisions (money bill) that there are some other provisions related to the
provisions also. Consolidated Fund of India.
Introduced only by President’s prior approval not
President’s prior consent. required for introduction.
Lok Sabha Speaker certifies it Can only be introduced in Lok Can be introduced in any
Sabha House
While sending to Rajya Sabha After this, passed like an Discussion can only take place
ordinary bill. after President’s
recommendation.
While sending to President President can return for
reconsideration.

 All money bills are finance bills but all finance bills are not money bills.

Article 111: President's assent to Bill.

When a bill is presented before President, he has 3 options-
1. Give his assent
2. Withhold his assent
3. Return bill for reconsideration (except money bill)

Finance Minister This Budget is

presents the Budget Demands for Opposition brings
handed over to 24 grants are
on the behalf of the Departmental the Cut Motions.
President. introduced. (Policy cut, Economic
committees.
cut, Token cut)

Lok Sabha can only Expenditure Demand for

discuss but no charged upon the Grants are
voting. Consolidated Fund passed.
of India
Appropriation
Bill is introduced.
Lok Sabha can Expenditure not
discuss and pass it charged upon the
after a vote. Consolidated
Fund of India
Cut Motions:
1. Policy Cut:
It represents the disapproval of the policy underlying the demand. It states that the
amount of the demand be reduced to Re 1.
2. Economy Cut:
Governments' unwanted expenses are exposed and provides suggestions to the govern-
ment to adopt the economic principles. It states that the amount of the demand be re-
duced by a specified amount

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Polity Notes
3. Token Cut:
A particular service or sector of the government is criticized and opposition symbolically
amount of the demand be reduced by Rs 100.
 Cut Motions can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.
 Due to cut motions, there is a detailed discussion on Budgets.
 If a cut motion is passed, then the government has to resign. But generally, it is not passed
as Council of Ministers has a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Expenditures Charged upon Consolidated Fund of India:

1. Salaries given under the Second Schedule.
2. All expenditures of the Supreme Court.
3. All expenditures of UPSC.
4. Debts of Government of India.

Article 113: Demand for Grants.

Article 114: Appropriation Bills.

Article 115: Supplementary, additional or excess grants

1. Supplementary Grant:
It is granted when the amount authorized by the Parliament through the appropriation
act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that
year, with the prior approval of the President.
2. Additional Grant:
It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial year for additional
expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the budget for that year. Prior
approval of President is required.
3. Excess Grant:
It is granted when money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess
of the amount granted for that service in the budget for that year. They must be ap-
proved by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament and the President.
 All grant demands are introduced with prior approval of President.

Article 116: Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants.

1. Vote on Account:
The process of Budget gets completed only till May, whereas Financial Year starts from
1 April. So to cover expenses of this period (April to May), vote on account is introduced.
2. Vote on Credit:
If the government urgently requires the money, then without mentioning the cause of
requirement, the credit/grant is introduced with the prior approval of President.
3. Exceptional Grant:
If the government requires money for the objective which is not mentioned in the bud-
get, then in such a condition without the prior approval of the President this grant is
introduced.
Interim Budget:
 In an election year, if the remaining tenure of government is less, then interim budget is
presented, so that main budget is presented by the next government.
 It is not mentioned in the Constitution.

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Article 118: Parliament can make its own rules for conduct of its business.
 Question Hour: 11 AM-12 Noon
Members ask questions from ministers.
 Zero Hour: 12-1 PM
Members can ask questions from ministers without prior notice.
Indian innovation
Since 1962
 Lunch: 1-2 PM
 Evening: 2PM till end.
During this time, various bills and resolutions are discussed
 Rajya Sabha has timings of question hour and zero hour, opposite to that of Lok Sabha
meaning 11-12 noon zero hour and question hour from 12 PM
Types of Questions:
1. Starred Question:
 Orally answered,
 Supplementary questions can be asked.
 Everyday- Lok Sabha 20 questions
Rajya Sabha 15 questions
2. Unstarred Question:
 Written answers required
 Supplementary question can't be asked.
 Everyday- Lok Sabha- 230 + 25 questions
Rajya Sabha- 160 questions
 1 member can ask a maximum of 10 questions
3. Short Notice Question:
 Question asked on notice of less than 10 days
 Only after taking the consent of minister.
 Only on very important topics.
 Lok Sabha- 1 question, Rajya Sabha 1 question

Important Motions:
1. Confidence Motion:
 It is introduced in the Lok Sabha. Presented by the ruling party to prove its majority.
 If it is not passed, the government has to resign.
 Generally required in a coalition government.
2. No Confidence Motion:
 Can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
 It is introduced by the opposition.

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Polity Notes
 Must be backed with the signature of 50 members.
 There is no need to mention the reason for its introduction.
 It is introduced against the whole council of ministers and not against any particular
minister.
 If it is passes, then Council of Ministers has to resign.
3. Censure Motion:
 Can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha because the Council of Ministers is only respon-
sible to the Lok Sabha, thus only Lok Sabha has the right to censor Council of Ministers.
 Must be backed with the signature of 50 members
 It is introduced against only 1 minister rather than the whole Council of Ministers
 There is need to mention the reason for introduction of censure motion.
 If it is passes, then Council of Ministers need not resign.
4. Adjournment Motion:
 Can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha because it includes some elements of censure
against the government.
 Must be backed with the signature of 50 members
 If any big incident takes place and for which provisions of the Parliament needs to be
adjourned to discuss that incidence, then such motion is introduced.
This motion should have following features-
1. Only be related to a particular subject.
2. Clear and factual,
3. In public interest related,
4. Urgent, requires immediate discussion.
5. Calling Attention Motion:
 Indian innovation since 1954,
 mentioned in rules and procedures of the House
 It is for calling attention of the House and the minister towards any particular incident
 It requires a statement from the minister.
 In one day, a maximum of 2 calling attention motions can be introduced.
 In one motion, there can be names of a maximum of 5 members.
 There is no provision of discussion and voting.
 As it does not involve criticism of Government, can be introduced in both the Houses.
6. Short Duration Discussion:
 Since 1953
 It is introduced to discuss any issue of public importance.
 It requires signature of 2 members.
 It should have prior approval of Business Advisory Committee.
 Its discussion time is fixed, therefore it is also called short duration discussion. (Lok
Sabha- 2 hours, Rajya Sabha- 2.5 hours)
7. Rule 377:
 Fist time introduced in 1966.
 It is a rule of Lok Sabha.
 To discuss any such issue of public importance, which has not been raised during ques-
tion hour, calling attention motion, short duration discussion.
 It does not require presence of a minister or his statement.
 Every day, a maximum of 20 questions (topics) can be raised.

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Polity Notes
Closure Motion:
 These are brought to end discussions in Parliament.
I. Simple Closure:
If the discussion is completed on any bill and if the points are being repeated, then the
discussions are ended by simple closure.
II. Kangaroo Closure:
If there is a lack of time and it is not possible to discuss all aspects, then the Presiding
officer calls all party meeting and makes consensus for Kangaroo closure. Only impor-
tant aspects are discussed and the discussion is ended
III.Guillotine:
If there is a lack of time and it is not possible to discuss all the aspects, then in such a
situation first the discussion time is fixed and as the discussion period is completed, the
discussion is ended.
Impact of Dissolution of Lok Sabha on any pending Bill
 If a bill comes in contact with the Lok Sabha, then it will lapse with the dissolution of Lok
Sabha.
 If any bill comes directly or indirectly in contact with the President, then it will not lapse.
 If any bill is introduced in Lok Sabha and pending in Lok Sabha, then it will lapse with
the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
 If any bill is passed by Lok Sabha and pending in Rajya Sabha then, with the dissolution
of Lok Sabha, the bill will lapse.
 If any bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha and pending in Rajya Sabha, then it will not lapse
with the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
 If any bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha and passed by it, and it has not been sent to Lok
Sabha, then it will not lapse with the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
 If any bill passed by Rajya Sabha is pending before Lok Sabha, then it will lapse with the
dissolution of Lok Sabha.
 If a bill is pending before the President, returned for reconsideration or a Joint Sitting
has already been called, then the bill will not lapse.

Page No. [3]

Polity Notes

Parliamentary Committees
 Parliamentary Committees originated in Britain. At present, they are more used in USA.
 In India, these started through Govt. of India Act 1919.
 In 1921, the first Parliamentary Committee was constituted.
 Parliamentary Committees are of 2 types-
1. Permanent Committee 2. Temporary Committees
 1/3 members are required to be present to complete quorum for Parliamentary Commit-
tees.
Importance of Parliamentary Committees
 These are based on the principle of division of work. Parliament has a lot of work and
limited time, thus the Parliament divides the work between committees which saves him.
 It gives encouragement to expertise. A person who is expert of the concerned sector, is
appointed as the member of committee
 It ensures confidentiality. There are so many confidential facts which are related to national
importance which cannot be openly discussed in the house. They can be discussed in the
committees.
 It increases control of legislative over executive through Parliamentary Committees
 Increases cooperation between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha because in many committees
members are from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
 It ensures cooperation between ruling and opposition parties, since members of both the
parties are there as committee members.
Permanent Committees:
1. Estimates Committee: (Girish Bapat)
 30 members (originally 25, increased to 30 in 1956)
 All members are from Lok Sabha
 Election of members- proportional representation system.
 Tenure- 1 year
 A minister cannot be a member.
Function-
 to review the budget estimates, bring out irregularities in the budget estimates and to
give suggestions.
2. Public Account Committee: (Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury)
 22 members (Lok Sabha-15, Rajya Sabha-7)
 Chairperson- from opposition party
 Election of members- proportional representation system.
 Tenure- 1 year

Page No. [1]

Polity Notes
 A minister cannot be a member.
Function-
 to review the CAG's report
 to review budget operation and highlight the inconsistencies
3. Committee on Public Sector Undertaking:
 22 members (Lok Sabha-15, Rajya Sabha-7)
 Election of members- proportional representation system.
 Tenure- 1 year
 A minister cannot be a member
Function-
 to review the CAG's report on PSUs
4. Business Advisory Committee:
 Separate for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
 Lok Sabha-15 members (Chairman- Speaker)
 Rajya Sabha- 11 members (Chairman- Chairperson)
Function-
 decides on the daily proceedings of the houses.
5. Departmental Committees:
 Trace their origins to USA.
 In 1989, Act was passed by the Parliament for departmental committees.
 1993- 17 Departmental Committees were constituted.
 2004- Number of Departmental Committees increased to 24.
 Total 31 members- 21 Lok Sabha, 10 Rajya Sabha
 Chairman of 16 Departmental Committees is appointed by the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
 Chairman of 8 Departmental Committees is appointed by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Functions-
 After presentation of budget by the Finance Minister, the budget is handed over to the
respective Departmental Committees.
 These committees review the allocations made for different departments.
 1 committee can review the budgets of more than 1 department.
Temporary Committee
 These committees are constituted for a particular objective. After the objective is com-
plete, the committee ceases to exist.
Ex- for a particular bill, committee is constituted.
 Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)
 For specific objective
 31 members( 21-Lok Sabha, 10-Rajya Sabha)
Various JPC constituted till now-
1. Bofors scam
2. Harshad Mehta share market scam

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Polity Notes
3. Pesticides in soft drinks
4. Ketan Parekh share market scam
5. 2G scam (P C Chacko)
6. VVIP chopper scam (not yet constituted)
Article 119:
 Regulation by law of procedures in Parliament in relation to financial business.
Article 120:
 Language to be used in Parliament.
 Hindi and English are used.
 With the consent of speaker/ chairman, other languages can also be used.
Article 121:
 Restriction on discussion in Parliament
 No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge
 Which means in Parliament, the working of Judiciary can't be criticized.
 In case of motion regarding removal of a Judge, discussion can take place.
Article 122:
 Courts not to inquire into proceedings of Parliament
Article 123:
 Ordinance making Power of President.

Page No. [3]

Polity Notes

Parliamentary System
Parliamentary System Presidential System
l There are two heads of the executive- l There is only one head of the
(i) Nominal (ii) Real executive- real.
l Head of the state and head of the l Here Head of state and head of
executive are different. executive are same.
l Head of the executive is indirectly l Head of executive is generally
elected and is the leader of majority directly elected by the people. He is
party. not the leader of the majority party.
l There is no clear separation of power l There is a clear separation of power
as executive is part of the because executive and legislature are
legislature.(minister can be a member clearly separated ( minister cannot be
of legislature). a member of legislature).
l Executive is collectively responsible to l Executive is not collectively
the legislature which means responsible to the legislature which
legislature can remove executive by means legislature cannot remove
no-confidence motion. executive through no-confidence
motion.
l There is collective responsibility. l There is only individual
responsibility.
l Legislature controls the day to day l Legislature do not keep a check on
working of the executive (through the day to day working of the
different types of questions and executive because legislature cannot
motions) ask questions from the executive and
cannot bring motions against it.
Merits of Presidential System
l Stability- Since the head of Executive is directly elected and is not responsible to Legisla-
ture therefore Legislature cannot remove Executive through no-confidence motion and the
Executive completes its tenure. This ensures stability.
l Prompt Decision-making- Since the Executive is not responsible to the Legislature, the
nature of decision making of Executive is quick. In this the head of Executive can take
decisions by himself and there is no need for collective decision making.
l Clear Separation of Power- because Executive is clearly separated from the Legislature.
l Promotion to Specialization- The head of Executive has more options to appoint ministers
as he can appoint any qualified citizen as a minister.
l There is no provision for coalition government and therefore it is free of demerits of a
coalition government and problem of defection.
l There is greater effective control of head of Executive over the ministers.

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Polity Notes
Demerits of Presidential System
l Despotism- Executive is not responsible to Legislature, therefore there is no control of
Legislature over Executive making it despotic.
l There is no control of Legislature over day to day working of Executive which makes it less
accountable.
l Chance of conflict - If Legislature has a majority of any other party then a situation of
conflict arises, which creates hurdles in law-making process.
l In Presidential system all sections are not given adequate representation, therefore this
system is not appropriate for multi-religious countries.
l Limited role of opposition in this system.
Merits of Parliamentary System
l Responsibility- Because the Executive is responsible to the Legislature therefore there is a
control of Legislature over Executive and therefore Executive does not become despotic.
l Accountability- There is control of Legislature over the daily working of Executive also.
Executive has to give answers to the questions by Legislature. Therefore Executive is more
accountable.
l Better Coordination between Legislature and Executive- Because the executive has to at-
tain majority in Legislature, there is better coordination between the two and no situations
of conflict between the two arise. This makes the process of government decision-making
and law making simple.
l In this, minority classes can come together politically and can protect their interests.
l This system is more adequate for multi-cultural countries.
l In this, opposition parties play an important role. This system has more number of political
parties. Political parties also initiate mass movements which provide political training to the
people.
Demerits of Parliamentary System
l Instability- Because the Executive is responsible to the Legislature, the Legislature can
remove Executive by no-confidence motion. Often Executive cannot complete its term and
elections have to be held again and again which results in loss of money and time. Also
political policies are unstable.
l Situation of indecision or lack of prompt decision-making- Before taking any decision,
concurrence of the supporting parties has to be taken. Often supporting parties do not
concur and government is unable to take decisions.
l There is no clear separation of power as Executive is a part of Legislature which is against
the spirit of ideal democracy.
l Limited options- Not many options to appoint a minister because only the members of
Legislature can be appointed as ministers which does not promote specialization.
l In this, coalition governments are also formed which results in all the demerits of a coalition
government- instability, indecision, lack of adequate control over ministers, corruption,
more importance to regional issues in place of national issues, opportunism, tendency to
defect, mismatched coalition etc.
Q. Why did our Constitution makers adopted Parliamentary system instead of Presidential
System? Should we consider the Presidential system in light of the shortcomings of the
Parliamentary system?
Ans.Reasons for adopting Parliamentary System-
l During the colonial rule, the initial democratic institutions that were established by the
British were based on Parliamentary system. Our Constitution makers got their initial po-

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Polity Notes
litical training from these institutions only and were more familiar with the Parliamentary
system in comparison with Presidential System.
l Many of our constitutional makers got their education from Britain, therefore they were
more familiar with the Parliamentary System.
l The main source of our Constitution is the Government of India Act 1935 and this is based
on Parliamentary system.
l The Presidential system gives more emphasis to stability while the Parliamentary system
gives more emphasis to accountability. Our Constitution makers gave more emphasis to
accountability over stability.
Apart from this, there are other features of Parliamentary System-
l Responsibility- Because the Executive is responsible to the Legislature therefore there is a
control of Legislature over Executive and therefore Executive does not become despotic.
l Accountability- There is control of Legislature over the daily working of Executive also.
Executive has to give answers to the questions by Legislature. Therefore Executive is more
accountable.
l Better Coordination between Legislature and Executive- Because the executive has to at-
tain majority in Legislature, there is better coordination between the two and no situations
of conflict between the two arise. This makes the process of government decision-making
and law making simple.
l In this, minority classes can come together politically and can protect their interests.
l This system is more adequate for multi-cultural countries.
l In this, opposition parties play an important role. This system has more number of political
parties. Political parties also initiate mass movements which provide political training to the
people.
However, apart from these merits of Parliamentary system there are some drawbacks also
like instability, situation of indecision or lack of prompt decision-making, lack of clear sepa-
ration of power, inadequate promotion to specialization, drawbacks of coalition govern-
ments etc.
Therefore from time to time there has been a demand for adopting the Presidential system
because in the Presidential system, advantages like stability, prompt decision-making, clear
separation of power promotion to specialization etc.
Despite this, the Presidential system has drawbacks like despotic tendencies, lack of ac-
countability, conflict between executive and legislature, lack of protection of interests of
minority class, lack of representation of opposition parties in politics etc.
Therefore despite some shortcomings of Parliamentary system, its advantages are more
important and compared to the Presidential system the Parliamentary system is a better
option considering the political and social conditions of a multi-cultural country like India.

Page No. [3]

Polity Notes

SUPREME COURT
Article 124-147
 On 28 January 1950, the Supreme Court was established.
 The Supreme Court replaced ‘Privy Council’ and ‘Federal Court’.
Article 124: There will be a Supreme Court of India.
 There will be 7 judges and 1 Chief Justice.
 Parliament can increase the strength of judges.
(Presently there are [33+ 1= 34] judges.)
 President appoints the judges of the Supreme Court in consultations with the Chief
Justice.
What does the term ‘consultation’ imply?

First Judges Case (1982): [S P Gupta v/s Union of India]

 The Supreme Court interpreted Article 124.
 The Supreme Court ruled that the word ‘consultation’ means- exchange of views between
the President and the Chief Justice.
 The advice given under this is not binding. Meaning, the appointment of judges of the
Supreme Court is to be done with the advice of council of ministers.
Second Judges Case (1993):
 The Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision. But, the Chief Justice would tender his
advice on the matter after consulting two of his senior most colleagues, which is binding
on President.(1+2 Justices- collegium system came into existence but the term ‘collegium’
was used in 1998.)
 If the President rejects the recommendation, he will have to give reasons.
 The senior most judge will be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Third Judges Case (1998):
 The Court reiterated its previous decision and opined that the Chief Justice should
consult a collegium of four senior most judges of the Supreme Court, which will give
advice to President.
 President has to accept their recommendation.
 Even if two judges give an adverse opinion, he should not send the recommendation to
the government.
 If the President rejects the recommendation, he will have to give reasons.
 The word ‘collegium’ was used for the first time.

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Polity Notes
 In time, collegium system was also criticised as it was a closed system which had lack of
transparency. There were allegations of nepotism, meaning in Supreme Court only some
families have dominance and not all sections are adequately represented. In Supreme Court,
there is lack of representation of SCs, STs, OBC, women and minorities.
 In view of these criticisms, The 99th Constitutional Amendment Act replaced the collegium
system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body
called the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) in 2015
 NJAC- 6 members[ Chief Justice of India + 2 Supreme Court judges + Law Minister + 2
other members] 2 other members will be selected by a 3 member committee [ Chief
Justice of India + Prime Minister + Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha ]
 In 2015, the Supreme Court has declared both the 99th Constitutional Amendment as
unconstitutional and void. The court opined that the new system (NJAC) would affect
the independence of the judiciary which is a basic structure of Constitution.
 Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative again
Qualifications of Judges of Supreme Court:
 A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following
qualifications:
i. He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for five
years
ii. Or He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession) for
ten years
iii. Or He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
Tenure of Judge of The Supreme Court:
 He holds office until he attains the age of 65 years.
Removal of Judges of the Supreme Court:
 The grounds of removal are two—a) proved misbehaviour b) incapacity.
 A removal motion signed by 100 members (in the case of Lok Sabha) or 50 members (in
the case of Rajya Sabha) is to be given to the Speaker/Chairman.
 The Speaker/Chairman may admit the motion or refuse to admit it.
 If it is admitted, then the Speaker/Chairman is to constitute a three- member committee
to investigate into the charges consisting of (a) the Chief justice or a judge of the Supreme
Court, (b) a Chief justice of a high court, and (c) a distinguished jurist.
 If the committee finds the allegations to be true, the House can take up the consideration
of the motion.
 The process till here can be judicially reviewed.
 After the motion is passed by each House of Parliament by special majority, an address
is presented to the president for removal of the judge.
 Finally, the president passes an order removing the judge.
Vacancy of the Post of a Judge:
 Resigns from the post.
 Not anymore a citizen of India.
 Removed by the President
 Death.

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Polity Notes
 Retirement.
Article 125: Salaries, Allowances, Pensions and Service Conditions.
 CJI- 2.8 Lacs
 Others- 2.5 Lacs
 Pension- 50% of Salary.
Article 126: Appointment of Acting CJI by the President.
 When the office of Chief Justice of India is vacant or when the Chief Justice is, by reason
of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office, the duties of the
office shall be performed by such one of the other Judges of the Court as the President
may appoint for the purpose.
Article 127: Appointment of Ad hoc Judge:
 When there is a lack of quorum of the permanent judges to hold or continue any session
of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India can appoint a judge of a High Court as
an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court for a temporary period.
 The judge so appointed should be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme
Court.
 He can do so only after consultation with the chief justice of the High Court concerned
and with the previous consent of the president.
Article 128: Appointment of Retired Judge:
 The CJI can request a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired judge of a high
court (who is duly qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court) to act as
a judge of the Supreme Court for a temporary period, if the workload is heavy.
 He can do so only with the previous consent of the President and also of the person to
be so appointed.
 Salary and allowances are decided by the President.
 He will also enjoy all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a judge of Supreme
Court. But, he will not otherwise be deemed to be a judge of the Supreme Court.
 He can be appointed for a maximum of 2 years.
Article 129: Supreme Court to be a court of record.
Article 130: Seat of Supreme Court will be in Delhi.
 But the Constitution authorises the Chief Justice of India to appoint other place or
places as seat of the Supreme Court, with the prior approval of the President.

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Polity Notes

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

Article 131: Original Jurisdiction.
 As a federal court, Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction.
(a) Centre and one or more states.
(b) Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other.
(c) between two or more states.
However this jurisdiction of the Supreme Court does not extend to the following:
(a) A dispute arising out of any pre-Constitution treaty.
(b) A dispute arising out of any treaty, agreement, which specifically provides for that
(c) Inter-state water disputes.
(d) Matters referred to the Finance Commission.
(e) Adjustment of certain expenses and pensions between the Centre and the states.
(f) Ordinary dispute of Commercial nature between the Centre and the states.
(g) Recovery of damages by a state against the Centre.
 Disputes related to the election of President and Vice-President will be only heard by
Supreme Court.
Appellate Jurisdiction
 The Supreme Court is primarily a court of appeal and hears appeals against the judge-
ments of the lower courts. It enjoys a wide appellate jurisdiction which can be classified
under 3 heads:
(a) Appeals in constitutional matters (Article 132):
 An appeal can be made to the Supreme Court against the judgement of a high court if the
high court certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law that requires the
interpretation of the Constitution.
(b) Appeals in civil matters (Article 133):
 In civil cases, an appeal lies to the Supreme Court from any judgement of a High Court
if the High Court certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law of general
importance.
(c) Appeals in criminal matters (Article 134):
 The Supreme Court hears appeals against the judgement in a criminal proceeding of a
High Court if the High Court-
(i) has on appeal, reversed an order of acquittal of an accused person and sentenced him to
imprisonment for life or for 10 years
(ii) has taken before itself any case from any subordinate court and convicted the accused
person and sentenced him to imprisonment for life or for 10 years.
A Court of Record (Article 129)
 As a Court of Record, the Supreme Court has two powers:
(a) The judgements of the Supreme Court are recorded for perpetual memory and testi-
mony. They are recognised as legal precedents and legal references by all courts in
territory of India.
(b) Other courts cannot review or criticise the judgements of Supreme Court.
(c) It has power to punish for contempt of court, either with simple imprisonment for a term

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Polity Notes
up to 6 months or with fine up to RS 2,000 or with both.
 Contempt of court may be civil or criminal
Writ Jurisdiction (Article 32):
 The Supreme Court is empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of the fundamental
rights
i. habeas corpus
ii. mandamus
iii. prohibition
iv. quo-warranto
v. certiorari
Advisory Jurisdiction (Article 143)[ Presidential Reference]
 The President can seek the opinion of the Supreme Court in the two categories of mat-
ters:
(a) On any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is likely to
arise.
(b) On any dispute arising out of any pre-constitution treaty, agreement, covenant, engage-
ment etc.
 In the first case, the Supreme Court may tender or may refuse to tender its opinion to
the President.
 But, in the second case, the Supreme Court 'must' tender its opinion to the president.
 President is not bound to accept the opinion of Supreme Court.
Judicial Review
 Supreme Court can review any act passed by legislature or any orders issued by any
executive authority and if they are against the Constitutional Provisions, they can be
declared null and void.
 While judicial review is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but it is implied by
various Articles of the Constitution like-
Article: 13(2)
Article: 32
Article: 131,132,133,134,135,136
Article: 143,145
Article: 226,246,256
Article 136: Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court (S.L.P)
 Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment or
order passed by any court or tribunal in the territory of India.
Supreme Court can give permission in following matters-
 Any type of case- civil, constitutional, criminal.
 Case may be at any stage.
 Case of any court (subordinate courts, High Courts, Tribunals etc.)
Exceptions-
 Any case of Military Tribunal
 Any case of Court Martial
Article 135:
 Jurisdiction and powers of the Federal Court under existing law to be exercisable by the
Supreme Court.
 Supreme Court shall also have jurisdiction and powers of Federal Court.
Article 137:
 Review of judgments or orders by the Supreme Court

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Polity Notes
 Supreme Court shall have power to review any judgment pronounced by it.
Article 138:
 Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
 Parliament can enlarge the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Article 139:
 Conferment on the Supreme Court of powers to issue certain writs
 Parliament can enlarge the writ jurisdiction of Supreme Court. Which means it can issue
writs for matters other than those under Article 32.
Article 139(a):
 Transfer of certain cases.
 The Supreme Court may withdraw the case pending before any Court in the territory of
India and dispose of the cases itself or transfer any case from one court to other.
Article 140:
 Ancillary powers of Supreme Court
 Parliament may by law make provision for conferring upon the Supreme Court supple-
mental powers.
Article 141:
 Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts within territory of India
Article 142:
 Enforcement of orders of Supreme Court (Complete Justice):
 The Supreme Court can assume the powers of executive and legislature in order to
enforce its orders.
 This provision is criticized by some as the reason behind increasing judicial activism in
India.
Article 144:
 Civil and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court
Article 145:
 Rules of court
 Supreme Court can formulate its own rules and regulations.
Article 146:
 Officers and servants and the expenses of the Supreme Court.
 Appointments of officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be made by the Chief
Justice of India or such other Judge or officer of the Court as he may direct.
 Their salaries, pensions, allowances and service conditions will be determined by the
Chief Justice of India or such other Judge or officer of the Court as he may direct.
 All expenses of the Supreme Court are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India.
Article 147:
 Interpretation

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Polity Notes

HIGH COURT
 In 1862, 3 High Courts were established.
(i) Calcutta (ii) Bombay (iii) Madras
 In 1886, Allahabad High Court was established.
 Before 1947, all provinces had a High Court (11).
Article 214: There will be a High Court for every state.
 7th Constitutional Amendment 1956: there can be a common High Court for two or
more states.
 Presently 25 High Courts in India.
 Telangana High Court - 25th.
 2013- 3 new High Courts
(i) Tripura (ii) Manipur (iii) Meghalaya.
 Guwahati High Court: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram.
 Bombay High Court: Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
 Punjab and Haryana High Court: Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh.
 Calcutta High Court: West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar
 Madras High Court: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
 Kerala High Court: Kerala, Lakshadweep
 Jammu and Kashmir High Court: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.

Appointment of the Judge of a High Court:

 Appointed by- President.
 Consultation-President consults with Chief Justice of India+2 other senior most judges
of High Court
 President also consults with the governor and Chief Justice of the concerned High Court
 Oath- Administered by the Governor.
Tenure-
 can remain on their post till the age of 62 years.
Removal Procedure-
 same as a removal procedure for a judge of Supreme Court.
Eligibility-
 A practicing advocate in any High Court for minimum of 10 years.
or
 A judge in subordinate court for minimum of 10 years.
Article 225: Jurisdiction of High Court.
Original Jurisdiction:

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Polity Notes
 It means the power of a high court to hear disputes in the first instance, not by way of
appeal. It extends to the following:
 Matters of admiralty, will, marriage, divorce, company law.
 Enforcement of fundamental rights of citizens.
 Disputes relating to the election of members of Parliament and state legislatures.
 Regarding revenue matter or an act ordered or done in revenue collection.
 Cases ordered to be transferred from a subordinate court.
 The 4 High Courts -Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi , have original civil jurisdiction
in cases of higher value.
 Before 1973, the Calcutta, Bombay and Madras High Courts also had original criminal
jurisdiction also. This was ended in 1973.
Appellate Jurisdiction:
 It hears appeals against the judgements of subordinate courts.
 The decision of single bench of High Court can be challenged in the division bench of the
High Court.
 It can hear appeals in 2 types of matters.
(i) Civil matters: In this both first appeal and second appeal can be made.
 First appeals - on both questions of law and fact.
 Second appeals - in the cases involving questions of law only.
(ii) Criminal matters:
 Appeals from the judgements lie to the High Court if the sentence is imprisonment for
more than 7 years.
 Death sentence (capital punishment) should be confirmed by the High Court.

Article 226: Writ Jurisdiction:

 High Court can issue 5 types of Writs under Article 226.
(i) Habeas corpus (ii) Mandamus (iii) Certiorari
(iv) Prohibition (v) Quo- warranto

Article 215: High Courts to be courts of record

 The judgements High Courts are recorded for perpetual memory and testimony and are
recognised as legal precedents by other courts in the State.
 Other courts cannot review or criticise the judgements of High Court.
 It has power to punish for contempt of court, either with simple imprisonment of 6
months or with fine of Rs 2000 or with both.
Judicial Review:
 High Court can review any act passed by legislature or any orders issued by any execu-
tive authority of Centre or State and if they are against the Constitutional Provisions,
they can be declared null and void.
 These decisions are applicable only within a state.
 High Court can supervise other subordinate courts located within a state.

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Polity Notes

Subordinate Courts
High Court

District and Session Judge's Court

(Civil Side) (Criminal Side)

Subordinate Chief Judicial

Judge's Court Magistrate's Court

Munsiff's Judicial
Court Magistrate's Court

 All provisions related to Subordinate Courts are mentioned in Part 4 of the Constitution
from Article 233 to 237.
 District judges are appointed by the Governor after consulting with the High Court.
Qualifications for a District Judge-
1. He must have been an advocate for atleast 7 years.
2. The High Court must have recommended for his appointment.
3. He must not be in any public employment under Central or State Government.
 A District Judge can award life imprisonment and death penalty to any convict. However
death penalty awarded by him can be executed only after confirmation by the High
Court.
 District Judge has the power to inspect all subordinate courts in the district.
 An appeal can be made against the decisions of the District Judge to the High Court.
Gram Nyayalayas
• The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment
of the Gram Nyayalayas
• The first Gram Nyayalayas were established in 2009.
• These were established for the purposes of providing access to justice to the citizens
at the grass roots level (panchayats).
• Under of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, it is for the State Governments to establish
Gram Nyayalayas in consultation with the respective High Courts.

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Polity Notes
• Judicial Magistrate of the first class are appointed
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the powers of both
Criminal and Civil Courts.
• The Gram Nyayalaya can try criminal cases, civil suits.
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall try to settle the disputes as far as possible by bringing
about conciliation between the parties and for this purpose, it shall make use of the
conciliators to be appointed for this purpose.
• The Gram Nyayalayas shall be guided by the principles of natural justice
• Appeal in civil and criminal cases be heard and disposed of within a period of six
months.
• Plea bargaining is allowed.
• However, these have not been very successful.
Lok Adalat
• In 1985, Lok Adalats were established by P N Bhagwati, the judge of SC.
• The institution of Lok Adalat has been given statutory status under the Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987.
• The following can establish Lok Adalat.
1) Supreme Court Legal Services Authority
2) High Court
3) State Government
• Objectives- Lok Adalat provides alternative resolution or device for expedious and
inexpensive justice.
• A case is filed with the Lok Adalat when both the parties agree.
• There is no need for an advocate.
• There is no kind of stamp or fee.
• Both parties are brought to an agreement.
• Verdicts of Lok Adalats cannot be challenged in any court.
Plea Bargaining
• This concept has been taken from USA.
• Emphasis is on agreement between the parties outside the court.
• In 2005, CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) was amended and plea bargaining was
provided statutory recognition.
• Plea Bargaining is prohibited in following matters-
1) In which there is a provision of sentencing for 7 or more years.
2) Crimes against women
3) Crimes against children of age 14 years or less.
4) Crimes against social and economic reforms.

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Polity Notes

Judicial Activism
 Judicial activism is taken in two meanings-
1. Positive judicial activism.
2. Negative judicial activism.
1. Positive Judicial Activism.
 Here judiciary is proactive in doing its work efficiently and speedily.
 In the beginning, there were some self-proclaimed principles of judiciary like-
i. A person has to approach the judiciary for justice.
ii. Each person can demand justice for himself only.
iii. To follow a definite procedure for apply for justice.
 In 1979 the Supreme Court justices, P N Bhagwati and V R Krishna Aiyyar, dmitted
PILs for the first time. Meaning, in public interest, any concerned citizen can file a
litigation.
 Kapila Hingorani issued the first PIL in [Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar].
 Over the years all courts admit PILs.
 PILs were accepted through complaints from postcard.
 Newspaper reports were also accepted as the basis for PIL.
 Meaning, justices took cognisance and accepted PILs.
In this way, it is a positive judicial activism.
2. Negative Judicial Activism:
 If the judiciary becomes hyper active and interferes in the working of executive or
legislature, then it is called negative judicial activism.
 Due to following provisions, negative judicial activism gets encouragement-
 Supreme Court has the right to interpret the Constitution.
 Judicial review.
 Directions of Supreme Court under Art. 142.
 Legislature has the powers to amend the Constitution. However judiciary has made
many amendments in the Constitution-
 Article 21- Procedure established by law made into due process of law. Right to life
and personal liberty were also elaborated.
 Article 124- There was no provision for collegium, but was added later by the
judiciary.
 Article 368- No provision regarding the ‘basic structure doctrine’, which was added
and restricted the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution.
 Judiciary also interferes in the internal matters of the Legislature like-

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Polity Notes
i. Ordering floor test in matters of confidence motion.
ii. Allowing proceedings in house in presence of cameras (Jharkhand Assembly).
iii. Judiciary takes matters of executive in its own hands and instructs them (appointing
Lokayukta in UP), instructing CBI.

Benefits of Judicial Activism:

1. Due to this, the concept of PIL was accepted which has assisted in providing justice to
the backward and weaker sections of the society.
2. Judicial procedures have simplified.
3. Judiciary has filled the vacuum created by the indifference of legislature and executive.
4. Judiciary has put a check on the autocracy of the legislature and executive.( ruling
majority with heavy majority cannot change the basic structure of constitution at their
will).
5. Judicial activism has aided the process of society’s modernisation and social reforms.
(abrogation of Art. 377, Right to privacy, Triple talaq, Section 497).
6. Judiciary has taken various steps for environmental protection.
7. Judicial activism has increased faith of people in democracy.
8. Transparency in elections, disclosures by candidates.

Drawbacks of Judicial Activism:

1. Due to Judicial activism, the Judiciary becomes more active which violates the principle
of separation of power and balance of power.
2. In a democracy, real power should be with the elected representatives but due to Judicial
activism, real power comes in the hands of the judiciary.
3. In Judicial activism, judiciary excessively interferes in the work of executive which
reduces its efficiency and reduces the rate of execution of work.
4. Judicial activism often hinders the implementation of economic reforms. Due to
environmental concerns, various projects have been put on hold, which has an adverse
impact on the growth of the nation and also increases NPA of banks.
5. Due to increasing number of PILs, workload of judiciary is increasing.
6. For cheap publicity, people file FIR, which is at the expense of important cases.

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Polity Notes

Emergency
EMERGENCY

Article - 352 Article - 356 Article - 360

Proclamation of Failure of Constitutional

Financial Emergency
Emergency Machinery

Mentioned in Constitution

National Emergency
Popular Name,
Not Mentioned in
President's Rule/State Constitution
Emergency

National Emergency [Article 352]

• Grounds for declaration-
(i) War

(ii) External aggression

(iii) Armed rebellion( 44th Constitutional Amendment replaced internal disturbance)

• Proclaimed by the President.

• Upon the written recommendations of the council of ministers. (44 th C.
Amendment).
• This emergency starts with the President’s proclamation.
• This proclamation has to be approved by the Parliament within 1 month of the
proclamation with special majority, otherwise it will terminate automatically.
• It remains in effect for a maximum of 6 months after proclamation.
• If emergency is to be extended beyond the period of 6 months, Parliamentary
approval is again required with special majority.

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Polity Notes
• This emergency can be extended for 6 months at a time, repeatedly.
Provisions before 44th Constitutional Amendment
• No provision of written recommendation of council of ministers.
• Internal disturbance in place of armed rebellion.
• 2 months required for Parliamentary approval
• Simple majority required.
• This Emergency could continue indefinitely.
End of Emergency:
• President can revoke emergency at any time.
• If the Parliament does not ratify, then it ceases automatically after 1 month.
After ratification it automatically ends after 6 months.
• Lok Sabha can pass a resolution with a simple majority, for ending the emergency.
(if Lok Sabha is not in session, then 1/10th of members can request President to
convene its session within 14 days).
Impacts of National Emergency
(a) Executive Impact
• The Centre becomes entitled to give executive directions to a state on ‘any’
matter. Thus, the state governments are brought under the complete control of
the Centre, though they are not suspended.
(b) Legislative Impact
• The life of the Lok Sabha may be extended beyond five years for one year at a
time (for any length of time).
• However, this extension cannot continue beyond a period of six months after
the emergency has ceased to operate.
• In 1976, the term of the Fifth Lok Sabha (1971– 1977) was extended two times by
one year at a times.
(c) Financial Impact
• Reduction in share of state in central taxes is a possibility.
• Reduction in grants given by centre to state is a possibility.
(d) Impact on the Fundamental Rights
• Article 358: automatic suspension of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by
Article 19(Article 19 is not suspended during armed rebellion).
• Article 359: suspension of other Fundamental Rights (except those guaranteed
by Articles 20 and 21) through a Presidential order.

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Polity Notes
National Emergency has been imposed 3 times:
• 1962-67: external
• 1971-77: external
• 1975-77: internal
 42nd Constitutional Amendment made the provision for imposition of National
Emergency in any part of the country.

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Polity Notes

President's Rule/ State Emergency/Failure of

Constitutional Machinery
Article 355:- Grounds for President’s Rule
• Imposes a duty on the Centre to ensure that the government of every state is carried on
in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It is this duty in the performance
of which the Centre takes over the government of a state under Article 356 in case of
failure of constitutional machinery in state.
Article 356 :
If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a
state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, then
President’s rule can be imposed.
Article 365:
Whenever a state fails to comply with or to give effect to any direction from the Centre,
the president can declare President’s rule.
• A proclamation imposing President’s Rule must be approved by both the Houses of
Parliament within 2 months from the date of its issue.
• If approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the President’s Rule continues for 6
months. It can be extended for a period of 1 year with the approval of the Parliament,
every 6 months.
• In following conditions, it can be extended beyond 1 year-
(i) If National Emergency is in place.
(ii) If Election Commission is unable to conduct elections.
• However, President’s rule cannot be extended beyond 3 years in any case.
• Every resolution approving the proclamation of President’s Rule or its continuation
can be passed by either House of Parliament only by a simple majority.
Consequences of President’s Rule
• The President can dismiss the state council of ministers and all executive powers are
assumed by President and are transferred to his representative (governor).
• The President either suspends or dissolves the state legislative assembly. The Parliament
passes the state legislative bills and the state budget.
• Till now, Article 356 has been imposed 128 times.

• Maximum times imposed in- Manipur (10 times).

• 2nd- Uttar Pradesh (9 times).

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Polity Notes
• 1st time imposed- Punjab
• Imposed for more than 3 years- Punjab
• 4 times in Rajasthan-
1967, 1977, 1980, 1992.

Misuse of President’s Rule:

S R Bommai Case 1994:
1. The presidential proclamation imposing President’s Rule is subject to judicial review.
2. The satisfaction of the President must be based on relevant material. The action of the
president can be struck down by the court if it was found to be irrelevant and malafide.
3. Burden lies on the Centre to prove that relevant material exist to justify the imposition
of the President’s Rule and they should be clear to an ordinary person.
5. If the court holds the presidential proclamation to be unconstitutional and invalid, it
has power to restore the dismissed state government and revive the state legislative
assembly if it was suspended or dissolved.
6. The state legislative assembly should be dissolved only after the Parliament has approved
the presidential proclamation. Until such approval is given, the president can only
suspend the assembly. In case the Parliament fails to approve the proclamation, the
assembly would get reactivated.
7. Secularism is one of the ‘basic features’ of the Constitution. Hence, a state government
pursuing anti-secular politics is liable to action under Article 356. (1992- BJP ruled
states put under President’s Rule)
8. The question of the state government losing the confidence of the legislative assembly
should be decided on the floor of the House and until that is done the ministry should not
be unseated.
9. Where another political party wins the Lok Sabha elections, it will not have the authority
to impose President’s rule in the states.
FINANCIAL EMERGENCY (Article 360)
 President can proclaim a Financial Emergency if he is satisfied that a situation has
arisen due to which the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is
threatened.
 A proclamation declaring financial emergency must be approved by both the Houses
of Parliament with simple majority within two months from the date of its issue.
 Once approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the Financial Emergency continues
indefinitely till it is revoked. This implies two things:
1. There is no maximum period prescribed for its operation; and
2. Repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation.
Effects of Financial Emergency
• The executive authority of the Centre extends to directing any state to observe such
canons of financial propriety as are specified by it

Page No. [2]

Polity Notes
• Any such direction may include a provision requiring (a) the reduction of salaries and
allowances of all or any class of persons serving in the state; and (b) the reservation of
all money bills or other financial bills for the consideration of the President after they
are passed by the legislature of the state.
• The President may issue directions for the reduction of salaries and allowances of (a)
all or any class of persons serving the Union; and (b) the judges of the Supreme Court
and the high court.
• No Financial Emergency has been declared so far, though there was a financial crisis in
1991.

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Polity Notes

Legislative & Administrative Relation between

Centre and State

Aritcle 245: Laws passed by Parliament

 The laws passed by the Parliament can be applied in the whole of India or in any
parts of it.
 The laws passed by the state legislature can be applied in whole of state or any part
of the state.
 The laws passed by Parliament may also apply to Indian citizens residing outside
India.
Exceptions
 The President may issue an order that no parliamentary law or any part of that law
shall apply in the Union Territories. In 3 Union Territories (Andaman and Nicobar,
Daman and Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep)
 The Governor may direct that any parliamentary law or any part thereof shall not
apply in the Scheduled Areas of the State (which are given in the 5th Schedule).
 The Governor of Assam may direct that no Act or part thereof passed by the
Parliament shall apply in tribal areas (autonomous districts). Schedule 6
 The President may direct that any Act passed by Parliament or any part of that Act
shall not come into force in the tribal areas (autonomous districts) of the following
States.
(i) Tripura (ii) Meghalaya (iii) Mizoram
Article - 246 - ‘Division of subjects between Union and States’
 Subjects are divided between the Center and the States by Union List or State List or
Concurrent List.
 It is mentioned in the Seventh schedule of the Constitution.

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Polity Notes

Union List State List Concurrently List

vkjEHk esa %& 97 vkjEHk esa %& 66 vkjEHk esa %& 47
orZeku esa %& 98 orZeku esa %& 59 orZeku esa %& 52
j{kk] lsuk] fons'kh dk;Z] ;q) yksd O;oLFkk] iqfyl fookg] rykd] ou
'kkafr] jsy ok;qekxZ LFkkuh; 'kklu fnokyk
Mkd o rkj] VsyhQksu d`f"k] i'kq/ku U;kl o U;klh
djsalh o flDds dkjkxkj fo|qr
RBI, ukxfjdrk] ijek.kq ÅtkZ ukV~; 'kkyk] laink 'kqYd dkj[kkus] dher fu;a=.k
U.N.O. chek |wr tUe] e`R;q iathdj.k
izR;iZ.k (Extradition)] cktkj] esys jk"Vªh; tyekxZ
'ks;j cktkj] jk"Vªh; jktekxZ lkgwdkjh] xSl lkekftd lqj{kk
(Money Lending, Gas) vkSj lkekftd chek
isVsaV] cSad] fons'kh _.k ckV yksd LokLF;
o ekiksa ds ekud fu;r djuk eknd fydj
If there is any overlapping between Union and State list, then preference will be given
to the Union list. Principle of supremacy of federation.
Judgments of the Court
 Predominance of Union List
 Giving widest meaning to each entry
 Ancillary and subsidiary matters also come. 1. Land 2.Tax
 Harmonious construction
 Pith and Substance
 Colourable Legislation- fraud with the constitution which is directly ....... Harmony
or ill-will is not seen ……
 Doctrine of Reading Down - Giving restricted meaning to broad or ambiguous words
 Ultra Vires and Repugnancy – State-Law on Union List = Void
State – Law on Concurrent List – inconsistency = whole of the law is not void
 Doctrine of Occupied Field: State law cannot co-exist even if there is no repugnancy
between Union law and State law.
 Assam: qualification of membership of Industrial Tribunal. H.C. consultation required.
Article - 247
 Parliament can establish additional courts.
Article - 248
 Residuary powers have been conferred on the Union. (Subjects other than those
mentioned in Union, State and Concurrent List)
Article - 249
 The Rajya Sabha by passing a resolution with a two-thirds majority can give the
Parliament the authority to make law on the subject of the State List. This law will
prevail for 1 year and the Rajya Sabha can pass the resolution again and extend it
for more than 1 year.
Article - 250
 During the national emergency, Parliament can legislate on the subject of the State
List.
 This law will remain in force for 6 months even after the emergency ceases to operate.

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Polity Notes
Article - 252
 If two or more states request the Center, Parliament can legislate on the subject of
the State List.
 This law will apply only to those states who have made such a request.
Ex. Wild life protection Act 1972
Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act 1974
Human Organs Transplant Act 1994
Article - 253
 Parliament can legislate on the subject of the state list to implement any international
treaty or agreement.
Ex. United Nation (Privileges and Immunities) Act. 1947
Geneva Convention Act. 1960
Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982
Legislations relating to environment and TRIPS
Article - 251
 If there is an inconsistency between the laws made by Parliament and the state
legislature on any subject of the State List, then the Act passed by Parliament shall
prevail.
Article – 254
 If both the Parliament and the state legislature enact laws on the concurrent list and
there is an inconsistency in these laws then the parliamentary law shall prevail.
Article - 255
 If a bill requires the prior approval of the President or the Governor but the bill has
been passed without prior approval, on that basis only the act will not be invalid.
Legislative Supremacy of Union legislature in other Matters
 Parliament can make laws for an institution by declaring it of national importance. 
 If President’s rule is imposed in the state, Parliament can make laws on the subject
of the state list for that state.
 The Act passed by the State Legislature may be reserved by the Governor for the
President.
 Prior approval of the President is necessary before introducing the Bill in the State
Legislature on certain subjects of the State List such as - If the Bill imposes any
restrictions on the freedom of trade commerce.
 At the time of financial emergency, the President can direct that the money bill and
other finance bills passed by the State Legislature should be reserved for the President.
 The Union has more legislative powers and residuary powers are also given to the
Union and on many occasions the Union may encroach upon the legislative powers
of the states but the states legislature cannot encroach upon the subject of the Union
List.

Administrative Relations between Centre and State

(Article 255-263)
Article 256: Obligations of States and the Union.
 Centre can give directions to state regarding implementation of Parliamentary Acts.

Article 257: Control of Union over States in certain cases

 State will exercise its executive powers in such a way that it does not infringe on the
executive powers of Centre.

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Polity Notes
 Centre can give directions to State regarding preservation and maintenance of
railways, National Highways etc.
Article 350(a): Facility for instructions in mother tongue at Primary stage.
 If people speaking a particular language in a state are sufficient in number, they can
request President to include their language in local administration. If the President
is satisfied, he can instruct the state to make arrangements in this regard. (for a part
of state or the whole state).
Article 347: Special provisions relating to language spoken by section of population of state.
 Centre can instruct state government to provide for education of linguistic minorities
in their mother tongue.
Article 339: Control of the Union over the administration and welfare of SC,STs
 Centre can give instructions to states regarding formulating special schemes and
programmes for the development of SC/STs.
Article 244: Administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
 Centre can direct the States to make special schemes and programmes for the
development of Scheduled and Tribal areas.
Article 275: Grants from Union to certain States.
 Centre can provide grants to the state.
 Centre can set special conditions for the grants and therefore, these conditions are a
kind of instructions only.
Article 311:
 Dismissal, removal, or decrease in the rank of person employed in civil capacity
under Union or State.
 Special protection provided to the officers of All India Services.
 Their service conditions, salaries, allowances are determined by the centre.
 They remain at the pleasure of the President.
 State cannot take action against them, although they run the whole administration
of State.
Article 356: Provision in case of failure of constitutional machinery in state.
 Centre can impose President's rule in the state and can assume all executive powers
of the states.
Article 352:
 During National Emergency, centre can give directions to state governments.
Article 360: During Financial Emergency, centre can give financial directions to state
governments.
 Governor is the executive head of the state and is appointed by the President.
 Central government can set up an inquiry commission against the Chief Minister.
 Centre can deploy paramilitary forces in states to maintain law and order (even
without state's consent.)
Article 263: Inter State Council
 Established in 1990 on the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission.
 It is a platform for discussion between union and states.
 It can play an important role in resolving disputes between centre and states.
 PM is ex-officio chairperson.

Page No. [4]

Polity Notes

Financial Relations between Centre and State

[Article 264-300(A)]
 Article 266: Consolidated Fund, Public Account
 Article 267: Contingency Fund
 Article 268: Taxes imposed by centre but collected and appropriated by states.
1. Stamp duty
2. Excise duty on medicines
3. Excise duty on cosmetics
 Article 269: Taxes imposed and collected by centre and distributed among states.
1. Sales tax on newspapers.
2. Tax on inter-state trade and transport.
 Article 269(A): IGST.
 Article 270:
 Taxes imposed and collected by centre and shared between union and states on the
recommendations of Finance Commission.
 All those taxes excluding under Art. 268, 269 and 271 are included in this. Ex- GST,
income tax, customs duty.
 Article 271:
 Cess and Surcharge come under this, which are not shared by centre with states.
 80th Constitutional Amendment 2000:
 Article 275: Grants given to states by the Centre.
 Article 279(A): GST Council.
 Article 280: Finance Commission
 Constituted by President every 5 years which has a Chairman and 4 other members
(total 5).
 4 Members are-
 Finance specialists
 Legal specialists
 Experienced in public accounts.
 Experienced in public service.
Functions -
 To determine the formulae for division of taxes between union and states under Article
270.
 Recommendations regarding grants to states.
 Any other matter referred to by the President.

Page No. [1]

Polity Notes

Tension Areas in Centre-State Relations

 Mode of appointment and dismissal of governor
 Discriminatory and partisan role of governors
 Imposition of President's Rule for partisan interests
 Deployment of Central forces in the states to maintain law and order
 Reservation of state bills for the consideration of the President
 Discrimination in financial allocations to the states
 Role of Planning Commission in approving state projects
 Management of All-India Services (IAS, IPS, and IFS)
 Use of electronic media for political purposes
 Appointment of enquiry commissions against the chief ministers
 Sharing of finances (between Centre and states)
 Encroachment by the Centre on the State List.
 Use of Article 3 (for reorganisation of states).

Frist Administrative Reforms Commission

 Constituted in 1966 under the chairmanship of Morarji Desai (resigned) followed by K
Hanumanthayya.
 Submitted recommendations in 1969.
 It made 22 recommendations for improving the Centre-state relations.
 Establishment of an Inter-State Council under Article 263 of the Constitution.
 Appointment of persons having long experience in public life and administration and
non-partisan attitude as governors.
 Delegation of powers to the maximum extent to the states.
 Transferring of more financial resources to the states to reduce their dependency upon
the Centre.
 Deployment of Central armed forces in the states either on their request or otherwise.
 No action was taken by the Central government on the recommendations of the ARC.

Sarkaria Commission: Ranjeet Singh Sarkaria

 Constituted in 1983.
 Recommendations submitted in 1987.
 Total of 247 recommendations submitted.
 A permanent Inter-State Council should be set up under Article 263.
 Article 356 (President's Rule) should be used as a last resort and should not be misused.
 After the report of governer……..
 Report Compect , Clear , All Facts.
 Report :- Media
 Give chance to Executive Government.
 To not dissolve the Legislative Assembly
 The institution of All-India Services should be further strengthened and some more
such services should be created.

Page No. [1]

Polity Notes
 The National Development Council (NDC) should be renamed as the National Eco-
nomic and Development Council (NEDC).
 The Zonal Councils should be made more proactive.
 The procedure of consulting the Chief Minister in the appointment of the State Gover-
nor should be prescribed in the Constitution itself.
 Eminent Person…….
 Ruling Party
 Minority
 Consultations with Vice President and Lok Sabha Speaker
 The Governor's term of five years in a state should not be disturbed except for some
extremely compelling reasons.
 Give reason for removal
 Give a chance to present views in both the Houses
 If hung assembly…..4 options
 If any resolution is passed for Legislative Council then it should be tabled in Parliament
within a definite time limit.
 Discretionary powers provided under Art. 163
 The Centre should keep powers to deploy central forces in the states (even without the
consent of states)
 The net proceeds of the corporation tax may be made permissibly shareable with the
states.
 The Centre should consult the states before making a law on a subject of the Concurrent
List.
 Need of uniform law in national interest
 Counsel in Inter-state Council
 No change in the role of Rajya Sabha
 No commission of enquiry should be set up against a Chief Minister unless a demand is
made by the Parliament.
 No change in Article 3 (Centre's power to reorganise the states)
 Steps should be taken to uniformly implement the three language formula in its true
spirit.
 A Commission for linguistic minorities should be constituted.
 No autonomy for radio and television services to the states.
 If State Bill is reserved for president-within 4 Months
 If President return it for reconsideration - within 2 months
 When the President withholds his assent to the state bills, he should also state the rea-
sons.
 If State ordinance is reserved than president has to decide within 15 day
 State Government Should not Repromulgate ordinance more than one time.
 The residuary powers of taxation should continue to remain with the Centre, while the
other residuary powers should be given to the states.
 Education: - standards set by Centre
 UGC- Implementation by State
 30 days time should be given to CM
 Transfer of High Court Judge should be done according to his/her choice.
 Language of common people
 Minerals , Natural Gas - 2 Year

Page No. [2]

Punchhi Commission
iqaNh vk;ksx
Punchhi Commission Madan Mohan Punchhi
iqaNh vk;ksx enu eksgu iqaNh
❖ Constituted-2007.
bldk xBu 2007 esa loksZPp U;k;ky; ds HkwriwoZ U;k;k/kh’k enu eksgu iqaNh dh v/;{krk esa fd;k
x;kA
❖ Recommendations- 2010.
blus 2010 esa viuh flQkfj’ksa izLrqr dhA
❖ Some broad agreement is reached flQkfj'ksa%&
between the Union and states before • leorhZ lwph ij dkuwu cukus ls igys
introducing legislation in Parliament on
la?k dks jkT;ksa ds lkFk O;kid le>kSrk
matters in the Concurrent List.
djuk pkfg, ¼leorhZ lwph esa
❖ He Union should be extremely
restrained in asserting Parliamentary
mYysf[kr fo"k;ksa ij½
supremacy in matters assigned to the
states. Greater flexibility to states in
• dsoy lalnh; loksZPprk fl) djus ds
relation to subjects in the State List and fy, la?k dks leorhZ lwph ds fo"k;ksa
“transferred items” in the Concurrent ij dkuwu ugha cukuk pkfg,A
List is the key for better Centre-state
relations. • ;fn jk"Vªfgr esa dkuwu dh ,d:irk
❖ The Union should not make legislations vko’;d gks rks gh l?k dks leorhZ
on concurrent list just to prove lwph ij dkuwu cukuk pkfg,A
Parliamentary supremacy.
❖ There should be a continuing auditing
role for the Inter-state Council in the
matters relating to legislations on
concurrent list.
❖ The President also to decide on
assenting or withholding assent to a
state bill reserved for his consideration
by the governor within 6 months. (Art.
200).
❖ While selecting Governors, the following
guidelines should be followed-
(i) He should be eminent in some walk of
life
(ii) He should be a person from outside
the stat
• leorhZ lwph ij dkuwu cukrs le;
vUrjkZT;h; ifj"kn~ dks vads{k.k dk
vf/kdkj fn;k tkuk pkfg,
• ;fn jkT;iky jkT; ds fo/ks;d dks
jk"Vªifr ds fy, vkjf{kr j[krk gS rks
jk"Vªifr dks 6 ekg ds Hkhrj vo’;
dksbZ fu.kZ; ysuk pkfg, ¼vuqPNsn&200½
• jkT;iky dh fu;qfDr ds le; fuEu
ckrksa dk /;ku j[kk tkuk pkfg,&
o izfrf"Br O;fDr jkT;iky cusA
o og jkT; ls ckgj dk O;fDr gksA
(iii) He should be a detached figure and
o jkT; dh LFkkuh; jktuhfr esa lfØ;
not too intimately connected with the
local politics of the states Hkwfedk uk jgh gksA
(iv) He should be a person who has not o fiNys dqN le; ls jktuhfr esa
taken too great a part in politics lfØ; uk jgk gksA
generally and particularly in the
recent past • jkT;iky dks fcuk fdlh Bksl dkj.k ds
5 lky ds dk;Zdky ls iwoZ ugha gVk;k
❖ Governor’s removal should be like the
impeachment process of the President tkuk pkfg,A
and it should be included in the • jk"Vªifr dh Hkk¡fr jkT;iky dks gVkus
Constitution.
ds fy, Hkh egkfHk;ksx dh izfØ;k dk
❖ Article 163 does not give the Governor
izko/kku gks rFkk bls lafo/kku esa tksM+k
discretionary powers. Therefore he
should act with the advice of council of tk,A
ministers.
❖ Article 163 does not give the Governor
discretionary powers. Therefore he
should act with the advice of council of
ministers.
❖ In respect of bills passed by the
Legislative Assembly, the Governor
should take the decision within 6
months
❖ In the case of a hung assembly then the
largest party or coalition formed before
the election should be invited by the
governor to form a government by the
Governor (pre-poll coalition should be
treated as a party).
• vuqPNsn 163 ds rgr~ jkT;iky dks
foosdk/khu 'kfDr ugha nh xbZ gS vr%
jkT;iky dks ea=hifj"kn~ dh lykg ls dk;Z
djuk pkfg,A
• fo/kkulHkk }kjk ikfjr fd, x, fdlh
fo/ks;d ij jkT;iky dks 6 ekg ds Hkhrj
fu.kZ; ysuk gksxkA
• ;fn fo/kkulHkk ds vke&pqukoksa es afdlh
ny dks Li"V cgqer ugha feyrk gS rks
pquko iwoZ ds lcls cM+s xBca/ku vFkok
jktuhfrd ny dks ljdkj cukus ds fy,
vkeaf=r djuk pkfg,A ¼pquko iwoZ ds
xBca/ku dks ,d jktuhfrd ny gh ekuk
tkuk pkfg,½
❖ The Governor should select the Chief
Minister in the order of preference
indicated here.
1. The group of parties which had pre-poll
alliance commanding the largest number
2. The largest single party staking a claim
to form the government with the support
of others
3. A post-electoral coalition with all
partners joining the government
4. A post-electoral alliance with some
parties joining the government and the
remaining including independents
supporting the government from outside
❖ ljdkj cukus gsrq vkeaf=r djrs le;
fuEufyf[kr Øe dk /;ku j[kk tkuk
pkfg,A
1- pquko iwoZ xBca/ku okys nyksa dk lewg
ftlds ikl lcls cM+h la[;k gksA
2- lcls cM+k jktuhfrd ny tks nwljksa ds
leFkZu ls ljdkj cukus dk nkok is'k djsaA
3- pquko ckn dk lcls cM+k xBca/ku ftlesa
lHkh ny ljdkj esa 'kkfey gksuk pkgrs gSA
4- pquko ckn dk xBca/ku ftlesa lHkh ny
ljdkj esa 'kkfey uk gks jgs gksA dqN ny
'kkfey gksuk pkgrs gks vkSj dqN ckgj
jgdj leFkZu nsuk pkgrs gksA
❖ Before dismissal, a Chief Minister
should get a chance to prove his
majority on the floor of the House
❖ All non-constitutional responsibilities
should be taken away from the
governor like that of Governors acting
as Chancellors of Universities.
❖ Emergencies under Art. 352 and 356
should be declared as a last resort.
Conditions should be made stricter.
❖ The guidelines set forth in the
judgement of the Supreme Court in S.R.
Bommai Case (1994) should be
incorporated in the Constitution.
• eq[;ea=h dks gVkus ls iwoZ mls ¶yksj
VsLV dk volj fn;k tkuk pkfg,A
• jkT;iky ls lHkh xSj&laoS/kkfud nkf;Ro
ys fy, tkus pkfg, tSls& fo’ofo|ky;ksa
ds dqykf/kifr dk nkf;RoA
• vuqPNsn 352 o 356 ds rgr vkikrdky
dh mn~?kks"k.kk vafre fodYi ds :i esa
gh dh tkuh pkfg,A budh 'krsZ dfBu
cukbZ tk,A
• ,l-vkj- cksEebZ okn 1994 esa mPpre
U;k;ky; }kjk fn, x, fu.kZ;ksa dks
lafo/kku esa tksMk+ tk,A
❖ Instead of dissolving the council of
ministers and the legislature under
Art.356, there should be a provision for
“localised emergency”
❖ Suitable amendments to Article 263 are
required to make the Inter-State Council a
credible, powerful and fair mechanism for
management of inter- state and Centre-
state differences.
❖ The Zonal Councils should be made more
active and should meet at least twice a
year.
❖ Like the Empowered Committee of
Finance Ministers of States, an
empowered committee of CMs should be
constituted.
• vuqPNsn 356 ds rgr ea=hifj"kn~ o
jkT; dh fo/kkulHkk dks Hkax djus dh
ctk; LFkkuh; vkikrdky dk fodYi
j[kk tkuk pkfg,A
• vuqPNsn 263 ds rgr xfBr
vUrjjkZT;h; ifj"kn~ vf/kd fo’oluh;]
'kfDr’kkyh rFkk fu"i{k gksuh pkfg,A
• bldh Hkwfedk dks vf/kd izHkkoh cuk;k
tkuk pkfg,A
• {ks=h; ifj"knksa dks vf/kd lfØ; fd;k
tkuk pkfg, rFkk o"kZ esa de ls de nks
cSBd vfuok;Z dh tkuh pkfg,A
❖ New all-India services in sectors like
health, education, engineering and
judiciary should be created.
❖ To make the federal structure stronger,
the powers of Rajya Sabha should be
enlarged making it more effective. Also
states should be given equal
representation in Rajya Sabha.
❖ The scope of devolution of powers to
local bodies to act as institutions of self-
government should be constitutionally
defined through appropriate
amendments.
❖ The royalty rates on major minerals
should be revised at least every 3 years.
• jkT;ksa ds foÙkeaf=;ksa dh ,EikoMZ desVh
dh Hkk¡fr jkT;ksa ds eq[;eaf=;ksa dh
,EikoMZ desVh dk Hkh xBu gksuk
pkfg,A
• ubZ vf[ky Hkkjrh; lsokvksa dk l`tu
fd;k tkuk pkfg,& 1- LokLF; 2- f'k{kk
3- bathfu;fjax 4- JfedA rFkk budk
izca/ku ;Fkkor~ dsUnz ds ikl gh jgsA
• la?kh; <k¡ps dks l’kDr djus ds fy,
jkT;lHkk dh 'kfDr;ksa dks c<+k;k tkuk
pkfg, rkfd bldh Hkwfedk vf/kd
izHkkoh gks rFkk jkT;lHkk esa jkT;ksa dks
leku izfrfuf/kRo fn;k tkuk pkfg,A
❖ The share of cesses and surcharges
should be brought down in the central
pool of taxes.
❖ The Finance Commission, which
functions as a division in the Ministry
of Finance should be separated, and
should have its separate secretariat.
• dsUnzh; dj laxzg esa midj o vf/kHkkj
dh fgLlsnkjh dks lhfer fd;k tk,A
• foÙk vk;ksx tks orZeku esa foÙk ea=ky;
ds v/khu foHkkx ds :i esa dk;Z djrk
gS] bls vyx fd;k tk, rFkk bldk
i`Fkd lfpoky; gksA
Polity
 FEDERAL SYSTEM UNITARY SYSTEM

1. Written Constitution 1. Constitution may be written (France) or unwritten

2. Supremacy of the Constitution (Britain)
2. Constitution may be supreme (Japan) or may not
3. Constitution is source of powers
be supreme (Britain)
4. Rigid Constitution 3. Not necessary that Constitution is source of
5. States have residuary powers powers.
6. Provision of Judicial Review 4. Constitution may be rigid (France) or flexible
7. Dual Constitution (Centre & States have separate (Britain)
5. Centre has residuary powers
constitution
6. No provision of Judicial Review
8. Dual citizenship 7. Single Constitution
9. Dual legislature 8. Single citizenship
10. Dual Executive 9. Single legislature
11. Dual Judiciary 10. Single Executive
11. Single Judiciary
12. States have more powers
12. Centre has more powers
13. Example: U.S.A. 13. Example: Britain
 la?kkRed O;oLFkk ,dkRed O;oLFkk
1- fyf[kr lafo/kku gksrk gSA 1- lafo/kku fyf[kr vFkok vfyf[kr nksuksa izdkj dk gksrk
2- lafo/kku dh loksZPprk gksrh gSA gSA
3- lafo/kku 'kfDr;ksa dk L=ksr gksrk gSA 2- lafo/kku dh loksZPprk ugha gksrh
3- vko’;d ugha fd lafo/kku 'kfDr;ksa dk L=ksr gks@dsUnz
4- dBksj lafo/kku
'kfDr dk L=ksr gksrk gSA
5- vof’k"V 'kfDr;k¡ jkT;ksa ds ikl gksrh gSA 4- yphyk lafo/kku
6- U;kf;d iqujkoyksdu dk izko/kku ikl gksrh gSA 5- vof’k"V 'kfDr;k¡ dsUnz ds ikl gksrh gSA
7- nksgjk lafo/kku ¼dsUnz] jkT;ksa dk i`Fkd&i`Fkd½ 6- U;kf;d iqujkoyksdu dk izko/kku ugha gksrk gSA
8- nksgjh ukxfjdrk 7- ,dy lafo/kku
8- ,dy ukxfjdrk
9- nksgjh fo/kkf;dk
9- ,dy fo/kkf;dk
10- nksgjh dk;Zikfydk
10- ,dy dk;Zikfydk
11- nksgjh U;k;ikfydk 11- ,dy U;k;ikfydk
12- jkT;ksa ds ikl vf/kd 'kfDr;k¡ 12- dsUnz ds ikl vf/kd 'kfDr;k¡
13- mnkgj.k & ;w-,l-,- 13- mnkgj.k & fczVsu
FEDERAL FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
❖ Written Constitution
❖ Supremacy of the Constitution
❖ Constitution is the source of powers which means it
provides powers to both Union and States.
❖ Constitution is rigid in case of amendment of
Centre-State relations
❖ Provision of judicial review which means the Union
can not make any arbitrary amendments to the
constitution or pass any arbitrary bills
❖ Dual Legislature
✓ Parliament
✓ State Legislature
❖ Dual Executive- Separate government of Centre and
States
Hkkjrh; lafo/kku dh ifjla?kh; fo’ks"krk,¡
❖ fyf[kr lafo/kku
❖ lafo/kku dh loksZPprk
❖ lafo/kku 'kfDr;ksa dk L=ksr gS vFkkZr~ la?k ,oa
jkT; nksuksa dks 'kfDr lafo/kku iznku djrk gSA
❖ dsUnz jkT; laca/kksa esa la’kks/ku ds ekeys esa Hkkjrh;
lafo/kku dBksj gSA
❖ U;kf;d iqujkoyksdu dk izko/kku gS ftl dkj.k
la?k euekuk la’kks/ku ugha dj ldrk vkSj uk gh
euekuk fo/ks;d ikfjr dj ldrk gSA
❖ nksgjh fo/kkf;dk
✓ laln
✓ jkT; fo/kkue.My
❖ nksgjh dk;Zikfydk& dsUnz o jkT;ksa dh
vyx&vyx ljdkj
 UNITARY FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
❖ Single Constitution- meaning no separate
constitution of states.
❖ Single Citizenship
❖ Centre has more legislative powers(Union
list has more items than State list)
❖ Centre have residuary powers
❖ Union has been given priority in
Concurrent list.
❖ Centre can encroach over items of state list
(Art. 249,250,252,253)
❖ Governor can reserve the bills passed by
State Legislature for the President.
❖ Appointment of Governor in States by the
Centre.
❖ Centre can give directions to State on many
matters(Art. 256,257,350(A),339,347)
Hkkjrh; lafo/kku ,d ,dkRed fo’ks"krk,¡
• ,dy lafo/kku & vFkkZr~ jkT;ksa ds i`Fkd lafo/kku ugha gSA
• ,dy ukxfjdrk
• dsUnz ds ikl vf/kd fo/kk;h 'kfDr;k¡ gS ¼la?k lwph esa
jkT; lwph ls vf/kd fo"k;½
• vof'k"V 'kfDr;k¡ dsUnz ds ikl gSA
• leorhZ lwph ij la?k dks iz/kkurk nh xbZ gSA
• dsUnz jkT; lwph ds fo"k; ij vfrØe.k dj ldrk gS
¼&vuqPNsn&249] 250] 252] 253½
• jkT;iky jkT;fo/kkue.My ds fo/ks;d dks jk"Vªifr ds
fy, vkjf{kr j[k ldrk gSA
• jkT;ksa esa jkT;iky dh fu;qfDr dsUnz ds }kjk dh tkrh
gSA
• vusd ekeyksa esa dsUnz jkT;ksa dks funsZ’k ns ldrk gS
¼vuqPNsn&256] 257] 350¼,½] 339] 347½
 UNITARY FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
❖ Provision of deployment of Central forces in states.
❖ Inquiry against Chief Minister.
❖ Centre has more financial resources.
❖ Election Commissioners appointed by Centre.
❖ CAG appointed by the Centre which audits both
Centre and States.
❖ Integrated Judiciary.
❖ No Equality of State Representation(like USA) in
Rajya Sabha, where representation is given on the
basis of population.
❖ Indian Constitution becomes unitary in all the
three types of Emergencies(Art. 352,356,360)
❖ All India Services managed by Centre.
❖ According to Article-3, Union can create new States
and also change the boundary, area, name of the
State.
❖ Flexible Constitution- Many amendments can be
passed by simple majority and most of the
amendments do not require consent of the states.
Hkkjrh; lafo/kku ,d ,dkRed fo’ks"krk,¡
• jkT;ksa esa dsUnzh; cyksa dh fu;qfDr dk izko/kku
• eq[;ea=h ds fo:) tk¡p
• foÙkh; lalk/ku dsUnz ds ikl vf/kd gSA
• fuokZpu vk;qDrksa dh fu;qfDr dsUnz }kjk fd;k tkukA
• CAG dh fu;qfDr dsUnz }kjk dh tkrh gS tks dsUnz o jkT;
nksuksa dk vads{k.k djrk gSA
• ,dy U;k;ikfydk
• jkT;lHkk esa jkT;ksa dks leku izfrfuf/kRo ¼vesfjdk dh Hkk¡fr½ ugha
fn;k x;k gS cfYd jkT;ksa dks jkT;lHkk esa tula[;k ds vk/kkj
ij izfrfuf/kRo fn;k x;k gSA
• rhuksa izdkj ds vkikrdky esa Hkkjrh; lafo/kku ,dkRed gks tkrk
gS ¼vuqPNsn 352] 356] 360½
• vf[ky Hkkjrh; lsokvksa dk izc/a ku dsUnz }kjk fd;k tkrk gSA
• vuqPNsn&3 ds rgr~ la?k u, jkT; dk xBu rFkk jkT;ksa ds lhek]
{ks=] uke esa cnyko dj ldrk gSA
• yphyk lafo/kku& lafo/kku esa vusd la’kks/ku lk/kkj.k cgqer ls
fd, tk ldrs gS rFkk vf/kdka’k lafo/kku la’kks/kuksa esa jkT;ksa dh
lgefr vko’;d ugha gSA
✓ mi;ZDr rF;ksa ls Li"V gS fd Hkkjrh; lafo/kku
esa ^QsMjy* ¼la?kkRed½ o ^;wfu;u* ¼,dkRed½
nksuksa dh fo’ks"krk,¡ gS blfy, bls ^v)Z
ifjla?kh;* dgk tkrk gSA
✓ ;|fi lafo/kku esa dgha ij Hkh ^QsMjy* 'kCn dk
iz;ksx ugha fd;k x;k gS cfYd lHkh txg
^;wfu;u* 'kCn dk iz;ksx fd;k x;k gSA
✓ MkW- Hkhejko vEcsMd+ j ds vuqlkj 'kkafrdky esa
Hkkjrh; lafo/kku la?kh; (Federal) gS rFkk
vkikrdky ds nkSjku ;g ,dkRed (Union) gks
tkrk gSA
✓ fofHkUu vk;ksxksa ljdkfj;k vk;ksx] iqaNh vk;ksx
o mPpre U;k;ky; us Hkh Hkkjrh; lafo/kku dh
ewy izd`fr dks la?kh; (Federal) ekuk gSA
✓ QsMjy LVªDpj ¼la?kh; lajpuk½ dks lafo/kku dk
cqfu;knh <k¡pk ekuk x;k gSA
❖ It is clear from the above facts that the Indian
constitution has the characteristics of both
'federal' and unitary', hence it is called ‘quasi-
federal’.
❖ Although the word 'federal' has not been used
anywhere in the constitution, the word 'union'
has been used everywhere.
❖ According to Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the
Indian constitution in peacetime is federal and
it becomes unitary during the Emergency.
❖ Various Commissions Sarkaria Commission,
Punchhi Commission and Supreme Court have
also considered the basic nature of Indian
Constitution as federal.
❖ The federal structure has been considered the
basic structure of the constitution.
 Reasons for the development of
Hkkjr esa la?kokn ds fodkl ds dkj.k federalism in India

1. {ks=h; nyksa dk mn; & 1967 esa {ks=h; nyksa dk 1. Rise of regional parties - Regional parties
mn; gqvkA emerged in 1967.
2. 1977 esa turk ikVhZ dk mn; & blesa {ks=h; usrk 2. Rise of Janata Party in 1977 - Regional
leaders were more influential in this.
vf/kd izHkko’kkyh FksA
3. Coalition politics
3. xBca/ku dh jktuhfr 4. Economic reforms of 1991
4. 1991 ds vkfFkZd lq/kkj i. States' dependence on center
✓ jkT;ksa dh dsUnz ij fuHkZjrk de gqbZ decreased
✓ jkT;ksa ds foÙkh; lalk/ku c<+s ii. States' financial resources increased
5. dsUnzh; djksa esa jkT;ksa dh fgLlsnkjh vf/kd gksuk 5. States' share in central taxes to be higher
6. U;kf;d lfØ;rk 6. Judicial activism
7. bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k dh lfØ;rk 7. Active role of electronic media.
8. Lack of political awareness among
8. Ykksxksa esa jktuhfrd tkx:drk dk vHkko
people
9. Ukhfr vk;ksx dk xBu & ;kstuk fuekZ.k esa jkT;ksa dh 9. Formation of NITI Aayog - The role of
Hkwfedk c<+h gSA states in planning has increased.
Polity Notes

Constitution Amendment
Table of Precedence
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Prime Minister
4. Governors of states within their respective states
5. Former presidents
5-A. Deputy Prime Minister
6. Chief Justice of India Speaker of Lok Sabha
7. Cabinet Ministers of the Union
Chief Ministers of States (within their respective States)
Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog, Former Prime Ministers
Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
7-A. Holders of Bharat Ratna decoration
8. Ambassadors (High Commissioners)
Chief Ministers of States (outside their respective States)
Governors of States outside their respective States
9. Judges of Supreme Court
9-A. Chairperson, Union Public Service Commission
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG)
10. Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha
Deputy Chief Ministers (of States) Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha
Members of the NITI Aayog
Ministers of State (of the Union)
11. Attorney General of India, Cabinet Secretary, Lieutenant Governors
12. Chiefs of Staff of Armed Forces.
13. Envoys
14. Chairmen and Speakers of State Legislatures, Chief Justices of High Courts
15. Cabinet Ministers in States, Chief Ministers of Union Territories, Deputy Ministers (of the
Union)

Constitutional Amendment
(Part- XX, Article 368)
 The Part- XX, Article 368 of the Constitution gives powers to the Parliament to amend the
Constitution. However, the Parliament cannot amend the provisions which are related to
the Basic Structure of the Constitution.

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Polity Notes

Invisible Amendment:
 Often changes occur in Constitution due to decisions of the judiciary as well as orders of the
government. But these are not explicitly visible and come under invisible amendments.
Eg-  Changes in Article-21 due to Maneka Gandhi Case
 Collegium system was added to Article 124
 Concept of Basic Structure under Article 368
 Article -35 A etc.
Those Amendments in which the text do not change
Eg.  Article 11- Parliament can make laws related to the Citizenship
 Article 124- The number of judges of the Supreme Court is mentioned as 7+1 in the
Constitution. However, Parliament is also given the right to increase the number of
judges.
Types of Amendments to the Constitution-
 There can be three types of amendments to the Constitution-
Amendments by Simple Majority of Parliament-
 The provision for this type of amendment is not under Article 368.
 Following amendments can be made through simple majority-
 Creation of new states
 Creation of Legislative Council in states
 Rules of procedure of Parliament
 Parliamentary Privileges
 Acquisition and termination of citizenship
 Changes in first, second, fifth and sixth schedules
Amendments by Special Majority of Parliament and consent of half of the State Legislatures-
Eg-  Centre-State legislative relations
 Centre-State executive relations
 Centre- State financial relations
 Jurisdiction of Supreme and High Courts

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Polity Notes
 Election of the President
 Amendments to Article 368
 Representation of States in the Parliament
Amendments by Special Majority of the Constitution
Eg-  Fundamental Rights
 Directive Principles of State Policy
 All matters which are not listed in either of the above categories
Procedure for Constitutional Amendment Bill: (Article-368)
 Prior consent of the President is not required for Constitutional Amendment Bill.
 This can be introduced in any House of the Parliament.
 This is passed by special majority of both the Houses.
 Joint Sitting cannot be called if there is a disagreement between both the Houses.
 If Centre-State relations are being impacted then the bill has to be passed by the State
Legislatures also. State Legislatures can either accept or reject the bill but cannot amend
it. This bill has to be passed by simple majority of the State Legislatures. The bill has to
be passed by more than half of the State Legislatures. Consent of State Legislative Coun-
cil is not required.
 After this, the bill is presented to the President. President is bound to give assent to the
bill (added by the 24th Constitutional Amendment). President can neither withhold as-
sent nor send it for reconsideration of the Parliament.
 Therefore, it is clear from the above description it is clear that the Parliament can amend
any part of the Constitution but cannot tamper with the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
Which means the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution is not absolute, it has been
curtailed by the doctrine of Basic Structure.

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 SPRINGBOARD ACADEMY 1
Indian Polity

Comptroller and Auditor General of India

 The Constitution of India (Art-148) provides for an independent office of the CAG of India.
 He is the head of the India Audit and accounts department.
 He is the Guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country
at both the levels the center and the state.

 Appointment and Term :-

1. The CAG is appointed by the president.
2. He shall take an oath or affirmation before president.
3. Tenure - six years or unto 65 (age)
4. He can resign any time from his office by addressing the resignation letter to the
president.

 Removal - He can also be removed by the president on same grounds and in the same
manner as a judge of the S.C. (resolution passed to that effect by both the houses of
Parliament with Special majority the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity)

 Independence :-
1. He is provided with the security of tenure.
2. He is not eligible for further office.
3. His salary and other service conditions are determined by the Parliament.
4. Salary, rights pension are not changed after his appointment.
5. The conditions of service of persons services in the Indian audit and accounts
department and the administrative powers of the CAG are prescribed by the
president after consultation with the CAG
6. The administrative expenses of the office of the CAG are charged upon the
consolidated fund of India.

 Duties and Powers: - The constitution (Art-149) authorizes the Parliament to prescribe the
duties and powers of the CAG. The Parliament enacted the CAG's (duties, powers and
conditions of services) act, 1971. This set was amended in 1976 to separate accounts from
audit in the central government.
1. He audits the accounts related to all expenditure form the consolidated fund of India
and State also.

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2. He audits all expenditure from the contingency fund and public account of India and
every State.
3. He audits all expenditure from any department of the central government and State
Government.
4. He audits the accounts of any other authority when requested by the president or
Governor (Local bodies)
5. He acts as a guide friend and philosopher o the public accounts committee.
Art. 150
6. He advises the president with regard to prescription of the form in which the
accounts the center and the State shall be kept.
7. Art.151 - He submits his audit reports relating to the accounts of the center to
President and the State to Governor.
8. He ascertain and certifies the rent proceed of and tax or duty (Art. 279)
The CAG submits three audit reports to President -
1. Audit report an appropriation accounts
2. Audit report on finance accounts.
3. Audit report on Public undertaking.

 The President lays these reports before both the houses of Parliament. After this, the P.A.C
examines.

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Election Commission
Part – 15 (Article – 324 to 329)
The Commission is a permanent and an independent body. Article 324 Provides that the
power of superintendence, direction and control of election to parliament, state legislature, the
officer of vice – president of India shall be vested in the election commission. It is all India body.
Composition:-
Article 324 has made the following provisions.
1. It shall consist of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
2. All these are appointed by the president.
3. When any other election commissioner is so appointed, the chief election commissioner shall
act as the chairman of the election commission.
4. The president may also appoint after consultation with the election commission such
regional commissions as he may consider necessary to assist the election commission.
5. Service conditions, tenure of office shall be determined by the president.
Note:- 1950 to 15 October 1989, the election commission functioned as a single member
appointed two more election commissioners and the two posts of election commissioners were
abolished in January 1990.
 Again in October 1993 the president appointed two more election commissioners. Now the
commission are a multi-member body.
 All commissioners have equal powers and received equal salary, allowances. Which are
similar to those of a judge of the supreme court.
 In case of difference of opinion amongst the chief election commissioner and / two other
election commissioners, the matter is decided by the commission by majority.
 Tenure – 65 years or 6 years.
 They can resign at any time or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.
Independence:-
1. The chief election commissioner is provided with the security of tenure.
2. He cannot be removed from his office except in same manner and on the same ground as a
judge of S.C. by the president.
3. He does not hold his office till the pleasure of the president.

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4. The service condition of the chief election commissioner cannot be varied to his dis
advantage offer his appointment.
5. Other election commissioner can be removed by president on the recommendation of the
chief election commissioner.
Some Flaws:-
1. The constitution has not prescribed the qualification of the members of commission.
2. The constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners form any further
appointment by the government.
Power and Function:-
It can be classified into three categories.
1. Administrative, 2. Advisory, 3. Quasi-Judicial
In-Detail:-
1. To determine the territorial areas of the electoral constituencies throughout the country on
the basis of the delimitation commission act.
2. To prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls and to register all eligible voters.
3. To notify the dates and schedules of elections.
4. To grant recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.
5. To appoint officers for inquiring into disputes relating to electoral managements.
6. To request the president or the governor for the staff necessary for conducing elections.
7. To advise the president and governor on matter relating to the disqualification of M.P. and
M.L.A.
8. To register political parties for the purpose of elections and grant them the status of national
or state parties on the basis of their poll performance.

Video – 52 Election Commission (Part- 2)

 Stricture
Central Level:- Chief Election Commissioner

Other Commissioners (2)

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State Level - State Election Officer

District - District Election Officer

Subdivision - Sub-District Election Officer

Polling Station - Presiding Officer

Article 325:- No person to be ineligible for inclusion in or to claim to be include in a special
electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste, or sex
Article 326:- Elections to the house of the people and to the legislative assemblies of states to be
on the basis of about suffrage.
Article 327:- Power of parliament ot make provision with respect to election to legislature.
Article 328:- Power of legislature of state to make provision with respect to elections to such
legislature.
Article 329:- Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.
National and state level parties
Under Section-29 (a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Election Commission
registers the parties.
Conditions of getting recognition of national level party:-
1. 6 percent of the total valid votes cast in the election should be obtained from 4 states as well
as 4 seats.
Or
2. 2 percent of the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha have been won from 3 states.
Or
3. If a party is recognized as a state party in at least 4 states.
Conditions for getting recognition of state level party:-
Base -
1. Should have secured 6 per cent of the total valid votes and also 2 seats in the general elections
to the Legislative Assemblies.
Or
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2. Has won 6 per cent of the total valid votes in the Lok Sabha elections as well as one Lok
Sabha seat.
Or
3. At least 3 percent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly or 3 seats,
whichever is more.
Or
4. That party should get one seat in each of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Or
5. He should get 8 percent of the total valid votes in the election to the Lok Sabha or the
Legislative Assembly.

S.No. Political Party Establishment Founder Current Election

President Symbol

1. Indian National 28 December A.O. hum Sonia Gandhi gkFk dk iatk

Congress 1985

2. Bharatiya Janata 6 April 1980 Atal Vajpayee, L.K. J. P. Nadda dey

Party Advani, Bhairon
Singh

3. Communist 1925 M.N. Roy D. Raja g¡fl;k@xsgw¡

Party of India dh ckyh

4. Marxist 1964 S.A. Dange Sitaram g¡fl;k

Communist Yechury gFkkSMk
Party of India rkjk

5. Bahujan Samaj 14 April 1984 Kashiram Mayawati gkFkh

Party

6. Nationalist 1999 Sharad Pawar Sharad Pawar ?kM+h

Congress Party

7. Trinamool 1998 Mamata Banerjee Mamata Qwy iÙkh

Congress Banerjee ?kkl

8. National 2013 PA sangma Conrad iqLrd

People's Party Sangma
(NPP)

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 SPRINGBOARD ACADEMY 7
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Central Vigilance Commission (C.V.C)

The C.V.C is the main agency for preventing corruption in the central government. He
establishment was recommended by the Santhanm Committee (1962-64) Date - 11 Feb 1964 in
2003, the parliament enacted a law conferring statutory Status on the C.V.C.
In 2004, the CVC has been designated as the agency to receive and act on complaints or
disclosure on any allegation of corruption or misuse of office from whistle blowers under the
'Public interest disclosure and protection of informers' "Resolution "

 Composition: - The CVC is a multi-member body consisting of a central vigilance

commissioner and not more than two vigilance commissioners.

 Committee:- They are appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal on the
recommendation of a three member committee consisting of the prime minister a sits head
and -

 Union Minister of Home

 Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha
 Tenure: - 4 year or 65 year (Whichever is earlier) after their tenure, they are not eligible for
further employment under the central or State Government.
The President can remove the Central Vigilance Commissioner or any C.V. Commissioner
from the office and the following circumstances.
1. If he is adjudged an insolvent
2. If he has been convicted of an offence which
3. If he engages in any paid employment outside
4. Infirmity of mind or body
In addition to these, the President can also remove the C.V. Commissioner or any
Commissioner on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity. On the basis of enquiry
and recommendation of the Supreme Court.

 Service Conditions:- The salary allowances and other conditions of Service of the C.V.
Commissioner are similar to those of the chairman of UPSC and that the vigilance
commissioner are similar to those of a member of U.P.S.C

 But they cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

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Function:-
 To exercise superintendence over, to give directions to the Delhi Special Police
Establishment (C.B.I) insofar as it relates to the investigation of offences under the
prevention of corruption Act 1988.
 To review the progress of investigations conducted by the C.B.I.
 To look into a matter referred to by the Central Government.
 To tender advise to the Central Government and its authorities on such matters as are
referred to it by them.
 To exercise superintendence over the vigilance administration in the minister of the Central
Government
 The Central Government is required to consult the CVC in making rules and regulations
governing the vigilance and disciplinary matter and All-India services.
Jurisdiction :-
1. All India Service, Group A officer of Central Government.
2. Public Sector Banks - Officers Scale of 5 and above.
3. Officers of Grade D and above of RBI NABARD and SIDBI Bank.
4. Chief Executive and Executive of the Board of Government Sector Industries and other
officials of Schedule A and B and E-8 and above.
5. Chief Executive and Executive of the Board of Industries of the Government Sector and other
officers of Schedule A and B and E-7 and above.
6. Managers of general insurance companies and officials above them
7. Senior Divisional Manager and above level officer in Life Insurance Corporation.
Procedure of CVC :-
1. The Commission is fully capable of carrying out its proceedings and operates its headquarters
from New Delhi.
2. It has powers like civil court and its character is also judicial.
3. It can demand any information or report from the central government and its authorities so
that it can monitor their vigilance and corruption-free work.
Annual Report :-
President Places before each House of Parliament

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National Human Right Commission

NHRC is a statutory body. It was established in 1993 under a legislation enacted by the
Parliament, Namely, the Protection of Human Right Act 1993.
The Act came into force 28 September, 1993. The Commission is the watching of human
rights in the country.

 The Specific objectives of the establishment of the commission are-

a. To strength the institutional arrangements through which human right issues could
be addressed in their entirety in a more focused manner.
b. To look into allegations of excess, independently of the government, in a manner that
would underline the government commitment to protect human rights.
c. To Complement and strengthen the efforts that have already been made in this
direction .
Composition
 It is multi-member body.
Chairman He should be a retired Chief
Members justice or other judges of S.C.

Members Member

He showed be serving or He should be serving or Three persons having

retired judges of the S.C. retired Chief Justice of known ledger or
High Court practical experience
about H.R.
Note :- there should be a
women of three persons

 The Ex- officio members.

The Chairman of
1. The National Commission for Minorities.
2. The National Commission for S.Cs
3. The National Commission for STs
4. The National Commission for women

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5. The National Commission for B.C. (backward clause)

6. The National Commission for the protection of child rights
7. The National Commission for person with disabilities.

 The Chairman and members are appointed by the president on the recommendation of Six
member Committee -
1. Prime Minister (Head)
2. Speaker (Lok Sabha)
3. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajiya Sabha
4. Leaders of the opposition in both the houses of Parliament
5. The Central Home Minister

 Note: - A Sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or a siting Chief Justice of a high court can be
appointed only after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

 Tenure:- 1. Three years or until they attain the age of 70 years.

(They allow for the reappointment)

 The Removal Process : The President can remove the chairman or any member from the
office under the following circumstances.
1. It he is Adjudged an insolvent.
or
2. If he engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties
of his office.
or
3. If he is unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.
or
4. If he is of unsound mind and stand so declared by a competent court.
or
5. If he is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence.
In addition to these, the President can also remove the chairman or any member on the
ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity. Supreme Court Examines (enquiry) on the
subject or matter.

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 The Salaries, allowances and other conditions of service are determined by the central
Government.
Functions of the Commission –
1. The research, monitoring and evaluation of the operation of all matters relating to the
constitutional and statutory protection of the backward classes.
2. To investigate complaints related to deprived of rights and security.
3. Participation in the socio-economic development of backward classes and giving advice for
it as well as to evaluate the progress related to development.
4. Every year, to submit a report to President on security measures.
5. To give recommendations to the Center or the State for effective implementation of their
security, welfare and socio-economic development measures.
6. Functions assigned by the President.
7. Annual report – President – Parliament
8. Report related to state sent to state government by President.
9. State Government present report before state legislature.
Powers –
The commission has all the power of civil court.
Working of Commission :-
1. It has all the powers of a civil court and its proceedings have judicial character.
2. It may call for information or report from the State Government or any other authority
subordinate there to.
3. It can look into a matter within one year of its occurrence.
4. The Commission may take any of the following steps during an inquiry -
1. It may recommend to the State Government to make payment of compensation or damages
to the victim.
2. It may recommend to the State Government or authority the initiation of proceedings for
prosecution or any other action against the guilty public servant.
3. It may recommend to the State Government for the Grant of immediate interim relief to the
Victim.

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4. If may approach the Supreme Court or the State high Court for the necessary directions
orders or writs.
Drawbacks/ Conclusions :-
1. The Function of the commission are mainly recommendatory in nature.
2. He has no power to punish the violators of human rights, nor the award any relief including
monetary relief to the victim.
3. Notably, its recommendations are not binding on the State Government, but it should be
informed about the action taken on its recommendations within one month.
4. The commission submits its annual or special reports to the State Government. These reports
are laid before the State legislature.

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Central Information Commission

 He was established - 12 Oct 2005
 It was established by the Central Government.
 It was Constituted through an official Gazette Notification under the provisions of the Right
to Information Act (2005)

 It is not a Constitutional Body.

Composition
Chief Information Commissioner
Not more than ten information commissioners
The are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a Committee Consisting
of the Prime Minister (Chairperson) members of committee -
1. Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
2. A Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
Qualification of Commissioner and Chief Commissioners - The should be persons of
eminence in Public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, Science and technology,
Social Service, management, Journalism, Mass media or administration and governance.

 Can't become a member of Commission :-

1. Member of Parliament.
2. Member of the legislature of State.
3. They should not hold any other office of profit.

 Tenure and Service Conditions :-

1. The Central Government will notify the term of office for the CIC and the ICS.
2. They are not eligible for reappointment.

 Removal :- The President can remove the CIC and other ICS, under the Circumstances
similar to those enumerated for the NHRC chairman and member.

 The President can also remove them on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity
which has to be referred to the Supreme Court for an enquiry.

 The Salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of services of the central and state
CIC and ICS will be determined by the Central Government.

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 Function and powers :- To receive and inquire into a complaint from any person
1. Who has been refused requested information
2. Who has not received response to information request with the specified time limits
3. Who thinks the fees charged are unreasonable
4. Who is of the opinion that information give is incomplete, misleading or false
5. Who has not been able to submit an information request because of non- appointment
of a Public Information Officer

 The Commission has the powers of a civil Court in respect of the following matters.
1. Requiring the discovery and inspection of documents.
2. Summoning and enforcing attendance of person.
3. Issuing Summons for examination of witness or documents.

 Report - Is submitted to Central Government.

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Indian Polity

Lokpal
The earliest democratic institution created in the world for the redressal of citizens' grievance is
the Scandinavian institution of ombudsman.
It was first created in Sweden in 1809.

 "Ombud is a Swedish term and refers to a person who acts as the representative of another
person"

 In India :- The ARC-I (1966-1970) recommended the setting up of two special authorities as
'Lokayukta' for the redressal of citizens grievances.

 The Government accepted the recommendation so far

 Ten official attempts have been made to bring about legislation on this subject.
 First - In may 1968, by the Congress Government headed by Indira Gandhi
 Ten th - In December 2011, by the VPA government headed by Manmohan Singh
 Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) :- Lokpal bill has been passed by Rajiya Sabha with
amendments on 17-12-2013 and the Lok SAbha has agreed to the amendments made by
Rajya Sabha on 18-12-2013.
The Bill as Passed by both houses has received the assent of the president on 1-1-2014 . The
Act has been brought into force with effect from 16th January 2014.

 Features :-
1. Lokpal is multi member institutions
i. One is Lokpal
ii. 8 members
2. Chairman - He should be a (present sitting) or retired Chief Justice or other judges
of S.C. or eminent person.
3. 8 Members of Which 50% shall be judicial member and 50% of the member of the
lokpal shall come from amongst the SCs, the STs, the OBCs, minorities and woman

 Note :- Judicial members should be a siting or retired justice of S.C. or Chief Justice of H.C.
 Who shall not become a member of Lokpal
1. If age is below 45
2. If he hold office of Profit

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Indian Polity

3. If he has been convicted of an offence which involes a moral turpitude or offence of

serious nature.
4. If has been an M.P. or M.L.A.

 The Selection of the Chiarperson and the member of Lokpal .

 They shall be through a selection Committee consisting of the -
1. Prime minister 2. The Speaker
3. The leader of the opposite on in the Lok Sabha
4. The Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by the chief
justice of India and
5. An eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India on the basis of
recommendations of the first four members of the Selection Committee

 Jurisdiction of LokPal :-
1. The Prime Minister has been brought under the Lokpal with subject matter
exclusions and specific process.
2. All former and Present Minister.
3. All former and Present M.P.
4. All former and Present Public Servants (A,B,C,D)
5. All civil servant of Public enterprises of India.
6. NGO getting more than 10 lakh grants from abroad .
7. While inquiring, the Lokpal has the powers of Civil Court -
1. Summoning attendance of person to give oral or written evidence.
2. Receiving evidence on affidavit
3. Inspection off documents
4. Requisitioning any Public record from any court of office.
5. Issuing summons for examination of witness or documents
8. The Lokpal will have the power of superintendence and direction over any
investigating agency, including the CBI, for cases referred to them by the Lokpal.
9. Provisions for attachment and confiscation of property of Public servants acquired by
corrupt means.

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 Tenure :- 5 years or until they attain the age of 70 years,

 After the retirement, not permitted for -
1. Reappointment
2. Participation in election procedure,
3. Office of Profit.
4. Holds the office of diplomat

 Removal -
1. Resignation by him

 The removal process: - The President can remove the Lokpal under the Circumstances
Similar to those enumerated for the NHRC Chairman and members.

 Note :- A petition signed by at least 100 M.P.S in the condition of misbehavior or incapacity
shall be presented to the President, which has to be referred to the Supreme Court for
enquiry. President Remove the Lokpal and member when found guilty in Supreme Court
enquiry.
Inquiry -
1. General nature - 3 months
2. Serious Nature - 6 months
3. Prosecution in nature - 1 year
4. If someone makes a false/misleading complaint, there is a provision for strict punishment.
5. The Central Government constitutes a special court for the disposal of cases related to the
Lokpal.
6. Present Lokpal - Pinaki Chandraghosh (1st) took oath on 19 March 2019.
The following are the Drawbacks of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 -
1. The Lokpal cannot initiate any proceedings against a Government servant by taking suomotu
cognizance.
2. The emphasis is on the form of the complaint, not on the content.
3. Stricter penalties for false and fraudulent complaints. Such complaints against government
employees put a check on the complaint with the Lokpal.
4. Anonymous complaint not allowed - Can't complain on plain paper even if it is accompanied
by supporting documents and dropped in the box.

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5. Provision of legal aid to the one who has a complaint against a government employee.
6. Obligation to file complaint within 7 years.

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Indian Polity

NITI AAYOG
(National Institure for Transforning India)
 Before understanding NITI Aayog, it is necessary to know about the Planning Commission,
National Development Council.
Planning Commission
 Established - March 15, 1950 AD (by the Union Council of Ministers)
 It was an non-constitutional body.
 President - Prime Minister (ex-officio)
 Note:- It was established on the basis of the recommendations of the Advisory Planning
Board constituted in the year 1946 AD under the chairmanship of K.C. Niyogi.

 Objective:- To make efficient use of the resources of the nation and to provide employment
and service to the community by increasing production.

 End:- 13 August 2014 AD.

 Planning Commission Other names:-
o Super Cabinet
o Economic Cabinet
o Parallel Cabinet

 Planning was centralized as opposed to federal system.

 It was an advisory body.
National Development Council
 Establishment - August 6, 1952 AD.
 Structure –
1. President - Prime Minister
2. The following members –
i) Chief Ministers of all the states.
ii) All Union Territories – L.G./ Administrate
iii) All the members of the Planning Commission.
iv) Member of the Union Cabinet.

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 Purpose:-
1. To review the National Plan.
2. To ensure balanced development in all parts of the country.
3. Consultant
4. Coordinator

NITI AAYOG
 Establishment - January 1, 2015
 Came in force - 5 January 2015
 It was created by an executive resolution of Government of India.
 It is a non-Constitutional or extra- constitutional and non-Statutory body.
 NITI AAyog is the premier Policy 'Think tank' of the Government of India, Providing both
directional and Policy inputs.

 Composition :-
1. Chairperson - The P.M. of India
2. Governing Council - Chief Minister of all the States and of U.T. with legislature and Lt.
Governors and other officer/Representative.
3. Regional Council: - These are formed to address specific issues and contingencies
impacting more than one state or a region. These are convened by the P.M. and
comprises of chief ministers of State and Lt. Governors.
4. Special invitees: - Experts, Specialists and practitioners, nominated by the P.M.
5. Full time organizational Framework Prime minister as the Chairperson
a. Vice chairperson - He is appointed by Prime Minister
b. Full time members - They enjoy the rank of a minister of State.
c. Part time members - maximum 2 from leading universities, research organization.
Part time members would be on a rotation
d. Exafficiao members :- Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Minister to be
nominated by the P.M.
e. Chief Executive officers :- He is appointed by the Prime Minister for Fixed tenure, in the
rank off Secretory to the Government of India.

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Indian Polity

f. Secretariat :- As deemed necessary.

Specialized Wings
1. Research Wing :- It develops in House sectorial expertise as dedicated think tank.
2. Consultancy vling :- It provides Panels of expertise for the Central and State Government to
tap into matching their requirements.
3. Team India wing:- It comprises of the representative from every state and Ministry and
serves as a permanent platform for national collaboration.

 Objectives :-
1. To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with
the active involvement of States in the light of national objective.
2. Strong States make a strong nation
3. To develop mechanism to formulate credible plans at the village level.
4. That the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.
5. To pay special attention to the section of our society that may be at risk of not
benefitting.
6. To design strategic and long-term policy and programme frameworks and
initiatives.
Guiding Principles
 NITI AAyog is guided by the following Principles -
1. Antyodaya :- Priorities Service and uplift of the poor, marginalized .
2. Inclusion: - Empower vulnerable and marginalize sections
3. Village: - Integrate our village into the development Process.
4. Demography Dividend:- Harness our greatest asset, the people of India by
focusing on their development, through education and skilling.
5. People's Participation: - Transform the development process into a people driven
one, making an awakened and participative Citizenry the driver of good governance.
6. Governance - Nature an open, transparent accountable, proactive and purposeful
style of Governance, transitioning focus from outlay to output of outcome.
7. Sustain ability: - Maintain sustain ability at the core of our planning and development
process, building on our ancient tradition of respect for the environment.

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1. Caste in Indian Politics

o Caste refers to a group whose membership is birth-based, and which has

some specific 'socio-economic' characteristics such as bread-butter
relationship, stratification (high-low), occupational preferences etc.

❖ Politicization of castes

o It means that politicians try to secure more and more votes by promoting
'caste identity' to get power.

o 'First past the post' system was implemented with respect to elections in
India, under which the candidate with the majority votes was considered the
winner, it was easy to win the election by getting votes of one or two major
castes with more population, hence the politicization of inter castes got
stronger. Furthermore, since the basic structure of Indian society was caste-
based, and people valued their caste identity high, hence, it was also easy for
caste to be used as a vote bank. Historically, caste based exploitation of the
depressed classes also had ample scope for politicization of castes.

o Due to all these reasons, the decisive influence of caste on power was
established gradually.

❖ History of Politics-Caste Relations in India

o Many leaders of India believed that since a large section of the society has
been exploited on the basis of caste, their problems can be solved only by
organizing these castes and participating in politics. Among them Ambedkar,
Lohia, Jagjivan Ram etc. were prominent.

Although some people believe that caste based politics in India was started by
the upper castes first. (Reddy - Andhra Pradesh)

o The Republic Party of India (RPI) was established in 1957, which traces its
origins to the 'All India Scheduled Federation' founded by Dr. Ambedkar in
1942. The RPI kept Dalit interests at the centre.
 o In 1972, Namdev Dhasal and JV Pawar formed the 'Dalit Pathers' which
emerged as an aggressive 'anti-caste' political pressure group. On the other
hand, the word AJGAR (Ahir, Jat, Gujar, Rajput) came into existence to organize
the dominant castes. Later, DS-4 (Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti-1981)
and BMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) 1978
were established.

o On January 1, 1979, the Janata Party government created the Mandal

Commission, whose basic task was to identify the socio-educationally backward
classes in India. On the basis of the population of 1931, this commission
decided to give 52 percent reservation to the backward castes. Since then, the
importance of caste in Indian politics has increased, which some political
analysts also call the politics of 'Kamandal versus Mandal'.

2. North Mandal Round (Current Round) :-

Even in the present times, the importance of castes remains in Indian democracy.
Although the importance of developmental issues has increased in elections in
the recent past, apart from this, the trend of division has also been seen among
the backward castes (Antyaj / Non-Antyaj), but in the near future there is less
chance of caste being completely eliminated from the political spectrum of India.

❖ Difference between caste and casteism

o According to Rajni Kothari, caste is getting weaker in India, but casteism is

getting stronger.

o It is noteworthy that caste is a social concept, under which adoption of one's

caste profession, belief in untouchability, endogamy etc. are included, whereas
casteism is a eco-political concept under which a person expects increased
participation of people belonging to his caste.

❖ Effects of caste politics -

Negative

a. Politics is polluted. Meaningful issues sidelined.

b. Internal conflict situation in society.

c. Incidents of caste violence come to the fore through provocative caste politics.

d. Casteist politics is against the basic values of the Constitution.

e. Eloquent people become successful in politics by raising the caste sentiments

of the people and qualified but non eloquent people are left behind.

f. The interests of minority castes are affected.

Positive

According to analysts like Rudolph, Rajni Kothari etc., casteist politics has played
an important role in strengthening democracy in India. Particularly the
politicization of the backward castes because the backward castes create pressure
on the governments in an organizational form and try to eliminate the
possibilities of their exploitation. In this way the transfer of power takes place to
the backward classes and this is the hallmark of real democracy.

o Measures to stop the misuse of caste in politics -

a. Effective implementation of section 123(3) of the Representation of the

People Act, 1951.

b. In this context, the recent judgment of the Supreme Court is relevant that
the word 'his' written in this section means the caste of the candidate, of his
agent, of his voter etc.

c. Judicial activism should also be seen in this matter.

d. Constitutional provisions like reservation should be stopped from becoming

an issue of caste politics.

e. Caste appeasement should not be adopted by the governments.

f. Political parties should avoid giving tickets to casteist candidates.

 g. Serious efforts should be made to bring the backward castes into the main
stream, so that the efforts should not be made to collect the votes in the name
of their backward conditions.

Religion
It is not bad to believe in any religion or follow a religious system, but considering
religious interests above national interests and promoting one's religious interests
at the cost of others' religious interests creates problems in the whole country.

o Gradually Indian politics has seen the politicization of religion and it has
influenced Indian politics in many ways-

❖ Due to politicization of religion -

o Economic backwardness of Muslims - After independence it was believed that

due to equality of opportunity for all, Muslims would also make full use of it, but
even today the number of Muslims in educational, health and other vocational
institutions is very less compared to their population. And they are economically
and educationally very backward from the Hindus. This disparity among
communities is increasing tremendously and increasing misunderstandings.

o Communal parties and institutions –

• Hindu Mahasabha, Muslim League, Akali Dal etc. are well known religious
communal parties and other non-political organizations like Bajrang Dal, Vishwa
Hindu Parishad, Islamic Sevak Sangh, Jamaat-e-Islam etc., which declared that
they have no political objectives. But these organizations are supported by parties
like BJP, Akali Dal and Muslim League. They encourage semi-educated and
religiously sensitive elements to indulge in communal conflicts in the name of
religion.

o Appeasement policy of the Congress party

• All parties have done the work of adding fuel to the fire in the greed of getting
votes. Congress's Muslim oriented policies are the reason behind the outright
voting to Congress by Muslims and Congress leaders neither took any action on
Muslim appeasement leaders nor tried to reform Muslim personal law.

o Election compulsions

• Today our politics is completely ballot-box based and election has become an
end in itself. The religious allegiance of the voters is directly or indirectly
expressed in the campaign campaigns. As BJP and Shiv Sena united in the 1989-90
Maharashtra elections, their theme was Hindutva and anti-Muslim propaganda. In
any electoral constituency, the candidate is selected on the basis of the strength
of the caste community residing in that area.

o Communal Media Literature and Books

• Open circulation of communal newspapers like Akali Patrika, Sobat and

Organizer is also responsible for the development of communal forces.

o Differences in Muslim and separatism

• The feeling of economic backwardness and the disappointment that the

benefits of modernization in the form of opportunities for government jobs,
business and education have not reached Muslims have encouraged the partiality
feelings among Muslims and they feel that the majority group in coordination
with the administration have subdued the interest of minorities.

• Shameful treatment of Urdu in Uttar Pradesh irked Muslim leaders and their
anti-Hindu bias did not changed. Muslim leaders' statements on Vande Mataram
and Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act explain their traditional
separatist tendencies .

o Hindu blind nationality -

• After partition many people felt that they (Muslims) got their motherland and
India should now be for Hindus only. The Hindu Mahasabha is committed to make
a united India. The "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" formed in 1951 with the aim
 of the Jana Sangh Hindu revival always blames the Muslims for the communal
riots.

o Political opportunism -

• Despite its secular commitments, the Congress forged alliances with parties
such as the Muslim League and the Akali Dal, giving political respect to
communalism and politicization of religion.

❖ Consequences of the role of religion in politics

• It disrupts the pattern of coexistence in our multi-religious fraternity.

• It is against India's nationalist identity and is a blow to our emerging secular

culture.

• It undermines our democratic political stability.

• Murders and other shameful incidents in the name of religious politics also
destroyed our humanity and joint culture.

• It has become a disaster factor and stable development, national security can
weaken the patriotism and pride in the people.

• The introduction of politics in religion hinders the supply of important objectives

such as poverty alleviation, disease eradication, availability of education,
employment, housing.

❖ Measures to prevent negative influence of religion in politics -

• Banning communal gatherings and community fines in riot-affected areas can

be an important solution.

• The best hope of a united nationality depends on the balanced development of

all communities.

• Muslims and other groups should be brought on economic equality, so that a

sense of security is inculcated in them.
• Law and order machinery should be de-politicized.

• In areas where riots, loot and weapons are common, preventive measures
should be adopted after studying the past trends, so that group tension is
reduced, positive measures such as "education and such efforts, which will make
people respect and tolerance towards other religions as well." flourish'' that,
should go.

• TV, media, radio should be instructed to refrain from showing such news and
views that encourage religious prejudice or hatred.

• Send this message through educational institutions and establishments also.

5. Role of Class -

o Class is such a group of people, in which common characteristics are found and
on the basis of those characteristics, the feeling of 'we' is found in them. The
stronger this sentiment, the more likely the 'class' is to function as an organized
vote bank.

o Classes can be of many types, like Marx has considered exploiting class and
exploited class on the basis of economic system. Weber has considered 4 classes
on the basis of lifestyle, Dipankar Gupta has considered 3 classes (upper, middle
and low) on the basis of consumption, etc.

Difference between class and caste

o Although in many places one or more castes work together as a class. But there
is a difference between class and caste, like-

a. Class membership is merit based, caste based by birth.

b. Class is an open system, caste is a closed system.

c. Class is often a feature found abundantly in urban society and caste in rural
society.

d. There is competition among the members of the class, not in the caste.
 Role of class in politics

The role of economic and consumption based classes (low, middle, upper) is
visible in the current Indian politics.

o All sections want that in the election manifesto of political parties and in the
promises, there should be maximum discussion of their interests. For example,
the middle class wants governments to give them tax exemptions, ease
administrative rules, minimize barriers to their consumption, reduce license raj,
give subsidies, etc. Whereas the lower class decides its political likes/dislikes on
the basis of issues like running social welfare schemes, taking measures for
poverty alleviation etc., and for upper class levying less tax on imports, higher
consumption i.e. production of luxury goods, taking sanitary measures etc. is the
basis of voting.

❖ Issues related to ethnicity -

o The basis of ethnicity-

• A type of diversity in which an individual or community is separated on the basis

of appearance, body composition and that class demands autonomy on the basis
of its class characteristics and separation.

• This ethnocentrism is at times natural (difference between North-East castes,

South India-North India) and sometimes man-made (tendency to exaggerate
variations).

o The basis of ethnicity-

1. Language - North-South struggle, Dravidian movement, controversy over

trilingual formula, challenge to Hindi as a national language.

2. Ethnicity - Strategy/trends of separatism (Naga-Mizo) in North-Eastern tribal

areas, Khalsa and Khalistani demands in Punjab-Haryana region.

3. Religion - Form of Communion, Formation of Pakistan, Two Nation Theory.

 4. Region - Jammu and Kashmir Autonomy Struggle North East Struggle.

5. Caste - demand for reservation, caste conflict, important issue of election

(caste based)

❖ What problems arise -

o The demand for class interests is justified as long as the demand is not opposed
to other classes.

o Rather than individual or class, the state is supreme and since India is still in the
process of nation building, it is very important to combine diversity. And the
demand for separation on the basis of ethnic issues is not acceptable.

o On the basis of ethnic issues, the conflict has given rise to linguistic conflict,
violent separatist struggle, mentality like considering North-East as foreign which
is a hindrance and challenge in national integration.

o The concept of regionalism or Bhumiputra gave rise to the demand for the
creation of states over time and ethnic discrimination was made the basis of the
demand so that collective bargaining could be done in the field of resources and
power acquisition (Fazal Ali Commission-1956) State on the basis of language

Due to ethnicity, South India even today considers itself a separate entity and
feels separate from national politics.

o The politics being played on the basis of ethnicity saw the emergence of many
regional parties – AIDMK etc. which gave priority to interests.

❖ Arguments in favor of ethnicity -

o When ethnicity is tolerant of other classes, it promotes class interests – in the

form of autonomy, finance, etc.

o Ethnicity gives identity to a particular class at the national level, on the basis of
which collective bargaining can be done - special emphasis on North-East
o Preservation of the Indian society's characteristic or character of unity in
diversity is possible only when the voice of these sections is provided a platform.

o A diverse society responds more strongly to its challenges in times of crisis.

o Ethnicity is helpful in the preservation of culture, in the absence of which man

or society appears inanimate and lifeless - festivals, fairs, food, customs

o Not formed on ethnic basis, states have played an important role in economic
development, good governance, national politics - participation in coalition
politics, regional leaders.

o Schedule - 5 and 6 to be put into practice.

o Diversity, autonomy and culture should not be destroyed in the process of

nation building

o The spirit of 'We the people of India' mentioned in the Preamble should be
realized.

o Prohibition of polarization or appeasement tendencies.

❖ Ethnicity -

o Basically its three aspects –

1. Primitive 2. Mechanist 3. Combination of Primitive and Mechanist

1. Primitive - According to this belief, ethnic differences between people are

inherited.

2. Mechanists - Ethnic distinctions are not given, but they are created by the elite.
Which can be politicians, teachers, religious leaders etc.

In particular cases, ethnic differences culminate in the form of ethnic conflicts,

riots, autonomous movements and rebellions; the basic social rifts that are
created within ethnic groups are not always real. Some of these are invented or
created by the elites.
3. Combination of primitive and mechanistic - The belief that both these aspects
are unable to explain it, they divide it into "bi-polarity".

It is an advocate of both theories. Its proponents argue that the primitive notion
does not explain how people become infected in ethnic groups while maintaining
common belief. Similarly, the mechanistic concept does not explain why people
who adopt the universally accepted innate qualities respond to the call of that
elite class which camouflages them into ethnic groups. And the ethnic challenges
towards nation-building have taken the following form in India, which are as
follows-

1. Autonomous Movement

2. Demand for a separate nation

3. Rebellion

4. Conflict and disturbance on the basis of identification marks - tribe, caste,

language, religion etc.

o The first three phases/forms are also called the Self-Determination Movement.

❖ Main issues of ethnicity in India-

1. North – East India –

o Due to the geographical location and diverse ethnic combination, all the
northeastern states are beset by the problem of ethnicity i.e. they believe that
they are not Indian. Rather they have been merged into India by force. Similarly,
Nagaland did not accept Schedule-VI Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur (for
the benefit of the North-East) until the 1960s saw a movement for an
autonomous state in the Khasi, Jaintian and Garo inhabited areas of Assam, which
in 1972 saw Meghalaya transformed into a state.

o Other examples- 1. Opposition to representation of women by Nagas in urban

body elections
2. Manipur – ILPS (Inner Line Permit System)

2. Tamil Nadu –

o Dravidian Movement of Tamil Nadu - Born as Self-respect Movement and later

emerged as Justice Party DK and DMK, Dravidians questioned the desire for
nationalism in the country spread on three grounds-

• Religion, Language and Caste

• Hindi- protest movement

• Separated, demanding to leave

• To separate oneself from North India.

3. Punjab -

o Here ethnicity manifested itself in the form of autonomy, movement and

insurrection whose basis was regional religious and economic. Sometimes it took
the form of communal conflict between Hindu Muslims and Sikhs.

o Here the argument of the Akali leadership was that the mother tongue Punjabi
and those who follow Sikhism should be given autonomous provinces.

o An insurgency movement emerged for the establishment of Khalistan (Sikh

home land) based on the followers of Sikhism. (After the 1980s), violence
emerged during this period which led to the assassination of Indira Gandhi
(Operation Blue Star).

4. Jammu and Kashmir-

o Here the autonomy movement and rebellion are associated with geographical,
historical and religious factors. Some politicians wanted to merge it with India,
some did not, but when it was merged with India, Sheikh Abdullah became the
Prime Minister, he started raising the issue of handing over Jammu and Kashmir
to India and formed "Plebiscite Front".
o Pakistan's involvement in the insurgency has challenged the Indian nation state,
which has been seen in the violence and communalism of the last decades.

Indian Politics and Languages

Prof. Morris Jones -

o The questions of regionalism and language have been such burning questions of
Indian politics that there has been a deep connection with the events of political
history. Often it seems that this is a complete problem of national integration.

Initially, there were 14 languages in the Eighth Schedule of our Constitution, but
at present there are 22 languages.

Union language -

o Art of the Constitution. According to 343, 344, Hindi written in Devanagari

script, the official language of the Union, will be substituted in place of English
after 15 years, but so far this has not happened and this time period has been
extended.

Language And Politics

o Today the question of language is the question of politics. Political parties and
politicians have tried to incite the public on the basis of language. Sometimes it
seems that the question of language will break our national unity. Language and
politics in India are intertwined as follows.

1. Anti-Hindi Politics - South Indian states have adopted the politics of anti-Hindi
since the very beginning. There it is regional based on linguistic basis. Political
parties are successful in garnering mass base. The main aim of Kandangyan is
Hindi protest. The Bangla and Tamil members of the Language Commission (Dr.
Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Dr. P. Subba Narayan) expressed their opinion in
these words - The result of the hurry to replace English with Hindi is to impose
Hindi on the Hindi speaking people. As a result, life will be disturbed.
2. Reorganization of states on linguistic basis - After attaining independence, the
demand for the formation of states on the basis of language started gaining
momentum. This demand gained momentum after the death of Telugu leader
Potti Sri Rammalu in a fast in 1952 AD. Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed
from Mumbai in 1960 on the basis of the State Reorganization Commission. In
1966, Haryana and Punjab were formed from Punjab. Even today, Punjab wants
the expansion of Punjab by merging the Punjabi regions located in Rajasthan and
Haryana.

3. Disputes in linguistic states - The problem of ownership of "Chandigarh" came

into existence only after the reorganization of the state on the basis of language.
There is a dispute about Belgaum in Karnataka and Maharashtra on the basis of
language. According to the 1961 census, 51.2% are Marathi here. So Maharashtra
lays its claim. In Assam also there is a dispute regarding Bengali and Assamese.

4. North vs South on the basis of language –

North South

Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Central Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

State, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telugu

Uttarakhand, Haryana (All Hindi)

This imaginary linguistic division has divided India into two opposing parts. This
has always been present like a huge problem and danger in the integration and
integrity of India.

5. Linguistic pressure groups- Linguistic pressure groups have emerged in Indian

politics, for example Maharashtrians and Gujaratis had their organizations
Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and Mahagujarat Parishad on the basis of
language, which played the role of pressure groups in politics.

6. Question of recognition of language- There have been 14 to 22 languages in

the 8th Schedule, even now the dispute of recognition of regional languages
keeps arising from time to time. Languages like Rajasthani, Braj, Chhattisgarhi etc.
continue to present their claim.

7. Urdu and Electoral Politics- Political parties have been trying to take advantage
of Urdu from time to time in elections. 1980 AD Congress-I tried to woo the
Muslim minority by talking about giving a respectable place to Urdu in its election
manifesto. In January 1980, before the elections, the Lok Dal Govt made Urdu a
compulsory language of study in schools in UP as a third language Nov. In the riots
of Badaun, more than 2 dozen people were killed over the decision to make Urdu
the second official language of the state in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.

8. Problem of Linguistic Minorities- Even after the reorganization of the state on

the basis of language, the problem of linguistic minorities remains in those states
like - Marathi language in Karnataka, Hindi speaking in Punjab there is a linguistic
minority. There is now a sense of insecurity among Malayalis and Tamils settled in
Karnataka.

9. Language and Education - Even after 70 years, we have not been able to make
a universal education policy due to linguistic problem. When a general formula
comes up. So he also failed with the linguistic problem. The northern states
adopted Sanskrit as a third language in place of the southern languages, while
Hindi was expected in the south.
Tri Lingual Formula

for hindi region for other language

english
on north indian
for non hindi
language (hindi)
region

10. Linguistic Movement - From time to time there have been anti-language
movements. Anti-English movement in North India and anti-Hindi movement
 under the leadership of DMK in South India. On 1 December 1967, students
organized anti-Hindi agitations in Madras.

11. Rise of narrow sense of locality – As a result of linguistic politics, “Dhartiputra

concept” has emerged i.e. those who speak regional language should be
appointed in government and non-government jobs in that particular area. In
Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has harassed South Indians on this basis.

o Conclusion - Indian unity is threatened by language features. Today, the

political use of language for minority appeasement and linguistic acrimony poses
a challenge to Indian integrity. Therefore, we have to eliminate these vices and
explain the question of official language. To find a solution to the problem of
language in a peaceful environment by convening a round table conference of
representatives of various political parties, languages and regions on a broad
basis. The decision in this regard should be taken by consensus instead of
majority. For the interests of India's unity, integrity and education system, the
problem of language has to be separated from politics.

❖ Suggestion for solution –

1. To make Hindi as the official language, and non-Hindi speaking people should
be motivated to create a positive attitude towards it.

2. While avoiding language aggression, Hindi speakers should also pay attention
to the difficulty of non-Hindi speakers.

3. Mother tongue should be made the medium of primary education. For this, the
regional language should be promoted.

4. The English language should also be taught in line with the needs of the current
globalization.

5. The three language formula should be implemented faithfully.

6. To establish proximity in Indian languages through educational excursions,

lectures, cultural programs.
7. Language should be prevented from becoming a medium for the fulfillment of
political interests.

Role of gender –

o Although gender identity in India (especially related to women) does not have a
strong presence in the political arena and identities like family, caste, religion,
class, region etc. overpower it. But for some time now, the linkage of gender
issues with politics seems to be getting stronger.

At present, many feminist organizations in the form of pressure groups on the

leaders and the government inspire them to take steps in the interest of women.
In recent times, gender-political relations have been seen in the following forms:-

a. Constitutional Bill to give one-third reservation to women in Parliament.

b. The issue of 'women's equality' is also related to triple talaq and uniform civil
code.

c. Movement for temple-mosque entry (Women were given entry in Shani

Shingnapur temple and Haji Ali Dargah.)

d. Demand for prohibition of alcohol from the government by women in many

states.

o Third gender status to eunuchs/transgender -

• The Supreme Court, while giving third gender status to transgenders, has asked
the government to give them policy and constitutional protection, so that this
class is not forced to lead a neglected and miserable life.

Gender discrimination and women's rights issue

o The question of the status of women in modern India arose as a part of the class
social reform movement in the middle of the 19th century. These movements are
termed as middle class reform movements because these reforms were not from
the emerging western educated Indian middle class. They often took pride in the
democratic ideals of the modern West and the democratic traditions of their own
past while inspired by these reforms.

For example, like Raja Mohan Roy led the anti-sati campaign, Ranade launched a
movement for widows' remarriage, Jyotiba Phule and Savitri Bai Phule raised their
voice against caste and gender atrocities and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan advocated
social reforms in Islam.

o The ideas of these reformers had a beautiful blend of Western logic and Indian
traditionalism.

o Women's rights were talked about by them on the basis of the principles of
humanistic and natural rights (being human) and Hindu scriptures.

Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda etc. gave special emphasis for women's
education so that women could not come out of the four walls of the house, be
aware of their values, ideas and their rights and fight for their rights themselves.

Due to the obvious biological and physiological differences between men and
women, it is often understood that gender inequality is a product of nature, but
despite this external appearance, scholars have also shown that inequalities
between men and women are not natural but social. .

In this regard, the statement of famous feminist writer "Simone de Bouvar"

"Woman is not born, she is made" is important because the patriarchal thinking
of our society does not look at women with equal eyes and treats women as
secondary. Human standard of status behaves accordingly. But in many societies,
the matriarchal family system (Khasi Sama of Meghalaya), appointments and
elections to important positions in the country (Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil),
social reform movements (Megha Patekar, Aruna Roy), space foreign policy etc.
Challenged the dominant thinking.

For women's rights, gender equality, socio-economic and political justice, the
struggle can be divided into two parts-

a. Before Independence (Before 1947)

b. After Independence

o After the arrival of Gandhiji in the freedom movement, there was a radical
change in the participation of women because the nature of the means of
struggle of Gandhiji, such as non-violence, non-cooperation, peaceful
demonstrations, provided an easy medium for women's participation.

o In the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress in 1931, under the
declaration regarding the fundamental rights of citizens, equality before the law,
public suffrage and the right of women in elections to various public posts were
recognized.

o After 1947, to give concrete shape to the struggle for rights, legal and
constitutional means were adopted, under which Hindu Marriage Act, Anti-Dowry
Act, Act for Prevention of Domestic Violence, Act for Protection of Sexual
Harassment at Workplace, and Property And for equal participation in succession,
provisions were given statutory status.

o Various Acts of the Indian Constitution like - 14, 16, 19, 23 (Human trafficking,
DPSP and various provisions for the dignity and equality of women in
Fundamental Duties, including equal pay maternity benefits for equal work, 73rd
and 74th Provisions such as one-third reservation for women in Panchayati Raj
institutions are important through the Constitutional Amendment Act. Along with
these, the concept of social, economic and political justice mentioned in the
Preamble of the Constitution is also directly related to women. In the Directive
Principles of the Act- 44 Uniform Civil Code also deals with women's rights as
most of the laws and practices appear to be anti-women or discriminatory.

o In order to give practical effect to the rights of women in the social context,
various legal provisions have been made, such as Equal Partnership in Succession,
Equal Share in Property Act (1956), Protection from Sexual Harassment Act
(2013), Domestic Act for the Prevention of Violence (2005), Act for the prohibition
of dowry system. (1961)

In this context, the judiciary of India also recognized many rights through judicial
activism, including the Visakha Guideline (1997), which is important for creating
 comfortable and respectful conditions for women at work, as well as the recent
decision related to the right to privacy has given women the right to take their
own decisions. The recent agitations regarding temple entry and the subsequent
right to admission have made the right of women's equality realized again.

It is pertinent to mention the Act related to increase of maternity leave to 26

weeks which is helpful in promoting women's health, nutrition and equal
participation. If seen from the political side, universal adult franchise, one-third
reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, women have the right to be appointed
and elected in any public office, mainly to put their point on the national stage.
The issue of reservation in Parliament and State Legislatures has also been raised
from time to time in various forums. Due to which the participation of women in
politics will increase further only after supplementation.

o Women personalities like Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharaman are adorning

ministries like External Affairs and Defense, which are examples of women's
expression at the highest level.

o Dr. Ambedkar's statement “For any community to get political freedom and
fraternity and equal status in the society, it is necessary that it should be given
economic equality first” It shows that the lack of economic empowerment of
women In other political and social rights prove to be dishonest.

In this context, many provisions were also made by the Government of India,
which were also expanded by our judiciary. Like equal pay for equal work, various
schemes for women empowerment, incentives given to self-help groups, Visakha
guidelines related to sexual harassment at workplace, statutory status to National
Commission for Women, 26 weeks paid leave to pregnant women Schemes like
Stand Up India, Mahila Haat, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao are important.

In this way, society can be strengthened only by increasing economic

participation, which will be helpful in strengthening the nation, despite these
various efforts, today's women's society is facing many discriminations and
challenges. eg:-

❖ In the political field -

1. Participation in various representative institutions is not commensurate with
the population

2. The concept of sarpanch husband - at all levels

3. The voice of women leaders is not raised in public forums

4. No right to decide to stand as a candidate to vote

5. Only word of mouth on issues related to women's rights

6. Lack of Consensus on Women's Reservation – Bill Pending

❖ Challenges in the social sector -

1. Patriarchal and male dominated mindset

2. Non-compliance of rights under various laws.

3. Huge backwardness from men on the standards of education, health, nutrition.

4. Dowry System, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment, Child/Girl foeticide, Acid

Attack

5. The responsibility of preserving values, ideals, values and culture rests on the
shoulders of women.

6. Restriction on the right to choose in respect of morals, family values, dress etc.
in the transition period of marketisation, westernisation.

❖ Challenges in the economic field -

o The ideal of equal pay for equal work limited to paper pages / Uncertain future
in formal and non-organizational economic areas / oppressive security system

o Low wages etc. Very little participation in the formal sector

o Sexual harassment, discrimination at work place

o Ignoring property and succession rights

o The status of women's participation at the highest level of decision making is
critical.

o Financial inclusion, access to credit, non-availability of bank accounts etc.

o Special problems faced by women in civil wars, communal riots and other
periods of conflict (refugees, migration etc.)

o Effect of anti-women remarks made by leaders (public representatives) from

public forums on the general public.

o Easy access to the Internet encourages the spread of pornography, sexual

violence, abusive remarks, anti-female attitudes

o Insensitive attitude of police, family, social media on issues related to women's

section (organizational structure)

o Necessary steps and responsible institutions to practice gender equality.

• Legislature- Law making (for security, reservation, equality etc.),

• Executive - ensure compliance of laws, regulations at the ground level

(Administration + Police)

• Society - Promote women's sensitive thinking, progressive mindset, ease to

adopt modern values

• Judiciary-

o Ensure the accountability of the government and society and administration

o Use tools of judicial activism

o Make the justice system easy, simple and accessible and quick.

• Media -

o Spreading of awareness

o Prohibition on content that is anti-female dignity

o become a forum for debate for rights

• Self Help Groups and NGOs

o Give voice to the issues of women empowerment.

o Develop the attitude of collective participation.

• Education-

o based on moral values

o sexually sensitive

o Universal education (emphasis on female literacy)

• By the woman herself-

o Strongly demanding rights

o Organizational Movement

• Statutory Provisions

o National Policy for the Upliftment of Women 2001

o Maternity Leave Benefit 1961

o Child Marriage Prohibition Act. 2006

o PCPNDT – 1994

o To prevent sexual harassment at work place. 2013

• International Participation-

o Convention on the resolution of all discrimination against women, 1993

o Mexico Action Plan- 1975

o Beijing Declaration - 1995

•Other Issue-
1. Triple Talaq - Muslim women's rights issue Shahbano case (1985) - Supreme
Court orders to give allowance to a divorced woman.

New Act to overturn the Supreme Court's decision Muslim Women Rights Related
to Divorce . 3 months Allowance only. Talaq-e-Vidvat Polygamy Nikah Halala
Challenge- Shayra Bano Case (2017) Instant Ban on triple talaq (instant triple
talaq).

S.No AIMPLAB S.No Women Rights

(All India Muslim Personal Law
Board)
1. The state emblem of hundreds 1.
of years old custom.
2. State has no right to intervene
in civil matters
3. The Muslim community itself is
striving for reforms.
4. Seeing each reform as an
imposition of the culture of the
majority.
5. Interference in religious issues
is like walking on the edge of
the sword
6. Logic and deliberation to each
tradition and be judged on the
basis of recognition.
7. The reforms should be initiated
by the intellectuals, ulema and
women of the minority
community themselves.
Antiquity of tradition is not a
means to justify any
malpractice.
2. To end DPSP$ discrimination,
the state can intervene.
3. Didn't see any improvement in
these years
4. Violation of Art 14
Violation of Art 19
5. Not an integral part of religion
therefore can be challenged.
6. Banning Taxes option was
adopted in Many Muslim
Countries
7. Steps towards Uniform Civil
Code under Article 44 - Helpful
in fulfilling the ideal of social
justice of the Preamble.

Political parties and voting behavior

Political parties, formed by people with similar political views, are organizations
through which those people try to obtain power through constitutional means.
❖ Political parties in India-

o Under the democratic system in India, citizens were given the freedom to
participate in electoral politics according to their own accord. In the Indian
democracy, the multi-party system continued to prevail, although gradually,
instead of multi-party, the bi-party system seems to be getting stronger.

The main features of political parties in India are as follows:-

a. Presence of multiple parties

Due to the large size of the country, religious, linguistic, caste and cultural
differences and economic inequalities, there are many parties in the country.
According to the data released by the Election Commission in May 2017, there are
1841 registered parties in the country, out of which 8 are national, 48 are state
level and the rest are without any such identity, whose number keeps on
increasing.

b. individual centric party

o Many political parties are based on the same person/family.

o Example- SP, TDP, AIDMK, DMK, Trinamool Congress etc.

c. Minority of ideological based political parties

o Communist Party of India, Marxist Communist Party (both communist

ideologies), Bharatiya Janata Party (Cultural Nationalism) etc. Barring some
parties, the remaining parties do not have any definite political ideology.

d. The dominance of regional parties

o About 95 percent of the parties are like this. Whose public opinion is limited to
the boundaries of a particular state. There are two types of regional parties. First,
those whose mass base is up to a particular area but whose issues are all India,
such as - Aam Aadmi Party, AIMIM, Bahujan Samajwadi Party etc., secondly those
whose support is also in a particular area and issues are also related to the same
 region. Example- Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Assam Gana Parishad, Haryana
Janhit Congress etc.

e. Political parties based on traditional factors

o Modernization of politics in India has been done to a limited extent and the
influence of traditional factors like caste, religion, language, region etc. remains
more in the electoral issues and electoral strategy of political parties.

f. Long tradition of breaking up of parties

o Party splits have a long history in India. Congress split several times and became
independent party (1959), Congress (R), Congress (O), Congress (I), etc., JDCS,
JD(U), RJD etc., after the breakup of Janata Party, Akali Dal Broken many times,
MNS formed from Shiv Sena etc.

❖ The main national party of India and the advantages of being a national party-

o At present there are 8 parties having national party status:-

1. BJP

2. Congress

3. Bahujan Samaj Party

4. Marxist Communist Party

5. Communist Party of India,

6. All India Trinamool Congress

7. Nationalist Congress Party

8. National People's Party

(a) At least 6 per cent of the total votes polled in the elections to the Lok Sabha
have been received in four or more states, and have won at least 4 Lok Sabha
seats from 3 different states.
 b. Should have won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from at least
three different states.

c. The party should have state level party status in at least 4 states.

❖ Benefits of being a national party-

1. One political symbol for the whole country (Election Symbol)

2. Doordarshan / Akashvani gets time for broadcasting during elections.

3. The candidates of these parties need only 1 proposer at the time of

nomination. (10 proposers required for independent and unrecognized party)

4. Two free copies of Electoral Roll are given by the Election Commission

5. 40 star campaigners are allowed to use in elections whose travel expenses are
not included in their election expenses (of the candidate).

o Other unrecognized parties may use 20 star campaigners only.

o Necessary conditions for national party status

o It is necessary to fulfill one of the following conditions

a. Won 3% seats/3 seats (whichever is higher) in that State in the Vidhan Sabha
elections.

b. Should have secured at least 6% of the votes polled in that State and one Lok
Sabha seat in the Lok Sabha elections.

c. Should have secured at least 6 percent votes and 2 assembly seats in the state
in the assembly elections.

d. Obtained 8 percent of the total valid votes in the Lok Sabha/Assembly

elections.

o The first non-Congress government of a state in India was formed in 1957 in

Kerala by the CPM. (Chief Minister- Namboodiripad)
 o The first non-Congress government at the center was formed by the Janata
Party in 1977 (Prime Minister – Morarji Desai)

o Presently India's major political alliances:-

1. National Democratic Alliance (1998) - 48 parties (Congress, TDP, LJP, Akali Dal
etc.)

2. United Progressive Alliance (2004)-10 Parties (Congress, DMK, RLD, Mahan Dal
etc.)

3. Janata Parivar (2015)-4 Parties (RJD, INL, JD(S) Samajwadi Janata Party)

❖ Voting Behavior -

o It means voting by voters in favor/opposition of a candidate/party in an

election.

Factors Influencing Voting Behavior

short term long term

- Party manifesto - Caste

- immediate circumstances - Religion

- role of media - role of teacher

- gender

- category

- family background

(1) Party Manifesto-

o Before the elections, all the parties issue documents related to the work to be
done by them when they will come to power. On the basis of this people decide
whom to vote for. Proceedings on corruption, CBI of any case Issues like
investigation, loan waiver, free services etc. are visible in the manifesto of Indian
parties for some time now.

(2) Immediate circumstances—

o The immediate situation also affects the voting decision of the people. The
general elections of 1977 were held in the backdrop of emergency, so the Janata
Party got wide public support.

(3) Media -

o The type of news that the media shows prominently just before the election,
also affects the electoral attitude of the public.

(4) Caste -

o Caste mindset is strong in India, many conservative people vote for candidates
of their own caste or the party which has given more tickets to the people of their
caste.

(5) Religion-

On traditional grounds, people of the same denomination vote for a particular

party, or vote against a particular party, based on their religious interests.

(6) Teacher-

o The school background and the personal political views of the teachers have an
impact on the mind of the individual in the long run.

(7) Family background-

o Often people do voting behavior only after seeing their elders, superiors.

(8) Class-
o Lower class, middle class, upper class vote for the candidates who decide in
their favor.

(9) Gender-

o Although gender identity has not been so dominant in elections yet, this factor
is becoming important as women's awareness increases.

Civil Society
o The concept of civil society as knowledge and service has a long history in India.

o Voluntary organization, which is voluntary in nature and whose objective is not

to earn profit. Since medieval times, culture in India was active in the fields of
promotion, education, health, natural disaster relief etc.

o Their numbers increased during the British period and they worked for social
welfare, education and relief programs.

o In the second half of the 19th century, national consciousness spread in India
and self-help became the main focus of socio-political movements.

During this time, many organizations such as "Friends in Need Society (1858),
Prarthana Samaj (1864), Satyashodhak Samaj (1873), Arya Samaj (1875), National
Council for Women in India (1875) and Indian National Conference ( 1887) was
established.

The Societies Registration Act of 1860 gave statutory status to emerging NGOs.
The Societies Registration Act is still a relevant law for NGOs even today. Although
many states have amended the law initially.

o Christian missionaries focused efforts on poverty alleviation, building schools,

hospitals and roads, and NGOs worked on health, education, disaster relief and
social welfare.
 o The foundation of a secular voluntary effort in India was not laid until the
establishment of government development agencies such as "People's Action for
Development of India".

o Trained Indians from abroad came and commercialized this area. In response to
the national political landscape in India and growing concerns about poverty and
marginalization, NGOs. The region experienced rapid development and
diversification. An organization oriented both in the direction of forest welfare
and empowerment, came into existence and development became the focus of
civil liberties, education, environment, health and employment in the 1970s and
1980s, with community participation, NGOs were identified as development
partners of the government. The intervention of the common people and the
marginalization of the marginalized people for their rights were the main features
of their work.

o Structural adjustments began in the 1990s and in recent times, international

donors have flown funds through government NGOs and large corporate NGOs
and pushed the institutions of the general public into the background.

❖ Presently NGO-

o There are 1.5 million NGOs working in India today. These include temples,
mosques, gurudwaras, churches, sports institutions, hospitals, educational
institutions etc. Most of the NGOs in India are small and depend on volunteers.
Society for Participatory Research in India (PRIYA)

According to PRIYA, 73.4% of NGOs in India do not have any paid employees
although 19 million people are employed as volunteers or paid employees.

o PRIYA said that 26.5% NGOs are working in religious, 21.3% community sector,
20% in education, 17.9% in sports and culture sector and only 6.6% NGOs are
working in health sector Indian Center for Philanthropy, National Foundation for
India and the Society for Service to Voluntary Organizations, which provide
resource services and networking opportunities to other NGOs.
The Credibility Alliance is an initiative of a group of NGOs that seeks to ensure
transparency and accountability in the voluntary service sector through good
governance.

o In the 1990s, several platforms were formed to establish dialogue between the
government and the NGO. The Planning Commission started a series of
conferences for dialogue between NGOs and the government. In the late 1990s,
the CAPART (Counselling for Advancement of People's Action and Rural
Technology) was decentralized so that the benefits of the NGO's work could be
distributed among the poor and even in less accessible areas.

o CAPART was established in 1986 with the objective of implementing voluntary

service efforts in rural development. The objectives of government and non-
government organizations on topics such as community empowerment,
participatory promotion, strengthening democratic institutions and increasing
access to basic services such as health and education have converged.

o The government has established many institutions to provide funds to NGOs.

(eg Khadi & Vigel Industry Cooperative, Central Social Welfare, CAPART) This has
increased the dependency of the beneficiary on the government. Such financing
has also increased the risk that NGOs will lose their autonomy and become mere
implementers of public sector projects.

o The government made efforts in this area, while making policy in 2007, made
the National Policy on Voluntary Sector, whose objectives were as follows:-

(i) To create an environment that will make volunteer organizations that fuel the
enterprise, be effective and secure their autonomy.

(ii) To enable voluntary voluntary organizations to mobilize local and foreign

resources through legitimate means.

(iii) Identifying mechanisms with which government and non-government

organizations can work together on the principles of trust, respect and shared
responsibility.
 (iv) To encourage voluntary organizations to adopt transparent and accountable
governance and management system.

o In other efforts of the government, tax exemption is given to voluntary

organizations in the transfer of shares and stocks.

The provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act have been simplified.
The training modules are introduced for the government employees to form
creative relationships with voluntary service organizations and their good efforts
are recognized by the government for excellence.

❖ "Political Movement"

When various social groups feel that democratic politics is not able to fulfill their
needs and demands, they come together and raise their voice under the banner
of various organizations.

It is from such assertions that movements arise.

o These movements can be of some types.

❖ Party based movement

o A mass movement may take the form of a social or political movement and
often overlap. The national movement was primarily a political movement, but
we also know that efforts on social and economic issues gave impetus to
independent social movements during the British period like anti-caste
movement, trade union movement, etc. These movements raised issues related
to social struggle.

o Some of these issues persisted even after independence. Trade union

movements were strongly present in big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur.
All the political parties set up their trade unions for the mobilization of workers. In
Telangana, the farmers under the leadership of the communist parties made a big
movement to re-allocate/distribute the land to the cultivators. Farmers and
agricultural laborers in Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas started
the movement, along with Marxsist and Leninist workers (who were called
Naxalites). Peasants and workers' movements mainly focused on economic
injustice and inequality.

o These movements did not directly participate in the elections but were
associated with political parties. These contacts ensured better representation of
the demands of diverse social classes.

❖ Partyless Movement

In the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of the society became dissatisfied with the
work of political parties. The failure of the people's experiment and the resulting
political instability became the immediate cause of these movements.

o The model of plan development failed because poverty and inequality remained
the same even after two decades of growth in many sectors of the economy.

The already existing social inequalities (such as caste and gender) made the issue
of poverty more acute and complex. This developed a sense of injustice and
marginalization among different groups.

o This caused many politically active groups to lose faith in democratic institutions
and they distanced themselves from party politics and focused on mass
mobilization. Students and young politicians supported marginalized groups like
Dalits and Adivasis. Middle class youth activists started service organizations and
creative programs among the rural poor. In these, due to the voluntary service
nature of social work, these organizations were named voluntary service
organizations. They stayed away from party politics. They thought that the direct
and active participation of local civic groups would be more effective than
political parties in solving local problems.

o Such volunteer field organizations continued to work in rural and urban areas,
although their nature changed, later they started getting funds from external aid
(national and international). With the influx of this external funding, the ideal of
local initiative was weakened in these institutions.

❖ Dalit Movement
o In the early 1970s, the first generation of Dalit graduates (especially those living
in urban slums) came on several platforms. Under these allegations, an armed
organization called Dalit Panthers was formed. Dalit groups were fighting against
eternal caste based inequalities and fundamental injustice (which was happening
against them despite the constitutional guarantee of equality and justice).
Reservation and effective implementation of such policies were their main
demands.

o The Constitution of India had declared unconstitutional unconstitutional and for

this it became law in the 1960s and 1970s, yet discrimination and violence against
untouchable groups persisted. The legal machinery also proved insufficient in
preventing economic and social exploitation of Dalits and the political parties
supported by Dalits were also not very successful. (eg - Republican Party of India)

❖ Dalit Activities

o Dalit Panthers tried against the increasing cruelty against Dalits, and the
government passed the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocity) Act,
1989. The agenda of the Dalit Panthers was to destroy the caste system and to
organize all the oppressed groups and in these the landless poor and urban
industrial workers also supported the Dalits.

o Dalit educated youth exercised their creativity and wrote many biographies and
did many literary works against the cruelty of the caste system.

After the emergency, organizations like Backward and Minority Community

Employees Federation (BAMCEF) were formed to solve the issue.

❖ Peasant Movement

o Social dissatisfaction was of various kinds since the 1970s. The agricultural
struggles of the 1980s are one such example where farmers protest against state
policies.

After the Green Revolution, the farmers made some demands – for wheat and
sugarcane, the government price should be high, the ban on inter-state
movement of farm-products, distribution of electricity guaranteed at regional
rates, loan waiver of farmers and provision of government pension to farmers. .

o Some organizations like Bharatiya Kisan Union came forward for them. The
Shetkari Sangathan of Maharashtra described the peasant movements as a war
between India (farmers) and the forces of India (industrial sector). The role of
agriculture and industries in India's development paradigm was also a burning
issue.

o The activities of the Indian Farmers' Union such as rallies, demonstrations, Jail-
Bharo Andolan etc. put pressure on the government. Thousands of lakhs of
farmers participated in these demonstrations. He also cooperated with the caste
panchayats and to an extent the peasant movement was also successful.

❖ Women's Movement

o Women also agitated against many such issues, which were affecting them and
the society.

o Happened in Andhra Pradesh which was anti-alcohol, Ark (locally made liquor)
was prevalent in Andhra Pradesh and was influencing women in common life.
Agitating on this, women openly discussed domestic violence as well. Initially
women's groups were working mainly in the urban middle class on domestic
violence, dowry, gender crimes (in workplace and public places) and their work
exposed that issues of injustice to women and issues of general inequalities are
complex in nature. They started campaigning for their solutions and as a result
the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments got women reservation in local
level politics. Women's movements can be credited for a series of laws like
Visakha Direction, Domestic Violence Against Women (Prohibition) Act - 2005,
Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act 2013.

❖ Narmada Bachao Andolan

o An ambitious project in the form of Sardar Sarovar Dam was announced in the
early 1980s. Narmada Bachao Andolan Samiti opposed this, they raised questions
on the nature of construction of dams and ongoing development projects.
o The movement demanded that the cost-benefit analysis of the development
projects completed so far in the country should be carried out, and the larger
social cost should also be included in such analyses. The social cost also includes
the unintentional resettlement of project affected people, serious loss of means
of livelihood and degradation of cultural and ecological resources.

o Narmada Bachao Andolan Samiti stressed that the local community must have a
role to play in such decisions. And they should have effective control over natural
resources like water, land and forest. The movement also raised the question that
in a democracy, why do some people have to make sacrifices for the benefit of
others?

The movement and debates were strongly opposed in those states which were
benefiting from it, such as Gujarat, while the right to resettlement was recognized
by the government and the judiciary. The formulation of a comprehensive
national resettlement policy by the government in 2003 can be seen as an
achievement of this movement.

❖ RTI movement ("Right To Information" movement)

o RTI movement was one such movement of the past which was successful in
getting its demands from the state.

The movement began in 1990 when Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (Rajasthan),
a mass-based organization, sought information on records of famine relief work
and accounts of workers.

o The movement had little success with immediate effect when they could get
amendment copies of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act.

In 1996, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan established the National Council for
People's Right to Information in Delhi and gave TJP the status of a national
campaign. Finally in 2005 the Right to Information Act was passed and the
movement was successful.

❖ Effects of Political Movement

o These movements solved some of the problems of party politics and they are an
integral part of our democratic politics.

o They represented such new social groups whose economic and social grievances
could not be redressed in electoral politics.

o These movements made people aware of their rights.

o Yet the impact of these movements on the nature of public policies is limited.
Because most of the movements are centered on a single issue and can represent
only a particular section of the society. In such a situation, it becomes possible
that their legitimate demands are ignored.

Potential areas of conflict in the socio-political sphere

o In any issue, both social and political factors are present, then such issue is
socio-political issue and when that conflict is completed it becomes socio-political
conflict.

o The issue of environmental protection can be one such example in which there
is a social tendency towards pollution free and it is also influenced by political
policy-making.

o From India's point of view, we can see that India is not less than a miracle,
despite so many diversities and problems, the country is not only subsistence but
also progressing and has also achieved prosperity to an extent. But still these
problems do not end with this. These problems are huge and are getting bigger.
There are many reasons why, despite two decades of rapid growth and
development, the country has more poor people than sub-Saharan Africa and
more hungry and poor people than any other country. All these problems have
happened due to one or the other socio-political reasons and they include
elements of social system and political policies.

o According to many scholars in India, the following are the more extreme socio-
political conflict areas -

1. Religious extremism
2. Corruption in the Central Government

3. Collapse of Public Institutions

4. The growing gap between the poor and the rich

5. Environmental degradation

6. Fragmentation in the Indian Electoral System

7. Disgruntled Neighboring Countries

8. Temporary Neighboring Countries

9. Media Insensitivity

o Openly every issue in India is a socio-political issue. If any social event takes
place here, then the tendency to associate it with politics is present in India.

State Politics Of Rajasthan

• Party System

• Political Demography

• Different Stages of Political Competition in Rajasthan

The development of political consciousness in Rajasthan started with the

Prajamandal movements, the kings of Rajasthan had also tried to form many
representative organizations but they could not succeed due to lack of
representativeness in them.

o Bikaner Maharaja Ganga Singh had established Bikaner Praja Pratinidhi Sabha in
1913. Later on, similar efforts were made in Tonk, Udaipur and Jaipur.
o In 1945, a two-member legislature was formed in Jaipur (Dharasabha and
Pratinidhi Sabha).

o The first responsible government in Rajasthan was established in Shahpura and

Gokul Lal Asawa was its Prime Minister.

o After independence, where there was a single student rule of the Congress in
different states. But this could not happen due to the absence of Congress and
the hold of the feudal lords in Rajasthan before independence. The feudatories
extended their support to non-Congress parties. In which the Bharatiya Jana
Sangh and the Ram Rajya Parishad were prominent. The Congress was successful
in forming its government in the first three assembly elections due to the split of
the opposition, while the coming together of the opposition in the 1967 elections
posed a threat to the Congress and President's rule was imposed in the state for
the first time.

Due to the Janata Party wave in 1977, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became the first
non-Congress Chief Minister, after that there was a transition period in the
politics of the state in the nineties and no party could get an absolute majority,
but from the coming of the twentieth century till now in the state. Two party
system has been established in which Congress and BJP are prominent.

o Where the Samants influenced the politics of the state, due to the land reforms
and other social reforms done by the Congress, the feudal class remained against
the Congress, while the various peasant castes of the state supported the
Congress like- Jat, Vaishnav, Servi, Gurjar

o With the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, now reservation was

given to the Other Backward Classes, then a strong vote bank emerged in the
form of OBC, due to which the influence of Congress was reduced.

o Caste has also played a major role in the politics of the state, not only votes are
cast on the basis of caste but candidates are also selected by the parties on the
basis of caste. Even the number of ministers in the Council of Ministers is also
decided on the basis of caste.
o Regionalism also played its main role in the politics of the state. Vote bank also
kept moving here and there due to very influential leaders of different fields.

o When the temporary bench of the High Court was abolished in Jaipur (in 1958),
the politics of the state was clearly divided between Jaipur and Jodhpur factions.
Finally a permanent bench of the HC was made at Jaipur in 1976.

o The percentage of rural population in the state's population was high,

therefore, the politics of the villages also influenced the politics of the state as the
peasant castes were initially associated with the Congress. Therefore, in the initial
phase, the Congress has been successful in forming its governments, that is why
in the initial phase, the policies of the government were more focused in the rural
areas, such as more attention was paid to agriculture, Jagdari was abolished,
reforms were done in the state.

o Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes also remained with the Congress in the
initial phase, but political consciousness could not develop much in them, so
never any major leadership emerged from them. Jagannath Pahadia was earlier
the Scheduled Caste CM of the state. (in 1980)

The politics of the present is also influenced by women and youth. Due to the
state's first woman Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, women also got inclined
towards BJP. Therefore, at present, schemes related to youth and women are
made by various governments.

o Social engineering has also dominated the politics of the state at different times
such as: - "Python formula" given by Chaudhary Charan Singh during the fourth
assembly elections influenced the votes of the state and in 2003 elections by
Vasundhara Raje of different castes. Votes were diverted in favor of BJP by stating
his personal complainant ties with him.

o The Muslim and Dalit castes remained in favor of the Congress but now due to
the development of political consciousness, it acts as a major pressure group.

At the time of state integration after independence, Hilalal Shastri and Jaynarayan
Vyas were the contenders for the Chief Minister. But due to the support of
Vallabhai Patel, Hiralal Shastri became the first nominated Chief Minister of the
state. Due to constant opposition by the Vyas faction, Hiralal Shastri was replaced
by CS Venkatachari who was an ICS officer. He was made the nominated CM, a
few days later, after removing Venkatachari, Jaynarayan Vyas was made the CM.

❖ First Assembly (1952 to 57)

o At this time the number of assembly seats was 160, out of which a general
category and a scheduled caste member were made on 16 seats and in the same
4 seats, a general category and a ST member were made. Congress 82, Ram Rajya
Parishad 24, Jana Sangh 3, Independent 35, Krishikar Lok Party 7, Hindu
Mahasabha 2, Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party 2

o Congress did not get success in Marwar due to Jodhpur Maharaja Hanuwant
Singh and was successful in winning the Ram Rajya Parishad, Hiralal Shastri did
not contest the elections and Tikaram Paliwal became the first elected CM of the
state due to the loss of Jaynarayan Vyas. (March 3, 1952) But later Jai Narayan
Vyas came after winning Kishangarh by-elections and became CM in November
1952. Tikaram Paliwal was made the Deputy Chief Minister in the Vyas
government, within a few days, the Congress Legislature Party replaced Vyas and
made Mohan Lal Sukadia the CM (1954), who was the youngest CM of the state
and remained the CM continuously for the next 17 years. (Vyas was removed by 8
votes)

By-elections were held at 17 places in the first assembly, which is a record till
now. Due to the merger of Ajmer in 1956, the number of assembly seats
increased to 190. Kamala Beniwal was made a deputy minister in the Mohan Lal
Sukhadia government, which was the first woman minister of the state.

❖ Second Assembly (1957 to 62)

o In the first assembly seats were re-delimited and the number of seats was
increased to 176. Of these, 27 seats had members from both general and
scheduled castes and 12 seats had members from general and ST. In these
elections, Congress 119 Ramrajya Parishad 17, Bharatiya Jana Sangh 6 seats,
Mohan Lal Sukhadia became CM for the second time. CPI got 1, Praja Samajwadi
Dal 1 and Independent 32 seats.

❖ Third Assembly (1962–67)

o This time two member areas were abolished. A new party emerged in the state
in the form of the Swatantra Party, which was supported by the kings and feudal
lords of the state, the leadership of the Swatantra Party was in the hands of
Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, the influence of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh also
increased, which was led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Was in Congress 38,
Swatantra Party 36, Bharatiya Jana Sangh 15, Mohanlal Sukhadia became CM for
the third time. RRP - 3 Independents 22, CPI, SPSD -2

❖ Fourth Assembly (1967–72)

o This time the number of seats was increased to 184, Swatantra Party and Jan
Sangh got more success in these elections. Congress could not gather majority for
the first time and got 89 seats. The Swatantra Party and the Jana Sangh, which got
49, 22 seats respectively, staked claim to form the government under the
leadership of Dungarpur Maharawal Laxman Singh, but the Central Government
imposed President's rule for the first time in the state. Due to President's rule,
Sukhadia was successful in getting majority and became the CM of the state for
the fourth time. For the first time, Minister of State and Parliamentary Secretary
were made in this assembly. Barkatullah Khan was made CM after resigning from
Sukhadia in 1971 (Python Formula)

❖ Fifth Legislative Assembly (1972–77)

Due to Bangladesh victory in 1971, there was a Congress wave in the country, so
Congress got 145 seats. Barkatullah Khan became the CM for the second time but
he died a few days later and Haridev Joshi was made the CM, in these elections
the Swatantra Party got 11 seats and the Jana Sangh got 8 seats.

In 1977, the Janata Party government came to the center and it dismissed the
Congress government of the state and imposed President's rule.

o ML Sukhadia (17 Years CM)

- 1954-57

- 1957-62

- 1962-67 (After this 44 days President's rule was imposed)

- 1967-71

❖ Sixth Assembly (1977-80)

o After the Emergency, there was a wave of Janata Party in the elections and the
Janata Party government came in both the Center and the State. Thus the politics
of the state merged with the mainstream of the country. This time the number of
assembly seats was 200, the Janata Party got 151 seats, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
became the first non-Congress CM of Rajasthan. Among the legislators of the
Janata Party, elections were held for Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Master
Adityaendra. In which Shekhawat was elected the leader of the legislature party.
(Janata Party -151, Congress:- 41, CPI 1, CPM 1, Independent – 6

In 1980, the Janata Party government at the center fell and the newly formed
Congress government at the center dismissed the state government and imposed
President's rule in Rajasthan.

❖ Seventh Assembly (1980–85)

o Mid-term elections were held for the first time in the state. Congress got 133
seats and newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party got 32 seats. Jagannath Pahadiyan
was made the CM who was the first SC CM of Rajasthan.

o After a few days, Shivcharan Mathur was made CM by removing Pahariya. After
this Hiralal Shastri Devpura was made CM.

Due to deteriorating law and order in Deeg, Raja Mansingh died in police firing,
after which Mathur was removed and Hiralal Devpura was made CM, who had
been CM for only 16 days.

❖ Eighth Legislative Assembly (1985–90)

o Congress 113 and BJP 37 seats, Haridev Joshi was made CM. After a few days,
Shivcharan Mathur was made the CM after removing Hardev Joshi and Haridev
Joshi was made the Governor of Assam-Meghalaya. After a few days, Mathur was
removed and again Hardev Joshi was made the CM.

❖ Ninth Assembly (1990–92)

This time BJP got 85 seats. But with the support of 54 members of Janata Dal
United, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became the second CM. The Janata Dal
withdrew its support due to the Ram Mandir movement, but later split in the
Janata Dal itself and the Shekhawat government continued.

In 1992, after the Babri incident, the BJP government of Rajasthan was dismissed
and President's rule was imposed in the state for the fourth time.

The ministers of this government, Lalit Kishor-Chaturvedi, had given their consent
for participating in the "karseva" in Ayodhya.

❖ Tenth Legislative Assembly (1993–98)

o BJP got 95 seats but with the support of independent MLAs, Shekhawat became
CM for the third time.

❖ 11th Legislative Assembly (1998–2003)

Congress got immense success in these elections and Anshok Gehlot became CM
with 153 seats.

❖ 12th Assembly

Because of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat becoming the Vice President, Vansudhara

Raje was the new leader of the BJP. With 120 seats, Vansudhara Raje gave BJP an
absolute majority for the first time.

❖ 13th Assembly
o Congress got 96 seats but with the support of independent and BSP MLAs,
Ashok Gehlot became the CM of Rajasthan for the second time. In this assembly,
the maximum number of women members came by winning.

❖ 14th Assembly

o BJP won with 163 seats.

o Presently there are 27 female MLAs.

❖ Important facts

President's rule has been imposed in the state for 4 times till date.

o 1967 (shortest), 1977, 1980, 1992 - 93 (longest)

o The total number of assembly seats was 200, for the first time in the elections
to the Sixth Assembly.

o In the first assembly election, the first 3 chief ministers were made. Hiralal
Shastri, CS Venkatachari, Jaynarayan Vyas.

❖ 15th Assembly

o Speaker of the Assembly – CP Joshi

o Chief Minister - Ashok Gehlot

o Leader of the Opposition - Gulabchand Kataria

o Congress got 100 seats but 6 BSP MLAs merged with Congress.

Panchayati Raj and Urban Self-Government Institutions

o The concept of Panchayati Raj is an attempt to realize participatory democracy,
which means the common man has an important role in the administration of
matters of his own interest.

❖ History of Panchayati Raj

o In 1882, Lord Ripon proposed local self-government, which is called 'Magna
Carta' in the history of Indian self-government institutions.

o In 1919 Act (montague-chemsford) local self-government was kept in

transferred subjects, that is, the power to make laws on it was given to the
provincial legislatures.

After independence, under Article 40 of the Constitution, instructions were given

to the state to take steps to constitute village panchayats.

In the Constituent Assembly, local self-government was put in the 'State List'.

❖ Various committees constituted for Panchayati Raj

1. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)-. This committee considered the lack of
public participation as the main reason for the limited success of the Community
Development Program (CDP) and recommended the development of a three-tier
structure of Panchayati Raj. After this, on 2 October 1959, from the village of
Bagdari in Nagaur, Pt. Nahe Ru did Panchayati Raj. initiated. On 11 October,
Andhra Pradesh became the first state to implement Panchayati Raj in the entire
state.

2. Sadiq Ali Committee (1964)

3. Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) - It recommended to make a two-tier

Panchayat system, to increase the tenure of Panchayats to 4 years, to give
reservation to SC and ST, to give constitutional status to Panchayats, etc.

4. GVK Rao Committee (1985) - Recommended a four-tier Panchayati Raj

structure.

5. Laxmimal Singhvi Committee (1986) - To give constitutional status to

Panchayati Raj, for Panchayats, to constitute State Finance Commission, not to
conduct Panchayat elections on party basis, to settle disputes, to establish a
Panchayati Raj Tribunal, etc. Recommended. 73 in India The Act came into force
on April 24, 1993 and in Rajasthan on April 23, 1994. Out of 29, 23 subjects of
11th Schedule have been given to Panchayati Raj Institutions in Rajasthan.
Till 73, some provisions of constitutional amendment are binding on the states
and in some the states have been given the freedom to make many discretionary
provisions.

❖ Compulsory / Compulsory Provisions-

a. Formation of Gram Sabha

b. Reservation in proportion to the minimum population to contest elections

c. Reservation for SC and ST in proportion to their population

d. Tenure of 5 years, re-election within 6 months in case of dissolution.

e. Three-tier system, but if the population of the state is less than 20 lakhs, then
there is no intermediate level.

f. At least 1/3 reservation for women

g. Constitution of State Election Commission and State Finance Commission every

fifth year.

h. Direct election of members, and indirect election of presidents (intermediate

and district level) discretionary provisions (depending on the states)

i. In the context of giving/not giving reservation to OBC, in the context of giving

more than 1/3rd reservation to women.

j. Whether to conduct the elections of Gram Panchayats on party basis or not.

k. Regarding giving members to MLAs and MPs at intermediate and district level.

l. In connection with the election of Gram Panchayat head / direct protection.

m. With reference to allowing Panchayats to levy certain taxes.

n. On how much population the levels of Panchayat are to be formed.

73 Constitutional Amendments till 1992 (enforced in 1993)

Article 243 to 243(O).

243 - There are definitions of the words Gram Sabha, Panchayat, Intermediate
level etc.

243 C A - Describing the functions of the powers of the Gram Sabha. This is left to
the discretion of the state legislatures. In Rajasthan it has to have 4 meetings in a
year, the quorum is 1/10.

243 B - It is written that in the states with population up to 20 lakhs, there will be
a two-tier system and those with more population will have a three-tier system.

243 C - Provisions regarding composition of Panchayats

243 D - Reservation in Panchayats

- Reservation of places

- Reservation of posts

Reservation of seats for SC ST will be on the basis of their proportion to the

population of this particular panchayat area, while the reservation for posts will
be based on their ratio to the population of the entire state and the time limit will
be the same as in Article 334. Women's reservation will be minimum 1/3 and
there is no time limit in this.

243 E - Duration of Panchayats - Normally 5 years, if due to some reason has been
dissolved earlier and the tenure of more than 6 months is left, then new elections
will be held within 6 months and such Panchayat will not be elected for 5 years,
only the remaining period will be selected for

243 F – Disqualification – Applicable for becoming an MLA of the state. (Exception

21 years instead of 25 years) Which the State Legislature should implement by
making law.

243 G - Powers and Responsibilities of Panchayats

243(H),(I) and (J) and related to financial position

243(I) provides for the Finance Commission.

243 (K) - State Election Commission and provision for holding elections

243 (L) - These provisions will also apply to Union Territories (UTs).

243 (M) - In which areas will not apply.

244(I) - Panchayati Raj shall not apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in
244(2), the tribal areas referred to in 244(2), Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
certain areas of Manipur, hilly areas of Darjeeling and SC reservation in Arunachal
Pradesh. Will be

Note- Two other exceptions:- Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir which are not
mentioned in 243 (M).

No. 243 (N) – 73 up to Provisions in respect of the system in force before it came
into force

243 (O) - 243 (K) The law made by the State Legislature in respect of elections,
delimitation etc. will not be questionable in the court.

Provisions with respect to Rajasthan

❖ Gram Panchayat-

o Formation on 3 thousand population (9 wards)

o 2 additional wards for every 1000 additional numbers

o Members- Sarpanch, Upsarpanch, Wardpanch, Gramsevak

o Meeting once in 15 days, quorum/quorum 1/3

❖ No confidence motion

o Cannot bring for 2 years, 1/3rd proposed by members and 3/4th majority and
passing is necessary / failing once, cannot bring for next 1 year.
 ❖ Panchayat Samiti

o Formation on 1 lakh population (15 wards)

o 2 additional wards for every 15 thousand additional population

o Number:- Member, BDO, Vice President, Head.

o Sarpanch of all gram panchayats of this Panchayat Samiti and MLAs of this area

o Meeting once in a month, quorum 1/3, the same for the no-confidence motion
which is in the context of the Gram Panchayat.

❖ Zilla Parishad

o Formation on 4 lakh population (17 wards)

o 2 additional wards for every 1 lakh

o Composition-Member, CEO, Sub-District Head, District Head

o Heads of all Panchayat Samitis of the district, all MLAs, Lok Sabha MP and Rajya
Sabha MP etc. are registered as voters in that area. The number of members of
that Zilla Parishad.

o Meeting:- 1 time in 3 months, quorum 1/3

o No-confidence motion - same procedure

Note: For the Scheduled Areas (which are mentioned in the 5th Schedule) of 10
states including Rajasthan, there is local self-government under such Act of 1996
(Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas).

In Rajasthan, Banswara, Dungarpur (fully) and Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Sirohi

(Partly) are operated under EESA.

❖ Challenges related to Panchayati Raj

1. Most of the states have forwarded very few subjects out of 29.

2. The responsibilities of Panchayats are not very clearly demarcated.

3. Lack of financial resources.

4. The concept of husband-cult.

5. Due to caste reservation, more situations have arisen in some villages.

6. Pressure Politics.

❖ Solution

1. More and more subjects were assigned to the Panchayats.

2. Clear division of workspaces between the three levels

3. Entities have the right to levy some tax at their own level.

4. To make women representatives aware of their rights.

5. Incentive to Panchayati Raj Institutions doing good work

6. To make the elected representatives aware about the rules and regulations of
Panchayati Raj, training programs should be run.

o Panchayat Empowerment Award, Zila Parishad, 2 Panchayat Samiti and Gram

Panchayats, Nagar-wise Fund Scheme, National Gram Panchayat Scheme, (2006-
2007) Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Empowerment Campaign Scheme etc. have been
done for the empowerment of Panchayats in Rajasthan.

❖ Municipalities

o Part 9 (a) was added to the Constitution by the 74th Constitutional Amendment.
This includes in Article 243(P) from 243 to 2G.

The provisions related to the Finance Commission, the tenure of institutions, the
Election Commission and the reservation of justices are the same in the 73rd and
its constitutional amendment enactment.

❖ Major Provisions
o Article 243 (O) mentions three levels of municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, 3
Municipal Councils C Municipal Corporation.

o The election of the members will be direct and the power of how the Speaker
will be elected has been given to the state legislatures.

o There is no provision in the context of reservation of seats, which is for the

Panchayats, but the power has been given to the state legislatures in terms of
posts.

❖ District Planning Committee (DPC)

o It is mentioned in Article 243 (ZD). Under this, there will be a DPC power in all
the states at the district level, which will consolidate the plans prepared by the
panchayats and municipalities of the district and prepare the draft plan for the
development of the district.

o Not less than 4/5 of its total members shall be from amongst the members of
Zilla Parishad, Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti) or Nagar Panchayat or
Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation.

o There will be 25 members of this committee in Rajasthan.

o 20 out of 25 (4/5) elected representatives, and in the remaining 5, 1 Collector, 1

Additional District Collector (ADM), 1 CEO of Zilla Parishad and 2 are nominated
by the government to the MP/MLA of that district. .

❖ Metropolitan Planning Committee

o It is mentioned in Article 243 (2E). This will be a committee to be formed for the
development of metropolitan areas. 2/3 of its members shall be elected from
amongst themselves by the elected members of the municipalities of the
metropolitan area and the presidents (not members) of the panchayats.