Indian Polity

English Notes
 Constitutional Development in India
▪ The process of constitutional development for British rule started with the Regulating Act of 1773.

Regulating Act of 1773

▪ The Regulating Act of 1773 was passed by the British Parliament.

❖ The main purpose of passing the Regulating Act :- To control the functions of the company both in India and England and to remove the
defects prevailing in the company.
▪ Two institutions were established in England to look after the company administration.
1. COD :- Court of Directors (Board of Directors)
2. COP :- Court of Proprietors (Proprietary Board)
▪ COD was the executive of the company. It consisted of 24 directors who were elected annually by the Court of Proprietors.
▪ The system of direct control of the Parliament on the Board of Directors was established by the Regulating Act.
▪ Through the Regulating Act supremacy was given to the Bengal Presidency and others were subordinated to it.
▪ The Governor of Bengal came to be called the Governor General of the British territories and an executive committee of four members was
formed for his advice, whose decision was to be taken based on majority.
▪ According to this arrangement of Regulating Act, Warren Hastings was made the first Governor General of Bengal.
▪ By this act a Supreme Court was established in Calcutta in 1774. Sir Elijah Impey was appointed to the post of Chief Justice.
▪ Company's employees were prohibited from doing private business and taking gifts and bribes from Indian people.

Pitt's India Act of 1784

▪ The Act brought by the then British Prime Minister William Pitt to resolve the problems arising due to the Regulating Act.
▪ BOC (Board of Control) was formed in London which consisted of 6 members and its chairman was an ex-officio member of the British
cabinet. Without the permission of the BOC, the Governor General did not have the right to start a conflict with any Indian monarch or assure
anyone's help. The system of this Board of Control remained till 1858.
▪ By this act, the number of members of the Governor General's executive was reduced from 4 to 3.

Charter Act of 1793

▪ By this act, the trade monopoly of the company was extended for the next 20 years.
▪ The expenses of the Board of Control were imposed on the Indian exchequer. This arrangement continued till 1919.
▪ Through this act, the Governor General was given the right to cancel the recommendation of his council. That is, through this act the Governor
General was given the power of veto.

Charter Act of 1813

▪ The trade monopoly of the East India Company in India was partially abolished. Company's monopoly remained only on trade with China
and trade of tea.
▪ The company was given the right to spend Rs 1 lakh annually on education.
▪ Through this act, Christian missionaries were allowed to propagate religion in India by taking license.

Charter Act of 1833

▪ The Governor General of Bengal would now be called "Governor General of India". Lord William Bentinck became the first Governor
General of India.
▪ British citizens were given the right that they could buy land in India and do horticulture agriculture on it.
▪ Through this act it was said to end the slave system.
▪ Through this act, the trade monopoly of the company was completely abolished. The administration of India was left to the company for the
next 20 years.
▪ Lord Macaulay was appointed as the fourth member of the Governor General's Council after the Governor General's Council got
the power to make laws.
▪ Macaulay had the right to participate in the council meetings but not to vote.
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▪ A Law Commission was established in 1834 based on the Charter Act of 1833. This Law Commission was formed under the leadership
of Lord Macaulay.
▪ In this Act, it is said that no Indian would be denied a post based on caste, creed or religion.

Charter Act of 1853

▪ Through this act, competitive examination was recommended for civil service and to fulfill this, competitive examination started in
London in 1855.
▪ The number of Court of Directors was reduced from 24 to 18.
▪ The Court of Directors was empowered to create a new presidency. On this basis, in 1859, the post of a lieutenant governor was arranged in
Punjab.
▪ The Law Member was made a full member of the Governor General's Executive.

Government of India Act of 1858

▪ This act was brought after the Revolt of 1857.
▪ Lord Canning announced this decision of the British Crown by holding a Durbar at Allahabad on 1 November 1858.
▪ The Indian administration was taken over by the British Crown.
▪ The Governor General of India now came to be known as the Viceroy ("Representative of the Crown").
▪ At this time the British Crown was Queen Victoria and the Prime Minister of Britain was Palmerston.
▪ The post of India Secretary was created under this act. He was a member of the British cabinet.
▪ The Board of Control was abolished by this act and thus the rule of dual control was abolished.

Indian Council Act of 1861

▪ In 1861, the first Indian Council Act was passed.
▪ The Governor General was given the right to issue ordinance in emergency, whose validity was maximum for 6 months.
▪ The Portfolio System was started, that is, the foundation of the cabinet system was laid in India.

Government of India Act, 1892

▪ The Legislative Council was given the right to debate on the annual budget and it was said that the members of the Legislative Council can
ask questions related to the public affairs except supplementary questions.

Government of India Act, 1909

▪ Popular name :- Morley-Minto Reforms Act, 1909
▪ At this time the Viceroy of India was Lord Minto while Marley was on the post of India Secretary.
▪ The number of Central Legislative Council was increased to 69 by this act.
▪ Separate electorates were introduced for Muslims.
▪ Indians were given the right to ask questions in the Central Legislative Council. But they could not raise questions like foreign policy, princely
states, expenditure on railways and interest on loans.
▪ For the first time Indians were included in the Council of the Secretary of India and the Executive Council of the Viceroy. Under this
arrangement two Indian K. C. Gupta and Syed Hussain Wilgrami were appointed to the Indian Council in England.

Government of India Act, 1919

▪ Popular name :- Montague-Chelmsford Reforms Act, 1919
▪ Parliament's control over India Secretary was increased. Till now the expenditure on the Secretary of India and his department was recovered
from the revenue of India, but now all this expenditure is being done in the amount approved by the British Parliament.
▪ Provision was made for the appointment of three Indians in the India Council.
▪ An Indian High Commissioner was appointed in England and the expenditure on his salary, pension etc. was to be done from the resources
of India.
▪ Changes were brought in the Government of India at two levels :- First at the central level and second at the provincial level.

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▪ Bicameral Legislature was arranged for the first time in the center. One house was called the Council of state and the other house was called
the Central Legislative Council.
▪ The Central Legislature was made up of the Governor General, the Council of state and the Central Legislative Council.
▪ Members of the Central Legislature could ask questions and supplementary questions to the Central Government.
▪ A federal system was kept at the provincial level.
▪ The biggest feature of this act was to implement the diarchy system in the provinces.

Government of India Act of 1935

▪ Through this act, the diarchy system was abolished from the provinces.
▪ Through this act, diarchy system was brought at the central level, that is, now the central level subjects were divided into reserved
and transferred.
▪ Bicameral system was brought in the provinces by this act. This bicameral system was established only in 6 provinces (Bombay, Bengal,
Bihar, Madras, United Provinces, Central Provinces).
▪ This act talked about the establishment of a federal court in Delhi, which was established in 1937.
▪ Based on the provisions of this act, Burma was separated from India in 1937.
▪ Section 93 of this Act was controversial in that it was said that the Governor General could dismiss the provincial government. By using this
power, in 1939, the governor took over the governance in different provinces.
▪ In this act it was said to form a union which could never come into existence.
▪ Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru compared this act to "a vehicle which had many brakes but no accelerator."
▪ Muhammad Ali Jinnah described this act as "rotten in origin".

Framing of the Indian Constitution

▪ In 1934, the idea of formation of the Constituent Assembly was given by the leftist leader MN Roy
▪ In 1946, the Cabinet Mission presented the format for the formation of the Constituent Assembly, under which it was said to form a Constituent
Assembly in India.

Creation of the Constituent Assembly

▪ Under the Cabinet Mission Plan, arrangements were made for the formation of a 389-member Constituent Assembly, in which 296
seats were affiliated to British India and 93 were affiliated to the princely states, which are described as follows :-
1. Total number of members of the Constituent Assembly :- 389
2. Total number of elected members in the Constituent Assembly :- 296
3. The total number of members coming to the Constituent Assembly from British India :- 296
4. The total number of members coming to the Constituent Assembly from 11 British provinces :- 292
5. The total number of members coming to the Constituent Assembly from the British Commissionerate :- 4
6. The total number of members coming from the princely states in the Constituent Assembly :- 93
▪ One member or representative was to be elected on a population of 10 lakhs.
▪ The representatives of the British provinces were to be elected while the representatives of the princely states were to be nominated by the
head of the princely state. In this way the Constituent Assembly was partly elected and partly made up of nominations.
▪ The seats allotted to each British province were to be decided among the three major communities in proportion to their population.
These three communities were :- 1. Muslim – 79, 2. Sikh – 4, 3. General - 213
▪ The number of Scheduled Tribe members in the Constituent Assembly was 33.
▪ The number of women members was 15.

Election to the Constituent Assembly

▪ Elections were held for the Constituent Assembly in July-August, 1946. (For 296 seats allotted to British India)
▪ Election result :- Congress - 208, Muslim League - 73, Independent - 8 and other parties - won 7 seats.
❖ Functions of the Constituent Assembly :-
▪ On December 9, 1946, the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held in the library building of the Council Chamber (present name
Constitution Club) located in New Delhi.
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▪ According to the tradition of France, Dr. Sachidanand Sinha, the senior most member of this assembly, was elected as the temporary President
of the Constituent Assembly.
▪ The Muslim League boycotted this meeting and demanded a separate constitution for Pakistan. So, in the first meeting only 207 members
participated in which 9 were women.
▪ On December 11, 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the permanent President of the Constituent Assembly and HC Mukherjee as the
Vice-President.
▪ B. N. Rao (Bengal Narasimha Rao) was appointed as the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly.
▪ On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru passed the Objective Resolution and from that day the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly
began. The basic features of the constitution were mentioned in the objective resolution.
▪ On January 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly unanimously passed the Objectives Resolution.

Partition and changes in the Constituent Assembly

▪ After independence and partition, the Constituent Assembly was reconstituted and the total number of members was fixed at 299, in which
229 were from the provinces and 70 from the princely states.
▪ After partition, the members representing East Bengal, Sindh, North West Frontier Province ceased to be members of the Constituent
Assembly. In this process Bhimrao Ambedkar's place also became vacant, because he was elected from Bengal. Later he was elected from
the Bombay Congress.
▪ Province-wise members of the Constituent Assembly :- United Provinces - 55, Madras - 49, Bihar - 36, Bombay - 21, Bengal - 19, Central
Provinces and Berar - 17, East Punjab - 12, Orissa - 9, Assam - 8
▪ Members of princely states in the Constituent Assembly :- Mysore - 7, Travancore - 6, Gwalior - 4, Jaipur - 3

Constituent Assembly Committees

▪ Many committees were formed in the Constituent Assembly, some of which were as follows :-
Committees President
Union Powers Committee Jawaharlal Nehru

Union Constitution Committee Jawaharlal Nehru

Provincial Constitution Committee Sardar Patel

Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights Sardar Patel

Advisory Committee on Minorities and Tribal Sardar Patel

Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad
Drafting Committee B R Ambedkar
Sub-committee on fundamental rights J B Kriplani
Consultative Sub-Committee on Minorities H C Mukherjee
Draft test Committee Alladi Krishnaswami Iyer (Brahmin)
Ad hoc Committee on National Flag Rajendra Prasad
Committee on the Rule of Procedure Rajendra Prasad
House Committee Pattabhi Siddaramaiah
Committee on the Functions of Constituent Assembly G V Mavlankar

Drafting Committee
▪ Purpose :- To discuss the draft of the constitution made by BN Rao
▪ Establishment :- on August 29, 1947
▪ Total members :- 7
▪ President :- BR Ambedkar
▪ Other members :- N Gopalaswami Ayyangar (Congress Party), KM Munshi (Congress Party), Syed Mohammad Sadulla (Muslim League),
Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (Independent), BL Mitra (Independent), DP Khaitan (Independent)
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▪ Note :- B. L. Mitra resigned due to illness, so Madhav Rao (independent) came in his place while DP Khaitan died and TT Krishnamachari
(from Congress party) came in his place.

Functions of the Constituent Assembly

▪ First Reading :- From 4 to 9 November 1948
▪ Second Reading :- From 15 November 1948 to 17 October 1949
▪ Third Reading :- 14 November 1949 to 26 November 1949
▪ On 26 November 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution.
▪ On January 24, 1950, 284 present members of the Constituent Assembly signed the constitution.
▪ The last day of the Constituent Assembly was January 24, 1950 and on this day Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected President.
▪ There was total 12 sessions of the Constituent Assembly.
▪ The total process of constitution making took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days.
▪ An amount of Rs 63,96,729 was spent in the total process of making the constitution.
▪ At the time of passing (26 November 1949), there were a total of 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules in the constitution. (At present there
are 12 schedules.)
▪ On November 26, 1949, a total of 15 Acts including citizenship, election, interim parliament and some other transitional provisions came into
force.
▪ The remaining provisions of the constitution came into force on January 26, 1950 and this is considered as the date of commencement of the
constitution.
▪ The Constituent Assembly is praised for the fact that all the proposals in it were passed with a voice vote and full consent.
❖ Other functions of the Constituent Assembly: -
▪ The National Flag was adopted on July 22, 1947.
▪ On January 24, 1950, the National Anthem and the National Song were adopted.
▪ India's membership in the Commonwealth was ratified in May, 1949.
❖ Note :- On July 26, 1947, the Governor General announced the formation of a separate Constituent Assembly for Pakistan.

Various sources of the Constitution

▪ Britain :- Parliamentary system of government, Cabinet system, Parliamentary privilege, Legislative process (law making), Equality before
law, Single citizenship, Rule of law.
▪ Ireland :- Directive principles of state policy, election system of the President, nomination of members for Rajya Sabha.
▪ Canada/North American Act :- Federal system of governance, vesting of residuary powers in the Centre, advisory adjudication of the
Supreme Court, appointment of the Governor of the state by the Centre, advisory adjudication of the Supreme Court.
▪ Australia :- Concurrent list, joint sitting of both houses of Parliament (Joint session system)
▪ Germany (Weimar Constitution) :- Emergency provisions (Suspension of fundamental rights)
▪ Soviet Union (Russia) :- Fundamental Duties, word justice in Preamble
▪ South Africa :- Process of constitutional amendment, election of Rajya Sabha members
▪ France :- Liberty, equality, fraternity, republican system in the preamble.
▪ America :- Fundamental rights, equal protection of law, supremacy of the judiciary, judicial review, post of Vice President, independence of
the judiciary, process of impeachment of the President and judges.
▪ Japan :- Procedure established by law

Unitary Features of the constitution :-

▪ Powerful Centre, Single Constitution, Single Citizenship, Residuary Powers to the Centre, Priority of the Union over the Concurrent List,
Appointment of the Governor by the Centre, All India Services, River Water Disputes, Emergency Provisions, Integrated Judiciary.

Federal Features of the constitution :-

▪ Written constitution, supremacy of the constitution, independent judiciary, separation of powers, bicameral system.

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 Union of India and its territories
▪ It is mentioned in Part 1 of the Constitution of India till Article 1-4.
▪ Article 1 : - Article 1 of the Indian Constitution states that 'India' means 'Bharat' will be a "Union of States".
▪ Article 2 :- In reference to those states which are not part of the Indian Union and they are to be entered and formed in India.
▪ Article 3 :- It tells about the power of the Parliament regarding the reorganization of the states. This article is related to the creation of new
states in the Indian Union or the change in the name, boundary, area etc. of the existing states.
▪ Article 4: - It has been said that any work done by Article 2 and Article 3 will not be a constitutional amendment.

Integration of Princely States

▪ At the time of independence, 549 princely states decided to merge into India. Only three princely states were left – Junagadh, Hyderabad and
Kashmir.
▪ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played the most prominent role in the integration of the princely states. For this reason, he is called “Bismarck of
India”.
▪ V.P. Menon and Lord Mountbatten supported Sardar Patel in the integration of the princely states.

Kashmir :-
▪ Muslims were in majority here while the ruler Hari Singh was a Hindu. Hari Singh initially decided to remain independent and when the
tribal Pathans under Akbar Khan attacked Kashmir on 22 October 1947, Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for help on 24 October
1947.
▪ On 26 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh merged Kashmir into India by “Signing the Instrument of Accession”.

Junagadh :-
▪ Nawab of Junagadh was Mahabathak Rasool Khan. It expressed its desire for merger in favour of Pakistan against the will of the people.
Hence there was a public revolt and the Nawab had to flee. Its Diwan Shahnawaz Bhutto invited the Indian government and then Junagadh
joined the Indian state in February 1948 through a “referendum”.

Hyderabad :-
▪ Nawab of Hyderabad was Osman Ali Khan and it was merged into the Indian state on 13 September 1948 through “police action”. The police
action in Hyderabad was named “Operation Polo”.

Formation of states
▪ In the original Constitution of 1949, the entire territory of India was divided into four types of states. The four categories of
classification were as follows:-
1. Group A :- In this, 9 new states were created by including the provinces of British India (those provinces under the Government of India
Act of 1935 where the Governor General ruled) along with some princely states. (9 states :- Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras,
Orissa, Punjab, United Province, West Bengal)
2. Group B :- There were 9 states in this category in which big native princely states were included. (9 states :- Hyderabad, Jammu and
Kashmir, Central India, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Travancore-Cochin, Vindhya Pradesh)
3. Group C :- There were 10 states in this category, which included small princely states and areas under the rule of the Chief Commissioner
of British India. (10 states :- Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Cooch Behar, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur and Tripura)
4. Group D :- Andaman Nicobar Islands were kept in this. (Mainly this category was created for territories acquired from foreign countries.)

Formation of states on linguistic basis

▪ Dhar Commission :- In June, 1948, the Government of India constituted a commission under the leadership of SK Dhar.
▪ JVP Committee :- In December 1948, the Congress constituted a Linguistic Provinces Committee in which Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya were members.
▪ In Andhra Pradesh, the fast started in 1952 by a Congress worker named Potti Sriramulu. He died after 56 days of hunger strike. As a result,
the movement became fiercer. The government had to create the state of Andhra Pradesh.

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▪ Thus, Andhra Pradesh was the first state to be formed based on language (Telugu language) on October 1, 1953. (Andhra Pradesh was
carved out of Madras province to form a new state.)
▪ Fazal Ali Commission : - In December 1953, the government constituted a 3-member "State Reorganization Commission" headed by Justice
Fazal Ali. Two other members of this commission were KM Panikkar and Hridaynath Kunzru.
▪ The commission presented its report in 1955, which accepted the reorganization of states based on language, but rejected the "principle of
one language one state".
▪ The commission had talked about the creation of 16 states and 3 union territories by ending the classification of four grous in the constitution.
▪ The Indian Parliament passed the States Reorganization Act, 1956, by which 14 states and 6 union territories were formed. (By 7th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956)
States and Union Territories created after 1956

Union Territory / Present State Year of Formation

Maharashtra 1960

Gujrat 1960

Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Goa and Daman and Diu 1961

Pondicherry (Present day Puducherry) Joined as a Union Territory on December 19, 1961. From 1954-1962, its rule continued
like India Acquired Area and it was made a Union Territory by the 14th Constitutional
Amendment, 1962.

Nagaland (16th state) 1963

Haryana (17th state) 1966

Chandigarh 1966

Himachal Pradesh (18th state) 1971

Manipur (19th state) 1972

Tripura (20th state) 1972

Meghalaya (21st state) By 22nd Constitutional Amendment, 1969 Autonomous region and became a full state
in 1972

Sikkim (22nd state) In 1974, Sikkim was merged as a United State under the 35th Constitutional
Amendment and then made a full-fledged state by the 36th Constitutional Amendment
in 1975.

Mizoram (23rd state) 1987

Arunachal Pradesh (24th state) 1987

Goa (25th state) 1987

Chhattisgarh (26th state) 1 November 2000

Uttarakhand (27th state) 9 November 2000

Jharkhand (28th state) 15 November 2000

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 Telangana (29th state) 2 June, 2014

Preamble
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO
OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Some Important Facts about Preamble

▪ Source :- USA
▪ Objective Resolution :- The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is based on the 'Objective Resolution', drafted and introduced by Pandit
Jawahar Lal Nehru on 13th December 1946, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22nd January 1947.
▪ Amended only once :- 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976) added three new words in the preamble - "Socialism", "Secularism" and
"Integrity".
▪ Nature :- It is non-judicial in nature or not enforceable in courts of law.
▪ “We the People of India” emphasizes that the Constitution is made by the Indian people and for India. It emphasizes the "concept of popular
sovereignty".

Components of Preamble :-
▪ Source of Authority of Constitution :- Receives its authority from the people of India.
▪ Nature of Indian State :- Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic
▪ Objectives of the Constitution :- Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
▪ Date of Adoption of the Constitution :- November 26, 1949

Is the Preamble a part of the Constitution or not? :-

▪ In the case of Berubari Union, 1960, the Supreme Court said that the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.
▪ In the case of Golaknath vs. State of Punjab, 1967 also, Justice Wanchoo said that the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.
▪ But in the case of Keshavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala, 1973, the Supreme Court said that “The Preamble is a part of the Constitution
and the Constitution should be studied keeping the Preamble in mind.” In this context, the Supreme Court said that the Parliament can amend
the entire Constitution but cannot change the basic structure and what is the basic structure of the Constitution is mentioned in the Preamble.

Some important facts about Preamble :-

▪ N. A. Palkhivala has called the Preamble the introduction letter of the Constitution.
▪ Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer called the Preamble of the Constitution an idea of long-term dreams.
▪ India has secular sovereignty because the Preamble of the Constitution begins with the words ‘We the people of India’.
▪ K. M. Munshi called the Preamble of the Constitution the horoscope of our sovereign democratic republic.

Citizenship
▪ Meaning :- The declaration of the interconnections of the individual and the state.
▪ Single citizenship exists in India. The provision of single citizenship has been taken from the constitution of England.
▪ Rights and privileges given to Indian citizens :-
▪ Articles 15, 16, 19, 29 and 30 related to fundamental rights

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 ▪ Right to vote in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.
▪ Right to contest elections for the membership of Parliament and State Legislature.
▪ Right to hold certain public posts :- Only citizens can be elected to public posts like President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court
and High Court, Governor, Attorney General, Advocate General.

Constitutional provisions related to Citizenship :-

▪ Citizenship is mentioned in Part 2 of the Indian Constitution from Article 5 to Article 11.
Important articles related to Citizenship

Article 5 Provision of citizenship at the commencement of the constitution

Article 6 Mention of the right of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated from Pakistan to India

Article 7 Mention of the right of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to Pakistan

Article 8 Citizenship rights of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India

Article 9 Persons voluntarily acquiring the citizenship of a foreign State not to be Indian citizens

Article 10 Continuation of citizenship rights

Article 11 Describing the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to citizenship

Article 11 :- Article 11 states that the Parliament of India has the right to make laws regarding citizenship.
▪ In 1955, the Parliament passed the "Citizenship Act" in which the following grounds were given for obtaining citizenship.

Citizenship Act, 1955 :-

▪ The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for the acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.
▪ A person can be a citizen of India, if he fulfils any one of the following 5 condition :- 1. By Birth, 2. By Descent, 3. By Registration, 4.
By Naturalisation, 5. By Incorporation of Territory

▪ Provision for Cancellation of citizenship :- By Renunciation, By Termination, By Deprivation

▪ Amendment in Citizenship Act 1955 :- The Parliament passed the Citizenship Act 1955 which was amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005,
2015 & 2019.
▪ The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 :- "Any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 shall not be treated as an illegal
migrant".

Fundamental Rights
▪ The fundamental rights in India have been taken from the American Constitution.
▪ It has been mentioned in Part 3 of the Indian Constitution till Articles 12-35.
▪ Part 3 of the constitution is called the Magna Carta.
▪ Fundamental rights promote the ideal of political democracy.
▪ Originally there were 7 fundamental rights in the constitution.
1. Right to Equality :- Article 14 - Article 18
2. Right to Liberty :- Article 19 - Article 22
3. Right against Exploitation :- Article 23 - Article 24
4. Right to Freedom of Religion: - Article 25 - Article 28
5. Culture & Educational Rights :- Article 29 - Article 30
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 6. Right to Property :- Article 31
7. Right to Constitutional Remedies :- Article 32
▪ The right to property has been removed from the list of fundamental rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment, 1978. It has been made a
legal right by placing it in Article 300 (a).

General Features
▪ Some fundamental rights like - 15, 16, 19, 29, 30 are available only to Indian citizens while others are available to all.
▪ It is not unlimited. The state can impose restrictions on these in a reasonable manner.
▪ Some fundamental rights are negative in nature i.e., they limit the authority of the state like article 15.
▪ Fundamental rights are given to individuals and can be enforced by the court.
▪ Except Article 20 and Article 21, all others can be suspended during national emergency.
❖ Article 12 :- Definition of 'State' in the context of fundamental rights.
❖ Article 13 :- It declares that the laws inconsistent with the fundamental rights or limiting them will be void. That is, such laws are considered
eligible for judicial review.

Right to Equality: - (Article 14-18)

❖ Article 14 :- Equality before law and equal protection of law.
❖ Article 15 :- Prohibition of discrimination on certain grounds.
❖ Article 15 (1) :- The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
❖ Article 15 (2) :- No citizen shall be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition on grounds only religion, race, caste, sex or
place of birth with regard to (a) access to shops, public restaurants.
❖ Article 15 (3) :- The state is permitted to make any special provision for women and children.
❖ Article 15 (4) :- The state is permitted to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes
or for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes.
❖ Article 15 (5) :- The state is empowered to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward
classes or for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes regarding their admission to educational institutions.
▪ This provision was added by the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2005.
▪ It also includes private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, except minority educational institutions.
❖ Article 15 (6) :- The state is empowered to make any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections. Further,
the state is allowed to make a provision for the reservation of up to 10% of seats for such sections in admission to educational institutions
including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, except the minority educational institutions.
▪ Under this provision, through the 103rd Constitution Amendment Act, 2019, a provision of 10% reservation in government employment
has been made for the economically backward classes falling under the general category.

Mandal Commission :-
▪ In 1979, the Second Backward Classes Commission was constituted by the government of Morarji Desai. It was formed under the
chairmanship of B.P. Mandal (Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal).
▪ The first Backward Classes Commission was constituted in 1953 under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar.
▪ Article 340 provides for the formation of a commission to investigate the educational and social condition of the backward class people.
▪ The Mandal Commission submitted its report in 1980 and talked about to provide 27% reservation to OBCs.
▪ In 1990, the VP Singh government announced the implementation of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission.
▪ Supreme Court introduced the concept of creamy layer in OBC. Under this, the government constituted the Ramanandan Committee to
identify the creamy layer and it submitted its report in 1993, which was accepted.
▪ By an Act of Parliament in 1993, “A National Commission” was constituted for the backward classes, which works to remove and add names
to the list of backward classes.

❖ Article 16 :- Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

❖ Article 16(1) :- Guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of 'employment' or 'appointment' to any post under the State.

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❖ Article 16(2) :- No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible
for or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.
❖ In Article 16 (3) :- The exception of Article 16 (2) is given. The government may reserve certain services for residents of the state, provided
there is good reason for doing so. This power has been given only to the Parliament.
▪ For example, in Uttarakhand the system of reservation has been implemented for the residents of the state.
❖ Article 16 (4) :- The State to make provision for the reservation of posts in government jobs in favour of any backward class of citizens
which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services of the State.
▪ This provision was added by the First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951.

❖ Article 17 :- Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its practice

▪ The government passed the “Untouchability Offenses Act 1955” in 1955 and made it a punishable offense.
❖ Article 18 :- Abolition of titles except military and academic.

Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22)

Article 19 :- It provides six basic freedoms to the citizens of India.
• This right to freedom is not absolute, that means restrictions can be imposed on it.

❖ Article 19 (a): - Freedom of speech and expression

▪ Under this, the Supreme Court has included the following :- 1. Freedom of the press, 2. Freedom of commercial advertising, 3. Freedom
to hoist the flag, 4. Right to information, 5. Right to protest but not the right to strike.
❖ Article 19 (b) :- Freedom of peaceful assembly
❖ Article 19 (c): – Freedom to form an association or union
❖ Article 19 (d) :- Right to freely move
❖ Article 19 (e) :- Right to Residence
❖ Article 19 (g): – Business and profession right

Article 20 :- Protection in respect of conviction for offenses

▪ It includes the following things :-
1. No person shall be convicted of an offense unless the statute or law for the time being in force has been violated.
2. No person shall be punished for the same offense more than once.
3. No person can be compelled to give such evidence as would support a charge against him.

Article 21 :- Right to life and personal liberty (dignified life)

▪ Under this, the Supreme Court has included the following :- 1. Right to leave in a Healthy environment, 2. Right to Privacy, 3. Right to
Free Legal Aid, 4. Right against handcuffing, 5. Right to speedy & fair trial, 6. Right to travel abroad, 7. Right to timely treatment in
government hospital, 8. Right to respect with women, 9. Right against public hanging, 10. Right to food, 11. Right to Sleep, 12. Right to get
minimum wages, 13. Right to Live with Dignity

Article 21(a) :- Right to elementary education to children of the age of 6 to 14 years.

▪ Added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.

Article 22 :- Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases

▪ It provides protection to the person from custody.
▪ Under the preventive provision, if the person is arrested on the basis of suspicion, then he has the following rights :-
1. The custody of a person cannot be extended beyond 3 months.
2. The grounds of this detention should be stated.
3. The arrested person must be produced before the Judicial Magistrate within 24 hours.

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 Some Preventive Detention Act made by the Parliament
1. Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (MISA-Maintenance of Internal Security Act) (expired in 1978)
2. COFEPOSA-Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974
3. National Security Act, 1980
4. TADA-Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act} - came in 1985 (expired in 1995)
5. Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act - 1980
6. POTA-Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (Expired in 2004)

Right against Exploitation (Articles 23 - 24)

Article 23 :- Prohibition of human trafficking and forced labour.
▪ In this context, the government enacted the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and enacted the Bonded Labor Abolition Act, 1976.

Article 24 :- Prohibition of employment of children in factories etc.

▪ According to this, children below the age of 14 years cannot be employed in any factory or other hazardous activities.
▪ In this context, the Child Labor Abolition Act, 1986 was enacted.

Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25-28)

❖ Article 25 :- Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion
❖ Article 26 :- Freedom to manage religious affairs
❖ Article 27 :- Freedom from payment of taxes for promotion of any religion
❖ Article 28 :- Freedom from attending religious instruction or worship in certain educational institutions

Culture and Educational Rights (Article 29-30)

❖ Article 29 :- Protection of interests of minorities
▪ Any part of the citizens living in any part of India has the right to preserve his dialect, language, script and culture.

❖ Article 30 :- Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

Article 32 :- Right to constitutional remedies

▪ Dr Ambedkar described Article 32 as the "soul and heart of the Constitution".
▪ Under this, if the state violates the fundamental rights, then the person can issue a writ in the Supreme Court under Article 32.

Other fundamental rights

❖ Article 33 :- The Parliament has the right to regularize the fundamental rights for the army, paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, police
forces etc.
❖ Article 34 :- In the event of martial law, the Parliament can control the fundamental rights.
❖ Article 35 :- Only the Parliament has the right to make laws to bring fundamental rights into force.

Authority of parliament with respect to fundamental rights

▪ In 1951, in the context of "Shankari Prasad vs. State of Bihar", the Supreme Court said that the Parliament can amend any part of the
constitution including the fundamental rights.
▪ In 1967, in the Golaknath vs. State of Punjab case, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision and ruled that the Parliament cannot
amend the Fundamental Rights.
▪ To overcome the difficulties arising in this matter, the Parliament made the 24th Constitutional Amendment in 1971 and also made this
arrangement: -
1. Parliament can amend the fundamental rights.
2. This amendment shall not be deemed to be a law under article 13.
3. The President is bound to give his assent to all amendments.

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▪ In Keshavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala Case, 1973, the Supreme Court decided that the Parliament can amend the Fundamental Rights
but it cannot change the basic structure.
▪ The concept of basic structure was given by the Supreme Court in 1973 in 'Keshvananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case.
▪ In 1976, Parliament made 42nd constitutional amendment against Kesavananda case. It said that the validity of any amendment made by the
Parliament cannot be challenged in any court on any ground. Also, there will be no limitation on the power of Parliament to amend the
constitution.
▪ Challenging the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, in Minerva Mills vs. Union of India, in 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that the provision
of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment was unconstitutional and no change could be made in the basic structure. Therefore, the decision of
Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala case was upheld.

Suspension of fundamental rights :-

▪ Article 20, 21 :- It will never be suspended.
▪ Article 19 :- In the event of a national emergency (Article 352), Article 19 automatically gets suspended.

Different types of writs

1. Habeas Corpus :-
▪ It is a Latin word meaning "to be presented".
▪ When a person is detained without the procedure established by law, the court orders the officer of the concerned department to produce the
detained person in the court.
2. Mandamus :-
▪ It literally means "we command".
▪ This writ is issued when a public officer neglects his duty. Then the court compels him to do his duty by issuing a writ.
3. Prohibition :-
▪ It literally means "to stop". This writ is issued to subordinate courts and by this the subordinate court or tribunal is prevented from performing
higher judicial functions outside its jurisdiction.
4. Certiorari :-
▪ Its literal meaning is "to be certified or informed". It is also known as Post-Mortem. This writ is also issued to the subordinate courts with a
direction to refer the case pending with them to the superior court for adjudication.
5. Quo Warranto :-
▪ It is a proceeding by which a court examines the validity of a person's claim to public office. If his claim is not logical then he can be expelled
from the post. In this way, this writ prevents any person from taking illegal usurpation of public office.

Directive Principles of State Policy

▪ Constitutional Provision :- Article 36-51 in Part 4
▪ Source :- Constitution of Ireland.
▪ Objective :- To create a Welfare State or Socio-Economic Democracy.
▪ Article 36 :- Definition of states in the context of Directive Principles of State Policy.
▪ Article 37 :- The nature of Directive Principles is non-judicial. That is, it cannot be enforced by the court.

Classification of Directive Principles :-

▪ There is no any classification of the Directive Principle of State Policy in the constitution, but based on their condition and characteristics,
they can be divided into the 3 categories.

Socialist theory (Socio-economic) :-

▪ Article 38 :- Ensuring social order through social, economic, political justice for public welfare and ending inequality of income, prestige
and opportunities.
▪ Article 39 (a) :- To give the right to all citizens to get adequate means of livelihood
▪ Article 39 (b) :- System of collective ownership and control of physical property.

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▪ Article 39 (c) :- Preventing the concentration of wealth and means of production.
▪ Article 39 (d) :- Equal pay for equal work for men and women.
▪ Article 39 (e) :- Do not allow the health and strength of men and women and the tender age of children to be misused.
▪ Article 39 (f) :- To provide facilities of development and opportunities to children in a healthy and dignified environment.
▪ Article 41 :- Right to get work, education, public assistance (in old age, unemployment, illness and disability / disability)
▪ Article 42 :- Provision of just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
▪ Article 43 :- Providing living wage and normal standard of living and socio-cultural opportunities for all workers
▪ Article 43 (a) :- Taking steps for the participation of workers in the management of industries / workers' participation in management [It was
added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976]
▪ Article 47 :- Raising the nutritional level and standard of living and improving public health

Gandhian principles
▪ Article 40 :- Formation of Panchayats and giving them necessary powers
▪ Article 43 :- Development of cottage industries in rural areas
▪ Article 46 :- Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and weaker sections of the society
and protection from social injustice and exploitation.
▪ Article 47 :- Ban on consumption of intoxicating drugs, alcohol, drugs harmful to health.
▪ Article 48 :- Prohibition on the sacrifice of cow, calf and other milch animals and promotion of improvement in their breeds

Rationalist/Libertarian theory
▪ Article 44 :- Applying a uniform civil code to citizens of all regions of India
▪ Article 45 :- Arrangement for the care and education of a child below the age of 6 years (It was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment,
2002)
▪ 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, creating just and honorable relations between nations, increasing respect for
international law and treaties, and encouraging settlement of international disputes by arbitration

Controversy regarding fundamental rights and directive principles

▪ Champakam Rajan vs. State of Madras Case 1951 :- The Supreme Court declares that in any conflict between the Fundamental Rights
and the Directive Principles, the Fundamental Rights would take precedence.
▪ Golaknath vs. State of Punjab 1967 :- Court decided that Parliament cannot abrogate any fundamental right i.e. cannot modify the
fundamental rights in order to implement the Directive Principles.
▪ After the above case, the Parliament made a new law through the 24th and 25th constitutional amendment:-
1. 24th Amendment 1971 :- Parliament has the right to amend the fundamental rights.
2. 25th Amendment 1971 :- Under this the Parliament added a new Article 31(c) to the list of fundamental rights. Its first part said that no
law implementing the Socialist Directive Principles mentioned in Article 39(b) and Article 39(c) can be declared invalid on the ground
that it violates Article 14 and Article 19 and in the second part it was said that the law declaring such a policy to be effective cannot be
challenged in the court.
▪ Keshavananda Bharati Case 1973 :– The second provision of Article 31(c) was declared unconstitutional. Because judicial review is the
basic feature of the constitution.
▪ 42nd Constitutional Amendment 1976 :- Under this, the provisions of Article 31 (c) were expanded, in which the priority and supremacy
of the Directive Principles were stated i.e. stated above the fundamental rights.
▪ Minerva Mills Vs Union of India 1980 :- The Supreme Court declared the extension of 42nd amendment unconstitutional. That is, DPSP
was not placed above the fundamental rights and it was said that "Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights complement each other like
two wheels of a chariot."

Directive Principles outside Part IV mentioned in other parts of the Constitution

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▪ Article 335 (Part 16) :- To take care of the claims of SC/ST for services consistent with the maintenance of efficiency of administration.
▪ Article 340 (Part 16) :- The state will establish a commission to investigate the educational and social status of backward classes
▪ Article 350 (a) (Part 17) :- The state will try to arrange the facilities of education in the mother tongue to the children belonging to the
linguistic minority at the primary level.
▪ Article 351 (Part 17) :- It is the duty of the Union to promote the Hindi language so that it can become a medium of expression of the
elements of India's culture.

Directive principles of State Policy added under 42nd amendment 1976

❖ Article 39 (a) :- Providing free legal aid.
❖ Article 39 (f) :- To provide facilities of development and opportunities to children in a healthy dignified environment.
❖ Article 43 (a) :- To ensure the participation of workers in the management of industries.
❖ Article 48 (a) :- Environment should be protected and its improvement should be done to protect forests and wildlife.

Directive Principles added under 44th Amendment 1978

❖ Article 38 (a) :- The state will bring a social system in which social, economic and political justice and expression of public welfare will be
tried.
❖ Article 38 (b) :- The state will try to reduce the inequalities of income. Will try to eliminate inequality of status, facilities and opportunity
not only among individuals but also among groups of people living in different areas and engaged in different occupations.

Fundamental Duties
▪ The Fundamental Duties were not originally included in the Indian Constitution.
▪ It was included in the constitution in 1976 by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
▪ The Fundamental Duties are taken from the Constitution of the Soviet Union.
▪ Based on the recommendation of the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee, the Fundamental Duties were included in the Constitution of India.
(This committee was formed by the Congress party in 1976.)
▪ The Fundamental Duties are mentioned in Article 51(a) in Part 4(a) of the Constitution.
▪ In 1999, “Verma Committee” related to fundamental duties was constituted.

List of Fundamental Duties

1. Follow the constitution and respect its ideals, institutions, national flag and national anthem.
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired our national struggle for freedom.
3. To protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India and keep it intact.
4. Protect the country and serve the nation when called upon.
5. To create harmony and a spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India which transcends all discrimination based on religion,
language and region or class, to renounce such practices which are against the dignity of women.
6. Understand the importance of the glorious tradition of our collective culture and preserve it.
7. To protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
8. To develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of learning and reform.
9. Keep public property safe and stay away from violence.
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to new heights of endeavour
and achievement.
11. A parent or guardian shall provide opportunities for education to his child between the ages of 6-14 years. (It has been given a place in the list
of fundamental duties by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.)

Constitutional Amendment
▪ Constitutional Provision :- Article 368 of Part 20.
▪ The Parliament has the right to amend of the Constitution. But Parliament cannot change the basic structure of the Constitution. This provision
was given by the Supreme Court in the Keshavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala case 1973.

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▪ Source :- South Africa.

Process of constitutional amendment :-

▪ The process of amendment in Article 368 has been mentioned in the following ways :-
o Amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by introducing a bill for this purpose in any House of the Parliament, not in the
State Legislature.
o The bill can be introduced by a minister or a private member and does not require the prior assent of the President.
o It is mandatory to pass the bill by special majority in both the houses. This majority should be more than 50% by two-thirds majority of
the members present in the House or voting based on the total number of members of the House.
o It is mandatory to pass the bill separately in each house.
o In case of disagreement between the two houses, there is no provision for passing the bill in their joint sitting.
o If the bill is on the issue of amendment of the federal system of the Constitution, then it should be passed by the legislatures of half the
states with a simple majority and it should be passed by voting among the members present in the House.
o After being passed by both houses of the Parliament and recommended by the state legislatures, where necessary, it is then sent to the
President for assent. Where the President is bound to give assent to the bill. He can neither keep the bill with himself nor send it to the
Parliament for reconsideration. (This provision was made by the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971 and it was said that the
President is bound to give assent to the Constitution Amendment Bill.)
o After the assent of the President, the bill becomes an Act and is included in the Constitution as an Act.

Types of constitutional amendment :-

▪ Two types of amendments have been provided in Article 368 :-
o By a special majority of the Parliament and by a simple majority of half the states.
o But some other articles can amend some provisions of the Constitution only with a simple majority of the Parliament. This majority is
achieved by being present and voting in each house. It is noteworthy that this amendment cannot be considered as a constitutional
amendment as per the provisions given under Article 368. In this way, constitutional amendment can be done in three ways :-
1. Amendment by simple majority of Parliament,
2. Amendment by special majority of Parliament and
3. Amendment by special majority of the Parliament and after the recommendation of half the state legislature.

1. Amendment by simple majority of the Parliament :- Many provisions of the Constitution can be amended only by the simple majority of
both the Houses of the Parliament. These arrangements are beyond the limits of Article 368. These arrangements include the following:-
▪ Entry or formation of new states, Creation of new States and alteration of the area, extent or name of the respective States, Creation or
abolition of State Legislative Council, Matters relating to the Second Schedule, Quorum in Parliament, Salaries and allowances of Members
of Parliament, Rules and regulations of parliamentary procedure, Privileges of Members of Parliament and its Committees, Use of English
language in Parliament, Number of judges in the Supreme Court, To give greater importance to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, Use of
official language, Acquisition and termination of citizenship, Determination of electoral constituencies for Parliament and State Legislature,
Union Territory, Provisions given in the Fifth and Sixth Schedule.

2. Amendment by special majority of Parliament:-

▪ Most of the provisions of the Constitution are amended by a special majority of the Parliament, that is, a majority of the total members of
each House and most two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting.
▪ Such amendment arrangements include :- Fundamental rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and All those elements which do not
belong to the first and third categories.

3. By special majority of the Parliament and approval of the states:-

▪ There is a provision for amending the provisions of the Constitution related to the federal structure by a special majority of the Parliament
and for this it is also necessary that such amendment bills should be approved by more than half of the State Legislature through a simple
majority.

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▪ Under this the following provisions can be amended :- Election of President and its process, Expansion of powers of the Central and State
Executive, Supreme Court and High Court, Division of legislative powers between the Centre and the State, Any matter related to the Seventh
Schedule, Representation of states in Parliament, Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure.

Parliament of India
▪ The Parliament of India is mentioned in "Article 79 in Part V of the Constitution".
▪ The "Westminster Model" of Britain has been adopted in India.
▪ The parliamentary system in India has been taken from Britain.
▪ Indian parliamentary system is a Bicameral system.
▪ The beginning of the bicameral system in India started with the "Montague Chelmsford Act 1919" when the Governor General and
two Houses (Council of State & House of Assembly) were established under the Indian Legislature.
▪ Parliament of India includes :- 1. President 2. Rajya Sabha and 3. Lok Sabha
▪ President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha all three are included under the Parliament of India.

Important information related to Parliament :-

▪ The President is not a member of either House of the Parliament, yet he is an integral part of the Parliament. Because a bill passed by the
Parliament cannot become a law until the President signs it.
▪ Similarly, the President calls the session of both the Houses of the Parliament, prorogues the session and can issue an ordinance if the session
is not running.
▪ In India, the President is an integral part of the Parliament and in this context India's position is like the British Parliament and not the
American Congress.
▪ It is notable that the Parliament of Britain is made up of the Crown, the House of lords and the Lower House (House of Commons), while the
American Parliament is known as 'Congress' under which the Senate (Upper House) and The House of Representatives is involved.
Importantly, the American President is not a part of American Congress.

Work of Parliament:-
▪ Law making, Control and accountability of the government, Constitutional amendment, Ratification of international treaties

Rajya Sabha
▪ The Rajya Sabha is mentioned in Article 80 of the Constitution.
▪ This is the 'Permanent House' of the Parliament. Because Rajya Sabha does not dissolve.
▪ It is known as the 'Upper House'.
▪ This is the 'Second House' of the Parliament.

Composition of Rajya Sabha :- Article 80

▪ Article 80 of the Constitution states that the Rajya Sabha shall not consist of more than 250 members. It will have 238 members representing
the States and Union Territories who will be elected by indirect election method and 12 members will be nominated by the President of India.
▪ At present there are 245 members of the Rajya Sabha, of which 225 are from the States, 8 from the Union Territories (J & K :- 4, Delhi :- 3
and Puducherry :- 1) and 12 nominated by the President.
▪ In the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, arrangements have been made for the allocation of seats in the States and Union Territories for
the Rajya Sabha.
▪ The representation of the states in the Rajya Sabha means the distribution of seats has been done based on population. That is, the states do
not get equal representation in the Upper House in India. For example, 1 member from Tripura and 31 members from Uttar Pradesh are
elected to the Rajya Sabha. (16 members from Bihar and 6 members from Jharkhand are elected to the Rajya Sabha.)

Status of nominated members for Rajya Sabha: -

▪ The President of India nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha. :- Article 80 (1)-A
▪ These persons can be nominated from the fields of literature, art, science and social service only. :- Article 80 (3)
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Election of members of Rajya Sabha :- Article 80 (4)
▪ The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly by the "elected members" of the State Legislative Assembly by the single transferable
method of proportional representation.
▪ It is mandatory for the Rajya Sabha candidate to be proposed by at least 10 proposers.

Duration of Rajya Sabha :- Article 83 (1)

▪ Rajya Sabha is a permanent house which is never dissolved i.e. it has no tenure :- Article 83 (1)

Tenure of the members of Rajya Sabha :-

▪ The tenure of each member of Rajya Sabha is 6 years. One-third of its members become vacant every second year and their vacancies are
filled by re-election. :- Article 83 (1)
▪ A retiring member can contest and be nominated any number of times.
▪ A member of Rajya Sabha can vacate his post by submitting his resignation to the Chairman.

Special powers of Rajya Sabha: -

▪ Article 249:- On the basis of a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha with the support of "at least two-thirds of the members present and
voting" on any issue of national importance, the Parliament can empower the Parliament to make laws on any subject of the State List. Such
a law will be effective for 1 year. That is, its nature is temporary.
▪ Article 312:- Rajya Sabha can give the Parliament the right to create a new All India Service by a resolution passed by a majority of "at least
two-thirds of the members present and voting" on the basis of national interest. Is.

Other important facts related to Rajya Sabha: -

▪ Rajya Sabha was constituted for the first time in 1952 and the elected members were retired through lottery after 2 years.
▪ Rajya Sabha was earlier called the Council of States. But on 23 August 1954, its name was changed to Rajya Sabha by its then Chairman.
▪ The Rajya Sabha was constituted on 3 April 1952 and held its first meeting on 13 May 1952.
▪ Quorum of Rajya Sabha :- 1/10th of the total number of members of Rajya Sabha.
▪ Quorum is mentioned in Article 100(3) of the Constitution.

Lok Sabha
▪ Lok Sabha is mentioned in Article 81 of the Constitution.
▪ The Lok Sabha is the 'Lower House' of the Parliament.
▪ It is the 'First House' of the Parliament.
▪ It is also called 'Popular House'.

Composition of Lok Sabha [Article 81(1)] :-

▪ The maximum number of members of the Lok Sabha has been fixed at 550 in which,
1. Representatives of 530 member states (directly elected by the people of the state)
2. 20 members representing Union Territories (directly elected by the people of the Union Territory) and
▪ In this way, 550 members can be elected to the Lok Sabha through the process of election by the population of India.
▪ At present the Lok Sabha has a total of 543 members :- 524 members from the States, 19 from the Union Territories.
▪ After the formation of Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, there are 5 members in the Lok Sabha from the Union Territory of
Jammu-Kashmir while 1 member from Ladakh.

Election of members of the Lok Sabha :-

▪ The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India.
▪ Note :- Every citizen of India who is more than 18 years of age has the right to vote. Earlier this minimum age limit to vote was 21
years which was reduced to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988.

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▪ The allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha has been done to each state in such a way that states get equal weightage according to the population
of the state. But currently there is a lot of inconsistency in it.
▪ By the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976, the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha for the states was fixed till the year 2000 based on the
1971 census. This restriction has been changed to 2026 under the 84th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001. That means, till 2026, the
number of members of the Lok Sabha will remain the same.
▪ The 87th Constitutional Amendment, 2003 asked for delimitation of constituencies based on the 2001 census.
▪ Under Article 330, reservation has been made for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha.
▪ As per the order issued by the Delimitation Commission in 2008, 412 are general, 84 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 seats for
the Scheduled Tribes. Earlier it was 79 and 41 for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively.
▪ With the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2020, the reservation system for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha
has been extended till 2030. (The 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill was introduced for it.)

Duration of Lok Sabha :- Article 83 (1)

▪ The term of the Lok Sabha is generally for 5 years from the first meeting held after the general election. But even before 5 years it can be
dissolved by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
▪ In the event of dissolution, it is necessary to conduct midterm elections six months in advance. Firstly, on the advice of Indira Gandhi, in
December 1970, President V.V. Giri dissolved the 5th Lok Sabha one year earlier and the first midterm elections were held in 1971.
▪ In case of national emergency, the term of the Lok Sabha can be extended for one year at a time. But it cannot be extended beyond a period
of 6 months after the emergency is over.
▪ The Fifth Lok Sabha, whose term was expiring in March 1976; It was extended twice for 1-1 years. The fifth Lok Sabha existed for 5 years,
10 months and 6 days (the longest).

Special Power of Lok Sabha:-

▪ Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha.
▪ Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill. He can suggest amendments in it but it is up to the Lok Sabha to accept or not to accept it.
It is mandatory for the Rajya Sabha to return the Money Bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days.
▪ Only the Speaker of the Lok Sabha decides whether a bill is a money bill or not.
▪ Finance Bill (except Money Bill) can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, but the role of both houses is equal in passing it.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses. (but calls it the President)
▪ The resolution to end the National Emergency can be passed by the Lok Sabha only.
▪ The Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget and not vote on its demands for grants.
▪ No-Confidence Motion can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
▪ Who will form the government is also decided based on the party having a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Other facts about Lok Sabha: -

▪ The Lok Sabha was formed on 17 April 1952.
▪ The first general election was held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952.
▪ The first meeting of the Lok Sabha took place on 13 May 1952.
▪ So far 17 Lok Sabha elections have been held.

Qualification of Members of Parliament :- Article 84

▪ Qualification mentioned in the constitution: -
1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He shall make an oath according to the form set out in the Third Schedule.
3. At least 30 years of age should be completed for membership in Rajya Sabha and at least 25 years of age should be completed for
membership in Lok Sabha. (The minimum age limit for becoming a Member of Parliament is 25 years.)
4. As per any other legislation passed by the Parliament (such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951)

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▪ According to the Representation of the People Act, 1951: -
1. Must be registered as a voter for the parliamentary constituency.
2. To contest on a reserved seat, one must be a member of the SC-ST community in any state or union territory.

No person can become a member of Parliament: – Article 102

▪ Mentioned in the constitution:-
1. If he is not a citizen of India,
2. If he holds an office of profit,
3. If he is of unsound mind, lunatic or insolvent,
4. If disqualified by law made by Parliament.

▪ According to the People Representation Act, 1951: -

1. He has failed to furnish the details of election expenditure or has been found guilty of an electoral offense or corrupt practice.
2. Imprisonment for two or more years.
3. Has been dismissed from the service of the Government.
4. He has been found guilty of defection as per the Tenth Schedule.
▪ The decision of the President on the disqualification of Members of Parliament is final and the President may consult with the
Election Commission.

Vacancy of members in Parliament: - Article 101

1. On the basis of dual membership :-
▪ If a person is elected to both the Houses of the Parliament, then within 10 days he will have to tell in which House he wants to live. If
he does not give the information, his seat in the Rajya Sabha will become vacant.
▪ If a person is elected to two seats in the same House, he will have to voluntarily vacate one of the seats, otherwise both his seats will
become vacant.
▪ A person cannot be a member of the House of Parliament and the State Legislature at the same time. If a person is so elected, he must
vacate his seat in the State Legislature within 14 days, otherwise his membership in the Parliament will cease.
▪ If a member of one house is also elected a member of the other house, then his seat in the former house will become vacant.

2. On the basis of absence :- If a member remains absent from all the sittings of the House for a period of more than 60 days without the permission
of the House, then the House may declare his seat vacant.

3. By resignation: - Lok Sabha member resigns to the Speaker and Rajya Sabha member resigns to the Chairman.

4. On the basis of defection :-

▪ What is defection? (What is Defection?) :- Defection is the situation when a person leaves his party and joins another party after winning
the election.
▪ It is important that in India, through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985, “Anti-Defection Law” was brought to prevent MPs and
MLAs from going from one party to another. For this, the 10th Schedule has been added to the Indian Constitution. Later, some important
provisions were added to it through the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
▪ In case of defection, the disqualification of Members of Parliament is decided by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in the case of the Lok Sabha
and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the case of the Rajya Sabha. Their decision can be reviewed judicially.
▪ The speaker or the chairman takes decisions about the disqualification of the members in the 10th schedule of the constitution like a quasi-
judicial authority. Therefore, the Supreme Court and the High Court can judicially review its decision. (Supreme Court through Article 32
and 136 and High Court through Article 226)
▪ The disqualification of members on the ground of defection does not apply in the following two cases:-
1. According to the system established by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, if one-third of the members of a party leave that
party, then this situation will not be considered as defection.

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 2. If a member is elected as the presiding officer, he has to resign from the membership of his party and after his term he can again take the
membership of his party.

Privilege of MP :-
▪ Parliamentary proceedings cannot be inquired into by the court. :- Article 122
▪ Members of Parliament are exempted from arrest during the period of 40 days before or after a sitting of Parliament. This exemption is only
in respect of civil matters.

Oath :- Article 99
▪ Administered by the President or any person appointed by him.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha administers the oath to the members of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha administers the
oath to the members of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ The member declares as per the format given in the Third Schedule of the Constitution that, “I will bear true faith and allegiance to the
Constitution of India. Will keep India's sovereignty and integrity intact. I will faithfully discharge my duties."
▪ Before he has made and subscribed the prescribed oath or affirmation he cannot vote and take part in the proceedings of the House and does
not become eligible for parliamentary privileges and immunities and if so is liable to punishment.

Salary and Allowances of Members of Parliament :-

▪ According to the provision of Article 75 (6), the members of both the Houses of the Parliament have the right to get the salary and allowances
fixed by the Parliament.
▪ There is no provision of pension in the constitution, yet the Parliament gives pension to its members.
▪ Salary :- Rs.1,00,000/month
▪ Constituency Allowance :- Rs 70,000/month
▪ Office Expense Allowance :- Rs 60,000/month
▪ Daily Allowance :- Rs 2000/day
▪ Pension :- Rs 20,000 + Rs 1500 extra for being a member for more than 5 years
▪ Note :- The hierarchy of Members of Parliament is the 21st place in the system.

Presiding officer of parliament

Speaker
▪ This has been mentioned in Article 93 of the Constitution.
▪ He occupies the sixth position in the hierarchy of India i.e., equal to the Chief Justice of India.
▪ In Britain, the president breaks ties with his party, that means he becomes neutral. In America, the president remains in his party and does
party politics. But in India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha makes himself impartial while being in his party. But sometimes party sentiment
becomes dominant.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the chief officer of the Lok Sabha. The post of Speaker has been running in India since 1921. This post came
after the formation of the first Central Legislative Assembly under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. For the first time, Frederick White was
nominated for this post and Satchidanand Sinha was the Vice President.
▪ In 1925, Vithalbhai Patel was elected the first elected Speaker of the Central Legislature, the first Indian to be elected to the post.
▪ The terms Speaker and Deputy Speaker were used under the 1935 Act. Earlier it was called President and Deputy President.
▪ GV Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was the first Deputy Speaker.

Election and tenure: -

▪ After the first meeting, the chairman is elected from among the members present.
▪ The President fixes the date for the election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is administered the oath by the acting Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who is the oldest person in the Lok Sabha.

Oath :-
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▪ The Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha does not take an oath as Speaker or Deputy Speaker while holding office. He only takes
the oath of being a Member of Parliament.

Resignation:-
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha gives his resignation to the Deputy Speaker.

Removal of the Speaker :- Article 94

▪ The Speaker can be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of the then members of the Lok Sabha. For this, it is necessary to give
notice of 14 days in advance. While the motion for the removal of the Speaker is under consideration, the Speaker shall not preside over the
proceedings of the House but he shall have the right to speak and participate in the proceedings in the Lok Sabha. In such a situation, he also
has the right to vote, but he does not have the right to vote in case of equality of votes.
▪ The speaker does not leave his office even after the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. He held office till the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha.

Functions and Powers :-

▪ The Speaker is the supreme authority in the Lok Sabha and his decision is final in the House. He maintains order and decorum in the house.
▪ He can adjourn the house in the absence of quorum.
▪ In normal situations, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha does not vote, but in case of equality of votes, he gives a decisive vote.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. And his decision on this question is final. He endorses his
certificate on the Bill that it is a Money Bill.
▪ Allows secret sitting of the House on the request of the Leader of the House.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha decides the membership of the members of the Lok Sabha based on defection related to the Tenth Schedule.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of the Parliament (Article 108), but this joint sitting is called
by the President.
▪ The members of the delegation going abroad are nominated by the President.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha nominates 10 of its members to the Speaker's Table. Any one of these is the presiding officer in the absence
of the President or the Vice-President.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha has more powers than the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in certain respects such as the determination of money
bills and the presiding over of joint sittings.
▪ In Britain, the Speaker need not necessarily be a member of any party, as in India it is voluntary.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha appoints the chairpersons of all parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha and supervises their work.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the ex-officio chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee, and the General
Sponsorship Committee.

Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha

▪ It is also mentioned in Article 93. He is not under the speaker but it is responsible to the Parliament.
Functions of Deputy Speaker :-
▪ In the absence of the speaker, the deputy speaker performs the functions of the President. :- Article 95
▪ In the absence of the speaker, the deputy speaker conducts the proceedings in the joint session. In his absence, the Deputy Chairman of the
Rajya Sabha and if he is also absent, the person who will be elected by the members present in the meeting, will preside.

Protem Speaker / Temporary Speaker :- Article 95 (1)

▪ Protem Speaker is quoted from a Latin Phrase which means, 'For the time being'
▪ When the Lok Sabha meets for the first time after each general election, the President usually appoints a senior member to preside over the
House so that the new members can take the oath and elect their own Speaker.

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Article 89)

▪ The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. :- Article 89 (1)
▪ The President administers the oath to the Chairman or the Vice-President of the Rajya Sabha.
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▪ The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is not a member of his House.
▪ He cannot vote for the first time, but in case of equality of votes, he can give a casting vote.
▪ Article 89 (2) :- Rajya Sabha shall, as soon as possible, elect one of its members as its Deputy Chairman and whenever the post of Deputy
Chairman becomes vacant, Rajya Sabha shall elect another member as its Deputy Chairman.
▪ According to the provisions mentioned in Article 90, the post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha can become vacant on the following
grounds:-
1. If he ceases to be a member of the Rajya Sabha, he shall vacate his office.
2. He may relinquish his office at any time by addressing his resignation letter to the Chairman.
3. He can be removed from his post by a resolution passed by the majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha. But at least 14 days
prior notice of moving such a resolution has been given to him.
▪ Article 91:- When the office of the Chairman is vacant or during the period when the Vice-President is acting as President, the Deputy
Chairman, or if the office of the Deputy Chairman is also vacant, such member of the Rajya Sabha as the President may appoint for the
purpose shall perform the duties of that post.
▪ Article 92: - At any meeting of the Rajya Sabha, when a resolution for the removal of the Vice-President from his office is under
consideration, the Chairman, or when a resolution for the removal of the Deputy Chairman from his office is under consideration, the Deputy
Chairman, though present, shall not preside.

Secretariat of Parliament (Article 98)

▪ As per the provisions of Article 98(1), both the Houses of the Parliament have separate secretariats.
▪ Article 98 (2) says that their recruitment and service conditions will be determined by the Parliament.
▪ As provided in Article 98(3), the President may, after consultation with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,
make rules relating to the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya
Sabha.
▪ The secretariat of both the Houses is headed by a separate Secretary General. This general secretary is a permanent officer and does not have
any relation with political matters. He is directly responsible to the President.
▪ The Secretary General is the top level civil servant of the Government of India. He is the administrative head of the Secretariat of Parliament.
▪ The Secretary-General deals with the members and ministers on behalf of the President.
▪ As the supreme authority of the Parliamentary Museum and Archives, he is the custodian of the heritage of the Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition

▪ The term first appeared in 1965.
▪ There is a leader of the opposition in both the houses of the parliament.
▪ The leader of the largest party in the opposition is recognized as the Leader of the Opposition. If he gets 1/10th seat of the total number of
members of the house.
▪ The leader of the opposition gets salary and allowances like a cabinet minister.
▪ The first Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was Ram Subhag Singh who belonged to the Congress (O) in 1969.
▪ Shyam Nandan Mishra was the first leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. (In 1969)
▪ Although the posts of Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition are not mentioned in the Constitution, yet they are included in the
Rules of the House and parliamentary practice.
▪ Ivor Jennings called it an "alternative prime minister".

Important Vocabulary related to Parliamentary Proceedings/Parliament

▪ Question Hour :- Normally, the first hour of a sitting of the Lok Sabha is devoted to questions and is called the Question Hour. During the
Question Hour, members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and functioning of the Government.
▪ Half-an-hour discussion:- Any member may give notice for a half-an-hour discussion on any matter of fact requiring clarification in
connection with the answer to a starred or unstarred question. This discussion usually takes place from 5.30 pm to 6.00 pm.

Session of parliament
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▪ The maximum gap between the two sessions of the Parliament should not exceed 6 months.
▪ In other words, the Parliament should meet at least twice a year. There are generally three sessions in a year:
1. Budget Session (February to May)
2. Monsoon Session (July to September)
3. Winter Session (November to December)
▪ A session of Parliament is the period between the first meeting and the prorogation (or dissolution in the case of the Lok Sabha). During the
session, the House convenes every day for the conduct of business. The time between the end of one session and the beginning of another
session is called 'vacation'.

Adjournment :-
▪ There are many sittings in a session of Parliament. Each meeting consists of two sessions, the morning meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
the afternoon session from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die or by prorogation
or dissolution (in the case of Lok Sabha). By adjournment the business of the meeting is suspended for a specified period of time, which may
be hours, days or weeks.

Adjournment for indefinite period :-

▪ Adjournment sine die means adjournment of the House for an indefinite period. In other words, when the House is adjourned without
specifying the day on which it will now be convened, it is called an sine die adjournment. The Speaker or the Chairman has the power to
adjourn indefinitely. He can summon the House to meet on the day or time of adjournment, or at any time after adjournment sine die.

Prorogation :-
▪ The Presiding Officer (Speaker or Chairman) adjourns the House sine die on completion of the session. Within a few days, the President
issues a notification for prorogation of the House. However, the President can prorogue even during the session.

Dissolution :-
▪ Being a permanent house, the Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved. Only the Lok Sabha is dissolved. Unlike prorogation, dissolution ends the
life of the sitting assembly and it is reconstituted only after fresh elections. Lok Sabha can be dissolved for two reasons:
1. Self-dissolved, when it completes its term of five years or when it is extended for a period of national emergency, or
2. When the President decides to dissolve the House. which he is authorized to take. Dissolution of the House before its normal term is an
irreversible dissolution.
▪ When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, all its functions, such as bills, motions, resolutions, notices, petitions, etc., cease to exist. It is necessary to
bring them again in the newly constituted Lok Sabha.
▪ Although pending Bills and all pending assurances, which are to be examined by the Committee on Government Assurances, do not lapse on
the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the following is the position in respect of Bills that lapse:
1. Bills under consideration, which are in the Lok Sabha (whether laid in the Lok Sabha or transferred by the Rajya Sabha).
2. A bill passed in the Lok Sabha but pending consideration in the Rajya Sabha lapses.
3. A bill which has not been passed due to disagreement in both the Houses and the President has called a joint sitting of both the Houses
before dissolution, does not lapse.
4. A bill which is under consideration in the Rajya Sabha but not passed by the Lok Sabha does not lapse.

Quorum :-
▪ 'Quorum' or quorum is the minimum number of members, whose presence enables the House to function.
▪ It is one-tenth of the total members including the presiding officer in each house.
▪ This means that if any work has to be done, there must be at least 55 members in the Lok Sabha and at least 25 members in the Rajya Sabha.
▪ If the quorum is not complete at the time of running of the House, then it is the responsibility of the Speaker or the Chairman to either adjourn
the House or not to complete any work till there is a quorum.

Language in Parliament :-

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▪ The Constitution has declared Hindi and English as the languages of the proceedings of the House.
▪ However, the Presiding Officer may give a member the right to speak in his mother tongue.

Rights of Ministers and Attorney General: -

▪ Apart from being a member of the House, every minister and the Attorney General of India have the right to express their views in the House,
participate in the proceedings of the House, and participate in the joint sitting of both the Houses.
▪ They can also participate in the meeting or proceedings of any committee of the House of which they are members but without the right to
vote.

Lame-Duck session: -
▪ This is the last session of the current Lok Sabha before the formation of a new Lok Sabha.
▪ Those members of the present Lok Sabha, who are not elected to the new Lok Sabha, are called 'lame-ducks'.

No confidence motion :-
▪ Article 75 of the Constitution states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This means that the
Council of Ministers is there only as long as it has a majority in the House.
▪ In other words, the Lok Sabha can remove the cabinet by passing a no-confidence motion. The consent of 50 members is mandatory in support
of the proposal.
1. It is not necessary to state the reason for its acceptance in the Lok Sabha.
2. It can be brought only against the entire Council of Ministers.
3. It is brought to determine the confidence of the Lok Sabha in the Council of Ministers.
4. If it is passed in the Lok Sabha, then the Council of Ministers must resign.

Confidence Motion :-
▪ As a procedural measure to deal with situations such as a hung parliament, minority government and coalition government as a result of a
fractured mandate, a provision for a motion of confidence has been made.
▪ Governments with a weak majority are directed by the President to prove their majority in the House. Whichever government is in power at
a time sometimes moves a motion of confidence to prove its majority.
▪ If this confidence motion fails, then the government also fails.

Legislative process in parliament

▪ The legislative process takes place in both the Houses of the Parliament. Every bill in each house passes through the same stages.
▪ Bills introduced in the Parliament are of two types - Government Bills and Private Bills (these are also called Government Bills and Private
Members' Bills respectively).
▪ Although both are passed in the house under the same procedure, there are differences between them.

Government Bill vs Private Bill

Government Bill Private Bill

1. It is introduced in the Parliament by a minister.
2. It reflects the policies of the government.
3. It is expected to be passed by the Parliament.
4. Government may have to resign if rejected by the House.
5. There should be a notice of seven days to present in the
House.
6. It is introduced by the concerned department in consultation
with the Law Department.
1. It is introduced in the Parliament by any member other than a minister.
2. It reflects the stand of the opposition party on a public matter.
3. It is less likely to be passed in the Parliament.
4. There is no effect on the government if it is rejected.
5. There should be one month's notice for such a motion to be introduced in
the House.
6. Its construction is the responsibility of the member concerned.

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▪ Bills can be divided into the following parts according to their nature:-
1. Ordinary Bill :- Bills related to all subjects other than financial subjects are called Ordinary Bills.
2. Money Bill :- These bills are related to financial subjects, such as taxation, public expenditure etc.
3. Finance Bill :- These bills are also related to financial subjects only.
4. Constitutional Amendment Bill :- These bills are related to the amendment of the provisions of the constitution.

Ordinary Bill
▪ Every Ordinary Bill passes through the following five stages in the Parliament before getting a place in the Constitution:-
1. First Reading:- Ordinary Bill can be introduced in either House of the Parliament. This bill can be introduced by any minister or member.
When a member of the house wants to introduce this bill, he must give advance notice to the house first. When the House permits the introduction
of the Bill, the Speaker states the title of the Bill and its purpose. There is no discussion on the Bill at this stage. Later this bill was published in
the Gazette of India. If the bill is published in the Gazette even before its introduction, then the permission of the House is not required in relation
to the bill. The presentation of the bill and its publication in the Gazette is called the first reading.
2. Second Reading: - In this stage not only general but detailed review of the bill is done. In this stage the bill is given its final shape. This is the
most important stage from the point of view of the introduction of the bill. In fact, there are three sub-stages of this stage, namely – stage of general
debate, investigation by committee and consideration stage.
3. Third Reading: - In this stage there is only discussion regarding acceptance or rejection of the bill and no amendment can be made in the bill.
If the majority of the house passes it, the bill is passed. After this, the bill is sent to the other house for consideration and approval by the presiding
officer of that house. After it is passed by both the Houses, it is deemed to have been passed by the Parliament.
4. Bill in the second house :- After passing from one house, the first, second and third reading of the bill takes place in the other house as well.
In this regard, the second house has the following four options
1. It can pass the bill as it is and send it to the first house (i.e., without amendment).
2. It can pass the bill with amendments and send it to the first house for reconsideration.
3. It can reject the bill.
4. It can delay the bill by not taking any kind of action on it.
▪ If the second house passes the bill with any kind of amendment or if the first house accepts those amendments, then the bill is deemed to have
been passed by both the houses and it is sent for the assent of the President.
▪ On the other hand, if the first house rejects the amendments made by the second house or the second house rejects the bill outright.
▪ Or if the Second Chamber does not take any action for six months, then a situation of deadlock arises.
▪ To end such deadlock, the President can call a joint sitting of both the houses. If a majority of the members present and voting pass the bill
in this joint sitting. then it is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.

5. Approval of the President:- The bill passed by both the Houses of the Parliament is sent for the approval of the President. There are three types
of options before the President: -
1. He can assent to the bill,
2. He can withhold the bill for assent, or
3. He can return the bill to the House for reconsideration.
▪ If the President gives his assent to the bill, it becomes an Act, but if the President rejects it, it lapses or lapses.
▪ If the President sends the bill back to the House for reconsideration and the House sends it back to the President with or without amendment,
then the President is bound to assent to it.

Money Bill
▪ The Money Bill has been defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
▪ According to this, a Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill when it contains one or more or all of the following provisions:
1. The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax,
2. Regulation of money borrowed by the Central Government,
3. Custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Contingency Fund, the deposit of moneys in, or the withdrawal of moneys from, any
such fund.

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 4. Appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund of India.
5. Proclamation of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or increase in the amount of any such expenditure.
6. The receipt or custody of, or expenditure from, any moneys in the Consolidated Fund of India or the Public Account, or the audit of Central
or State funds, or
7. Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above
▪ However, a Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money Bill merely because it:
1. imposes fines or other monetary penalties, or
2. demands fees for licenses or fees for services rendered, or
3. Provides for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax for local purposes by any local authority or body.
▪ The decision of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the final decision regarding the Money Bill. His decision cannot be challenged by any court,
Parliament, or the President.
▪ When the Money Bill goes to the Rajya Sabha and the President for approval, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha endorses it as a Money Bill.
▪ The Constitution prescribes a special procedure regarding the passing of a Money Bill by the Parliament.
▪ A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha only on the recommendation of the President. Each such bill is considered a government
bill and can be presented only by a minister.
▪ After being passed in the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its consideration.
▪ The Rajya Sabha has restricted powers with respect to the Money Bill. It cannot reject or amend a Money Bill. It can only make
recommendations.
▪ He must approve it within 14 days, otherwise it is deemed to have been passed by the Rajya Sabha. It is not necessary for the Lok Sabha to
accept the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ If the Lok Sabha accepts any kind of recommendation, then this amended bill is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses jointly. But
if the Lok Sabha does not accept any recommendation, then it is deemed to have been passed jointly by both the Houses in original.
▪ If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill within 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.
▪ The power of Rajya Sabha in respect of Money Bill is very limited.
▪ Finally, when the money bill is presented to the President. So, he either gives his assent to it or can keep it in abeyance but in any case, he
cannot send it back for consideration. Generally, when the President's assent is taken before presenting it in the Lok Sabha, it is assumed that
the President agrees with it and he also gives his assent to it.

Finance bill
▪ Generally, Finance Bill is called that bill, which is related to financial matters like revenue or expenditure. In this, subjects related to
imposition of any new type of tax or amendment in tax etc. are included in the coming financial year. There are three types of Finance Bills:
1. Money Bill :- Article 110
2. Finance Bill (I) - Article 117 (1)
3. Finance Bill (II) - Article 117 (3)
▪ According to this classification, all Money Bills come under the category of Finance Bills. Although all Money Bills are Financial Bills, but
all Financial Bills are not Money Bills.
▪ Only those Finance Bills are Money Bills, which are mentioned in Article 110 of the Constitution.
▪ A Money Bill is also certified as a Money Bill by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
▪ Finance Bill-I and II have been discussed in Article 117 of the Constitution.

Joint sitting of both houses

▪ In case of a deadlock on a bill, an extraordinary provision of joint sitting has been made by the constitution. It is convened in any one of the
following three situations when a bill passed by one House is sent to the other:
1. If the bill is rejected by the other house.
2. If the house disagrees to accept the amendments made in the bill.
3. More than 6 months elapsed without the bill being passed by the other House.
▪ In the above three circumstances, the President calls a meeting of both the houses to dispose of the bill and to discuss and vote on it.

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▪ It is worth mentioning that, joint sitting can be called only in the cases of Ordinary Bill or Finance Bill and there is no provision for calling
such joint sitting in respect of Money Bill or Constitution Amendment Bill.
▪ In the case of Money Bill, all the powers are with the Lok Sabha, while in respect of the Constitution Amendment Bill, the bill needs to be
passed by both the Houses separately.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses and in his absence, the Deputy Speaker performs this
responsibility. If the Deputy Chairman is also absent, then the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha performs this responsibility. If the Deputy
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is also absent, then it is decided by the members present in the joint sitting who will preside over this joint
sitting. In normal circumstances, this joint session is not presided over by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as he is not a member of either
House.
▪ The quorum of this joint sitting is 1/10th of the total membership of both the Houses.
▪ The proceedings of the joint sitting are governed by the rules of procedure of the Lok Sabha and not by the rules of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ If the disputed bill is passed by a majority of the number of members of both the houses present and voting in this joint sitting, then it is
considered that the bill has been passed by both the houses.
▪ Generally, due to the large number of members of the Lok Sabha, its power is more in this joint sitting.
▪ Joint sittings of both the houses have been called three times since 1950 :-
1. Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1960
2. The Bank Service Commission Bill, 1977
3. Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002

Funds
▪ The Constitution of India provides for the following three types of funds for the Central Government:-
1. Consolidated Fund of India :- Article 266
2. Public Account of India :- Article 266
3. Contingency Fund of India :- Article 267

Consolidated Fund of India :-

▪ It is a fund from which all receipts are borrowed and payments are credited.
▪ In other words, (a) all revenues received by the Government of India, (b) all loans raised by the Central Government by way of treasury bills,
loans or Ways and Means Advances (c) moneys received by the Government in repayment of loans, constitute the Consolidated Fund of
India. There will be part.
▪ All payments legally authorized by the Government of India shall be made from this fund.
▪ No money can be appropriated from this fund except by parliamentary law.

Public Account of India: -

▪ All other public monies (other than loans from the Consolidated Fund of India) are borrowed by or for the Government of India from the
Public Account of India.
▪ This includes provident fund deposits, judicial deposits, savings, bank deposits, departmental deposits, etc.
▪ Payments from this account can be made without parliamentary appropriation.
▪ These types of payments are mainly related to bank transfers.

Contingency Fund of India: -

▪ The Constitution allows the Parliament to constitute the 'Contingency Fund of India'. In this, the funds prescribed by law are received from
time to time.
▪ Started from the 'Contingency Fund of India' Act, 1950 by the Parliament.
▪ The fund is maintained by the Finance Secretary on behalf of the President.
▪ This fund remains under the authority of the President and he can give advance from it for any unforeseen expenditure, which can be later
authorized by the Parliament.
▪ Like the Public Accounts of India, it is operated through an executive process.
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 Union Executive
▪ Articles 52-78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the federal executive.
▪ The President, the Vice President, the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister and the Attorney General of India are included in the executive
of the Union.
▪ Like the Queen of Britain, the President of India is the ceremonial head of state and the real power of the Union is vested in the Cabinet
headed by the Prime Minister.
President
▪ Article 52 says that there shall be a President of India.
▪ Article 53 states that the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President, that is, the head of the federal executive shall be the
President.

Presidential election :-
▪ The election of the President is not done directly by the public, this election is indirectly done by an electoral college.
▪ Electoral College of the President (Article-54) :- It includes the following people :-
1. Elected members of both the Houses of Parliament (Not nominated)
2. Elected members of State Legislatures (Not Legislative Council)
3. Elected members of the Delhi and Puducherry Legislative Assemblies (This arrangement was made by the 70th Constitutional Amendment,
1992.)
▪ Through the 11th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1961, it was arranged that the President can be elected even if there is a vacant position in
the electoral college.
▪ Non-Participant in Presidential Election:-
1. Nominated members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies;
2. All members of the State Legislative Council;
3. Nominated Members of the Delhi and Puducherry Legislative Assemblies
▪ Since the members of the Electoral College in the election of the President are from both the Union and the States, it makes the President
equally representative of both the Union and the States.

President's election method (Article-55) :- Two principles are adopted in the election of the President:-
1. Principle of Symmetry :- This means that, a uniform procedure will be adopted to arrive at the representativeness value of all the State
Assemblies and the sum of the value of votes of all the State Assemblies will be equal to the sum of the value of votes of all the Members of
Parliament.
▪ Value of vote of an MLA :- The value of votes of MLAs of each state is different. The number of votes of the elected members of each
Legislative Assembly is obtained by dividing the population of a state by the number of elected members of the State Legislative Assembly
and the product of 1000.
▪ Value of vote of an MP :- The total value of votes of members of all the state legislative assemblies divided by the elected members of the
two houses of Parliament.
2. Single Transferable Vote System :- This means that if there is more than one candidate in the election, the vote will be given by the voters in
the preference order. The voter shall write his order of preference against the name of the candidate in the ballot paper.

Vote counting :-
▪ First step :- First invalid votes are removed and remaining valid votes are taken out. If the candidate gets the prescribed number of votes, he
is declared elected, otherwise the second round of counting begins.
▪ Second step :- Under this, the process of transfer of votes is adopted. In this, the candidate who has got the least number of first preference
votes is excluded from the calculation and his second preference vote value is transferred to other candidates. This process continues till the
candidate receives the prescribed number of votes.
▪ President V.V. Giri was the only President to be elected after the second round of counting.

Term of office :- Article – 56

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▪ The term of office of the President is 5 years from the date of assuming his office. Even before this, he can withdraw at any time by giving
resignation to the Vice-President.
▪ Even before the completion of the term, he can be removed from the post by impeachment.

Impeachment of the President: - Article - 61

▪ Impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure.
▪ The process of impeachment of the President can be run only on the allegation of violation and encroachment of the constitution.
▪ This process can be initiated by bringing the charge of impeachment in either house of the Parliament. This charge sheet should be signed by
¼ of the members of the House and the charge sheet will be presented to the President after giving 14 days’ notice.
▪ In the house where the resolution of impeachment is presented, the resolution must be passed by ⅔ majority of the total number of members
of the house.
▪ After the resolution is passed, it is sent to the other house where the charges are examined. The President has the right to be present in the
inquiry or to send a representative.
▪ If the second house finds the allegations against the President to be correct and approves that resolution with a special majority, then the
impeachment proceedings are completed and the President is dismissed from this date.
▪ Impeachment procedure of the President has been taken from America.
▪ The process of impeachment has not yet been used in India yet.

Re-Election :- Article - 57
▪ A person can become president any number of times.
▪ A person holding the office of the President of India can become a candidate in the election for a second term.
▪ So far, Dr. Rajendra Prasad has been the only person who became the President twice.

Qualifications for the post of President :- Article 58

▪ He should be a citizen of India.
▪ He must have completed 35 years of age.
▪ He must be eligible to a member of Lok Sabha
▪ He should not hold any office of profit in the Union Government or any State Government or any public authority. (The posts of Minister,
Governor, Vice President etc. do not come under the purview of office of profit)

Other facts :-
▪ For the nomination of the presidential election, the candidate should have submitted a nomination paper. This nomination paper has to be
subscribed by at least fifty electors as proposers and at least fifty electors as seconders.
▪ Security Deposit :- Each candidate has to deposit a security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. This amount is seized if the
candidate is unable to secure 1/6th of the total votes polled.

President's emoluments, allowances and privileges: - Article 59

▪ It is determined by the Parliament.
▪ The emoluments, allowances and facilities of the President cannot be reduced during his tenure.
▪ The salary and allowance of the President is exempt from income tax.
▪ At present the salary of the President is ₹ 5,00,000 per month.
▪ The President has immunity from criminal proceedings.
▪ The President cannot be arrested or imprisoned during his tenure. During the tenure, notice of 2 months will be given before proceeding in
any kind of civil case.
▪ The President enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts.

Oath or Affirmation by the President :- Article 60

▪ The President takes the oath of office before the Chief Justice of India or in his absence before the senior most judge of the Supreme Court.
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▪ This oath is related to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”.
▪ President is also called the "Protector of the Constitution".

Presidential office position :-

▪ The President is an integral part of the Parliament, but he is not a member of either house of the Parliament.
▪ The office of the President does not come under the category of office of profit.

Presidential vacancy :-
▪ The office of the President may become vacant in the following manner:-
1. At the end of 5 years tenure
2. On resignation
3. Through the impeachment process
4. On sudden demises
▪ Note :- So far two Presidents (Dr. Zakir Hussain in 1969 and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in 1977) have died during their tenure.)
▪ Article 62 (1) :- The election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiry of the term of the President shall be completed before the expiry of the
term.
▪ Article 62 (2) :- Re-election should be held within 6 months after the post of President becomes vacant.
▪ In the absence of the President, the Vice President, in the absence of the Vice President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in
the absence of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the senior most judges of the Supreme Court perform the duties of the
President.
▪ When President Dr. Zakir Hussain died in May 1969, the then Vice President V.V. Giri took the charge as President. But when V.V. Giri
resigned to participate in the presidential election, the then Chief Justice of India M. Hidayatullah served as acting President. (20 July 1969
to 24 August 1969)
▪ In 1977, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed also died during his tenure, then the Vice President BD Jatti became the acting President.

Powers and Duties of the President

[A] Executive Power :- Article 53 (1) of the Constitution of India states that all the powers of the federal executive are vested in the President
“which he shall exercise either himself or by officers subordinate to him”. The executive powers of the President can be divided into three parts:-
1. Constitution of the Council of Ministers :-
▪ Article-74(1) says that the President constitutes a Council of Ministers to advise him in the operation of the executive power, whose
head will be the Prime Minister.
▪ The President appoints such a person to the post of Prime Minister who is the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha.
▪ The President has the right that he can appoint any person to the post of Prime Minister but he must become a member of the Parliament
within 6 months. Such a person must prove his majority in the House after taking oath as the Prime Minister.
▪ The President appoints the members of the Council of Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.

2. Appointment related rights:- The President appoints the following officers:-

▪ Attorney-General of India, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners,
Governors of states, Chairman and Members of the Union Public Service Commission, Finance commission chairman, Chief Justice of the
High Court and Supreme Court and other judges of the Supreme Court, Appointment of ambassadors abroad

3. Constitution of commissions:- The President constitutes the following commissions:-

▪ Finance Commission, Official language commission, Commission for the study of backward classes, Commission for the Study of SC/ST,
Minority commission

[B] The President has the power to remove the following office bearers :- Ministers, Attorney General of India, Governor of the state, Chairman
or Member of the Union or any State Public Service Commission on the report of the Supreme Court, Judge of the Supreme Court or the High
Court and the Election Commissioner on the proposal of the Parliament

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[C] Diplomatic powers :-
▪ India's relations with other countries, treaties are done in the name of the President only.
▪ The President represents India in international affairs.
▪ All international treaties are done in the name of the President.
▪ But the President uses these diplomatic powers on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
▪ The President also welcomes ambassadors appointed in India from other countries.

[D] Military powers :-

▪ The President is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.
▪ The President is the head of the defence forces of the Union. The president appoints the chiefs of all the three services.
▪ The President has the right to declare war or peace, but he exercises this power also on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

[E] Legislative Powers :- The President of India does the following legislative power :-
▪ He calls a session of both the Houses of the Parliament.
▪ Prorogation and dissolves the Lok Sabha.
▪ In case of deadlock between the two houses, he calls a joint sitting of both the houses under Article 108.
▪ At the beginning of the first session after every general election to the Lok Sabha and at the beginning of the first session of every year, he
addresses both the Houses of Parliament simultaneously. (i.e. there can be two sessions in 1 year)
▪ Article 80 (c) :- The President nominates 12 persons associated with literature, science, art and social service in the Rajya Sabha.
▪ The question of disqualification of Members of Parliament is decided by the President on the advice of the Election Commission. (The
Speaker of the House decides the disqualification of the members based on defection.)
▪ Article 111 :- A bill passed by the Parliament cannot become an act without the signature of the President.

Veto powers of the president

▪ Veto is a Latin word meaning "to stop".
▪ The President has not been explicitly provided with the veto power by the Constitution. But according to the work done according to the
constitution and the established tradition, it is believed that the President has veto powers.
▪ According to Article 111, the President has three options with respect to a bill passed by both the Houses:-
1. He can assent to the Bill.
2. He can reserve his assent to the bill.
3. If it is not a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill, he can return it to the House for reconsideration. But if the Parliament presents
this bill to the President without any amendment or with amendment, then it is mandatory for the President to give permission.

Types of Veto :-
▪ Absolute or Extreme Veto: - When the President does not give permission to a bill, then that bill ends. The President exercises this power
when the bill has been passed and the cabinet resigns before the assent of the President is received. And the second cabinet which is in
majority should advise the President not to give consent to the bill.
▪ Suspensive Veto: - When the President sends a bill to the Parliament for reconsideration and the Parliament sends that bill again with or
without amendment, then the President is bound to give assent. But from the time it is sent for reconsideration till the time the Parliament
sends it again to the President, that bill remains in a state of suspension.
▪ Pocket Veto : - In this veto, the President neither allows, nor denies the bill passed by the Parliament nor sends it to the Parliament for
reconsideration. There is no time limit for the President to sign on a bill in the Constitution. This pocket veto was used by President Giani
Zail Singh in the context of the Indian Postal Amendment Bill in 1986.

Ordinance making power of the president

▪ It is mentioned in Article 123.
▪ The President can issue it in the following situations:-
1. When Parliament is not in session.
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 2. An ordinance can be issued when immediate action is necessary and it is not immediately possible to make a law in the Parliament.
3. Every ordinance promulgated during the prorogation of the Parliament must be laid before both the Houses when the Parliament re-
assembles. If the Parliament passes an ordinance, it becomes a law.
4. If the Parliament does not approve it, then this ordinance expires within 6 weeks.
5. In this way, the maximum duration of an ordinance is 6 months and its duration is 6 weeks if the Parliament meets and does not get approval
in it.
6. This right of the President to issue an ordinance depends on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
7. The President can issue an ordinance on a subject in the Union or Concurrent List and not on any subject in the State List.

Judicial powers of the president

▪ Article 124 :- The President appoints the judge of the Supreme Court.
▪ Article 143 :- The President can get advice from the Supreme Court on any important subject. The President is neither bound to accept this
advice nor is the Supreme Court bound to give advice.
▪ Article 72 :- The pardoning powers of the President are mentioned. Generally, it is the executive power of the president.
▪ On the basis of the powers conferred by Article 72, the President can pardon those persons who have been punished in the following
cases:-
1. Punishment given by military court (Including Court Martial)
2. In all cases where capital punishment is awarded.
3. Should have been duly punished by the court for any offense.

Types of pardon
▪ Pardon :- In this situation, the punishment given to a person for a crime is completely abolished. He is completely absolved of all penal
charges.
▪ Commutation:- In this the form of punishment is reduced by changing its nature. Like :- Converting death sentence to life imprisonment.
▪ Remission:- Reduction in the amount or period of punishment without changing its nature. Like - converting 3 years of rigorous imprisonment
to 1 year of rigorous imprisonment.
▪ Respite:- To reduce the sentence given to a convict in special circumstances. Like :- In the context of physical disability or pregnancy of
women.
▪ Reprieve :- Temporary stay on any punishment, especially death penalty. This is done only to delay the compliance of the penalty.

Financial Power
▪ Article 110 :- Any money bill is introduced in the Parliament only with the prior permission of the President.
▪ Article 112 :- In every financial year on behalf of the President, the finance minister presents the Annual Financial Statement before both the
Houses of the Parliament.
▪ Article 280 :- At the end of every 5 years, the President constitutes the Finance Commission.

Emergency Power
▪ National Emergency (Article 352) :- In the event of war, external aggression or armed rebellion, the President can declare emergency in the
whole of India or any part of it. (Under the 44th Constitutional Amendment, 1978, the term armed rebellion was substituted for internal
disturbance.)
▪ President's Rule (Article 356) :- On the failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, the President can impose President's rule in that
state.
▪ Financial Emergency (Article 360) :- In case of financial emergency, the President declares it. So far, this power has not been used even
once.

Vice-President
▪ The Vice President comes second in the official hierarchy of India.
▪ Article 63 of the Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Vice President of India.

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▪ The office of the Vice President is modelled on the American Vice President.
▪ According to American tradition, the Vice President is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Council of State) in India.
(Article 64)

Election :- Article 66
▪ He is elected by the Electoral College consisting of both houses of the Parliament by the single transferable vote system of proportional
representation system. :- Article 66(1)
▪ The Electoral College consists of both elected and nominated members. (whereas only elected members participate in the election of the
President)
▪ It does not include members of the State Legislature. (While the President includes the members of the Legislative Assembly)

Eligibility :- Article 66 (3)

▪ A person can become the Vice-President if he;
1. Be a citizen of India
2. Must have completed 35 years of age
3. Qualifies to become a member of Rajya Sabha
▪ Should not hold any office of profit :- Article 66 (4)
▪ Nomination of the Vice-Presidential candidate must have at least 20 proposers and 20 seconders and a security deposit of ₹ 15,000 is required
to be deposited with the RBI.
▪ If a person is not able to get 1/6th of the total valid votes, then his security deposit is seized.
▪ The Vice-President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of either House of the Legislature of a State and shall be deemed
to be, if a member of either House of Parliament or of either House of the Legislature of a State is elected as Vice-President that he has
vacated his seat in that House from the date on which he entered upon his office as Vice-President. :- Article 66 (2)

Term of Office :- Article 67

▪ During this period, he can withdraw at any time by giving his resignation to the President.
▪ Impeachment is not required to remove the Vice President from office. He can be removed by passing a resolution by the Rajya Sabha by
absolute majority. Such a proposal must have the consent of the Lok Sabha, that is, it must be passed by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority.
▪ It is necessary to give 14 days prior written information to the Vice President regarding his removal from office.
▪ When the Vice President is acting as the acting President, he can be removed by the process of impeachment.
▪ The Vice-President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term of office, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his
office.
▪ According to Article 68 (1), the election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of the Vice-President shall be
completed before the expiration of the term of office.

Oath: - Article 69
▪ The oath to the Vice-President is administered by the President or a person appointed by him.

Power and work :-

▪ Article 64 :- The Vice President acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ Article 65 :- The Vice President acts as the acting President when the post becomes vacant due to the death, resignation or other reasons of
the President.
▪ The Vice President can work as an Acting President for a maximum period of six months.
▪ When President Dr. Rajendra Prasad went on a 15-day visit to the Soviet Union in June 1960, the then Vice President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
had to take over as President and again in 1961 when Rajendra Prasad became seriously ill, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan took over.
▪ After the death of President Zakir Hussain in May 1969, V.V. Giri served as the President, and in 1977, after the death of the then President
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, B.V. D. Jathi served as the President.
▪ The Acting President must take an oath.
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▪ According to Article 70, the Vice-President can be authorized by the Parliament to perform such functions of the President at any time,
which are not mentioned in the constitution.

Salary & Allowances :- Article 97

▪ There is no mention of separate salaries and allowances for the Vice-President in the Constitution, the salary he gets is as the Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha.
▪ When the Vice-President acts as the acting President, he does not get the salary of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, but receives the salary
and allowances of the President.
▪ The salary and allowances of the Vice President are not charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.

Disputes relating to the election of the President or the Vice-President

▪ According to Article 71, the dispute related to the election of the President or the Vice-President is settled by the Supreme Court.

Prime Minister
▪ There is no specific procedure mentioned in the constitution for the appointment and election of the Prime Minister.
▪ Article 74 (1) of the Constitution of India states that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise
the President.
▪ Article 75 (1) only says that the President will "appoint" the Prime Minister. This means that the President appoints the leader of the majority
party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.
▪ A person can be appointed Prime Minister even if he is not a member of any House of Parliament, but it is mandatory for him to take
membership of any House of Parliament within 6 months.
▪ If no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President exercises discretion in the appointment of the Prime Minister. The only
condition is that the person appointed as the Prime Minister must get a vote of confidence in the house within 1 month. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
made the first use of this discretionary freedom and appointed Chaudhary Charan Singh as Prime Minister in 1979 after the fall of the Morarji
Desai government.
▪ The Prime Minister can be a member of either of the two houses of the Parliament.
▪ Indira Gandhi (1966), Indra Kumar Gujral (Member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 1997), Manmohan Singh (2004 and 2009) were members
of Rajya Sabha. (Whereas in Britain the Prime Minister must necessarily be a member of the lower house i.e., the House of Commons.)

Oath :-
▪ Before the President or any person appointed by him.
▪ The Prime Minister takes the oath of office and secrecy before assuming office.

Tenure :-
▪ The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed, that is, if he is recognized as the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha, he can remain in
office.
▪ Apart from this, the term of the Prime Minister is generally 5 years.
▪ He can continue in his post till the pleasure of the President.

Salary :-
▪ The Prime Minister receives the salary and allowances received by the Member of Parliament.
▪ At present, the salary of the Prime Minister is 1,00,000 per month, excluding allowances.

Functions and rights :-

▪ Prime Minister is also a minister. But he is "prime among his equal ministers" (primus inter pares).
▪ According to Article 78(1), the Prime Minister shall refer any matter to the President as per his requirement.
▪ He presides over the meeting of the Council of Ministers and gives proper directions to it.
▪ He recommends other persons of his party to the President for appointment as ministers.
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▪ He Can advise a minister to resign and the President to dismiss him.
▪ The Prime Minister himself can dismiss the entire Council of Ministers by resigning.
▪ The Council of Ministers itself gets dissolved by the death or resignation of the Prime Minister.
▪ He is the ex-officio President of Prime Minister Niti Aayog (NITI-National Institution for Transforming India), National Development
Council, Inter-State Council, National Water Resources Council and National Integration Council. It happens.
▪ The Prime Minister is the leader of the Lok Sabha.
▪ He is the political head of the armies.

Council of Ministers
▪ Article 74(1) of the Constitution of India states that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise
the President in his functions. In the discharge of his functions, the President shall act according to the advice of the Council of Ministers.
▪ The advice given by the ministers to the President cannot be inquired into by any court :- Article 74 (2)
▪ Article 75 (1) of the Indian Constitution says that the Prime Minister will be appointed by the President and other ministers will be appointed
by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
▪ This minister will hold office till the pleasure of the President. :- Article 75 (2)
▪ Article 75(3) says that the Council of Ministers will be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. (Note: - The personal responsibility of the
ministers is towards the President.)
▪ The President administers the Oath of Office & Secrecy to the Ministers on the basis of the formats given in the Third Schedule. :- Article 75
(4)
▪ A person can be appointed as a minister even if he is not a member of any house of the parliament, but it is mandatory for him to take
membership of any house of the parliament within 6 months. :- Article 75 (5)
▪ The salaries and allowances of the ministers are determined by the Parliament. :- Article 75 (6)
▪ The Supreme Court clarified in one of its decisions that a person who fails to take membership of the House within 6 months cannot be re-
appointed in the same Council of Ministers after resignation unless he is a member of any House.
▪ A minister who is a member of either House of Parliament has the right to participate in the proceedings of the other House but he can vote
only in the House of which he is a member. :- Article 88
▪ NOTE: - By the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, it was arranged that the total number of ministers including the Prime Minister
in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15 percent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha.

Collective Responsibility of the Council of Ministers :-

▪ According to Article 75(3), the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. Every member of the Council of Ministers
is responsible for every work of the government. If a no-confidence motion is passed against any one minister, then it is considered against
the entire cabinet and the entire government must resign.
▪ Lok Sabha enforces collective responsibility by asking questions, censure motion, adjournment motion, deduction motion, no-confidence
motion.
▪ If the Lok Sabha passes a motion of no confidence against the Council of Ministers, then all the ministers, including those of the Rajya Sabha,
must resign.
▪ The President is not bound to accept the advice of the Council of Ministers who have lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha.
▪ It is the duty of all the ministers to accept the decision of the cabinet and support it outside and inside the parliament. If any minister disagrees
with the decision of the cabinet, he must resign.

Personal Responsibility :-
▪ The ministers remain on their posts till the pleasure of the President.
▪ That is, the personal responsibility of the ministers is towards the President (The Union Cabinet is personally responsible to The President of
India).
▪ The minister is responsible for the works of his department. He must answer questions related to his department or ministry.

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 Composition of Union Council of Ministers
▪ There are three types of ministers in the Union Council of Ministers:-
1. Cabinet Minister
2. Minister of State (Independent Charge)
3. State Minister
▪ Their difference is in terms of hierarchy (Preference Order) and political importance. In this the cabinet ministers are the most important and
powerful and they mainly play a role in policy making.
▪ Cabinet Minister :- This is most important. They participate in important decisions regarding governance.
o Kitchen Cabinet :- Kitchen cabinet is a small body which is the main centre of power. This kitchen cabinet arrangement came to the
fore during Mrs. Indira Gandhi's time.
o Babu Jagjivan Ram had the longest tenure among cabinet ministers. (32 years approx.)
o The cabinet was first mentioned in the Indian Constitution in Article 352(3) in the 44th Constitutional Amendment.

Minister of State :-
▪ There are two types of ministers in this :- Minister of State (independent charge) and assistant to the cabinet minister.
▪ Minister of State (Independent Charge) includes those ministers who are given independent charge of any ministry or department.
▪ Whereas those ministers who are assigned any work related to a ministry as an assistant to the cabinet minister are called assistants to the
cabinet minister.
▪ Normally the Minister of State does not attend the cabinet meetings but attends the cabinet meeting on invitation.
Deputy Minister :-
▪ They never get independent charge, nor do they participate in the cabinet meeting.

Judiciary
▪ Integrated judicial system has been kept in the Indian constitution, that is, the structure of the judiciary in India is in the shape of a pyramid
in which the lower courts are linked to the decisions of the upper courts.
▪ In contrast to the parliamentary supremacy of England, the principle of supremacy of the constitution has been adopted in India.
▪ In India, the Parliament is supreme in making laws, while the Judiciary is supreme in reviewing the laws.
▪ The Supreme Court is the protector of the Constitution and has the power of judicial review.
▪ The Supreme Court is the sole interpreter of the Constitution.

Background of Judiciary in India

▪ The Supreme Court was established in Calcutta by the Regulating Act of 1773 during the time of Warren Hastings. Its work area was limited
to the citizens of Calcutta city. Cases outside this could be heard in this court only when both the parties were ready for it. Here only English
law was applicable while Muslim or Hindu law was applicable in Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Adalat.
▪ The jurisdiction of the Sadar Diwani and Nizamat Courts clashed with the Supreme Court, to resolve which Hastings appointed Elijah Impey
as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Sadar Diwani Adalat.
▪ In 1861, the Supreme Court and Sadar Adalats were abolished by the Indian High Court Act and in 1862 High Courts were established in
Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
▪ In 1866, a High Court was established at Agra, which was shifted to Allahabad in 1875. Patna High Court was established in 1916.
▪ The last significant reform in the judicial system was carried out in 1935 when a Federal Court was established in Delhi.
▪ According to the Government of India Act, 1935, the integrated judicial system has been implemented in India.
▪ The Supreme Court of India is the successor of the Quasi Federal Court created under the 1935 Act.
▪ The Supreme Court of India was established on 26 January 1950 in New Delhi.
▪ Article 124 to Article 147 in Part 5 of the Indian Constitution describes the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court
▪ Article 124(1) says that there shall be a Supreme Court of India.

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▪ Originally there was a Chief Justice and 7 other judges, that is, there were a total of 8 judges. [The first Chief Justice of India was Harilal J.
Kania]
▪ In Article 124(1) itself, the Parliament has been given the power to increase the number of judges.
▪ For the first time in 1956, this number was increased to 11 (excluding the Chief Justice).
▪ At present there are 34 judges in the Supreme Court including 1 Chief Justice and 33 other judges.

Appointment: - Article 124 (2)

▪ The President appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court.

Who can be the Chief Justice of India? :-

▪ The Senior Most Judge of the Supreme Court is appointed the Chief Justice of India.
▪ NOTE: - The system of appointment of other judges is called "Collegium System". This system was implemented in 1993.
▪ Collegium System: -
1. It is a forum that determines the appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and High Court to the top posts of the judiciary.
2. Under the Collegium System of the Supreme Court, along with the Chief Justice, four other senior judges of the Supreme Court are
included. These five persons together recommend the appointment of a judge to the President. If the decision of the two seniors most
judges is not in favour of any judge, then the Chief Justice cannot send a recommendation for appointment.
3. Under the collegium system of the High Court, the Supreme Court system remains the same (i.e., the Chief Justice of the High Court
and the four seniors most judges of the High Court). The only difference is that the Chief Justice of the High Court sends the proposal
for the appointment of other judges to the Chief Justice of India instead of sending it to the President.

Tenure :- Article 124 (2)

▪ The tenure of a Supreme Court judge has not been fixed in the Constitution; in this context it has only been said that he can continue in his
post till the age of 65 years.
▪ At his will, he can resign the President or he can be removed by impeachment.

Qualification of judges :- Article 124 (3)

▪ Be a citizen of India.
▪ Has been a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts for at least 5 years.
▪ He should have 10 years of continuous practice as an advocate in the High Court or two or more such courts. (In this regard the period during
which he has held the post of District Judge or above shall also be added.)
▪ In the view of the President, there should be a distinguished jurist. For example, a law teacher in a university who has special knowledge can
be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court by the President.

Procedure for removal of judge or impeachment :- Article 124 (4)

▪ Impeachment can be imposed only on the ground of misconduct/misbehaviour or incapacity of the judge.
▪ Parliament has the right to decide the procedure of impeachment.
▪ The impeachment motion must be passed by a "majority of the total number of members and ⅔ majority of the members present and voting"
in both the Houses separately.
▪ The impeachment motion must be passed in a single session.
▪ The motion of impeachment can be brought only by an address addressed to the President and signed by 100 members of the Lok Sabha and
50 members in the case of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ This address is given to the Speaker/Chairman. They can accept or reject it.
▪ If it is accepted, the Chairman or Speaker constitutes a three-member committee to investigate it, which includes the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, other judges of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of a High Court, or eminent jurists.
▪ This committee recommends action on the impeachment motion in the House if the judge is found guilty and then after passing by both the
Houses with a special majority, that motion is sent to the President. After that the President issues an order to remove him.

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▪ The procedure for the removal of the President and the Judge is the same but the nature is different. In the context of the impeachment of the
President, as soon as both the Houses pass the resolution, the President ceases to be the President, but in the case of the judge, even after the
House has passed the resolution, the President considers issuing necessary orders.
▪ So far, no judge has been removed from office by impeachment.
▪ Only in 1993, in the case of former Supreme Court judge V. Ramaswamy, the inquiry committee found him guilty and an impeachment
motion against him was brought in the Lok Sabha. But he could not be impeached because it could not be passed in the Lok Sabha because
the Congress party walked out of the house at the time of division.

Oath: - Article 124 (6)

▪ The judges are administered an oath by the President or some person appointed by him in the form specified in the Third Schedule to the
Constitution.

Salaries & Allowances :- Article 125

▪ Parliament determines.
▪ The salaries and allowances of the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India.
▪ Current Salary of Chief Justice :- 2.8 Lakh
▪ Current salary of other judge :- 2.5 lakh

Acting Chief Justice :- Article 126

▪ The President may appoint a judge as acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when the office of the Chief Justice is vacant or he is unable
to perform the duties.

Ad hoc Judge :- Article 127

▪ Whenever there is no quorum in the Supreme Court for any reason, the Chief Justice appoints ad-hoc judges with the approval of the President.
▪ A person is appointed as an ad hoc judge who has been a judge of a High Court or has the ability to become a judge of the Supreme Court.
▪ The number of judges has been fixed for quorum for holding the court meeting.

Retired Judge :- Article 128

▪ The Chief Justice of India may invite a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired judge of a High Court to act as a judge of the Supreme
Court for a period to meet the need.
▪ He can do this only with the prior permission of the President and the person concerned.

Power & Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

1. Court of Record :- Article 129
▪ As a court of record, the Supreme Court has the power to punish for its contempt.

2. Original Jurisdiction or Original Jurisdiction :- Article 131

▪ between the Government of India and one or more States
▪ between two or more states
▪ When the centre and any state are on one side and one or more states are on the other side.

3. Appellate Jurisdiction :- Article 132

▪ The Supreme Court has the right to hear appeals against the decisions of all the High Courts of India. It hears appeals of all constitutional
matters-Constitutional Matters (Article 32), Civil Matters (Article 133), Criminal Matters (Article 134).

4. Judicial Review or Right to Judicial Review (Power of Judicial Review) :- Article 137
▪ The Supreme Court can review the laws passed by the Parliament, if it is against the constitution.
▪ The Supreme Court can also consider its earlier given decision and can also change it.
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5. Advisory Jurisdiction :- Article 143
▪ The President has the right to seek advice from the Supreme Court on any matter of public importance or in any constitutional aspect.
▪ The President is not bound to accept this advice, nor is the Supreme Court bound to give advice.
▪ But the suggestion sought by the President from the Chief Justice of India on any international matter is binding on him.

Other important facts related to the Supreme Court: -

▪ Article 124 (7) :- Judges of the Supreme Court cannot practice before any court or any officer in India after retirement.
▪ Article 130 states that the seat of the Supreme Court is at Delhi, but the CJI can convene meetings of the Supreme Court at any place other
than Delhi with the prior permission of the President. So far such meetings have been held in Hyderabad and Srinagar.
▪ Article 141 states that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.
▪ Article 142 states that the Supreme Court may pass such a decree or make such orders as may be necessary for doing complete justice in any
case before it.
▪ Article 144 states that all civil and judicial authorities in India shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.
▪ Article 145 states that the Supreme Court can make rules related to its procedure, but these rules can be made only with the approval of the
President and these rules should not be against the law made by the Parliament.
▪ Article 146 provides for the appointment and expenditure of the officers and servants of the Supreme Court. This article says that the officers
and servants of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the Chief Justice of India.
▪ The conduct of the Chairman and members of UPSC is investigated by the Supreme Court only on the request of the President.

High Court
▪ The High Court is mentioned in the sixth part of the Indian Constitution till Article 214-Article 231.
▪ Article 214 says that there shall be a High Court for every State.
▪ But under the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 it was said that the Parliament can by law establish a common High Court for two or
more states or for the union territory.
▪ Article 231 empowers the Parliament to establish a common High Court for two or more states.
▪ Article 215 says that every High Court shall be a Court of Record and shall have power to punish for contempt of itself.
▪ The first High Courts in India were established in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta in 1862 under the Indian High Court Act, 1861.
▪ In 1866, the fourth High Court was established at Allahabad.
▪ Presently there are 25 High Courts. (25th High Court :- Andhra Pradesh High Court)
▪ Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir are the only two Union Territories which have their own High Court.
▪ Four states come under Guwahati High Court :- Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh
▪ The Bombay High Court also has jurisdiction over the Union Territories of Maharashtra, Goa, Dadar and Nagar Haveli.
▪ The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
▪ The Madras High Court also has jurisdiction over the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
▪ The Kerala High Court also has jurisdiction over the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
▪ Punjab High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Its centre is in Chandigarh.
▪ Parliament can extend the jurisdiction of a High Court to any Union territory or exclude any Union territory from the jurisdiction of the High
Court.

Composition :- Article 216

▪ Every High Court is constituted by a Chief Justice and such other judges as the President may appoint from time to time. Thus, the number
of High Court judges is not mentioned in the Constitution.
▪ The Guwahati High Court has the least number of judges while the Allahabad High Court has the most.

Appointment :- Article 217 (1)

▪ The judges of the High Court are appointed by the President.

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▪ The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the
State concerned.
▪ The Chief Justice of the concerned High Court is also consulted in the appointment of other Judges of the High Court.
▪ In appointing High Courts of two or more states, the President consults the governors of all the states concerned.
▪ According to the decision of the Supreme Court of 1998, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will compulsorily consult only two senior
judges on the appointment of judges in the High Court.
▪ But in the matter of transfer, consultation with 4 judges of the Supreme Court has been made mandatory.

Eligibility :- Article 217(2)

▪ Be a citizen of India.
▪ He should have the experience of holding a judicial office for at least 10 years in the territory of India.
▪ He must have been an Advocate of the High Court continuously for at least 10 years.
▪ Note: - There is no provision for appointment of a jurist even if he is competent in the eyes of the President while he is in the Supreme Court.

Oath :- Article 219

▪ Before the Governor or any person appointed by him.
▪ The Judge takes an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution in accordance with the procedure described in the Third Schedule.

Tenure :-
▪ It has not been prescribed in the constitution, yet there is a mention about their procedure.
▪ The Judge of the High Court remains in office till the age of 62 years.
▪ Any question regarding their age is decided by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. :- Article 217 (3)
▪ Article 217(1) states that a High Court judge can resign from his office by submitting his resignation to the President. The resignation will be
effective from the date mentioned in the resignation letter. A judge may withdraw his resignation at any time before the effective date.
(Allahabad High Court Judge Satish Chandra resigned in May 1977 and wrote that his resignation should be considered effective from August
1977, but on 31 July 1977 he withdrew his resignation.)
▪ The President can remove a judge from his office on the recommendation of the Parliament. This process is called impeachment.
▪ Impeachment has been mentioned in Article 217(1) for the removal of High Court judges. Its process is like that of the Supreme Court.

Salaries & Allowances :- Article 221

▪ The salaries and allowances of High Court judges are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of the State.
▪ Pensions are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
▪ Current Salary of Chief Justice :- 2.5 Lakh
▪ Current salary of other judge :- 2.25 lakh

Transfer of a Judge :- Article 222

▪ The President transfers a judge from one High Court to another after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
▪ In the matter of transfer of a High Court judge, the Chief Justice of India must consult the 4 seniors most judges of the Supreme Court and
the Chief Justices of the two High Courts.

Acting Chief Justice :- Article 223

▪ The President can appoint a judge of the concerned High Court as acting Chief Justice of that High Court if his post has become vacant or is
temporarily absent.

Retired Judge :- Article 224 (1)

▪ The Chief Justice of a High Court may, with the prior approval of the President, at any time ask a retired Judge of that High Court or any
other High Court to act as acting Judge for a temporary period.

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Restrictions :- Article 220
▪ A retired judge of a High Court cannot argue in any court except the Supreme Court and other High Courts in India. (Can't practice in the
High Court from which he retired.)

Power & Jurisdiction of High Court

1. Original Jurisdiction :-
▪ Such cases can be brought directly to the High Court.
▪ Under this, matters related to the election of members of parliament and state legislature and enforcement of fundamental rights of citizens,
etc. are included.
▪ Article 228 states that if a "Substantial Question of Law" is involved in the subordinate court, then such cases are interpreted by the High
Court.
▪ The 4 High Courts (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi) also have original jurisdiction in respect of civil cases of high value.

2. Writ Jurisdiction :- Article 226

▪ In this, writs of Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Certiorari, Prohibition, Quo Warranto can be issued for the enforcement of fundamental rights
and for any other purpose.

3. Control over subordinate courts and as a court of record

4. Appellate Jurisdiction :-
▪ In criminal matters, if a person has been sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years or more by the Sessions Judge, then an appeal can be made
against it in the High Court.
▪ In criminal cases, the person sentenced may or may not appeal against the decision of death penalty, until the High Court confirms the
sentence, the person cannot be punished.
▪ An appeal can be made in the High Court against such civil matters which are related to the property of 5 lakhs or more.

Subordinate Court
▪ It has been mentioned in Part 6 of the Constitution till Articles 233-237.
▪ District & Session Judge :- The District Judge is the highest judicial officer of the district. His appointment/promotion is done by the
Governor of the concerned State in consultation with the High Court.
▪ There is a District Judge in each district. It has jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters.
▪ When he hears civil cases, he is called District Judge and when he hears criminal cases, he is called Sessions Judge.

Criteria :-
▪ He should have experience of working as an advocate for at least 7 years.
▪ His appointment has been recommended by the High Court.
▪ Other judges are appointed by the Governor after consultation with the State Public Service Commission and the High Court.

Functions and Powers :-

▪ The District Judge has the right to give a death sentence to a criminal from life imprisonment. The death sentence is then executed with the
approval of the State High Court.
▪ The District Judge has both judicial and administrative powers. He has the power to inspect all subordinate courts in the district.

Public Interest Litigation

▪ This means that other persons or social service organizations can demand justice on behalf of the victim.
▪ In public interest litigation, decisions are given on subjects like necessities of life, exploitation, environment, child labour etc.
▪ Jurists have also accepted the PIL based on newspaper reports.
▪ Justices PN Bhagwati and VK Krishna Iyer are strong supporters of PIL.

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▪ PN Bhagwati said that even through a simple postcard a person can file a PIL in the Supreme Court.
▪ Public interest litigation can be presented only in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

State Legislature
▪ Article 168 of Part VI of the Constitution of India deals with the Legislature of the State.
▪ There is no uniformity in the context of the State Legislature. Most of the states have one house system while 6 states have two house systems.
▪ There is a Legislative Assembly in a state with a unicameral system, while in a state with a bicameral system, there is a Legislative Assembly
as well as a Legislative Council.
▪ Those 6 states where there is currently a Legislative Council: -
1. Andhra Pradesh (Member Number- 58)
2. Telangana (Member Number- 40)
3. Uttar Pradesh (Member Number- 100)
4. Bihar (Member Number- 75)
5. Karnataka (Member Number- 75)
6. Maharashtra (Member Number- 78)
▪ The final power to create and abolish the Legislative Council rests with the Parliament.
▪ According to Article 169 (1) of the Constitution of India, the Parliament has the right to establish or abolish the Legislative Council in a state
by a resolution passed by a simple majority. Parliament can do so only if the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned has passed such a
resolution by a majority of its total membership and the number of members present and voting.
▪ States that later abolished the Legislative Council:- Punjab (1969), West Bengal (1969), Tamil Nadu (1986)

Governor
▪ Article 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State.
▪ But according to the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, the same person can be appointed as the Governor of two or more states.
▪ Article 154 states that the executive power of the state is vested in the Governor.
▪ At the state level, the head of the nominal executive is the Governor, while the real authority rests with the Council of Ministers headed by
the Chief Minister.

Appointment - Article 155

▪ The Governor is appointed by the President. This appointment is made on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
▪ In this way, the governor is present in the state as the representative of the central government.
▪ Such a situation exists in Canada where the governor is appointed by the centre. This model was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly
whereas in America the Governor is directly elected.

Term of Office: - Article 156

▪ The tenure of the Governor is 5 years from the date of assuming his office, but even after the expiry of this period, he can continue in his
office until his successor takes office.
▪ The Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President.

Resignation: - Article 156 (2)

▪ The Governor can withdraw from the post by resigning from the President.

Qualification :- Article 157

▪ Be a citizen of India
▪ have completed 35 years of age
▪ Note: - The tradition is that the person nominated for the Governor should not be from the concerned state.

Oath: - Article 159

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▪ The Governor takes his oath of office before the Chief Justice of the High Court or in his absence the Senior Most Judge.

Salary and allowances :-

▪ The salary of the Governor is fixed by the Parliament.
▪ The salary of the governor is paid from the consolidated fund of the state.
▪ In case of being the governor of two or more states, it is decided by the President on which state his salary will be charged.

Powers
Executive power:-
▪ All the work of the state will be done in the name of the Governor.
▪ The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister.
▪ Appoints the Advocate General, State Election Commissioner etc.
▪ Appoints the chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission, but only the President has the right to remove them.
▪ He is the Chancellor of the State Universities and appoints the Vice Chancellor of the University.
▪ Advises the President in the appointment of judges to the High Court of the State.
▪ When the President's rule is imposed in the state, the governor runs the government of the state as the representative of the central government.

Legislative power: -
▪ Article 200 :- When a bill has been passed by the Legislature of the State, it is presented before the Governor for his assent, then the Governor
shall declare that he assents to the bill or withholds it or that he will refer that bill to the President. Reserves (relating to curtailing the powers
of the High Court) for consideration.
▪ Article 201 :- When a bill is reserved for the consideration of the President, the President shall declare whether he gives his assent to the bill
or withholds his assent. (Such bills may be mainly related to compulsory acquisition of personal property, reducing the jurisdiction of the
High Court, stopping international trade and other bills of national importance which may have a possibility of dispute with other
governments.)
▪ Article 202 :- The Governor gets the annual financial statement related to the State Legislature placed before the Houses of the State
Legislature in every financial year.
▪ Article 213 :- The Governor can issue an ordinance under.
▪ The Governor constitutes a State Finance Commission to examine the financial condition of the Panchayat and Municipality.
▪ Article 333 :- Governor can appoint a member of the Anglo-Indian Community to the State Legislature. (Eliminated by the 104th CAA, 2019)
▪ In the State Legislative Council, he nominates members equal to 1/6th of the total members. The qualifications of these members should be
related to literature, art, science, social service, and cooperative movement.
▪ In the context of the disqualification of the members of the Legislative Assembly, the Governor gives a decision after consulting the Election
Commission.

Judicial Powers :-
▪ Article 161 also provides judicial power to the Governor. He can forgive and reduce the punishment of a person. But the governor cannot
remit the death sentence.
▪ The Governor also does not have the power to remit a sentence awarded by a military court.

Emergency Power :-
▪ The Governor can send a report to the Centre about the constitutional crisis under Article 356.

Discretionary Powers of the Governor :-

▪ When no party gets a majority in the state, then the Governor appoints the person whose party is the largest in the assembly.
▪ Note: - At the point of discretion, the powers of the Governor are more visible than the President.

Legislative Council
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▪ It is mentioned in Article 169 of the Indian Constitution.
▪ It is the Upper House of the State Legislature, like the Rajya Sabha.

Member number :-
▪ The maximum number of members of the Legislative Council shall not exceed one-third of the total number of members of the respective
State Legislative Assembly.

Tenure :-
▪ There is no tenure of the Legislative Council.
▪ The Legislative Council is a permanent house which can never be dissolved. (It can be terminated.)
▪ Like the Rajya Sabha, its members have a term of 6 years and one-third of its members retire every second year.

Election process :-
▪ The members of the Legislative Council are elected indirectly.

Election method of the members of the Legislative Council: -

▪ 5/6 members of the total number of members of the Legislative Council are indirectly elected while 6/6 members are nominated by the
Governor.
▪ The members nominated by the Governor cannot be challenged in the court under any circumstances.
▪ The Governor can choose only those persons as members who have experience in the field of literature, art, social service, science and
cooperative.
▪ The remaining 5/6 members are elected in the following manner:-
1. One-third of the members are elected from the Electoral College consisting of members of the local bodies (such as Municipal
Corporation, Municipality, Panchayat).
2. One-third of the members are elected by the elected members of the state assembly.
3. 1/12 members are elected by university graduates living in the state who have completed their graduation at least 3 years ago.
4. 1/12 members are elected by teachers who have been teaching in higher secondary or higher education institutions of the state for at
least the last 3 years.

Criteria :-
1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He shall make an oath according to the form set out in the Third Schedule.
3. To become a member of the Legislative Council, the minimum age should be 30 years.
4. As per any other legislation passed by the Parliament (such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951)

Legislative Assembly
▪ It is mentioned in Article 170 of the Indian Constitution.
▪ It is the lower house of the state legislature, like the Lok Sabha.

Structure :-
▪ The State Legislature is constituted by direct voting by the adult electorate.
▪ The maximum number of members of any Legislative Assembly can be 500 and the minimum number can be 60.
▪ But in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim this minimum number of members has been fixed at 30.
▪ In Mizoram, this minimum number of members has been kept at 40.
▪ Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland have 60 members of the Legislative Assembly.
▪ At present there are two Union Territories (Delhi and Puducherry) which have legislatures.
▪ Constituencies in the Legislative Assembly are determined keeping in mind the population.

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Election process :-
▪ The members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected based on universal adult suffrage.

Tenure :-
▪ The term of the members of the Legislative Assembly is 5 years, that is, the tenure of the Legislative Assembly is 5 years.
▪ But at the time of national emergency, this period can be extended by the Parliament for 1 year. This extended period cannot exceed 6 months
after the end of the emergency.
▪ The dissolution of the Legislative Assembly is done by the Governor on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
▪ The disqualification of the members is decided by the Speaker or the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly based on defection and it is
decided under judicial review.

Criteria :-
▪ Qualification mentioned in the constitution: -
1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He shall make an oath according to the form set out in the Third Schedule.
3. The minimum age to become a member of the Legislative Assembly should be 25 years.
4. As per any other legislation passed by the Parliament (such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951)

Disqualification :-
▪ Mentioned in the constitution:-
1. If he is not a citizen of India,
2. If he holds an office of profit,
3. If he is of unsound mind, lunatic or insolvent,
4. If disqualified by law made by Parliament.
▪ Note :- The decision of the Governor on the disqualification of the members of the State Legislature is final and the Governor can
consult with the Election Commission on this.
▪ According to the People Representation Act, 1951: -
1. He has failed to furnish details of election expenditure or has been found guilty of an electoral offense or corrupt practice.
2. Imprisonment for two or more years.
3. Has been dismissed from the service of the Government.
4. He has been found guilty of defection as per the Tenth Schedule.

Vacant of the seats of the members in the State Legislature :-

1. On the basis of dual membership:-
▪ If a person is elected to both the Houses of the State Legislature, then within 10 days he will have to tell in which House he wants to live. If
he does not give information, his seat in the Legislative Council will become vacant.
▪ If a person is elected to two seats in the same House, he will have to voluntarily vacate one of the seats, otherwise both his seats will become
vacant.
▪ A person cannot be a member of the House of Parliament and the State Legislature at the same time. If a person is so elected, he must vacate
his seat in the State Legislature within 14 days, otherwise his membership in the Parliament will cease.
▪ If a member of one house is also elected a member of the other house, then his seat in the former house will become vacant.
2. On the basis of absence :- If a member remains absent from all the sittings of the House for a period of more than 60 days without the permission
of the House, then the House may declare his seat vacant.
3. By resignation: - The member of the Legislative Assembly resigns to the Speaker and the member of the Legislative Council resigns to the
Chairman.
4. On the basis of defection :-

Presiding Officer of State Legislature

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▪ State Legislative Assembly :- Speaker and Deputy Speaker and Panel of Deputy Speakers
▪ State Legislative Council :- Chairman and Deputy Chairman and Deputy Chairman Panel

Powers of State Legislature

▪ The State Legislature can make laws on subjects mentioned in the State List of the Seventh Schedule and on the Concurrent List.
▪ If a law is made by the Parliament and the Legislature on a subject mentioned in the Concurrent List and there is a conflict between the two,
then the law made by the Parliament will be effective :- Article 254

With reference to the Ordinary Bill (Article 197) :-

▪ Bills (except money bills) about which the Legislative Council is not in agreement with the Legislative Assembly, in this context the bill will
travel twice from the Legislative Assembly to the Legislative Council.
▪ That is, if the Legislative Assembly rejects the suggestions of the Legislative Council or the Council itself rejects the bill or the Council does
not take any action for 3 months, then the Legislative Assembly can pass it again and send it to the Council.
▪ In this situation, the council can stop the bill for one month and after that the bill is automatically considered to be passed by both the houses.
▪ In this way, the Legislative Council can stop a bill for a maximum of 4 months.

Joint Session in the context of deadlock on bills :-

▪ There is no provision for joint sitting in the states in case of deadlock between the two houses on any bill in the state legislature.

Provisions related to Money Bill :-

▪ Article 198 :- The Legislative Council can stop any money bill for a maximum of 14 days.
▪ Article 199 :- Definition of State Money Bill

Council of Minister for State

▪ Article 163 says that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as its head to aid and advise the Governor.
▪ Under Article 164, the Governor will appoint the Chief Minister and the Governor will also appoint other ministers on the recommendation
of the Chief Minister.
▪ Under the 91st Constitutional Amendment, 2003, the maximum number of ministers including the Chief Minister will not exceed 15% of the
total number of members of the Assembly. But the minimum number will not be less than 12. (In Delhi the minimum number cannot be less
than 7.)
▪ The Council of Ministers of the State will be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State :- Article 164 (2)
▪ The Governor will administer oath to the ministers as per the provisions mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Constitution :- Article 164
(3)
▪ Article 166 :- All executive action of the state government is taken in the name of the Governor.
▪ Article 167 :- Duties of the Chief Minister regarding giving information to the Governor

Advocate General
▪ According to Article 165, every state will have an Advocate General.
▪ The Governor appoints only a person qualified to be a High Court judge as Advocate General: - Article 165 (1)
▪ The Advocate General advises the State Government on legal matters. :- Article 165 (2)
▪ It is an officer of the state who is appointed by the Governor and holds office during the pleasure of the Governor. :- Article 165 (3)
▪ The Advocate General has the right to participate and speak in the proceedings of the Houses of the State Legislature but does not have the
right to vote.

Union Territory
▪ Regarding Union Territories, it is mentioned in Article 1 of the Indian Constitution.
▪ Union Territory is an area under the direct control of the Central Government and this territory is an example of a unitary governance system
in the country.

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▪ Under Part 8 of the Constitution, provisions are given from Articles 239 to 241.

Administration of Union Territories :-

▪ Although all the Union Territories belong to the same category, their administrative system is not the same.
▪ The administration of each Union Territory is run by the President and the President decides the responsibility of administration through an
Administrator.
▪ The Administrator of a Union Territory is an agent of the President and not the head of the state like the Governor.
▪ Presently the Administrator is known as Lieutenant Governor or Chief Commissioner or Administrator.
▪ It is important that at present there are Lieutenant Governors in Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh, while there are Administrators in Chandigarh, Daman Diu and Lakshadweep.
▪ The President can also appoint the Governor of a state as the Administrator of the adjacent Union Territory. It is important that provision for
assembly has also been made in some union territories. Prominent among them are Puducherry (1963), Delhi (1992) and Jammu and Kashmir
(2019). And the administrative system here has been subordinated to the cabinet headed by the Chief Minister.
▪ There are 30 members in Puducherry Assembly, 70 in Delhi and 114 in Jammu and Kashmir (For Jammu-43, For Kashmir-47, For POK-24).
▪ Even though Legislative Assemblies exist in some Union Territories, yet Parliament can make laws on all three lists of Union Territories.
▪ The only difference is that in the states where there is a Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Assembly can make laws about the State List
and the Concurrent List, except public order, police and land.
▪ Parliament can establish a High Court in a Union Territory or subordinate it to the High Court of an adjacent State. At present Delhi and
Jammu and Kashmir are two union territories which have their own High Court.

Special provision for Delhi

▪ Under the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1991, Delhi was named National Capital Region.
▪ For this, 70-member Legislative Assembly was determined.
▪ The Legislative Assembly was given the right to make laws on the State List and Concurrent List.
▪ The number of Cabinet was kept at 10% of the total strength of the Assembly i.e. 7 (Chief Minister and six other ministers).
▪ The Chief Minister is appointed by the President and other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Minister.
▪ President's rule is applicable here also under Article 356.
▪ Parliament can make laws on all three lists of all Union Territories, which also includes Delhi.
▪ The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly and personally to the President.
▪ The Cabinet under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister cooperates and assists in all other work except the decisions taken by the Lieutenant
Governor at his discretion.
▪ When the Assembly is not in session and in case any law is necessary, the Lieutenant Governor has the right to bring an ordinance. An
ordinance has the same effect as a law passed by the Assembly.

Status of Jammu and Kashmir

▪ In the year 2019, through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was made two union territories
named Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
1. Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir state is a region with vast area but sparse population and difficult crust and the people of Ladakh
had an old demand that it should be separated from the state of Jammu and Kashmir and given the status of a federal territory so that they can
fulfil their aspirations. No provision for any kind of assembly was made for the Ladakh region.
2. On the other hand, keeping in mind the internal security environment due to cross-border sponsored terrorism in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir was given the status of Union Territory so that the governance there can be run by the Centre and Legislative
Assembly can also be formed there. What was done was talked about.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019
▪ Through The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019, a unified union territory has been
established by merging Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
▪ This merger has become effective from 26 January 2020.
Article related to Union Territories
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 Article Provisions

239 Administration of Union Territories

239-A Creation of local legislature or council of ministers for union territories

239-A A Special provisions regarding Delhi

239-AB Provision in case of failure of constitutional machinery in Union Territories

239-B Administrator's power to issue ordinances

240 Power of the President to make changes in respect of Union territories

241 High Court for Union Territories

Panchayat
▪ Panchayat is an important system of local self-government.
▪ There are mainly three parts under Panchayati Raj or local self-government: -
1. Panchayati Raj
2. Municipal Corporation
3. Cantonment Board
▪ Panchayati Raj in India means rural local self-government.
▪ It is established by the state legislatures to build democracy at the grassroots level in all the states of India.
▪ It has been entrusted with the responsibility of rural development.
▪ Panchayati Raj was given constitutional status by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 and the Urban Local Body by the 74th
Constitutional Amendment Act.
▪ The 11th Schedule related to Panchayati Raj was added to the Constitution by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act and the 12th
Schedule related to Urban Local Bodies by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.
▪ In the 11th Schedule which was added under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 29 subjects have been kept for Panchayats, for
which Panchayats can make laws and work.
▪ Local government is placed under the subject of the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
▪ Article 40 of the Indian Constitution talks about the organization of village panchayats under the Directive Principles of State Policy.
▪ Article 40:- The State shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary
to enable them to function as units of self-government.
▪ The first state to establish Panchayati Raj :- Rajasthan was the first state in the country where the Panchayati Raj system was started on 2
October 1959 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
▪ The second state was Andhra Pradesh where on 11 October 1959 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru started the Panchayati Raj system.
▪ Lord Ripon resolution :- Lord Ripon is called the father of local self-government. Lord Ripon's resolution passed in 1883 is called the
Magna Carta of local self-government.

Development of Panchayati Raj in India

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee: -
▪ In January 1957, the Government of India, under the leadership of Balwant Rai Mehta, to examine the work done by the Community
Development Programme, 1952 and the National Extension Service, 1953, and to work out better solutions. Formed a committee.
▪ The committee submitted its report in November 1957, recommending a plan of democratic decentralization. This democratic decentralization
finally came to be known as Panchayati Raj.
▪ Major recommendations :- The committee talked about a three-tier Panchayati Raj system, in which:
1. Gram Panchayat at village level
2. Panchayat Samiti at Block Level
3. Zilla Parishad at the district level.

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Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) :-
▪ This committee was constituted by the Janata Party government in 1977, which gave its report in 1978.
▪ 132 recommendations were included in this.
▪ Main recommendations :- It talked about the two-tier Panchayati Raj system. The Zilla Parishad was to be at the district level and the second
level was the Mandal Panchayat.

G. V. K. Rao Committee: -
▪ This committee was formed in 1985.
▪ It is called Panchayati Raj Institutions as 'grass without roots'.

L. M. Singhvi Committee: -
▪ In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi's government constituted a committee on the reform of Panchayati Raj Institutions for democracy and development.

Constitutionalizing of Panchayati Raj Institutions :-

▪ Rajiv Gandhi's government introduced the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha in 1989 to strengthen the recommendations
of the Singhvi Committee, but after it was passed by the Lok Sabha, the opposition in the Rajya Sabha did not support it.

Narasimha Rao Government and Panchayati Institutions :-

▪ In the period of Narasimha Rao, a new constitutional amendment was done after removing the shortcomings of the bill brought by Rajiv
Gandhi.
▪ This bill was passed by the Parliament in 1992 in the name of 73rd Constitutional Amendment and came into effect on 24 April 1993. (By
this time 17 state legislatures had recognized it)

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

▪ By this amendment act, a new Part 9 was added to the Constitution of India which was also mentioned in the name of Panchayats and Articles
243 to 243 (O) were placed under it.
▪ Under this constitutional amendment, the 11th schedule was also added to the constitution.
▪ This Act gave a practical shape to Article 40 of the Constitution.
▪ This act gave a constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions and established that there would be a constitutional obligation to adopt
the Panchayati Raj system.

Municipal Corporations
▪ There are eight types of urban local government in India. Municipal Council, Municipality, Notified Area Committee, Urban Area Committee,
Cantonment Board, Patan Nyas, Municipal Corporation and agencies constituted for special purpose.
▪ Municipal Corporation is the urban local government system or the same as Panchayat in the form of local government in the village.
▪ The urban governance system was given constitutional status by the 74th Constitutional Amendment, 1992.

Development of Municipal Corporation in India :-

▪ The first Municipal Corporation in India was established in 1687 in Madras during the British rule.
▪ In 1726 Municipal Corporations were established in Bombay and Calcutta.
▪ In 1870 Lord Mayo introduced the concept of circular decentralisation.
▪ In 1882, Lord Ripon introduced the method of decentralization for local self-government. This method is called the Magna Carta of Local
Self Government and therefore Lord Ripon is called the father of Local Self Government.
▪ In 1924 Cantonment Act was brought.
▪ Local self-government was declared a provincial subject by the Government of India Act of 1935.
▪ In August 1989, the Rajiv Gandhi government introduced the 65th Constitutional Amendment Bill (Municipalities Bill) in the Lok Sabha.
This bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha.

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▪ It was finally passed as the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 by PV Narasimha Rao's government and came into effect on 1 June
1993.

74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

▪ Part 9 (A) was included in the Constitution of India by this, which was named Municipalities.
▪ Article 243(P) to Article 243(ZG) were included in this part.
▪ The 12th schedule was also added to the constitution under the act. This schedule contains information about 18 subjects of municipalities.
▪ Under the Act, provision was made for the establishment of three types of municipalities in each state:-
1. Nagar Panchayat :- For the area which is changing from rural area to urban area.
2. Municipal Council :- for small towns and
3. Municipal Corporation :- For big cities.

Co-Operative Societies
▪ Cooperative societies are mentioned in Section IX-B of the Indian Constitution from sections 243 (ZH) to 243 (ZT).
▪ Cooperative societies are at number 32 in the state list under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. This is why the state legislature has
the right to make rules and laws regarding cooperative societies.
▪ In the year 2011, the 97th amendment was made to the Constitution and through this, cooperative societies were given constitutional status.
▪ Through the 97th Amendment, the following rules were made regarding cooperative societies: -
1. Formation of cooperative societies was considered a fundamental right under Article 19.
2. Article 43 (B) was brought under the Directive Principles of Policy for the promotion of cooperative societies.
3. It added a new Part IX (B) in the Constitution regarding co-operative societies.
4. The maximum number of directors of the board related to cooperative societies cannot exceed 21.
5. The tenure of the members and officers of the board will be 5 years.

Official Language
▪ Constitutional Provision :- From Article 343 to Article 351 of Part 17
▪ According to Article 343 (1) of the Indian Constitution, Hindi written in Devanagari script is the official language of India.
▪ It has also been made clear in the Constitution that along with Hindi, English can also be used for government work.
▪ Hindi was accepted as the official language of India on September 14, 1949.
▪ Under Article 344 of the Constitution, the President has been given the right to constitute the Official Language Commission.
▪ The first Official Language Commission of India was formed in 1955 under the chairmanship of BG Kher.
▪ Earlier there were 14 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution but currently there are 22 languages:- 1. Hindi, 2. Sanskrit,
3. Marathi, 4. Kashmiri, 5. Oriya, 6. Malayalam, 7. Tamil, 8. Urdu, 9. Telugu, 10. Punjabi, 11. Gujarati, 12. Kannada, 13. Bengali, 14.
Assamese
▪ 15th :- Sindhi (added by 21st constitutional amendment in 1967)
▪ 16th :- Konkani (Added in 1992 by the 71st Constitutional Amendment)
▪ 17th :- Manipuri (added in 1992 by the 71st constitutional amendment)
▪ 18th :- Nepali (Added in 1992 by 71st Constitutional Amendment)
▪ 19th :- Santhali (Added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003),
▪ 20th :- Dogri (Added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003)
▪ 21st :- Maithili (Added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003)
▪ 22nd :- Bodo (Added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003)

Emergency Provision
▪ Constitutional provisions :- Article 352 to 360 in Part 18
▪ Nature :- In emergency situations it assumes a unitary form.
▪ Objective :- To secure the sovereignty, unity, integrity and democratic political system of the country.
▪ Source :- Government of India Act 1935 and Weimar Constitution of Germany.

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▪ Note :- The provision for suspension of fundamental rights at the time of emergency has basically been taken from the Weimar Constitution
of Germany.

Classification of emergency provisions

▪ Emergency provisions in the Indian Constitution are divided into three parts :-
1. National Emergency :- Article 352
2. Failure of Constitutional Machinery in States / President's Rule :- Article 356
3. Financial Emergency :- Article 360

National Emergency :- 352

▪ Ground :- The security of the whole of India or any part of it is in danger due to war, external aggression or armed rebellion.
▪ In the original Constitution, there was mention of internal disturbance instead of armed rebellion. But by the 44th Constitutional Amendment
Act, 1978, the word armed rebellion was given a place in the Constitution instead of internal disturbance.

Conditions :-
▪ The President can announce this only on the basis of written recommendation of the Cabinet. (Note:- This provision was added by the 44th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978.)
▪ The resolution of such proclamation will have to be passed by each House of Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that House
and by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. (44th CAA 1978)
▪ The declaration of national emergency must be approved by each house of the Parliament within 1 month. (44th CAA 1978)
▪ Once approved, it can remain in force for 6 months.
▪ When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the proclamation of emergency will remain in effect for 30 days from the first sitting of the Lok Sabha
after its reconstitution but in the meantime it must be passed by the Rajya Sabha.
▪ After the approval of both the houses, it can continue for 6 months and after every 6 months it can be extended indefinitely with the approval
of the Parliament.
▪ National emergency can be ended by the President at any time and does not require the approval of the Parliament. Lok Sabha can bring a
proposal to withdraw the emergency by simple majority.

Effect of National Emergency (Article 353) :-

▪ The Centre has complete control over the state governments but they cannot be suspended.
▪ In case of national emergency, the Parliament can make a law about the State List and this law made remains effective till 6 months after the
end of the emergency.
▪ In case of national emergency, the tenure of Lok Sabha and Assembly can be extended by the Parliament for one year. But this extended
tenure remains effective only for 6 months after the end of the emergency.
▪ At the time of national emergency, all other fundamental rights except Articles 20 and 21 are suspended. This arrangement is in the context
of emergency arising out of war or external aggression, whereas in the context of armed rebellion, all the fundamental rights except Articles
19, 20 and 21 are suspended.
▪ Till now, national emergency has been imposed in India thrice :-
1. At the time of Chinese attack in NEFA in 1962 :- October 1962-January 1968
2. At the time of Pakistani invasion in 1971 :- December 1971-March 1977
3. On the basis of internal unrest in 1975 :- June, 1975-March 1977

Failure of Constitutional Machinery in States/President Rule :- Article 356

▪ This has been mentioned under Article 356.
▪ Under Article 356, emergency can be declared in the states based on failure of constitutional machinery which is known as President's rule
or Governor's rule.

Conditions :-
▪ It is mandatory to pass it by both the houses of the Parliament with a simple majority within 2 months of the declaration of President's rule.
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▪ After its passage, the period of President's rule lasts for 6 months. After 6 months, it can be extended for a maximum of 1 year with
parliamentary approval.
▪ President's rule can be extended beyond one year but mainly two conditions have been imposed for this.
o National emergency is in force in the whole of India or any part thereof.
o The Election Commission of India should certify that elections cannot be held in that province.
▪ Note :- After the above conditions are fulfilled, the maximum period of President's rule can be only 3 years.
▪ In case of failure of the constitutional machinery in the states, the President dissolves the Council of Ministers of the state and runs the
administration of the state with the help of the Governor.
▪ In case of President's rule, the President can dissolve or suspend the state assembly.
▪ The powers of the High Court remain the same.
▪ President's rule was first declared in Punjab in 1951 and President's rule remained in Punjab for the longest period.
▪ President's rule has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh maximum of 9 times.
▪ President's rule has been imposed in Bihar eight times so far. (1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1995, 1999, 2005)
▪ The President can withdraw the proclamation of President's rule at any time and does not require the approval of the Parliament to do so.

Financial Emergency :- Article 360

▪ This has been mentioned in Article 360.
▪ It is mandatory to pass this resolution by Parliament with a simple majority within 2 months of the declaration of financial emergency.
▪ It can be kept in force indefinitely because its maximum period is not mentioned in the Constitution.
▪ The President can withdraw the proclamation of financial emergency at any time and does not require the approval of the Parliament to do
so.

Effect :-
▪ In case of financial emergency, the salaries of employees engaged in the service of the state and the center can be reduced. This also includes
the salary and allowances of the judges of the Supreme Court and High Court.
▪ Till now, there has not been any financial emergency in India even once.

Parliamentary Committees
▪ The procedure of Parliament is complex and extensive. Also, Parliament neither has enough time nor the necessary experts to thoroughly
investigate all legal matters. This is the reason why Parliament performs its duties through many committees.
▪ In the Constitution of India, such committees are mentioned in different places and contexts, but there is no provision regarding the formation,
tenure and work etc. of these committees. Regarding all these matters, only the rules of both the Houses of Parliament are effective.
▪ Thus, a parliamentary committee is a committee that :-
1. Who is appointed or elected by the House or who is nominated by the Speaker or Chairman of the Lok Sabha.
2. Which works as per the instructions of the Speaker or Chairman of the Lok Sabha.
3. Which submits its report to the House or to the Speaker or Chairman of the Lok Sabha.
4. Which has a secretariat, which is managed by the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha secretariat.
▪ NOTE :- Consultative Committee is also formed from the members of Parliament but it is not a Parliamentary Committee because
it does not fulfil the above 4 conditions.

Classification of Committees :-
▪ Broadly, parliamentary committees are of two types :- 1. Standing Committees and 2. Ad-hoc Committees
▪ Standing committees are of permanent nature which work based on continuity, which are formed every year or from time to time.
▪ The nature of ad-hoc committees is temporary and as soon as the purpose for which it is formed ends, its tenure also ends, it ceases to exist.

Some major standing committees

Public Account Committee :-
▪ This committee was formed for the first time in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919 and has been in existence since then.
▪ Total Number of Members :- 22 members (15 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha)
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▪ Every year, the members of the Public Accounts Committee are elected by the Parliament from among its members through single transferable
vote according to the principle of proportional representation.
▪ The tenure of the members is 1 year.
▪ No minister can be elected in the committee.
▪ The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among the members of the Lok Sabha.
▪ There has been a tradition since 1967 that the chairman of the committee is chosen from the opposition party.
▪ The most important function of the committee is to examine the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which the
President presents before the Parliament.
▪ CAG plays the role of a friend, philosopher and guide for the Public Accounts Committee.

Estimates Committee :-
▪ For the first time, the First Estimates Committee was formed in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai.
▪ Originally it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was increased to 30.
▪ These 30 members are Lok Sabha members.
▪ Rajya Sabha has no representation in this committee. That is why it is called a committee of the Lok Sabha.
▪ Its members are elected every year by the Lok Sabha from among its members and the principle of proportional representation is followed
through the single transferable vote.
▪ The tenure of the committee is 1 year.
▪ No minister can be a member of the committee.
▪ The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among the members of the Lok Sabha and he belongs to
the ruling party.
▪ Work of the Committee :- The work of the committee is to examine the estimates included in the budget and to give suggestions for economy
in public expenditure. Therefore, it is also known as "Sustainable Economy Committee".

Public Enterprises Committee :-

▪ This committee was formed for the first time in 1964 on the recommendation of Krishna Menon Committee.
▪ Initially it had 15 members (10 from Lok Sabha and 5 from Rajya Sabha).
▪ In 1974, its membership was increased to 22 (15 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha).
▪ The members of the committee are elected by the Parliament from among its members on the basis of the principle of proportional
representation by means of single transferable vote. In this way representation of each party is ensured.
▪ The tenure of the committee is 1 year.
▪ No minister can become a member of the committee.
▪ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha appoints one of the Lok Sabha members as the chairman of the committee. Thus, Rajya Sabha members cannot
become the chairman of this committee.
▪ The committee has the following functions :-
1. To examine the reports and accounts of the public enterprise.
2. To examine the reports of CAG on public enterprises.
3. To check that the management of public enterprises is being provided in accordance with sound business principles and sound business
practices.

Departmental standing committees :-

▪ On the recommendation of the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha, 17 department-related standing committees were formed in the Parliament
in 1993. In 2004, 7 more such committees were formed. In this way the number of these committees increased to 24.
▪ The main objective of the Standing Committees is to make the Executive (Council of Ministers) more accountable to the Parliament, especially
the financial responsibility. In such a situation, these committees are helpful in more meaningful discussion on the budget of the Parliament.
▪ All the ministers and departments of the government come under the jurisdiction of these 24 standing committees.
▪ Departmental Standing Committee consists of 31 members (21 Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha).

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 Attorney-General of India
▪ Article 76 of the Indian Constitution provides for the post of Attorney General of India.
▪ The Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the country.
▪ Attorney General is also called the first law officer of the Government of India.
▪ Appointment :- The Attorney General is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Cabinet.

Qualification :-
▪ Same as appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court. That means it is necessary for him to;
1. Be a citizen of India.
2. Should have 5 years of experience of working as a High Court judge. Or
3. Must have 10 years of advocacy experience in a High Court Or
4. In the eyes of the President, he should be a person capable of judicial matters, that is, he should be an accomplished jurist.

Tenure :-
▪ Not fixed in the Constitution. He can remain on his post till the pleasure of the President and can leave the post at any time by submitting his
resignation to the President.
▪ The tradition is that when the government i.e. the Council of Ministers resigns or is replaced, the Attorney General must resign.

Salary :-
▪ The salary of the Attorney General is not fixed. He gets remuneration fixed by the President.
▪ The salary of the Attorney General is the same as that of CAG, other judges of the Supreme Court, UPSC Chairman, Chief Justice of High
Court, Chief Election Commissioner.

Functions and powers :-

▪ The Attorney General of India is not a member of the Cabinet whereas in Britain he is a member of the Cabinet.
▪ The Attorney General has the right to be tried in any court in any area of India.
▪ He also has the right to speak or participate in the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament or in the joint sitting of both the Houses. But
in case of division of votes in these meetings, he does not have the right to vote. :- Article 88
▪ The Attorney General gets all the allowances and privileges like a Member of Parliament. :- Article 105 (4)
▪ It is ranked 11th in the order of priority of India.
▪ The Attorney General is neither a full-time legal advisor to the government nor a government servant.

Solicitor General of India

▪ To assist the Attorney General in fulfilling his responsibilities, a provision has been made for the posts of Advocate General and Additional
Advocate General. This is not mentioned in the Constitution.

Comptroller & Auditor General of India

▪ The post of Comptroller and Auditor General is the second important post in the Government of India after the Attorney General.
▪ It controls the entire financial system of the country (both at the Union and State levels).
▪ It has been mentioned in Part 5 of the Constitution from Articles 148 to 151.
▪ The Comptroller and Auditor General is called the custodian of public funds.
▪ The post of Comptroller and Auditor General in India is provided for under the Government of India Act, 1935.

Conditions of service of the Comptroller and Auditor General :-

▪ Although the Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed by the President, he does not hold office during the pleasure of the President. He
can be removed from his post only on the application of both the houses of the Parliament and the basis for removal can be only on proven
misconduct or incompetence.
▪ His salary and conditions of service shall be legal (i.e. determined by law by Parliament) and no unfavourable change can be made in his
salary and conditions of service during his term of office.
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▪ Parliament enacted the Comptroller and Auditor General (Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 and this Act was amended in 1976 and it was
provided that:-
1. The term of office of the Comptroller and Auditor General will be 6 years from the date he assumes office but his post will become vacant
even before the expiry of the 6 years period on attaining the age of 65 years.
2. He may resign his office at any time by writing under his hand addressed to the President.
3. He can be removed by the same procedure as for the judges of the Supreme Court according to Article 124 (4)). :- Article 148 (1)
4. His salary will be equal to that of a Supreme Court judge.
5. On retirement he will also get an annual pension of ₹ 15,000.
6. After retirement, he will not be eligible to hold any other post under the Government of India.
7. The salaries and administrative expenses of the Comptroller and Auditor General and his staff are charged on the Consolidated Fund of
India.
8. In all other matters the status of the Comptroller and Auditor General is equal to that of a judge of the Supreme Court.

Functions and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General :-

▪ To examine all expenditure incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India and of every State and Assembly or of every Union Territory and
to report thereon whether any such expenditure has been incurred in accordance with law or not.
▪ To audit all expenditure from the Contingency Fund and Public Account of the Union and States and report thereon.
▪ To audit the loss and profit-loss accounts of all trade and manufacturing carried on by the Union or State Department and report thereon.
▪ Auditing the income and expenditure of the Union and each State.
▪ To audit the income and expenditure of all bodies and officers financed by Union and State revenues, Government companies and other
corporations or bodies, and report thereon, if necessary.

Centre-State Relation
▪ Mainly four types of powers and responsibilities can be divided between the Centre and the State.
1. Legislative Relations
2. Administrative Relations
3. Financial Relations
4. Judicial Relation
▪ But since the judicial system in India is unitary, only three types of powers (legislative, administrative and financial) can be divided between
the Centre and the State.
▪ Centre-State relations are discussed in Part XI (Article 245 to Article 263) and Part XII (Article 268 to Article 293) of the Constitution, which
are classified into legislative, administrative and financial relations.
o Legislative Relations :- Article 245 to Article 255 (Part XI)
o Administrative Relations :- Article 256 to Article 263 (Part XI)
o Financial Relations :- Article 268 to Article 293 (Part XII)

Centre-State legislative relations

▪ Centre-State legislative relations are discussed in Part 11 of the Constitution from Article 245 to Article 255.
▪ Article 245 :- Extension of laws made by the Parliament and the Legislatures of the States.
▪ Article 246 :- Subject matter of laws made by Parliament and by State Legislatures
▪ Article 246 A :- Special provisions regarding GST
▪ Article 247 :- Power of Parliament to provide for the establishment of certain additional courts.
▪ Article 248 :- Residuary legislative powers.
▪ Article 249 :- Power of Parliament to make laws in the national interest with respect to the subjects of the State List.
▪ Article 250 :- Power of Parliament to make laws in case of emergency on any subject in the State List.
▪ Article 251 :- Inconsistency between the laws made by the Parliament under Articles 249 and Article 250 and the laws made by the
Legislatures of the States.
▪ Article 252 :- Power of Parliament to make laws for two or more States after their consent and to adopt legislation by any other State.
▪ Article 253 :- Legislation to implement international agreements.
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▪ Article 254 :- Inconsistency between the laws made by the Parliament and the laws made by the State Legislatures.
▪ Article 255 :- Treating recommendations and requirements regarding prior approval as a matter of procedure only.

Centre-State Administrative Relations

▪ Centre-State administrative relations are discussed in Part 11 of the Constitution from Article 256 to Article 263.
▪ Article 256 :- Responsibilities of the State and the Union.
▪ Article 257 :- Control of the Union over the State in certain matters.
▪ Article 257 (a) :- Deploying the armed forces or other forces of the Union in aid of the States.
▪ Article 258 :- Power of the Union to confer power on the States in certain cases.
▪ Article 258 (a) :- Power of the states to delegate tasks to the Union.
▪ Article 259 :- Armed forces in the states in Part B of the First Schedule.
▪ Article 260 :- Jurisdiction of the Union in relation to territories outside India.
▪ Article 261 :- Public activities, records and judicial process.
▪ Article 262 :- Adjudication in relation to disputes related to the water of inter-state rivers or river valleys.
▪ Article 263 :- Provisions related to inter-state relations.

Centre-state financial relations

▪ Part XII of the Constitution discusses Centre-State financial relations from Article 268 to Article 293.
▪ Article 268 :- Taxes imposed by the Union but collected and utilized by the State.
▪ Article 268(A) :- Service tax imposed by the Union and collected and utilized by the States.
▪ Article 269 :- Taxes imposed and collected by the Centre but paid to the State.
▪ Article 270 :- Taxes imposed between the Centre and the States and distributed between the Union and the States.
▪ Article 271 :- Some taxes for the Union but additional taxes like surcharge.
▪ Article 272 :- Taxes imposed and collected by the Union which can also be distributed between the Union and the States.
▪ Article 273 :- Grant for export tax on jute and jute products.
▪ Article 274 :- Taking the President's recommendation on a bill affecting taxation in which the states are also interested.
▪ Article 275 :- Grants by the Union to certain States
▪ Article 276 :- Tax on profession, trade, calling and employment.
▪ Article 277 :- Savings.
▪ Article 278 :- Agreement with the States in respect of Part B of the First Schedule relating to certain financial matters.
▪ Article 279 :- Calculation of total receipts
▪ Article 280 :- Finance Commission.
▪ Article 281 :- Recommendations of the Finance Commission
▪ Article 282 :- Expenses payable by the Union or any State out of its revenue.
▪ Article 283 :- Protection of accumulated funds, contingency funds and money deposited in the public account.
▪ Article 284 :- Custody of deposits of litigants and other moneys received by public services and court.
▪ Article 285 :- Exemption of properties of the Union from state taxation.
▪ Article 286 :- Prohibition on taxation on sale and purchase of goods.
▪ Article 287 :- Exemption from taxes on electricity
▪ Article 288 :- Exemption from taxation by the States relating to water and electricity in certain cases.
▪ Article 289 :- Exemption of property of a State and the State from federal taxation.
▪ Article 290 :- Adjustments related to certain expenses and pensions.
▪ Article 291 :- Money in the private purse of the rulers.
▪ Article 292 :- Borrowing taken by the Government of India.
▪ Article 293 :- Borrowing taken by the state.

Commissions formed for Centre-State relations

▪ Administrative Reforms Commission :- It was formed in 1966 under the chairmanship of Morarji Desai.
▪ Rajamannar Committee :- It was formed in 1969 under the chairmanship of Dr. V.P. Rajamannar.
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▪ Anandpur Sahib Resolution :- It was formed in 1973 in a meeting of Akali Dal held in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
▪ West Bengal Memorandum :- In 1977, by the Government of West Bengal.
▪ Sarkaria Commission :- It was formed in 1983 under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge R. S. Sarkaria. It presented its report
in 1987.
▪ Panchi Commission :- It was formed in 2007 under the chairmanship of former High Court judge Madan Mohan Panchi. It presented its
report in 2010.

Important Articles related to Special Class

▪ Article 330 :- Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha.
▪ Article 331 :- Representation of people of Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha.
▪ Article 332 :- Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
▪ Article 333 :- Representation of people of Anglo Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
▪ Article 334 :- The system of reservation of seats and special representation to end after 70 years.
▪ Article 335 :- Claim of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on jobs and posts
▪ Article 336 :- Special provision for Anglo-Indian community in special services.
▪ Article 337 :- Special provision for educational grants in the interest of Anglo-Indian community.
▪ Article 338 :- National Commission for Scheduled Castes
▪ Article 338A :- National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
▪ Article 338B :- National Commission for Backward Classes
▪ Article 339 :- Central control over the administration of Scheduled Areas and welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
▪ Article 340 :- Appointment of a commission to investigate the condition of backward classes.
▪ Article 341 :- Scheduled Castes
▪ Article 342 :- Scheduled Tribes
▪ Article 342A :- Socially and educationally backward classes

Constitutional and non-constitutional commissions

Election Commission
▪ Election Commission has been described in Part 15 of the Constitution. It is mentioned in Articles 324 to 329.
▪ Election Commission is a permanent and independent body which was formed by the Constitution of India with the aim of conducting free
and fair elections in the country.
▪ According to Article 324 of the Constitution, the Election Commission has the responsibility of conducting, directing and controlling the
elections for the posts of Parliament, State Legislature, President and Vice President.
▪ Election Commission is an all-India institution as it is equal to both Central and State Government.

Structure of the Election Commission :-

▪ The Election Commission consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners.
▪ The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed by the President.
▪ The President can, on the advice of the Election Commission, appoint regional commissioners whom he considers necessary to assist the
Election Commission.
▪ The terms and conditions of service and term of office of the Election Commissioner and Regional Commissioner are determined by the
President.
▪ From 1950 to 15 October 1989, the Election Commission functioned as a one-member body, in which only the Chief Election Commission
Officer was present.
▪ After increasing the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 years, on 16 October 1988, the President appointed two more Election Commissioners
to reduce the workload of the Commission.
▪ After this, the Commission started functioning as a multi-member body in which there are three Election Commissioners.
▪ However, in 1990, the post of two Election Commissioners was abolished and the situation once again became as before.
▪ Once again in October 1993, two Election Commissioners were appointed. Since then, the Commission has been working as a multi-member
body in which there are three Election Commissioners.
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Powers :-
▪ The Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners have equal powers.
▪ Their salary, allowances and other perks are also the same as that of a Supreme Court judge. When there is a difference of opinion between
the Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners, the Commission takes the decision based on majority.

Tenure :-
▪ 6 years or till the age of 65 years whichever is earlier
▪ He can resign at any time or can be removed even before the end of his term.

Independence of office :-
▪ The Chief Election Commissioner has the security of working for his fixed term of office. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed
from his post in the same manner and on the same grounds as the judges of the Supreme Court, and not otherwise. In other words, he can be
removed by the President after passing a special majority resolution by both Houses of Parliament on the grounds of misbehaviour or
incompetence and proven misconduct.
▪ The conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner cannot be changed to his disadvantage after his appointment.
▪ Other Election Commissioner or Regional Commissioner can be removed only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
▪ Note :- The Chief Election Commissioner does not hold office during the pleasure of the President, whereas he is appointed by the
President.

Although the Election Commission has been given guidelines under the Constitution to work independently and impartially, they also
have some flaws :-
▪ The qualifications (legal, academic, administrative or judicial) of the members of the Election Commission have not been prescribed in the
Constitution.
▪ It is not mentioned in the Constitution what is the term of office of the members of the Election Commission.
▪ The Constitution does not prohibit the Government from appointing Election Commissioners for any second time after retirement.

Power and work :-

▪ To determine the area of constituencies across India based on Delimitation Commission Act.
▪ Preparing electoral rolls from time to time and registering all eligible voters.
▪ Determining the date and time table of elections and examining nomination papers.
▪ Granting recognition to political parties and allotting election symbols to them.
▪ To work like a court to resolve disputes in the matter of granting recognition to political parties and giving election symbols.
▪ Appointing officers to investigate disputes related to the electoral system.
▪ Creating a code of conduct for parties and candidates at the time of elections.
▪ Creating radio and TV program lists to promote the policies of political parties at the time of elections.
▪ Advising the President on matters relating to disqualification of Members of Parliament.
▪ Advising the Governor on issues related to disqualification of members of the Legislative Council.
▪ Cancellation of elections on the basis of ringing, looting of polling stations, violence and other irregularities.
▪ To request the President or the Governor regarding the requirement of staff for conducting elections.
▪ To supervise the electoral system to conduct free and fair elections all over India.
▪ Advising the President whether elections should be held in the states under President's rule after the end of one year or not.
▪ Registering political parties in view of elections and giving them the status of national or state level parties on the basis of their performance
in elections.

Important Articles related to Election Commission :-

▪ Article 324 :- Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in the Election Commission.
▪ Article 324 (1) :- Related to the formation of the Election Commission.
▪ Article 324 (2) :- Composition of the Election Commission
▪ Article 324 (3) :- Related to Chief Election Commissioner
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▪ Article 324 (4) :- Related to Regional Commissioner
▪ Article 324 (5) :- Service conditions, term of office and procedure for removal from office.
▪ Article 325 :- Not to disqualify any person from being included in the electoral roll on the basis of religion, race, caste or sex.
▪ Article 326 :- Elections for the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly of every State will be on the basis of adult franchise.
▪ Article 327 :- Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Parliament may make laws with respect to elections to each House of Parliament
and Houses of the State Legislature.
▪ Article 328 :- Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the Legislature of a State may make laws regarding elections to each House of
its State.
▪ Article 329 :- Limitation of interference of the court in election related matters.

Union Public Service Commission

▪ Union Public Service Commission is the central recruitment agency of India.
▪ It is an independent constitutional body or institution because it is constituted through the provisions of the Constitution.
▪ In Part-14 of the Constitution, Articles 315 to 323 have been described in detail regarding the Union Public Service Commission.

Structure :-
▪ The Union Public Service Commission consists of a chairman and other members, who are appointed by the President of India.
▪ The number of members of the Commission is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is left to the President and it is the President who decides
the composition of the Commission.
▪ There is no mention of qualification for the members of the Commission. Yes, it is necessary that half of the members of the Commission
should have experience of working under the Government of India or State Government for at least 10 years.
▪ In the Constitution, the President has been given the right to determine the conditions of service of the Speaker and members.

Tenure :-
▪ For a period of 6 years or 65 years from the date of joining, whichever is earlier.
▪ Even before this, he can resign at any time by addressing the President.
▪ He can be removed even before his tenure by the President through the process described in the Constitution.

Removal :-
▪ The President can remove the Chairman or other members of the Union Public Service Commission in the following circumstances:-
1. If he is declared bankrupt.
2. During his tenure of office, he is engaged in salary planning with someone outside the duties of his post.
3. If the President considers that he is not fit to continue in office due to mental or physical incapacity.
▪ Apart from this, the President can also remove the Chairman or other members of the Commission due to their misconduct. But in such a
situation, the President sends the concerned case to the Supreme Court for investigation.
▪ If the Supreme Court after investigation supports the advice of dismissal, then the President can remove the Chairman or other member from
the post.
▪ According to this provision of the Constitution, the advice given by the Supreme Court in this matter is binding on the President.
▪ During the investigation conducted by the Supreme Court, the President can suspend the Chairman and other members of the Union Public
Service Commission.

Independence of office :-
▪ The President can remove the Chairman or member of the Union Public Service Commission only on the grounds mentioned in the
Constitution. Therefore, they have security of position etc.
▪ Although the President decides the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman or Member, he cannot change it to his disadvantage after
appointment.
▪ All the expenses of salary, allowances and pension of the Chairman or member of the Union Public Service Commission are received from
the Consolidated Fund of India. These are not voted on in Parliament.

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▪ After his tenure, the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission cannot be eligible for any further employment under the Government
of India or the Government of any State.
▪ A member of the Union Public Service Commission shall, after his tenure, be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public
Service Commission or the Chairman of any State Public Service Commission but shall not be eligible for employment under the Government
of India or any State Government.
▪ The Chairman or member of the Union Public Service Commission cannot be re-appointed after his tenure, that is, he will not be eligible for
a second term.

Work :-
▪ To organize examinations for appointment to All India Services, Central Services and Public Services of Centrally Administered Areas.
▪ The Union Public Service Commission to assist the States (if requested by two or more States) in implementing the scheme of joint recruitment
for any services for which candidates with special qualifications are required.
▪ It provides advice to the States on all or any matters at the request of a Governor and after the approval of the President.

State Public Service Commission

▪ Parallel to the Union Public Service Commission of the Centre, there is a State Public Service Commission in the states.
▪ In Part 14 of the Constitution, Articles 315 to 323, apart from the independence and powers of the State Public Service Commission, its
formation and appointments and dismissal of members etc. have been mentioned.

Structure :-
▪ The State Public Service Commission consists of a chairman and other members who are appointed by the Governor of the State.
▪ The number of members of the Commission is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is left to the discretion of the Governor.
▪ The desired qualification of the members of the Commission has also not been mentioned but it is necessary that half of the members of the
Commission should have at least 10 years of experience of working under the Government of India or State Government.
▪ The Constitution has given the Governor the right to determine the conditions of service of the Chairman and members.

Tenure :-
▪ The Chairman and members of the Commission can hold their office for a period of 6 years from the date of assuming office or till the age
of 62 years, whichever is earlier.
▪ However, he can submit his resignation letter to the Governor at any time.

Removal :-
▪ Even though the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission are appointed by the Governor, they can be removed only
by the President and not by the Governor.
▪ The President can remove him on the same grounds on which the Chairman and members of UPSC are removed.

Independence :-
▪ The President can remove the Chairman or members of the State Public Service Commission only on the grounds mentioned in the
Constitution. Therefore, they have security of working up to the post-graduation level.
▪ The Governor decides the conditions of service of the Chairman or Member. Therefore, after appointment, they cannot make any unprofitable
change.
▪ All expenses including salary, allowances and pension of the Chairman or member of the State Public Service Commission are met from the
Consolidated Fund of the State. Therefore, it is not voted on by the state assembly.
▪ After the tenure of the Chairman of the State Public Service Commission, he is eligible to become the Chairman or member of the Union
Public Service Commission and the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but is not eligible for any further employment
under the Government of India or the Government of any State.
▪ A member of a State Public Service Commission shall, after his tenure, be eligible to become the Chairman or a member of the Union Public
Service Commission or to be appointed as the Chairman of that State Public Service Commission or any other State Public Service
Commission, provided that the Government of India or the Government of any State Will not be eligible for employment under this.
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▪ The Chairman or member of the State Public Service Commission cannot be re-appointed after his tenure.

Function :-
▪ State Public Service Commission does the same work for state services as Union Public Service Commission does for central services.

Joint States Public Service Commission

▪ Provision for joint States Public Service Commission has been made in the Constitution for two or more states.
▪ Where Union Public Service Commission and State Public Service Commission are constituted directly by the Constitution. Whereas the
Joint States Public Service Commission is formed by the Parliament on the request of the State Legislature. Thus, the Joint States Public
Service Commission is a statutory body and not a constitutional body.
▪ In 1966, a short-lived Joint States Public Service Commission was formed for Haryana and Punjab, which were separated from Punjab.
▪ The Chairman and members of the Joint States Public Service Commission are appointed by the President.
▪ Its tenure is for 6 years or till the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier. He can be dismissed by the President.
▪ He can resign from his post at any time by submitting his resignation to the President.
▪ The President determines the number and conditions of service of the members of the Joint States Public Service Commission.
▪ The Joint States Public Service Commission submits annual progress reports to the respective Governors.
▪ Every Governor presents it before the State Legislature.

Articles related to Public Service Commission :-

▪ Article 315 (1) :- Provision for Public Service Commission for the Union and the States.
▪ Article 315 (2) :- Provision for Joint Public Service Commission for two or more States.
▪ Article 316 :- Provision for appointment of Chairman and other members of the Public Service Commission.
▪ Article 317 :- Removal of the Chairman or any member of the Public Service Commission by the President on the advice of the Supreme
Court only on the ground of misbehaviour.
▪ Article 318 :- Related to the conditions of service of the members and employees of the Commission.
▪ Article 319 :- Prohibition regarding members of the Commission from holding office after ceasing to be members.
▪ Article 320 :- Functions of Public Service Commissions.

Finance Commission
▪ Finance Commission has been provided as a semi-judicial body under Article 280 of the Constitution of India.
▪ It is constituted by the President every fifth year or earlier as required.

Structure :-
▪ The Finance Commission consists of a chairman and four other members, who are appointed by the President.
▪ Their tenure is decided under the orders of the President. He may be re-appointed.
▪ The Constitution has given the Parliament the right to determine the qualification and selection method of these members. Under this,
Parliament has determined the special qualifications of the Chairman and members of the Commission.
▪ The Chairman should be experienced in public affairs and the other 4 members should be selected from the following:-
1. A judge of a High Court or a person qualified for this post.
2. A person who has special knowledge of accounting or finance matters in India.
3. A person who has extensive experience in administration and financial matters.
4. A person who has special knowledge of economics.

Function :-
▪ The distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the two States and the allocation of such proceeds among the States.
▪ Principles governing inclusion of grants-in-aid in the revenue of the State from the Consolidated Fund of India.
▪ Necessary measures for augmentation of the Consolidated Fund of the State to supplement the resources of the Municipalities and Panchayats
in the State based on recommendations made by the State Finance Commission.
▪ Any other matter referred to the Commission by the President in the interest of sound finances.
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▪ The Commission submits its report to the President, who presents it to both the Houses of Parliament.

Advisory role of the Finance Commission :-

▪ The recommendations of the Finance Commission are advisory in nature and governments are not bound to accept them. It is up to the Central
Government to implement the recommendations of the Commission with respect to assistance given to the State Governments.
▪ Chairman of the first Finance Commission was K. C. Niyogi. The tenure of the first Finance Commission was from 1952 to 1957.
▪ Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission was N. K. Singh.
▪ Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Pangadhiya.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes

▪ National Commission for Scheduled Castes is a constitutional body.
▪ It is formed by Article 338 of the Constitution.

Rise of the Commission :-

▪ Article 338 of the original Constitution provides for the appointment of a Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, who should
inspect all matters related to the constitutional protection of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and submit reports related to them to the
President. Do it. He will be called Scheduled Caste and Tribe Commissioner and he will be assigned the above tasks.
▪ In 1978, the government established a non-constitutional multi-member commission for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
▪ In 1987, the government amended the work of the Commissioner and changed the name of the Commission to National Scheduled Castes
and Tribes Commission.
▪ Later, by the 65th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1990, a high-level multi-member National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Tribes
was established in place of a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
▪ This Constitutional Commission replaced the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Commission as well as the Commission established by the
government in 1987.
▪ By the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003, this National Commission was divided into two parts and two new commissions named
National Scheduled Castes Commission Article 338 and National Scheduled Tribes Commission Article 338 (a) were created.
▪ A separate National Commission for Scheduled Castes came into existence in the year 2004.
▪ The Commission has a chairman, a Vice Chairman and three other members. They are appointed by the President. Their service conditions
and tenure are also determined by the President.
▪ Function of the Commission :-
1. To inspect and superintend all matters related to constitutional protection of Scheduled Castes and review its implementation.
2. To investigate and hear any case violating the interest of Scheduled Castes.
3. To participate and give proper advice while making plans related to socio-economic development of Scheduled Castes and to inspect and
evaluate the works related to their development in Union Territories and other States.
4. To submit a report to the President every year or whenever necessary regarding the steps taken and the work being done regarding their
conservation.
5. To review the steps taken by the Central and State Governments in relation to these protective measures and make necessary
recommendations in this regard and make efforts for the socio-economic development and benefit of the Scheduled Castes.
6. If the President orders, to carry out any other assigned work related to socio-economic development, protection of interests and
constitutional protection of the Scheduled Castes.

Report of the Commission :-

▪ The Commission presents its annual report to the President.

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

▪ Like the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is also a constitutional body.
▪ It is formed by Article 338-A of the Constitution.
▪ Functions of the Commission :-

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 1. To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards available to the Scheduled Tribes under this Constitution or any other law
for the time being in force or any order of the Government and evaluate the working of such safeguards.
2. Investigate specific complaints regarding deprivation of Scheduled Tribes of their rights and safeguards.
3. Participate in and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes and evaluate the progress of
their development under the Union and any State.
4. To make recommendations in such reports as to the measures which should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective
implementation of those safeguards and the provisions for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes.
5. To submit reports to the President annually and at such other times as the Commission thinks fit, on the program of safeguards.
6. To discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare, development and upliftment of the Scheduled Tribes as the President
may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, specify by rule.

Report of the Commission :-

▪ The Commission presents its annual report to the President.
▪ The President will cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament.

National Backward Classes Commission

▪ In the Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court directed the government to constitute a permanent body to consider and
investigate and recommend the inclusion and exclusion of backward classes.
▪ Parliament passed the National Commission for Backward Classes Act in the year 1993 and constituted the National Commission for
Backward Classes.
▪ To protect the interests of backward classes more effectively, the 123rd Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament in the
year 2017. In August 2018, the bill received Presidential assent and constitutional status was provided to NCBC under the 102nd
Constitutional Amendment Act.

Constitutional provisions related to Backward Classes Commission :-

▪ Article 340 inter alia deals with the need to identify "socially and educationally backward classes", understand the conditions of their
backwardness and make recommendations for removing the difficulties faced by them.
▪ Two new articles 338 B and 342 A were added to the Indian Constitution by the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
▪ Article 338 B empowers the NCBC to investigate complaints and welfare measures relating to socially and educationally backward classes.
▪ Article 342 A empowers the President to specify socially and educationally backward classes in various states and union territories.

Central Information Commission

▪ Central Information Commission was established by the Central Government in the year 2005.
▪ It was established through the notification of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
▪ Central Information Commission is an independent body with high authority, which investigates and resolves the complaints registered in it.
▪ It hears complaints and appeals regarding offices, financial institutions, public sector undertakings etc. functioning under the Central
Government and Union Territories.

Structure :-
▪ This commission consists of a Chief Commissioner and Information Commissioner, whose number should not exceed 10.
▪ All of them are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister as the head, the Leader
of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
▪ The members who become the Chairman and members of this Commission should have adequate experience in public life and they should
have special experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass communication or administration etc.
▪ He should not be a member of Parliament or any State Legislature. They do not hold any office of profit related to any political party and do
not run any profitable business or enterprise.

Tenure and service conditions :-

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▪ The Chief Information Commissioner and other Commissioners can hold office till the age of 5 years or 65 years, whichever is earlier. They
are not eligible for reappointment.

Salary & Allowances :-

▪ The salary, allowances and service conditions of the Chief Information Commissioner and other Commissioners will be determined by the
Central Government.
▪ Earlier, the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chief Information Commissioner were the same as that of the Chief Election
Commissioner. Similarly, the salary, allowances and service conditions of other Information Commissioners are the same as that of the
Election Commissioner.
▪ No disadvantageous changes can be made in their salary, allowances and other service conditions during their service period.

State information commission

▪ The Right to Information Act 2005 has provisions for not only the Central Information Commission but also the State Information
Commission at the state level.
▪ State Information Commission is a high authority independent body, which investigates and resolves the complaints registered in it.
▪ It hears complaints and appeals regarding offices, financial institutions, public sector undertakings etc. functioning under the concerned state
government.

Structure :-
▪ This commission consists of a Chief Commissioner and Information Commissioner, whose number should not exceed 10.
▪ All of them are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee, which has the Chief Minister as its head, the opposition
leader of the Assembly and a cabinet minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
▪ The members who become the Chairman and members of this Commission should have adequate experience in public life and should have
experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass communication or administration.
▪ He should not be a member of Parliament or any State Legislature.
▪ He should not hold any office of profit related to any political party and he should not do any profitable business or business.

Tenure and service conditions :-

▪ State Information Commissioner and other State Information Commissioners can hold their posts till the age of 5 years or 65 years, whichever
is earlier. They are not eligible for re-appointment.
▪ The Governor can remove the Chief Information Commissioner and the State Forest Information Commissioner from their posts.

Salary & Allowances :-

▪ The salary, allowances and service conditions of the State Information Commissioner and other Commissioners will be determined by the
Central Government.
▪ Earlier, the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the State Information Commissioner were the same as that of the State Election
Commissioner. Similarly, the salary, allowances and service conditions of other Information Commissioners are the same as that of the
Election Commissioner.

Central Vigilance Commission

▪ It was formed in 1964 under a resolution passed by the Central Government. It was formed on the recommendation of the Santhanam
Committee (1962 to 1964) formed to prevent corruption.
▪ Basically, the Central Vigilance Commission is neither a statutory institution nor a constitutional one. It was given statutory status by a law
passed by Parliament in September 2003.

Structure :-
▪ Central Vigilance Commission is a multi-member body, consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two or less Vigilance
Commissioners.

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▪ He is appointed by the President on the recommendation of a 3-member committee. The head of the committee is the Prime Minister and
other members are the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the union home minister.
▪ Their tenure is 4 years or up to 65 years, whichever is earlier.
▪ After their tenure, they are not eligible for any post in the Central Government or State Government.
▪ The President can remove the Central Vigilance Commissioner or any other Vigilance Commissioner from his post at any time.

Salary & Allowances :-

▪ The salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Central Vigilance Commissioner are the same as that of the Chairman of the Union
Public Service Commission and that of the Vigilance Commissioner is the same as that of the members of the Union Public Service
Commission.

National Human Rights Commission-NHRC

▪ National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body.
▪ Established :- On October 12, 1993 under the provisions of the Human Rights Protection Act, 1993.
▪ Headquarters :- New Delhi
▪ Objective :- To protect the human rights given by the Constitution like right to life, right to liberty and right to equality etc.

History of human rights :-

▪ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948.
▪ Following these rights, Human Rights Protection Act, 1993 was enacted with the aim of bringing more accountability and strength in human
rights in India. This Act also empowers all state governments to form State Human Rights Commissions.

Structure of NHRC :-
▪ NHRC is a multi-member body consisting of 3 full-time members including a chairperson.
▪ The Chairman and members are appointed by the President based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by the Prime
Minister.

Who can be the Chairman :-

▪ Retired judge of the Supreme Court

Tenure of Chairman and Members :-

▪ 3 years or 70 years of age, whichever is earlier.
▪ They can be re-elected.
▪ They can be removed only if the investigation by a Supreme Court judge proves allegations of misconduct or incompetence against them.

Functions and powers of NHRC :-

▪ The Commission can investigate only those cases which have happened in less than 1 year.

State Human Rights Commission

▪ Like the National Human Rights Commission, it is also a statutory institution.
▪ Establishment :- Under the provisions of the Human Rights Protection Act, 1993.

Structure of SHRC :-
▪ SHRC is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman and 2 other members.

Who can be the Chairman :-

▪ Retired judge of High Court
▪ The Chairman and members are appointed by the Governor on the basis of the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by the
Chief Minister.
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▪ The Chairman and members of the State Human Rights Commission are appointed by the Governor in consultation with the State Chief
Minister, Home Minister, Assembly Speaker and Leader of Opposition.

Tenure of Chairman and Members :-

▪ 3 years or 70 years of age, whichever is earlier.
▪ They can be re-elected.
▪ Although they are appointed by the Governor but they can be removed only by the President.
▪ The process of removal is the same as that of members of the National Human Rights Commission.

Lokpal and Lokayukta

▪ On the recommendation of the Indian Administrative Reforms Commission, two special authorities, Lokpal and Lokayukta, were appointed
to solve the problems of the citizens.
▪ It has been established on the lines of the Institute of Ombudsman of Scandinavian countries and the Parliamentary Commission of
Investigation of New Zealand.
▪ Lokpal deals with complaints related to ministers, central and state level secretaries and Lokayukta (one at the Centre and one in each state)
deals with complaints against specific senior officials.
▪ According to the Administrative Reforms Commission, the President appoints the Lokpal on the advice of the Chief Justice of India, the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
▪ The Government of India accepted the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission in this regard and a total of 10 official
attempts were made from 1968 to 2011 to bring bills related to Lokpal and Lokayukta. However, due to some reason or the other this bill
could not be passed in both the houses of the Parliament.
▪ Ultimately this bill was passed in 2013.

Main points of Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 :-

▪ It wants to establish Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in the state. Thus, it presents a monitoring and anti-corruption roadmap for the
country at the state and central levels.
▪ Under the jurisdiction of Lokpal, the Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament and ABC and D category officers and other officials
come.
▪ Lokpal will have a chairman and a maximum of 8 members in which 50% members will be from the judicial sector.
▪ According to the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, 50% of the total members should be from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other
Backward Classes, women and minorities.
▪ A selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the
Chief Justice of India or a sitting judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him and an eminent jurist to be nominated by the President on
the recommendation of four members of the selection committee. All of them will select the Chairman of Lokpal and its members.
▪ According to this, the Chairman and members of Lokpal will be appointed for a period of 5 years or till the age of 70 years, whichever is
earlier.
▪ The salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chairperson of Lokpal will be equal to that of the Chief Justice of India, while for
the members, it will be equal to that of a Supreme Court judge. If the person is already getting pension, then the same pension amount will
be deducted from the salary.
▪ The salary and allowances of the members of Lokpal will be given from the Consolidated Fund of India.
▪ Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh became the first chairman of Lokpal.

Lokayukta
▪ Long before the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 got legal form, many states had appointed Lokayukta in their state.
▪ By the year 2013, 21 states and 1 union territory, Delhi, had established the institution of Lokayukta.

Appointment of Lokayukta :-
▪ Lokayukta is appointed by the Governor of the concerned state. Before appointing them, it is mandatory for the Governor to consult the Chief
Justice of the High Court of the State and the Leader of Opposition of the State Assembly.
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Qualification of Lokayukta :-
▪ Determination of the qualification of Lokayukta was left to the states.

Tenure of Lokayukta :-
▪ 5 years and till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
▪ He is not eligible for re-appointment.

Political Parties
Rules for recognition as national parties :-
▪ A party is recognized as a national party when it fulfils the following qualifications :-
1. If he obtains 6% of the valid votes in 4 or more states in the general elections to the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly and with this,
he obtains 4 seats in the Lok Sabha from any state or states.
2. A party gets recognition as a national party if it wins 2% seats in the Lok Sabha and these members are elected from three different states.
3. If a party is recognized as a state level party in at least four states.

Rules for recognition of state level parties :-

▪ A party is recognized as a state level party when it fulfils the following qualifications :-
1. If that party has obtained 6% of the total valid votes cast from that state in the general elections of the Legislative Assembly of that state,
and in addition to this it has obtained 2nd position in the concerned state.
2. If he gets 6% of the total valid votes from that state in the general elections for the Lok Sabha of the state and in addition he has won at
least 1 seat of the Lok Sabha in the concerned state.
3. If that party has secured 3% of the total seats in the State Assembly or 3 seats, whichever is higher.
4. If out of every 25 seats, that party has won at least 1 Lok Sabha seat or it has got at least this number from the division in that respective
state in the Lok Sabha elections.
5. If it obtains 8% of the total valid votes in the general elections for the Lok Sabha or the Assembly elections in the state.

Committees related to electoral reforms

▪ Tarakunde Committee :- It was formed by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974 during the Total Revolution Movement.
▪ Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) :- For electoral reforms
▪ Bohra Committee (1993) :- To investigate the nexus between crime and politics.
▪ Inderjit Gupta Committee, 1998 :- Election expenses to be borne by the government.
▪ Law Commission of India Report, 1999 :- On Reforms in Election Laws
▪ National Commission, 2000-02 (Chairman :- M.N. Venkatachaliah) :- To review the working of the Constitution.
▪ Election Commission of India Report, 2004
▪ Report of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 2007 (Chairman : Veerappa Moily)

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 Schedules of Indian Constitution
▪ The original constitution had 8 Schedules.
▪ At present there are 12 schedules of the constitution.
Schedule Provision
First Union and its territory
Second Salaries and allowances of the following officers holding constitutional posts:-
• President of India
• Governors of states
• Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker
• Rajya Sabha Chairman and Deputy Chairman
• State Legislative Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker
• Speakers and Deputy Speakers of State Legislative Councils
• Supreme court judge
• High court judge
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Third Description of the oath to be taken by the following candidates:-
• Union minister
• Candidate for election to Parliament
• Member of Parliament
• Supreme court judge
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India
• Minister of states
• Candidate for election to the Legislature of a State
• Member of the Legislature of a State
• High court judge
Fourth Allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha for states and union territories

Fifth Relating to the administration and control of Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribe areas

Sixth Rules relating to the Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram

Seventh Division of power between the union and the states :-

1. Union List (It originally had 97 subjects, currently there are 100 subjects.)
2. State List - State List (Originally there were 66 subjects, currently there are 61 subjects.)
3. Concurrent List (It originally had 47 subjects, at present there are 52 subjects.)
Eighth Languages recognized by the constitution (originally there were 14, at present there are 22.)

Nineth Related to land reforms and abolition of the zamindari system (It was not originally included in the constitution. It was first added
by the Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951.)

Tenth Related to defection (It was not originally included in the constitution. It was added by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act,
1985.)

Eleventh Related to Panchayats (It was not originally included in the Constitution. It was added by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment
Act, 1993.)
• Note :- There are 29 subjects in this.

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 Twelfth Related to Municipalities (It was not originally included in the Constitution. It was added by the 74th Constitutional Amendment
Act, 1993.)
• Note :- There are 18 subjects in this.

Part of Indian Constitution

▪ The original constitution had 22 parts.
▪ At present, there are 25 parts of the constitution.
Part Related Matter Related Article
1 The Union & its Territory From Article 1 to 4
2 Citizenship From Article 5 to 11
3 Fundamental Right From Article 12 to 35
4 Directive Principle Of State Policy From Article 36 to 51
4 (a) Fundamental Duty Article 51(a)
5 The Union From Article 52 to 151
6 The States From Article 152 to 237
7 The States in Part B of the First Schedule 238 (This part was removed by the 7th Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1956.)
8 The Union Territories From Article 239 to 242
9 The Panchayats From Article 243 to 243 (O)
9 (a) The Municipalities From Article 243 (P) to 243 (ZG)
9 (b) The Co-Operative Societies From Article 243 (ZH) to 243 (ZT)
10 The Scheduled & Tribal Areas From Article 244 to 244 (a)
11 Relations between The Union & The States From Article 245 to 263
12 Finance, Property, Contracts & Suits From Article 264 to 300(a)
13 Trade, Commerce & Intercourse within the Territory of India From Article 301 to 307
14 Service under the Union & the States) From Article 308 to 323
14(a) Tribunals From Article 323(a) to 323(b)
15 Election From Article 324 to 329
16 Special provision in respect of certain classes From Article 330 to 342
17 Official Language From Article 343 to 351
18 Emergency Provisions From Article 352 to 360
19 Miscellaneous From Article 361 to 367
20 Constitutional Amendment Article 368
21 Temporary, Transitional & Special Provisions From Article 369 to 392
22 Short Title, Commencement Authoritative text in hindi & Repeals From Article 393 to 395

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