Features of the

Constitution of India
B. Com
I Semester
REVA University
Introduction
 The Constitution of India has many distinctive features of its own.
 The main features of the Constitution of India includes:
 A written and lengthy constitution
 Partly rigid and partly flexible
 Sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic
 Federal government
 Parliamentary government
 Fundamental rights and duties
 Directive principles of state policy
 Single citizenship
 Universal adult franchise
A written and lengthy constitution

 The Constitution of India is a written constitution. It was framed by a

Constituent Assembly which was established for the purpose in 1946.
 It has 395 Articles and 12 Schedules. A number of amendments, (about 96)
passed since its enforcement in 1950, have also become a part of the
Constitution.
 The Constitution of India is the lengthiest constitution in the world as no
other constitution contains as many articles.
 The constitution of USA has 7 Articles, of China 138, Japanese 103, and
Canadian 107 Articles.
Partly rigid and partly flexible

 The Constitution of India is neither wholly rigid nor wholly flexible. It is partly
rigid and partly flexible. It is because of the fact that for the purpose of
amendment, our constitution has been divided into three parts:
a) certain provisions of the constitution can be amended by a simple majority in
the Parliament.
b) Certain provisions can be amended by a two-third majority of the Parliament
and its ratification by at least fifty percent states.
c) The remaining provisions can be amended by the Parliament by two-third
majority.
Sovereign, socialist, secular,
democratic, republic
 The Constitution declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular,
Democratic, Republic. The words, 'Socialist' and 'secular' were added in the
Preamble of the Constitution by 42nd amendment which was passed in 1976.
 Sovereign means absolutely independent; it is not under the control of any
other state. Before 1947, India was not sovereign as it was under the Britishers.
Now it can frame its policy without any outside interference.
 Socialist:
 Word 'Socialist' was added in the Preamble by 42nd Amendment of the
Constitution which was passed in 1976. This implies a system which will
endeavour to avoid concentration of wealth in a few hands and will assure its
equitable distribution.
 It also implies that India is against exploitation in all forms and believes in
economic justice to all its citizens.
Cont.…

 Secular: The word 'Secular', like Socialist, was also added in the Preamble
by 42nd Amendment of the Constitution. There is no state religion in India.
Every citizen is free to follow and practice the religion of his/her own
choice. The state cannot discriminate among its citizens on the basis of
religion.
 Democratic: Means that the power of the government is vested in the
hands of the people. People exercise this power through their elected
representatives who, in turn, are responsible to them. All the citizens enjoy
equal political rights.
 Republic: Means that the head of the State is not a hereditary monarch but
a President who is indirectly elected by the people for a definite period.
Independent Judiciary

 In India, the Constitution has provided for a Supreme Court and every effort
has been made to see that the judiciary in India is independent and
supreme.
 The Supreme Court of India can declare a law as unconstitutional or ultra
Vires, if it contravenes any provisions of the Constitution.
 In order to ensure the impartiality of the judiciary, our judges are not remov-
able by the Executive and their salaries cannot be curtailed by Parliament.
Federal government

 The Constitution provides for a federal form of government. In a federation,

there are two governments-at the central level and at the state (province)
level.
 In India, the powers of the government are divided between the central
government and state governments.
 There are three different lists of subjects-
I. Union list,
II. State list and
III. Concurrent list.
 The Union list contains 97 subjects of national importance like Defense,
Foreign Affairs, Currency, Post and Telegraph, Railways.
Parliamentary government

 Indian Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government.

 President is nominal head of the state.
 In actual practice, the government is run by the Prime Minister and other
members of the Council of Minister.
 The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Parliament.
Fundamental rights and duties

 The Constitution of India guarantees six fundamental rights to every citizen.

These are:
a) Right to Equality.
b) Right to Freedom.
c) Right against Exploitation.
d) Right to Freedom of Religion.
e) Cultural and Educational Rights.
f) Right to Constitutional Remedies.
 By 42nd Amendment of the Constitution, ten Fundamental Duties of citizens
have also been added.
Directive principles of state policy

 The Directive Principles of State Policy are listed in Part Four of the
Constitution.
 The framers of our constitution took the idea of having such principles from
the Irish Constitution.
 These principles are instructions given by the Constitution to government.
 All the governments-Central, State and Local-are expected to frame their
policies in accordance with these principles.
 The aim of these principles is to establish a welfare state in India.
 They, however, are not binding on the government-they are mere
guidelines.
Single citizenship

 In federation, normally we have double citizenship.

 In U.S.A. every citizen besides being a citizen of United States of America is
the citizen of the state in which he or she resides.
 But the Constitution of India provides for single' citizenship-every Indian,
irrespective of his place of birth or residence, is a citizen of India.
 There is no citizenship of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana or U.P.
Universal adult franchise

 The constitution provides for Universal Adult Franchise.

 It means that every citizen who is 18 years of age or more is entitled to cast
his/her vote irrespective of his caste, creed, sex, religion or place of birth.
Thank You