Constitution of India

Unit -1

5Marks

1. Write the features of charter act of 1853.

 Established governor general’s council – also called Indian
legislative council.
 Macaulay commission for the civil services introduced and
the civil services allowed for Indians as well.
 Company rule extended, on the trust of British rule.
 It introduced local representation in Indian legislative
council

2. Write the features of Minto-Morley reforms.

 It increased the size of legislative councils,
 Official majority maintained in the central legislative councils
 It allowed deliberative functions in both the legislatives
 Indians can associate with the executive councils
 It introduced the concept of ‘separate electorate’.

3. Write a note on rigidity and flexibility of Indian constitution.

Constitutions are also classified into rigid and flexible. A rigid

Constitution is one that requires a special procedure for its
amendment, as for example, the
American Constitution. A flexible constitution, on the other hand, is one
that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary laws are
made, as for example, the British Constitution.The Constitution of India
is neither rigid nor flexible but a synthesis of both. Article 368 provides
for two types of amendments:

(a) Some provisions can be amended by a special majority of the

Parliament,i.e., a two-third majority of the members of each House
present andvoting, and a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent), of
the totalmembership of each House.

(b) Some other provisions can be amended by a special majority of the

Parliament and with the ratification by half of the total states.At the
same time, some provisions of the Constitution can be amended bya
simple majority of the Parliament in the manner of ordinary legislative
process. Notably, these amendments do not come under Article 368.

4. Write a note on the constitutionalism.

 A system of government largely based on democratic
principles.
 It places restrictions and limits on the powers of the organs
of the State. (legislature, executive and judiciary)
 It also refers to the adherence to the principles enshrined in
the Constitution.
 In other words, constitutionalism refers to following the
principles highlighted in the constitution.

5. Define ‘state’ according to the Indian constitution.

the State includes the following:

(a) Government and Parliament of India, that is, executive and
legislative organs of the Union government.
(b) Government and legislature of states, that is, executive and
legislative organs of state government.
(c) All local authorities, that is, municipalities, panchayats, district
boards, improvement trusts, etc.
(d) All other authorities, that is, statutory or non-statutory authorities
like LIC, ONGC, SAIL, etc.
Thus, State has been defined in a wider sense so as to include all its
agencies. According to the Supreme Court, even a private body or an
agency working as an instrument of the State falls within the meaning
of the ‘State’under Article 12
6. Define Right to Equality.
• Equality before Law and Equal Protection of Laws
• Article 15 provides that the State shall not discriminate against
any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of
birth.
• Equality Opportunity in Public Employment
• Abolition of Untouchability and titles
7. Define Right to freedom under article 19.
 Article 19 guarantees to all citizens the six rights. These are:
 Right to freedom of speech and expression.
 Right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
 Right to form associations or unions or co-operative
societies.10
 Right to move freely throughout the territory of India.
 Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of
India.
 Right to practice any profession or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.

8. Define Right to freedom under article 20.

 It contains three provisions in that direction for Offences.
 (a) No ex-post-facto law: No person shall be
 (i) convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in
force at the time of the commission of the act, nor
 (ii) subjected to a penalty greater than that prescribed by
the law in force at the time of the commission of the act.
 (b) No double jeopardy: No person shall be prosecuted
and punished for the same offence more than once.
 (c) No self-incrimination: No person accused of any
offence shall be compelled to be a witness against
himself.

9. Define Right to freedom under article 21.

Article 21 declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
This right is available to both citizens and non-citizens. In the
famous Gopalan case11 (1950), the Supreme Court has taken a
narrow interpretation of the Article 21.

But, in Menaka , the Supreme Court overruled its judgement in the

Gopalan case by taking a wider interpretation of the Article 21.
Therefore, it ruled that the right to life and personal liberty of a person
can be deprived by a law
provided the procedure prescribed by that law is reasonable, fair and
just. In other words, it has introduced the American expression ‘due
process of law’.

Examples of article 21 are :

Right to livelihood.
Right to privacy.
Right to shelter.
Right to health.
Right to free education up to 14 years of age.

10. Write a short note on fundamental duties of the Indian

constitution.

The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are inspired by

the Constitution of erstwhile USSR. Later in 1976, the fundamental
duties of citizens were added in the
Constitution. In 2002, one more Fundamental Duty was added

According to Article 51 A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of

India:
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions,
the National Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national
struggle for freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon
to do
so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and
regional or
sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity
of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite
culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests,
lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and
reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective
activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour
and achievement; and
(k) to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between
the age of six and fourteen years. This duty was added by the 86th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.

10Marks

1. Write the features of Government of India Act, 1935.

Government of India Act of 1935

It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting

of provinces and princely states as units. The Act divided the
powersbetween the Centre and units in terms of three lists—Federal
List (forCentre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54
items) and
the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers
weregiven to the Viceroy. However, the federation never came into
being as the princely states did not join it.

2. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial

autonomy’ in its place. The provinces were allowed to act as
autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres.
Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces,
that is, the governor
was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the
provincial legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was
discontinued in 1939.
 3.It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre.
Consequently, the federal subjects were divided into reserved
subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of the Act
did not come into operation at all.

4. It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the

legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United
Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a legislative council
(upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many
restrictions were placed on them.

5. It further extended the principle of communal representation by

providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes),
women and labour (workers).

6. It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of

India Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a
team of advisors.

7. It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got

the voting right.

8. It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to

control the currency and credit of the country.

9. It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service

Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint
Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.

10. It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set
up in 1937.
2. Write 8 salient features of Indian Constitution.
The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Though
borrowed from almost every constitution of the world, the constitution
of India has several salient features that distinguish it from the
constitutions of other countries.

 Lengthiest Written Constitution: The Constitution of India is the

lengthiest of all the written constitutions of the world. It is a very
comprehensive, elaborate and detailed document. it consists of a
Preamble, about 465 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12
Schedules

 Drawn From Various Sources : The structural part of the

Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from theGovernment of
India Act of 1935. The philosophical part of the Constitution (the
Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy)
derive their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions
respectively. The political part of the Constitution (the principle of
Cabinet Government and the relations between the executive and
the legislature) have been largely drawn from the British
Constitution7

 Federal System with Unitary Bias

The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of government. It
contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two government,
division
of powers, written Constitution, supermacy of Constitution, rigidity of
Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.However, the
Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-
federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single
citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment
of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency
provisions, and so on.
  Parliamentary Form of Government : The Constitution of India has
opted for the British parliamentary System of Government rather
than American Presidential System of Government. The
parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and
coordination between the legislative and executive organs while
the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of
powers between the two organs
 Integrated and Independent Judiciary
The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated
as well as independent.
The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system
in the country. Below it, there are high courts at the state level. Under a
high court,there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is, district
courts and other
lower courts. This single system of courts enforces both the central
laws as well as the state laws, unlike in USA, where the federal laws are
enforced by the federal judiciary and the state laws are enforced by the
state judiciary.
 Fundamental Rights
Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six11 fundamental rights
to all
the citizens:
(a) Right to Equality (Articles 14–18),
(b) Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22),
(c) Right against Exploitation (Articles 23–24),
(d) Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles25–28),
(e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29–30), and
(f) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the idea of political
democracy. They operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive
and arbitrary laws of the legislature.
  Directive Principles of State Policy
According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the Directive Principles of State Policy is
a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution. They are enumerated in
Part IV of
the Constitution. They can be classified into three broad categories —
socialistic, Gandhian and liberal–intellectual

 Fundamental Duties
The original constitution did not provide for the fundamental duties of
the citizens. These were added during the operation of internal
emergency (1975–77) by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of
1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. The
86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 added one more
fundamental duty.

3. Write a short note on the integrated and independent judiciary of

Indian constitution.

Integrated and Independent Judiciary

The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is
integrated as well as independent.The Supreme Court stands at the
top of the integrated judicial system in the
country. Below it, there are high courts at the state level. Under a
high court,
there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is, district
courts and otherlower courts. This single system of courts enforces
both the central laws as well as the state laws, unlike in USA, where
the federal laws are enforced by the federal judiciary and the state
laws are enforced by the state judiciary. The Supreme Court is a
 federal court, the highest court of appeal, the guarantor of the
fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the
Constitution. Hence, the Constitution has made various
provisions to ensure its independence—security of tenure of the
judges, fixed service conditions for the judges, all the expenses of the
Supreme Court charged on theConsolidated Fund of India,
prohibition on discussion on the conduct of
judges in the legislatures, ban on practice after retirement, power to
punish for its contempt vested in the Supreme Court, separation of the
judiciary from the executive, and so on.

4. Write a short on the sources of Indian Constitution.

 The Constitution of 1950 was a by-product of the legacy started
by the Government of India Act 1935. This was the longest act
passed by the British government with 321 sections and 10
schedules. This act had drawn its content from four sources
 The United Kingdom

A lot of concepts and features of the Indian Constitution have its roots
in Great Britain. Some of those are:

Parliamentary form of government: In such form of government,

the country is governed by a cabinet of ministers led by the Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of the government whereas
the President i.e. the nominal head, is the head of the state. The main
feature of the parliamentary form of government is the availability of
one or more opposition parties that exists to keep a check on the ruling
party and its functioning.

Rule of Law: This basically states that a State is not governed

either by the representatives or by the people but only by the law
of that country. The concept of rule of law states that everyone is
 equal before the law; even the ones making it. Article 14 of the
Indian Constitution codifies the rule of law.

 The United States of America

Some of the features borrowed from the USA are:

o Fundamental Rights: Articles 12 to 32 of the Indian

Constitution contains all the fundamental rights.
Fundamental rights are the basic human rights given to the
citizens of the country to assure them an equal stance in
society. The six fundamental rights are – Right to Equality,
Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to
Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and
Right to Constitutional Remedies.
o Judicial Review: The provision of Judicial Review gives the
judiciary an upper hand in interpreting the Constitution. The
judiciary can thus nullify any order by the legislature or
executive if that order is in conflict with the Constitution of
the country.
 Ireland

The main feature borrowed from the Irish Constitution is the

provision of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). The
DPSP are listed in the Part IV of the Indian Constitution and it
clearly states that it is the duty of the State to apply these
principles in the process of law making. There are mainly three
categories of these principles – Socialist Directives, Gandhian
Directives and Liberal Intellectual Directives. The procedure for
the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha is also borrowed
from Ireland.

 Canada
 The provisions of a Federation with a strong centre, Residuary
powers of the Centre, appointment of State governors by the
Centre and the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, have
all been borrowed from the Canadian constitution. Article 248 of
the Indian Constitution states that the Parliament has the sole
power to make laws regarding any item not mentioned in the
Union and State lists respectively. Article 143 provides for an
advisory jurisdiction for the Supreme Court. Under this provision,
the President may seek opinion of the Supreme Court on public
matters and the Supreme Court may then further give its opinion
after studying the case properly.

 France

The Indian Preamble borrowed its ideals of Liberty, Equality and

Fraternity from the French Constitution. The Indian state came to
be recognized as the ‘Republic of India’ in the lineage of the
Constitution of France.

 Australia

The Constitution of Australia lent us the provisions of Freedom of

Trade and Commerce within the country and between the states.
The provisions of the same are laid down in the Articles 301-307
of the Indian Constitution. We also received the provisions of the
Concurrent list and the joint sitting of both the houses of
Parliament from Australia.

 South Africa and Germany

While the Constitution of South Africa gave us the provisions of

the procedure of the amendment and the Election of the Rajya
Sabha members, the German Constitution, gave us the provision
of suspension of fundamental rights during emergency.
 These were the major sources of the Indian Constitution. As the
father of our Constitution and the Chairman of the Drafting
Committee, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said, “As to the accusation that the
Draft Constitution has [re]produced a good part of the provisions
of the Government of India Act, 1935, I make no apologies. There
is nothing to be ashamed of in borrowing. It involves no
plagiarism. Nobody holds any patent rights in the fundamental
ideas of a Constitution….”

5. Define and explain the directive principles of state policy.

The phrase ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ denotes the ideals that
the State should keep in mind while formulating policies and enacting
laws. These are the constitutional instructions or recommendations to
the
State in legislative, executive and administrative matters. According to
Article 36, the term ‘State’ in Part IV has the same meaning as in Part III
dealing with Fundamental Rights. Therefore, it includes the legislative
and executive organs of the central and state governments, all local
authorities and all other public authorities in the country.

The Constitution does not contain any classification of Directive

Principles.However, on the basis of their content and direction, they
can be classified into three broad categories, viz, socialistic, Gandhian
and liberal–intellectual.

To promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order

permeated by justice—social, economic and political—and to minimize
inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities4 (Article 38).

2. To secure (a) the right to adequate means of livelihood for all

citizens; (b)the equitable distribution of material resources of the
community for the common good; (c) prevention of concentration of
wealth and means of production; (d) equal pay for equal work for men
and women; (e) preservation of the health and strength of workers and
children against
forcible abuse; and (f) opportunities for healthy development of
children5 (Article 39).

These principles are based on Gandhian ideology. They represent

the programme of reconstruction enunciated by Gandhi during the
national movement. In order to fulfil the dreams of Gandhi, some of his
ideas were included as Directive Principles. They require the State:

1. To organise village panchayats and endow them with necessary

powers and authority to enable them to function as units of self-
government (Article 40).
2. To promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operation basis
in rural areas (Article 43).

The principles included in this category represent the ideology of

liberalism. They direct the state:
1. To secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the country
(Article 44).
2. To provide early childhood care and education for all children until
they complete the age of six years9 (Article 45).

20Marks

1. Write a note on the historical perspective of Indian Constitution.

historical perspective of Indian Constitution :

 Regulating Act, 1773:

 Governor of Bengal becomes the Governor General of Bengal.
 Executive council of four members created.
  Lord warren Hastings became first Governor General of Bengal
 Governors of Bombay and Madras became sub-ordinate to the
Governor General of Bengal
 Supreme court established at Calcutta in 1774.
 It prohibited the servants of the company from engaging in any
private trade.
 Court of Directors have to report to the British Government

Pitts Act, 1784 :

 It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of

the company.

 created ‘Board of control’ to manage the political functions and

‘court of Directors’ to manage the commercial affairs.

 Board of control supervises the civil , military and revenue of the

British possessions of India

Charter Act, 1833

 Governor General of Bengal became Governor general of India.

 It deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their

legislative powers.

 It ended the activities of East India Company as a commercial

body

Charter Act, 1853

 Established governor general’s council – also called Indian

legislative council.
 Macaulay commission for the civil services introduced and the
civil services allowed for Indians as well.

 Company rule extended, on the trust of British rule.

 It introduced local representation in Indian legislative council

Minto-Morley Reforms,1909

 It increased the size of legislative councils,

 Official majority maintained in the central legislative councils

 It allowed deliberative functions in both the legislatives

 Indians can associate with the executive councils

 It introduced the concept of ‘separate electorate’.

Government of India act,1919

 It is also called Montagu-chelmsford reforms.

 Central and provincial subjects were introduced.

 Transferred subjects and reserved subjects in provincial subjects.

 Bicameralism introduced.

 Communal representation introduced.

 Central public service commission set upped.

 Budget divided between centre and provincial.

Government of India Act, 1935

 It introduced federal list and provincial list.

  Responsible government was introduced in the provinces

 Bicameralism introduced in certain provinces

 It extended system of franchise.

 Established reserve bank of India.

 Federal court were set upped.

Government of India Act, 1947

 Independent india born with this act

 Partition of India.

 It empowered formation of constitution assembly

 It proclaimed lapse of British paramountcy

 Princely states independance.

2. Write a short note on the salient features of Indian constitution.

The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Though

borrowed from almost every constitution of the world, the constitution
of India has several salient features that distinguish it from the
constitutions of other countries.

 Lengthiest Written Constitution: The Constitution of India is the

lengthiest of all the written constitutions of the world. It is a very
comprehensive, elaborate and detailed document. it consists of a
Preamble, about 465 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12
Schedules
  Drawn From Various Sources : The structural part of the
Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from theGovernment of
India Act of 1935. The philosophical part of the Constitution (the
Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy)
derive their inspiration from the American and Irish Constitutions
respectively. The political part of the Constitution (the principle of
Cabinet Government and the relations between the executive and
the legislature) have been largely drawn from the British
Constitution7

 Federal System with Unitary Bias

The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of government. It
contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two government,
division
of powers, written Constitution, supermacy of Constitution, rigidity of
Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.However, the
Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-
federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single
citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment
of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency
provisions, and so on.

 Parliamentary Form of Government : The Constitution of India has

opted for the British parliamentary System of Government rather
than American Presidential System of Government. The
parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and
coordination between the legislative and executive organs while
the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of
powers between the two organs
 Integrated and Independent Judiciary
The Indian Constitution establishes a judicial system that is integrated
as well as independent.
The Supreme Court stands at the top of the integrated judicial system
in the country. Below it, there are high courts at the state level. Under a
high court,there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is, district
courts and other
lower courts. This single system of courts enforces both the central
laws as well as the state laws, unlike in USA, where the federal laws are
enforced by the federal judiciary and the state laws are enforced by the
state judiciary.
 Fundamental Rights
Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees six11 fundamental rights
to all
the citizens:
(a) Right to Equality (Articles 14–18),
(b) Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22),
(c) Right against Exploitation (Articles 23–24),
(d) Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles25–28),
(e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29–30), and
(f) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32).
The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the idea of political
democracy. They operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive
and arbitrary laws of the legislature.

 Directive Principles of State Policy

According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the Directive Principles of State Policy is
a ‘novel feature’ of the Indian Constitution. They are enumerated in
Part IV of
the Constitution. They can be classified into three broad categories —
socialistic, Gandhian and liberal–intellectual

 Fundamental Duties
The original constitution did not provide for the fundamental duties of
the citizens. These were added during the operation of internal
emergency (1975–77) by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of
1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. The
86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 added one more
fundamental duty.

A Secular State
The Constitution of India stands for a secular state. Hence, it does not
uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State.
The following provisions of the Constitution reveal the secular
character of the Indian State:
(a) The term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian
Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976.
(b) The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of belief, faith
and worship.
(c) The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or
equal protection of the laws (Article 14).

Universal Adult Franchise

The Indian Constitution adopts universal adult franchise as a basis of
elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. Every
citizen who is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote without
any discrimination of caste, race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth, and so
on. The voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by
the 61st constitutional Amendment Act of 1988

Single Citizenship :
Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity
(Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the
Indian citizenship

3. Write a note on the fundamental rights.

Fundamental Rights
the Fundamental Rights are enshrined in Part III of the Constitution
from Articles 12 to 35. In this regard, the framers of the Constitution
derived inspiration from the Constitution of USA (i.e., Bill of Rights).
Part III of the Constitution is rightly described as the Magna Carta of
India.It contains a very long and comprehensive list of ‘justiciable’
Fundamental
Rights. In fact, the Fundamental Rights in our Constitution are more
elaborate than those found in the Constitution of any other country
in the world, including the USA.
The Fundamental Rights are guaranteed by the
Constitution to all persons without any discrimination. They uphold
the equality of all individuals, the dignity of the individual, the larger
public interest and unity of the nation.
The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the
ideal of political democracy. They prevent the establishment of an
authoritarian and despotic
rule in the country, and protect the liberties and freedoms of the
people against the invasion by the State. They operate as limitations
on the tyrannyof the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature.
In short, they aim at
establishing ‘a government of laws and not of men’.

The Fundamental Rights are named so because they

are guaranteed and
protected by the Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the
land. They are ‘fundamental’ also in the sense that they are most
essential for the allround development (material, intellectual, moral
and spiritual) of the
individuals.

Originally, the Constitution provided for seven

Fundamental Rights viz,
1. Right to equality (Articles 14–18)
 2. Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)
3. Right against exploitation (Articles 23–24)
4. Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25–28)
5. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)
6. Right to property (Article 31)
7. Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)

However, the right to property was deleted from the

list of Fundamental
Rights by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978. It is made a legal right
under
Article 300-A in Part XII of the Constitution. So at
present, there are only six
Fundamental Rights.

They are not absolute but qualified. The

state can impose reasonablerestrictions on them. However, whether
such restrictions are rea-sonable
or not is to be decided by the courts. Thus, they strike a balance
between the rights of the individual and those of the society as a
whole, between individual liberty and social control.
4. Write a note on the fundamental duties and its legal status.

The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are inspired by the

Constitution of erstwhile USSR. Notably, none of the Constitutions of
major democratic countries like USA, Canada, France, Germany,
Australia and so on specifically contain a list of duties of citizens.
Japanese Constitution is,
perhaps, the only democratic Constitution in world which contains a list
of duties of citizens. The socialist countries, on the contrary, gave equal
importance to the fundamental rights and duties of their citizens.
Hence, the
Constitution of erstwhile USSR declared that the citizen’s exercise of
their rights and freedoms was inseparable from the performance of
their duties and obligations.

LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

According to Article 51 A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India:
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions,
the
National Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national
struggle
for freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
to defend the country and render national service when called upon to
do
so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all
the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or
sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity
of
women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite
culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests,
lakes,
rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and
reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective
activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour
and achievement; and
(k) to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between
the
age of six and fourteen years. This duty was added by the 86th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.

Unit 2

5Marks

1. Write a short note on the parliamentary power to reorganize the

states.
Article 3 authorises the Parliament to:
(a) form a new state by separation of territory from any state or by
uniting two or more states or parts of states or by uniting any
territory to a part of any state,
(b) increase the area of any state,
(c) diminish the area of any state,
(d) alter the boundaries of any state, and
(e) alter the name of any state.
However, Article 3 lays down two conditions in this regard: one, a
bill contemplating the above changes can be introduced in the
Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the President;
and two, before recommending the bill, the President has to refer
the same to the state legistature concerned for expressing its
views within a specified period.
2. What are the various types of constitutional amendments?
Article 368 provides for two types of amendments, that is, by a special
majority of Parliament and also through the ratification of half of the
states by a simple majority. But, some other articles provide for the
amendment of
certain provisions of the Constitution by a simple majority of
Parliament, that is, a majority of the members of each House present
and voting (similar to the ordinary legislative process). Notably, these
amendments are not deemed to
be amendments of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.
Therefore, the Constitution can be amended in three ways:
(a) Amendment by simple majority of the Parliament,
(b) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament, and
(c) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament and the
ratification of half of the state legislaturess

3. What is meant by basic structure of the constitution?

There is no mention of the term “Basic Structure” anywhere in the

Indian Constitution. The idea that the Parliament cannot introduce laws
that would amend the basic structure of the constitution evolved
gradually over time and many cases. The idea is to preserve the nature
of Indian democracy and protect the rights and liberties of people. This
doctrine helps to protect and preserve the spirit of the constitution
document.

It was the Kesavananda Bharati case that brought this doctrine into the
limelight. It held that the “basic structure of the Constitution could not
be abrogated even by a constitutional amendment”. The judgement
listed some basic structures of the constitution as:

1. Supremacy of the Constitution

2. Unity and sovereignty of India
 3. Democratic and republican form of government
4. Federal character of the Constitution
5. Secular character of the Constitution
6. Separation of power
7. Individual freedom

Over time, many other features have also been added to this list of
basic structural features. Some of them are:

 Rule of law
 Judicial review
 Parliamentary system etc…

Any law or amendment that violates these principles can be struck

down by the SC on the grounds that they distort the basic structure of
the Constitution

4. What are the articles deals with the parliamentary form of

government?

he Constitution of India provides for a parliamentary form of

government, both at the Centre and in the states. Articles 74 and 75
deal with the parliamentary system at the Centre and Articles 163
and 164 in the states. Modern democratic governments are classified
into parliamentary and
presidential on the basis of nature of relations between the executive
and the legislative organs of the government. The parliamentary
system of government is the one in which the executive is
responsible to the legislature for its policies and acts. The presidential
system of government, on the other hand, is one in which the
executive is not responsible to the legislature for its policies and acts,
and is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect of its
term of office.
 5. What is meant by real and nominal executives in the
parliamentary form of government?

Nominal and Real Executives The President is the nominal

executive (de jure executive or titular executive) while the Prime
Minister is the real executive (de facto executive). Thus, the President
is head of the State, while the Prime Minister is head of the
government. Article 74 provides for a council of ministers headed by
the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President in the exercise of
his functions. The advice so tendered is binding on the President

6. Write 3 demerits of the parliamentary system of government.

the parliamentary system suffers from the

following demerits:
1. Unstable Government The parliamentary system does not provide a
stable government. There is no guarantee that a government can
survive its tenure. The ministers depend on the mercy of the majority
legislators for their
continuity and survival in office. A no-confidence motion or political
defection or evils of multiparty coalition can make the government
unstable. The Government headed by Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, V P
Singh, Chandra Sekhar, Deva Gowda and I K Gujral are some such
examples.
2. No Continuity of Policies The parliamentary system is not conductive
for the formulation and implementation of long-term policies. This is
due to the uncertainty of the tenure of the government. A change in
the ruling party is usually followed by changes in the policies of the
government. For example, the Janata Government headed by Morarji
Desai in 1977 reversed a large number of policies of the previous
Congress Government. The same
was repeated by the Congress government after it came back to power
in
1980.
3. Dictatorship of the Cabinet When the ruling party enjoys absolute
majority in the Parliament, the cabinet becomes autocratic and
exercises nearly unlimited powers. H J Laski says that the parliamentary
system gives the executive an opportunity for tyranny. Ramsay Muir,
the former British Prime Minister, also complained of the ‘dictatorship
of the cabinet’2. This phenomeon was witnessed during the era of
Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

7. Write a short note on federal system of Indian constitution.

The term ‘federation’ is drived from a Latin word foedus

which means ‘treaty’ or ‘agreement’. Thus, a federation is a new state
(political system) which is formed through a treaty or an agreement
between the various units.
The units of a federation are known by various names like states (as in
US) or cantons (as in Switzerland) or provinces (as in Canada) or
republics (as in Russia)

The Constitution of India provides for a federal system of

government in
the country. The framers adopted the federal system due to two main
reasons
—the large size of the country and its socio-cultural diversity. They
realized that the federal system not only ensures the efficient
governance of the country but also reconciles national unity with
regional autonomy.

However, the term ‘federation’ has no where been used in

the Constitution.Instead, Article 1 of the Constitution describes
India as a ‘Union of States’.
According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the phrase ‘Union of States’ has been
preferred to ‘Federation of States’ to indicate two things: (i) the Indian
federation is not the result of an agreement among the states like the
American federation; and (ii) the states have no right to secede from
the federation. The federation is union because it is indestructible

federal features of the constitution : dual polity, written

constitution , division of powers , supermacy of the constitution , rigid
constitution , independent judiciary , bicameralism

8. What is meant by integrated judicial system?

ndia has a single integrated judicial system. The judiciary in India has a
pyramidal structure with the Supreme Court (SC) at the top. High
Courts are below the SC, and below them are the district and
subordinate courts. The lower courts function under the direct
superintendence of the higher courts.

9. Write a short note on the finance commission.

Article 280 of the Constitution of India provides for a Finance

Commission as a quasi judicial body. It is constituted by the president
of India every fifth year or at such earlier time as he considers
necessary
10. Write the difference between 73rd and 74th amendment acts.

10Marks

1. List out various types of amendment procedures.

Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution deals with the powers of
Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure

TYPES OF AMENDMENTS
Article 368 provides for two types of amendments, that is, by a special
majority of Parliament and also through the ratification of half of the
states
by a simple majority. But, some other articles provide for the
amendment of
certain provisions of the Constitution by a simple majority of
Parliament, that
is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting (similar
to the
ordinary legislative process). Notably, these amendments are not
deemed to
be amendments of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.
Therefore, the Constitution can be amended in three ways:
(a) Amendment by simple majority of the Parliament,
(b) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament, and
(c) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament and the half of the
state legislatures.
By Simple Majority of Parliament
A number of provisions in the Constitution can be amended by a simple
majority of the two Houses of Parliament outside the scope of Article
368.
These provisions include:
1. Admission or establishment of new states.
2. Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or
names of existing states.
3. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.

By Special Majority of Parliament

The majority of the provisions in the Constitution need to be amended
by a special majority of the Parliament, that is, a majority (that is, more
than 50 per cent) of the total membership of each House and a majority
of two-thirds
of the members of each House present and voting.

The provisions which can be amended by this way includes: (i)

Fundamental Rights;(ii) Directive Principles of State Policy;

By Special Majority of Parliament and Consent of States

Those provisions of the Constitution which are related to the federal
structure
of the polity can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament
and also
with the consent of half of the state legislatures by a simple majority.

The following provisions can be amended in this way:

1. Election of the President and its manner.
2. Extent of the executive power of the Union and the states.
3. Supreme Court and high courts. Etc…

2. Write a short note on features of parliamentary form of

government.

FEATURES OF PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

The features or principles of parliamentary government in India are:
1. Nominal and Real Executives The President is the nominal
executive (de jure executive or titular executive) while the prime
Minister is the real executive (de facto executive). Thus, the
President is head of the State, while the Prime Minister is head of
the government. Article 74 provides for a council of ministers
headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President in the
exercise of his functions. The advice so tendered is binding on the
President1.
2. Majority Party Rule The political party which secures majority
seats in the Lok Sabha forms the government. The leader of that
party is appointed as the Prime Minister by the President; other
ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the prime
minister. However, when no single party gets the majority, a
coalition of parties may be invited by the President to
form the government.
3. Collective Responsibility This is the bedrock principle of
parliamentary government. The ministers are collectively responsible
to the Parliament in general and to the Lok Sabha in particular
(Article 75). They act as a team, and swim and sink together. The
principle of collective responsibility implies that the Lok Sabha can
remove the ministry (i.e.,
council of ministers headed by the prime minister) from office by
passing a vote of no confidence.
4. Political Homogeneity Usually members of the council of ministers
belong to the same political party, and hence they share the same
political ideology. In case of coalition government, the ministers are
bound by
consensus.
5. Double Membership The ministers are members of both the
legislature and the executive. This means that a person cannot be a
minister without being a member of the Parliament. The
Constitution stipulates that a minister who is not a member of the
Parliament for a period of six consecutive months ceases to be a
minister.
6. Leadership of the Prime Minister The Prime Minister plays the
leadership role in this system of government. He is the leader of
council of ministers, leader of the Parliament and leader of the party
 in power. In these capacities, he plays a significant and highly crucial
role in the functioning of the government.
7. Dissolution of the Lower House The lower house of the Parliament
(Lok Sabha) can be dissolved by the President on recommendation of
the Prime Minister. In other words, the prime minister can advise
the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha before the expiry of its term
and hold fresh elections. This means that the executive enjoys the
right to get the legislature dissolved
in a parliamentary system.
8. Secrecy The ministers operate on the principle of secrecy of
procedure and cannot divulge information about their proceedings,
policies and decisions. They take the oath of secrecy before entering
their office. The oath of secrecy to the ministers is administered by
the President.
3. Write a short note on PESA Act.

The provisions of Part IX of the constitution relating to the

Panchayats are not applicable to the Fifth Schedule areas. However,
the Parliament may extend these provisions to such areas, subject to
such exceptions and modifications as it may specify. Under this
provision, the Parliament has
enacted the “Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the
Scheduled Areas) Act”, 1996, popularly known as the PESA Act or the
Extension Act

Objectives of the Act

The objectives of the PESA Act are as follows6:
1. To extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the
panchayats to the scheduled areas with certain modifications
2. To provide self-rule for the bulk of the tribal population
3. To have village governance with participatory democracy and to
make the gram sabha a nucleus of all activities
4. To evolve a suitable administrative framework consistent with
traditional practices
5. To safeguard and to preserve the traditions and customs of tribal
communities
6. To empower panchayats at the appropriate levels with specific
powers conducive to tribal requirements
7. To prevent panchayats at the higher level from assuming the powers
and authority of panchayats at the lower level of the gram sabha
4. Write a short note on the reorganization of J&K.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was a special case in the history of
India with its own mini-constitution and separate land inheritance laws.
Article 370 of the Indian constitution, granted autonomous status to
the state of Jammu and Kashmir and gave the state some immunity
from the applicability of the complete Constitution of India. However,
successive governments have extended the bulk of Constitutional Acts
and amendments to the state diluting Article 370 over the years. More
than 40 subsequent presidential orders have been issued by successive
central governments (as amendments to the original order) to make
various provisions of the Indian Constitution applicable to J&K. A total
of 94 out of the 97 items in the Union List had already been made
applicable to J&K before the Reorganisation Act was passed.

With the new reforms, Ladakh has been formulated into a

separate Union Territory without a legislative assembly while Jammu
and Kashmir will become a Union Territory with an assembly. Jammu
and Kashmir will also retain its High Court.

The abrogation of Article 370 already means that all Central laws will
apply to the new Union Territory going forward. The fifth schedule to
the Act also lists 106 Central Acts which will now be applicable in the
new Union Territory, while 153 State Acts will be repealed.
With these reforms, the competence field of Jammu and Kashmir has
been substantially reduced. It has lost control over the state police. The
region has now become more dependent on the Center for the
devolution of funds as it no longer has the financial autonomy it had as
a state. The Assembly will have the ability to frame laws on issues in the
State and Concurrent Lists, though this is restricted – no power over
public order, police, and much of trade and commerce.

For Ladakh, it may be a welcome move as the region has suffered for
the last seven decades due to neglect. Its new status as a Union
territory might not only boost development but also create jobs in the
region.

5. Write a note on the amendment of Indian Constitution by special

majority.

The majority of the provisions in the Constitution need to be

amended by a special majority of the Parliament, that is, a majority
(that is, more than 50 per cent) of the total membership of each
House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of each House
present and voting. The expression ‘total membership’ means the
total number of members comprising the House irrespective of fact
whether there are vacancies or absentees. ‘Strictly speaking, the
special majority is required only for voting at the third reading stage
of the bill but by way of abundant caution the requirement for
special majority has been provided for in the rules of the Houses in
respect of all the effective stages of the bill.
The provisions which can be amended by this way includes: (i)
Fundamental Rights;(ii) Directive Principles of State Policy; and (iii)
All
 other provisions which are not covered by the simple majority and
special majority with consent of states
.
20 Marks

1. List out the powers of President in Indian Constitution.

Answer : President powers are divided into

 1.Executive powers

 2. Legislative powers

 3. Financial powers

 4. Judicial powers

 5. Diplomatic powers

 6. Military powers

 7. Emergency powers

Executive Powers of President

 For every executive action that the Indian government takes, is to

be taken in his name

 He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of

business of the central government

 He appoints the attorney general, among others.

 He requires PM to submit, for consideration of the council of

ministers, any matter on which a decision has been taken by a
minister but, which has not been considered by the council
Legislative Powers of President

 He summons or prorogues Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha

 He summons a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in case

of deadlock

 He addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the

first session after every general election

 His prior recommendation or permission is needed to introduce

certain types of bills in the Parliament. For example, a bill
involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, or a
bill for the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new
state

 When a bill is sent to the President after it has been passed by the
Parliament, he can:

(i) give his assent to the bill, or

(ii) withhold his assent to the bill, or

(iii) return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of the
Parliament.

Financial Powers of President

 To introduce the money bill his prior recommendation is a must

 He causes Union Budget to be laid before the Parliament

 To make a demand for grants, his recommendation is a pre-

requisite

 Contingency Fund of India is under his control

  He constitutes the Finance Commission every five years

Judicial Powers of President

 Appointment of Chief Justice and Supreme Court/High Court

Judges are on him

 He takes advice from the Supreme Court, however, the advice is

not binding on him

He has pardoning power: Under article 72, he has been

conferred with power to grant pardon against
punishment for an offence against union law, punishment by a martial
court, or death sentence.

Diplomatic Powers of President

The international treaties and agreements are negotiated and

concluded on behalf of the President. However, they are subject to the
approval of the Parliament. He represents India in international forums
and affairs and sends and receives diplomats like ambassadors, high
commissioners.

Military Powers

 He is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India. In

that capacity,

he appoints the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. He can
declare war or conclude peace, subject to the approval of the
Parliament
Emergency Powers of President

 He deals with three types of emergencies given in the Indian

Constitution:

 National Emergency (Article 352)

 President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365)

Financial Emergency (Article 360)

2. What are the various types of Emergencies in Indian constitution.

the Emergency provisions are contained in Part XVIII of the

Constitution, from Articles 352 to 360.

The rationality behind the incorporation of these provisions in the

Constitution is to safeguard the sovereignty, unity, integrity and
security of the country, the democratic political system, and the
Constitution.

The Constitution stipulates three types of emergencies

1. An emergency due to war, external aggression or armed rebellion2

(Article 352). This is popularly known as ‘National Emergency’.
However, the Constitution employs the expression ‘proclamation of
emergency’ to denote an emergency of this type.
2. An Emergency due to the failure of the constitutional machinery in
the
states (Article 356). This is popularly known as ‘President’s Rule’. It is
also known by two other names—‘State Emergency’ or ‘constitutional
Emergency’. However, the Constitution does not use the word
‘emergency’ for this situation.
3. Financial Emergency due to a threat to the financial stability or
credit of India (Article 360).
When a national emergency is declared on the ground of ‘war’ or
‘external aggression’, it is known as ‘External Emergency’. On the other
hand, when it is declared on the ground of ‘armed rebellion’, it is
known as ‘Internal
Emergency’.

The President can proclaim a national emergency only after receiving a

written recommendation from the cabinet. This means that the
emergency can be declared only on the concurrence of the cabinet and
not merely on the advice of the prime minister

the proclamation of a national emergency can be challenged in a court

on the ground of malafide or that the declaration was based on wholly
extraneous and irrelevant facts or is absurd or perverse

President rule :

Article 355 imposes a duty on the Centre to ensure that the

government of every state is carried on in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution.It is this duty in the performance of
which the Centre takes over the government of a state under Article
356 in case of failure of constitutional
machinery in state. This is popularly known as ‘President’s Rule’. It is
also known as ‘State Emergency’ or‘Constitutional Emergency’

The President’s Rule can be proclaimed under Article 356 on two

grounds
—one mentioned in Article 356 itself and another in Article 365:
1. Article 356 empowers the President to issue a proclamation, if he is
satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state
cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution. Notably, the president can act either on a report of the
governor of the state or otherwise too (ie, even without the governors
report).

2. Article 365 says that whenever a state fails to comply with or to give
effect to any direction from the Centre, it will be lawful for the
president to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of
the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the
constitution.

Financial emergency :

Article 360 empowers the president to proclaim a Financial Emergency

if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen due to which the financial
stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.

Once approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the Financial

Emergency continues indefinitely till it is revoked. This implies two
things:
1. there is no maximum period prescribed for its operation; and
2. repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation

CRITICISM OF THE EMERGENCY PROVISIONS

Some members of the Constituent Assembly criticised the

incorporation of
emergency provisions in the Constitution on the following grounds15:
1. ‘The federal character of the Constitution will be destroyed and the
Union will become all powerful.
2. The powers of the State—both the Union and the units—will entirely
be concentrated in the hands of the Union executive.
3. The President will become a dictator.
4. The financial autonomy of the state will be nullified.
5. Fundamental rights will become meaningless and, as a result, the
democratic foundations of the Constitution will be destroyed.’
Thus, H V Kamath observed: ‘I fear that by this single chapter we are
seeking to lay the foundation of a totalitarian state, a police state, a
state completely opposed to all the ideals and principles that we have
held aloft during the last
few decades, a State where the rights and liberties of millions of
innocent men and women will be in continuous jeopardy, a State where
if there be peace, it will be the peace of the grave and the void of the
desert(. . .) It will
be a day of shame and sorrow when the President makes use of these
Powers having no parallel in any Constitution of the democratic
countries of the world

4. Write a note on Local self government in India.

The term Panchayati Raj in India signifies the system of rural local
selfgovernment. It has been established in all the states of India by
the Acts
of the state legislatures to build democracy at the grass root level1.
It is
entrusted with rural development. It was constitutionalised
through the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.

This act has added a new Part-IX to the Constitution of India. This part is
entitled as ‘The Panchayats’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243
to 243 O. In addition, the act has also added a new Eleventh Schedule
to the Constitution. This schedule contains 29 functional items of the
panchayats. It deals with Article 243-G.
Salient features of the act are : Grama sabha, three tier system ,
reservation of seats,

Gram Sabha : The act provides for a Gram Sabha as the foundation
of the
panchayati raj system. It is a body consisting of persons registered in
the
electoral rolls of a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the
village level. Thus, it is a village assembly consisting of all the registered
voters in the area of a panchayat. It may exercise such powers and
perform
such functions at the village level as the legislature of a state
determines.

Three-Tier System : The act provides for a three-tier system of

panchayati
raj in every state, that is, panchayats at the village, intermediate, and
district
levels3. Thus, the act brings about uniformity in the structure of
panchayati
raj throughout the country. However, a state having a population not
exceeding 20 lakh may not constitute panchayats at the intermediate
level.

Eleventh Schedule It contains the following 29 functional items placed

within the purview of panchayats. Some of them are
1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension
2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land
consolidation and soil conservation
3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development
4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
5. Fisheries
6. Social forestry
Municipalities :
he term ‘Urban Local Government’ in India signifies the governance of
an urban area by the people through their elected representatives. The
jurisdiction of an urban local government is limited to a specific urban
area
which is demarcated for this purpose by the state government1.
There are eight types of urban local governments in India—municipal
corporation, municipality, notified area committee, town area
committee,
cantonment board, township, port trust and special purpose agency

The system of urban government was constitutionalised through

the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

5. Write a note on the center state relations in India.

Centre–State Relations :
The Constitution of India, being federal in structure, divides all powers
(legislative, executive and financial) between the Centre and the states.

The Centre-state relations can be studied under three heads:

• Legislative relations.
• Administrative relations.
• Financial relations.

Articles 245 to 255 in Part XI of the Constitution deal with the legislative
relations between the Centre and the states

(i) The Parliament can make laws for the whole or any part of the
territory of
India. The territory of India includes the states, the union territories,
and
any other area for the time being included in the territory of India.
(ii) A state legislature can make laws for the whole or any part of the
state.
The laws made by a state legislature are not applicable outside the
state,
except when there is a sufficient nexus between the state and the
object.
(iii) The Parliament alone can make ‘extra-territorial legislation’. Thus,
the laws of the Parliament are also applicable to the Indian citizens and
their property in any part of the world.

The Constitution provides for a three-fold distribution of legislative

subjects between the Centre and the states, viz., List-I (the Union List),
List-II (the State List) and List-III (the Concurrent List) in the Seventh
Schedule:

The Parliament has exclusive powers to make laws with respect to any
of
the matters enumerated in the Union List. This list has at present 100
subjects (originally 971 subjects) like defence, banking, foreign affairs,
currency, atomic energy, insurance, communication, inter-state trade
and
commerce, census, audit and so on.
(ii) The state legislature has “in normal circumstances” exclusive
powers to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in
the State List.
This has at present 61 subjects (originally 662 subjects) like public
order, police, public health and sanitation, agriculture, prisons, local
government,
fisheries, markets, theaters, gambling and so on.
(iii) Both, the Parliament and state legislature can make laws with
respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List. This
list has at present 52 subjects (originally 473 subjects) like criminal law
and
procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, population control
and family planning, electricity, labour welfare, economic and social
planning,drugs, newspapers.

Adminnistrative relations:
 - articles 256 to 263 in part XI deals with administrative relations
between the centre and state.
 article 356 led to imposition of president rule. All India services
and integrated judiciary

FINANCIAL RELATIONS
Articles 268 to 293 in Part XII of the Constitution deal with Centre–state
financial relations.

Levied by Collected by Appropriated by example

Union State State Stamp duties

Union Union & state Union & State Service tax

Union Union State Succession duty

Union Union Union & state Union list

state state state State list

 Taxes levied and collected by the Union, but assigned to the
States within which they are leviable
 example : Succession duty in respect of property, other than
agricultural land.
 Taxes levied and collected by the Union and distributed between
the Union and the States
 Surcharge on certain taxes; Taxes levied and collected and
retained by the states; Grants-in-Aid.
 Distribution of non-tax revenues: Non tax revenues from post and
telegraph, railways, banking, go to the Centre, while State
receives non-tax revenues from irrigation.
 Provision has been made for the constitution of a Finance
Commission to recommend to the President certain measures for
the distribution of financial resources between the Union and the
States (Art.280).