he Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit.!Though borrowed from almost every“Con- stitution of the world, the Constitution of India has Several salient features that distinguish it from the Constitutions of the other countries. It should be noted at the outset that a num- ber of original features of the Constitution [aS adopted in 1949) have undergone a sub- stantial change, on account of several amend- ments, particularly 7th, 42nd, 44th, 73rd, 74th, 97th and 101st Amendments. In fact, the\W2nd Amendment Act as ‘Mini-Constitution’ due to the important and large number of changes made by it in various parts of the Constitution. However, in the Kesavananda Bharati case’ (1973),the Supreme Court ruled that the constituent power of Parliament under Article 368 does not enable it to alter the ‘basic structure’ of 1976) is known URES OF THE The salient features of the Constitution, as it stands today, are as follows: I, Lengthiest Written Constitution Constitutions are classified into written, like the American Constitution, or unw fen, like the British Constitution. Constitution of India is the lengthiest of all the written Constitutions of the world. It isa very comprehensive, elaborate and detailed _ document. Originally (1949), the Constitution con- tained a Preamble, 395 Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8 Schedules. Presently (2019), it consists of a Preamble, about 470 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules”. The various amendments carried out since 1951 have deleted about 20 Articles and one Part (WED_and added about 95 Articles, four Parts (IVA, IXA, IXB and XIVA) and four Schedules (9, 10, 11 and 12). No other Constitution in the: world has so many Articles and Schedules®, Four factors have contributed to the ele phantine size of our Constitution. They are: (a) Geographical factors, thats, the vastness of the country and its diversity. (b) Historical factors, e.g., the influence of the Government of India Act of 1935, Acro which was bulky. ; (©) Single Constitution for both the Gentre and the states’. (d) Dominance of legal lumi: Constituent Assembly. ) The Constitution contaifis not only the fundamental principles of governance, but also detailed administrative provisions. Further, those matters which in other mod- ern democratic countries have been left to the ordinary legislation or established politi- cal conventions have also been included the constitutional document its 2. Drawn From Various Sources ies in theas well as from the Government of 1935. Dr. BR, Ambedkar eclaimed that the Constitution of ‘been framed after ‘ransacking all the Constitutions of the World! structural part of the Constitution is, to ‘a large extent, derived from the Goyernment ‘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 princi- ple of Cabinet Government and the relations between the Executive and the Legislature) have been largely drawn from the British Constitution’, The other provisions of the Constitution have been drawn from the Constitutions of Canada, Australia, Germany, USSR (now Russia), France, South Africa, Japan and so on’. ‘The most profound influence and material source of the Constitution is the Government of India Act, 1935.\The Federal Scheme, Judiciary, Governors, Emergency Powers, the Public Service Commissions and most of the administrative details are drawn from this Act. More than half of the provisions of Constitution are identical to or bear resemblance to the Act of 1935", _} a close 3. Blend of Rigidity and Flexibili y Constitutions are also classified into rigid and -flexibls. A rigid Constitution is one that requires a special procedure for ite amendment, as for example, the American Grasttction. A flexible constitution, on the other hand, is one that can be amended in the same manner as the ordinary lawy | made, as for example, the Britich ‘ sess tal some provision m special majority o of each House pres a majority of the total each House. Some other provisions can by a special majority of the and with the ratification by total states, At the same time, some provision Constitution can be amended by 4 majority of the Parliament in the of ordinary legislative process, these amendments do not com Article 368. (b) h Unitary Bi The Constitution of India establish eral system of Government. It cont the usual features of a federation, Government, division of powers, Constitution, supremacy of Constitu rigidity of Constitution, independent iary and bicameralism, However, ‘ the Indian Constitutio contains a large number of unit non-federal features, viz., a gtOHm single Constitution, single citizensh ibility of Constitution, integrated ji “ppointment of state governor by s, emergency provis Moreover, the term nowhere been used in Article 1, on the other hand, des as a “Union of states’ which things: one Ti in Federa result _of_an agreement |Austin, ‘federation with a centralising ten. dency’ by Ivor Jennings and so on. _— 5, 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 co-operation and co-ordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation, of powers between the two organs. ; f€ parliamentary system is also known as the ‘Westminster’ Model of Govern- ment, responsible Government and Cabinet Government, The Constitution establishes the parliamentary system not only at the Centre, but also in the states. The features of parliamentary government in India are: (a) Presence of nominal and real executives; (b) Majority party rule, (©) Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature, (d) Membership of the ministers in the legislature, (€) Leadership of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister, (f) Dissolution of the lower House (Lok Sabha or Assembly). Byen though the Indian parliamentary system is largely based on the British pat- tern, there are some fundamental differ- ences between the two. For example, the a Ot a soverei ly like the British Parliament., Further, the india an elected head (republic) Salient Features of the Constitution 6, Synthesis of Parli Sovereignty and Judici ‘The doctrine of sovere’ associated with the Britis the principle of judicial sup US.\This is because the American provides for ‘due pr of procedure established by law’ cont the Indian Constitution (Article 21)- Therefore, the framers se Constitution have preferred a proper + thesis between the British principle of par liamentary sovereignty and the principle of judicial supremacy. The Court, on the one hand, can declare liamentary laws as unconstitutional th its power of judicial review. The Pz portion of the Constitution through i it stituent power, 7. Integrated and Independent Judiciary judicial system that independent. The Supreme Court st the integrated judicial level. Under a high cou of subordinate cour and other of courts‘of the citizens and Constitution. Hence, the ‘Accord: 1 ‘made various provisions (0 tive Princi cetune its independence—security of tenUTe feature! of tl cme judges, fixed service conditions fF ¢qymerated in Part IY the judges, all the expenses of the Supreme They can be classified into 1 tre iatrarged on the Consolidated Fund — gyories—socialistic, Gandh Gt india, prohibition on discussion on the intettectual. conduct of judges in the legislatures, ban tee. pirective Principles crpmactice after retirement, power 0 PUN —yromoting the ideal of sects Rh tor its contempt vested in the Supreme — Poi democracy. They seek Court, separation of the judiciary from the civare state’ in India, Ho —o the Fundamental Rights, the di pon-justiciable in nature, that is, not enforceable by the courts for th : lation. Yet, the Constitution itself d Part II of the Indian Constitution guarantees hat “these principles are fundame six" fundamental rights to all the citizens: the governance of the country and (a) Right to Equality (Articles 14-18); ae i (b) Right to Freedom (Articles 19-22 be the duty of the state to apply ti PEE cesinst Exploitation (Artic ciples in making laws’. Hence, they ight against Exploitation (Articles ora] obligation on the state author jing to Dr. ples of he Indian Co! 8. Fundamental Rights 23-24); ; : (a) Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles their application. But, the real foro@i(s 25-28); tion) behind them is political, that is, e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles °PINION 3 . re In the Minerva Mills case™ ( 29-30); and (o) ee to Constitutional Remedies (Article Constitution ig founded on the Bede Bees eetaiRighteremeantfor pro. ‘e,Palance between tha ti moting the idea of political democracy. They and the Directive Principles’ operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature. ‘They are justiciable in nature, thatis, they are The origi i ‘enforceable by the courts for their violation. fg, epee constitution did not ‘The aggrieved person can directly go to the phe, ¢ Fundamental Duties of the Supreme Court which can issue the writs of sees added during the ope! lergency (1975-77) by | habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certio- ari and quo warranto for the restoration of his onstitutional Amendment Act of 10. Fundamental Duties rights. 5 However, the Fundamental Rights are not Sim Committee. ‘The 86th Gon absolute and subject to reasonable restric- Amendment Act of 2002 adde tions. Further, they are not sacrosanct and ndamental duty. 4 can be curtailed or repealed by the Parlia- ‘The Part IV-A of the Gon jment through a Constitutional Amendment copaists of only one ‘Act. They can also be suspended during the fies the eleven Fun ‘on of a National Emergency except nq pct the Constit guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21, Gignty wont! :the spirit of common brotherhood -all the people; to preserve the rich of our composite culture and so on, ~The fundamental duties serve as a reminder to citizens that while enjoying their rights, they have also t0 be quite conscious of duties they owe to their country, their society and to their fellow-citizens. However, like the Directive Principles, the duties are also non- justiciable in nature, IL. A Secular State ‘The Constitution of India stands for a Secular State. Hence, it does not uphold any par- ticular 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. (©) The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protec- tion of the laws (Article 14). (d) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of religion (Article 15). (e) Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment (Article 16). All persons are equally entitled to free- dom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion (Article 25). Every religious denomination or any of its section shall have the right to man- age its religious affairs (Article 26). ‘No person shall be compelled to pay any © (1) The State shall endea all the citizens a Ur (Article 44), ‘The Western concept of s notes a complete separation gion (the church) and the state This negative concept of secul society is multireligious. Hence, Constitution embodies the posit of secularism, ie, vation of seats for the scheduled ea: scheduled tribes to ensure adequate sentation to them. 12. Universal Adult Franchise The Indian Constitution adopts un adult franchise as a basis of elections Lok Sabha and the state legislative blies. Every citizen who is not less th years of age has a right to vote discrimination of caste, race, literacy, wealth and so on, was reduced to 18 years from 1989 by the 61st Constitutional A Act of 1988, The introduction of uniy‘the | of equality, enables minorities to protect their interests and opens up new hopes and vistas for weaker sections. 13. Single Citizenship Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizen- ship, that is, the Indian citizenship. In countries like USA, on the other hand, each person is not only a citizen of USA, but also a citizen of the particular state to which he belongs. Thus, he owes allegiance to both and enjoys dual sets of rights—one conferred by the National government and another by the state government. In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizen- ship all over the country and no discrimina- tion is made between them. Despite the constitutional provision for a single citizenship and uniform rights for all the people, India has been witnessing the communal riots, class conflicts, caste wars, linguistic clashes and ethnic disputes, This means that the cherished goal of the Constitution-makers to build a united and integrated Indian nation has not been fully realised. 14. Independent Bodies The Indian Constitution not only provides for the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the Government (Central and state) but also establishes certain independent bod- ies. They are envisaged by the Constitution as the bulkworks of the democratic system of Government in India. These are: (a) Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, the state legislatures, the office of President of India and the office of Vice-president of India. (b) Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to audit the accounts of the Central and state governments. He acts as the Union Public Servi duct examinations for all-India services ~ and services and to advise disciplinary matters. (d) State Public Service Co every state to conduct exa for recruitment to state se to advice the governor on d matters. The Constitution ensures the dence of these bodies through vari sions like security of tenure, fixed The Indian Constitution contains elabo emergency provisions to enable the Preside to meet any extraordinary situation effes The rationality behind the incorporatio of these provisions is to safeguar sovereignty, unity, integrity and security the country, the democratic political 5 and the Constitution. The Constitution envisages three emergencies, namely: (a) National emergency on the grol War or external aggression or 4 rebellion'® (Article 352); 2 (b) State emergency (President's the ground of failure of Constit machinery in the states (Article | failure to comply with the directi the Centre (Article 365); and Financial emergency on the threat to the financial stabil pact India (Article 360). ting an emer Government becomes legos States go into the total con tre. It converts the federal (c)normal times) (o unitary (during emergency) is a unique feature of the Indian Constitution. 16. Three-tier Government Originally, the Indian Constitution, like any other federal Constitution, provided for a dual polity and contained provisions with regard to the organisation and powers of the Centre and the states. Later, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992) have added a third-tier of Government (i.e., local) which is not found in any other Con- stitution of the world. The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the panchay ats (rural local governments) by adding a new Part IX’ and a new Schedule 11 to the Constitution. Similarly, the 74th Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to the municipalities (urban iocal govern- ments) by adding a new Part IX-A™ and a new Schedule 12 to the Constitution 17. Co-operative Societies 2011 gave a constitutional status and prote tion to co-operative societies. In this context, Constitution: 19). State Policy on promo! societies (Article 43-B). to 243-27). The 97 Constitutional Amendment Act of it made the following three changes in the 1. It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article It included a new Directive Principle of n of co-operative . It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as “The Co-operative Societies” (Articles 243-ZH co-operative ate law. ‘The Constitution of India, adopted by the Constituent India, has been criticized on | grounds 1. A Borrowed Constitution The critics opined that th Constitution contains nothing Constitution’ or a ‘bag of borrowing; ‘hotch-potch Constitution’ or a ‘pat in the features borrowed from other tutions for their suitability to the faults. While answering the above critici the Constituent Assembly, Dr. BR. Am the Chairman of the Drafting Committ said : “One likes to ask whether there can anything new in a Constitution this hour in the history of the than hundred years have rolled 0 the first written Constitution was has been followed by many count ing their constitutions to writi scope of a Constitution s mentals of a Constitution over the world. Given tutions in their maiCopy of the 1935 Act ‘critics said that the framers of the Con- "stitution have included a large number of oF provisions of the Government of India Act o} 1935 into the Constitution of India, Hence, they called the Constitution as a “Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act” or an “Amended Version ‘of the 1935 Act’. For example, N. Srinivasan observed that the Indian Constitution is “both in language and substance a close copy of the Act of 1935". Similarly, Sir Ivor Jennings, a British Constitutionalist, said that “the Constitution derives directly from the Gov- ernment of India Act of 1935 from which, in fact, many of its provisions are copied almost textually’. Further, PR. Deshmukh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented that “the Constitution is essentially the Government of India Act of 1935 with only adult franchise added". The same Dr. B.R. Ambedkar answered the above criticism in the Constituent Assembly in the following way : “As to the accusation that the Draft Constitution has reproduced 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. What I am sorry about is that the provi- sions taken from the Government of India Act, 1935, relate mostly to the details of administration’.”° 3. Un-Indian or Anti-Indian According to the critics, the Indian Constitu- tion is ‘un-Indian’ or ‘anti dian’ because it does not reflect the political traditions and the spirit of India. They said that the _ foreign nature of the Constitution makes it unsuitable to the Indian situation op | Btworkable in India. m this context, K. _ Hanumanthaiya, a member of the Constitu, Assembly, commented : “We wanted the our Constitution-makers were way’! Similarly, Lokanath M member of the Constituent Assemi cized the Constitution as a “slavish of the west, much more - a slavish sur to the west".”” Further, Lakshminaray so a member of the Constituent A: Constitution is framed have no manifest tion to the fundamental spirit of India. Constitution would not prove suitable would break down soon after being bro into operation’.”’ 4, An Un-Gandhian Constitution ‘According to the critics, the Indian Com stitution is un-Gandhian because it does not contain the philosophy and ideals 0 Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the India Nation. They opined that the Constitution should have been raised and built upon vi lage panchayats and district panchayats. In this context, the same member of the Con« stituent Assembly, K. Hanumanthaiya, said: “That is exactly the kind of Constitution Mahatma Gandhi did not want and did not envisage".* T. Prakasam, another member of the Constituent Assembly, attributed this lapse to Ambedkar’s non-participation i the Gandhian movement and the antago-_ nism towards the Gandhian ideas.2> 5. Elephantine Size The critics stated that the Indian Consti tution is too bulky and too detailed and contains some unnecessary elements, Sir ivor Jennings, a British Constitutionalist, observed that the provisions borrowed w not always well-selected and that the con tution, generally speaking, was too long: complicated.”° 4 In this context, H.V. Kamath, a memb the Constituent Assembly, commented :| emblem and the crest that we hay for our assembly is an elephant. | in consonance with that our is the bulkiest that the He also said: “I amwe should make the Constitution intine one’2* HE Porodice of the Lawyers According to the critics, the Indian Constitution is too legalistic and very complicated. They opined that ti Janguage and phraseology constitution makes it The same Sir Ivor Jen yer's paradise” In this context, H.K. Maheswari, a member of the Constituent Assembly, observed : “The draft tends to make people more litigious, more inclined to go to law courts, less truth. ful and less likely to follow the methods of truth and non-violence. If | may say so, the draftis really a lawyer's paradise. It opens up vast avenues of litigation and will give our he legal adopted in the a complex document, ings called it a “law- Table 3.1 The Constitution of India at a Glance Sec 1 The Union and its territory Il Gitzenstiip Il Fundamental Rights ~ W__ Directive Principles of State Potioy WA Fundamental Duties Union Government Chapter | - The Executive Il ~ Parliament Chapter I =The Union Judiciary — Legislative Powers of President able and ingenious | to do. Similarly, PR. Dest ber of the Constituent As should, however, like to say ti the articles that have been the House by Dr. Ambedkar se mind to be far too ponderous Iil derous tomes of a law manual. A do dealing with a constitution hi much of padding and so much of Perhaps it is difficult for them to ¢ a document which should be, to m not a law manual but a socio-politi ment, a vibrating, pulsating and lif document. But, to our misfortune, th not to be, and we have been burden so much of words, words and words could have been very easily elimina Chapter V — Comptroller and Auditor-General of India te Governments Chapter 1 ~ General Chapter Il! - The State Legislature