For UPSC Civil Services and State PCS Exam

INDIAN
POLITY
M. LAXMIKANTH

SUMMARY NOTES OF INDIAN POLITY M.

LAXMIKANTH
6TH EDITION
UPDATED NOTES FOR 2020 & 2021.

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 CONTENT

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 5
2. MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION 9
3. FEATURE OF THE CONSTITUTION 11
4. PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION 13
5. UNION AND ITS TERRITORY 15
6. CITIZENSHIP 18
7. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 20
8. DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF OUR STATE POLICY : PART IV (ARTICLES 36-51) 28
9. FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES 31
10. AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 32
11. BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTION 34
12. PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM 35
13. FEDERAL SYSTEM 36
14. CENTRE–STATE RELATIONS 40
15. INTER STATE RELATIONS 47
17. PRESIDENT 52
18. VICE-PRESIDENT 57
19. PRIME MINISTER 58
20. CENTRAL COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 60
21. CABINET COMMITTEE 62
22. PARLIAMENT 63
23. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES 75
24. PARLIAMENTARY FORUMS 79
26. SUPREME COURT OF INDIA 80
27. JUDICIAL REVIEW 86
28. JUDICIAL ACTIVISM 88
29. PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION 90
30. GOVERNOR 93
31. CHIEF MINISTER 96
32. STATE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 97
33. STATE LEGISLATURE 99
34. HIGH COURT 105
35. SUBORDINATE COURTS 109
36. SPECIAL STATUS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR 112

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 37. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR OTHER STATES 114
38. PANCHAYATI RAJ 116
39. MUNICIPALITIES 123
40. UNION TERRITORIES 127
41. SCHEDULED AND TRIBAL AREAS 129
42. ELECTION COMMISSION 130
43. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 132
44. STATE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 134
45. FINANCE COMMISSION 135
46. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCS 137
47. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR STS 139
48. SPECIAL OFFICER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES 140
49. COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL OF INDIA 141
50. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIA 145
51. ADVOCATE GENERAL OF THE STATE 147
52. NITI AAYOG 148
53. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC) 150
54. STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 152
55. CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION 154
56. STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION 155
57. CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION 156
58. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) 159
59. LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA 161
60. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES 164
61. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 165
62. PUBLIC SERVICES 167
63. TRIBUNALS 168
64. RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT 171
65. AUTHORITATIVE TEXT OF THE CONSTITUTION IN HINDI LANGUAGE 172
66. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN CLASSES 172
67. POLITICAL PARTIES 173
68. ELECTIONS 176
69. VOTING BEHAVIOUR 178
70. ELECTION LAWS 179
71. ELECTORAL REFORMS 181
72. ANTI-DEFECTION LAW 183
73. PRESSURE GROUPS 187

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 74. NATIONAL INTEGRATION 190
75. FOREIGN POLICY 191
76. NATIONAL COMMISSION TO REVIEW THE WORKING OF THE CONSTITUTION
193
77. NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (NDMA) 194
78. NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY 197
79. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR BACKWARD CLASSES (NCBC) 199
80. RECONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION COUNCIL 201
81. COALITION GOVERNMENT 202

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 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The British came to India in 1600 as traders, in the form of East India Company. In 1765, the Company, which
till now had purely trading functions obtained the ‘diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa. This started its career as a territorial power. In 1858, in the wake of the ‘sepoy mutiny’, the
British Crown assumed direct responsibility for the governance of India. This rule continued until India was
granted independence on August 15, 1947.

Regulating Act of 1773

 The first step was taken by the British Parliament to control and regulate the affairs of the East India
Company in India.
 It designated the Governor of Bengal (Fort William) as the Governor-General (of Bengal).
 Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal.
 Executive Council of the Governor-General was established (Four members). There was no separate
legislative council.
 It subordinated the Governors of Bombay and Madras to the Governor-General of Bengal.
 The Supreme Court was established at Fort William (Calcutta) as the Apex Court in 1774.
 It prohibited servants of the company from engaging in any private trade or accepting bribes from the
natives.

Pitt’s India Act of 1784

 Distinguished between commercial and political functions of the company.

 Court of Directors for Commercial functions and Board of Control for political affairs.
 Reduced the strength of the Governor General’s council to three members.
 Placed the Indian affairs under the direct control of the British Government.
 The companies territories in India were called “the British possession in India”.
 Governor’s councils were established in Madras and Bombay.

Charter Act of 1813

 The Company’s monopoly over Indian trade terminated; Trade with India open to all British subjects.

Charter Act of 1833

 Governor-General (of Bengal) became as the Governor-General of India.

 First Governor-General of India was Lord William Bentick.
 This was the final step towards centralization in the British India.
 Beginning of a Central legislature for India as the act also took away legislative powers of Bombay and
Madras provinces.
 The Act ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body and it became a purely
administrative body.

Charter Act of 1853

 The legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s Council were separated.

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  6 members in Central legislative council. Four out of six members were appointed by the provisional
governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.
 It introduced a system of open competition as the basis for the recruitment of civil servants of the
Company (Indian Civil Service opened for all).Macaulay Committee appointed in 1854.

The crown Rule(1858-1947)

Government of India Act of 1858

 This significant Act was enacted in the wake of the Revolt of 1857—also known as the First War of
Independence or the ‘sepoy mutiny’. The act known as the Act for the Good Government of India,
abolished the East India Company, and transferred the powers of government, territories and revenues to
the British Crown.
 He was assisted by the Council of India, having 15 members
 He was vested with complete authority and control over the Indian administration through the
Viceroy as his agent
 The Governor-General was made the Viceroy of India. Lord Canning was the first Viceroy of India.
 Abolished Board of Control and Court of Directors.

Indian Councils Act of 1861

 It made a beginning of representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process. It
thus provided that the viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded
council. In 1862, Lord Canning, the then viceroy, nominated three Indians to his legislative council—the
Raja of Benaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao.
 Legislative councils were established in Center and provinces.
 It provided that the Viceroy’s Executive Council should have some Indians as the non-official members
while transacting the legislative businesses.
 It recognition the portfolio system.
 Initiated the process of decentralisation by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and the
Madras Provinces.

India Council Act of 1892

 Introduced indirect elections (nomination).

 Enlarged the size of the legislative councils.
 Enlarged the functions of the Legislative Councils and gave them the power of discussing the Budget
and addressing questions to the Executive.

Indian Councils Act of 1909

1. This Act is also known as the Morley- Minto Reforms.Direct elections to legislative councils; first
attempt at introducing a representative and popular element.
2. It changed the name of the Central Legislative Council to the Imperial Legislative Council.
3. The member of Central Legislative Council was increased to 60 from 16.
4. Introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘separate
electorate’.
5. Indians for the first time in Viceroys executive council. (Satyendra Prasad Sinha, as the law member)

Government of India Act of 1919

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  This Act is also known as the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms.
 The Central subjects were demarcated and separated from those of the Provincial subjects.
 The scheme of dual governance, ‘Dyarchy’, was introduced in the Provincial subjects.
 Under dyarchy system, the provincial subjects were divided into two parts – transferred and reserved.
On reserved subjects, Governor was not responsible to the Legislative council.
 The Act introduced, for the first time, bicameralism at center.
 Legislative Assembly with 140 members and Legislative council with 60 members.
 Direct elections. The Act also required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s Executive
Council (other than Commander-in-Chief) were to be Indians.
 Provided for the establishment of Public Service Commission.
 Simon Commission In November 1927 itself (i.e., 2 years before the schedule), the British Government
announced the appointment a seven member statutory commission under the chairmanship of Sir John
Simon to report on the condition of India under its new Constitution. The commission submitted its
report in 1930 and recommended the abolition of dyarchy, extension of responsible government in the
provinces, establishment of a federation of British India and princely states, continuation of communal
electorate and so on.

Government of India Act of 1935

 The Act provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of the Provinces and the
Princely States as units, though the envisaged federation never came into being.
 Three Lists: The Act divided the powers between the Centre and the units into items of three lists,
namely the Federal List, the Provincial List and the Concurrent List.
 The Federal List for the Centre consisted of 59 items, the Provincial List for the provinces consisted of
54 items and the Concurrent List for both consisted of 36 items
 The residuary powers were vested with the Governor-General.
 The Act abolished the Dyarchy in the Provinces and introduced ‘Provincial Autonomy’.
 It provided for the adoption of Dyarchy at the Centre. Introduced bicameralism in 6 out of 11 Provinces.
 These six Provinces were Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Bihar, Madras and the United Province.
 Provided for the establishment of Federal Court(1937). Abolished the Council of India.

Indian Independence Act of 1947

 On February 20, 1947, the British Prime Minister Clement Atlee declared that the British rule in India
would end by June 30,1948; after which the power would be transferred to responsible Indian hands.
This announcement was followed by the agitation by the Muslim League demanding partition of the
country. Again on June 3, 1947, the British Government made it clear that any Constitution framed by
the Constituent Assembly of India (formed in 1946) cannot apply to those parts of the country which
were unwilling to accept it. On the same day (June 3, 1947), Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India, put
forth the partition plan, known as the Mountbatten Plan.
 It declared India as an Independent and Sovereign State.
 Established responsible Governments at both the Centre and the Provinces.
 Designated the Viceroy India and the provincial Governors as the Constitutional (normal heads).
 It assigned dual functions (Constituent and Legislative) to the Constituent Assembly and declared this
dominion legislature as a sovereign body.

Points to be noted

 Laws made before Charter Act of 1833 were called Regulations and those made after are called Acts.

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  Lord Warren Hastings created the office of District Collector in 1772, but judicial powers were
separated from District collector later by Cornwallis.
 From the powerful authorities of unchecked executives, the Indian administration developed into a
responsible government answerable to the legislature and people.
 The development of portfolio system and budget points to the separation of power.
 Lord Mayo’s resolution on financial decentralization visualized the development of local self-
government institutions in India (1870).
 1882: Lord Ripon’s resolution was hailed as the ‘Magna Carta’ of local self-government. He is regarded
as the ‘Father of local self-government in India’.
 1921: Railway Budget was separated from the General Budget.
 From 1773 to 1858, the British tried for the centralization of power. It was from the 1861 Councils act
they shifted towards devolution of power with provinces.
 1833 Charter act was the most important act before the act of 1909.
 Till 1947, the Government of India functioned under the provisions of the 1919 Act only. The provisions
of 1935 Act relating to Federation and Dyarchy were never implemented.
 The Executive Council provided by the 1919 Act continued to advise the Viceroy till 1947. The modern
executive (Council of Ministers) owes its legacy to the executive council.
 The Legislative Council and Assembly developed into Rajyasabha and Loksabha after independence.

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